The government and the people of the United States will not assist Britain in any attempt that may threaten the existence of Israel, Aubrey S.Eban, Israeli representative to the United Nations, told the 1,200 delegates attending the national conference of the United Jewish Appeal which this afternoon proclaimed a $250,000,000 quota for 1949.
Bitterly attacking British military manipulations against Israel and charging the British Government with endangering the peace and sabotaging truce negotiations between Israel and the Arab states, Eban said: “It has been made abundantly plain to me in conferences in Washington and New York that the assistance of the United States Government and people is not available for any project which threatens the existence of Israel.”
The Israeli representative emphasized that “at the first available opportunity my government must request the attention of the Security Council to the fact that the Government of the United Kingdom is repudiating its obligations under the truce.” He stressed that all the energy and effort of the Israeli Government, at the moment, are being concentrated on the successful conclusion of the armistice negotiations.
ISRAEL REFUSES TO BE INTIMIDATED BY THREATS, EBAN SAYS
Eban declared that the relaxation of the tension In Israel within the last 48 hours is due to a combination of the Israeli Government’s “tenacious refusal to be intimidated by threats” and “the constructive efforts of the United States Government in confronting all parties with their peace-making obligations.”
He expressed the hope that the attitude of the U.S. Government, and of other members of the Security Council, will discourage any development or renewal of the British threat to Israel. Israel will continue to do everything in its power to diminish the tension and advance the cause of peace, Eban said. He emphasized that the interests and the ideals of Israel command the Jewish state, at all times, to adhere “to our real preference, which is for peace.” He added that “the peace must be founded on the true territorial and political integrity of Israel,” and that it must assure to Israel and its neighbors full sovereign equality, national freedom and a place in the community of nations.
In his criticism of Britain, Eban pointed out that the British Government, which is “a custodian of international peace,” is using the commencement of the Israeli-Egyptian armistice talks as an occasion for organizing a great military, naval, aerial, political, psychological and diplomatic threat against the state of Israel.
In adopting the $250,000,000 quota for 1949, the U.J.A. conference called upon American Jewry to make its maximum effort. “This is one historic Jewish hour; this is American Jewry’s historic opportunity,” the call said. Action on the quota was taken after a special committee analyzed the budgetary requirements which the United Palestine Appeal, Joint Distribution Committee and United Service for New Americans submitted yesterday.
The conference adopted a resolution pledging to serve the Jews in Europe and Israel “in the highest tradition” and to dedicate the resources of the Jewish community of the United States to the mass settlement and up building of Israel, to the emptying of the DP camps before the end of 1949, and to the immigration and rehabilitation of displaced Jews in various countries.
ISRAEL PLANS TO LAUNCH “LITTLE TVA” IN NEGEV, DR. JOSEPH REPORTS
Dr. Bernard Joseph, Israeli military governor of Jerusalem, revealed that the Israeli Government is planning to launch a “little TVA” at a cost of approximately $200,000,000 to make the Negev a home for 300,000 Jewish refugees. The establishment of many new settlements in that area has already been blueprinted and construction will begin as soon as the necessary funds can be made available, Dr. Joseph reported.
He said that there are, at present, 25 Jewish settlements in the Negev which formed the backbone of the successful defense by the Israeli Army. In the next decade, 300,000 Jews will be settled there, he added.
“We shall never give up Jerusalem to please the desires of foreign states who would like to see the city internationalized,” the military governor declared. “The new Jerusalem, where 90,000 Jews live, is our city and ours it will stay” Dr. Joseph stressed, however, that the Israeli Government would agree to the internationalization of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Edward M.M. Warburg, chairman of the Joint Distribution Committee, another major speaker today, said that barring accidents the work undertaken for the displaced Jews of Europe, would be completed within three years. Warburg told the delegates that by this time next year only 30,000 Jews should remain in the DP camps-these will include people unable to go to Israel because they are ill, and those awaiting immigration to the United States and other lands. He also dwelt at great length on the plight of the Jews in North Africa.
(At the time the Bulletin went to press, the two-day U.J.A. conference was still In session, with Dr. Abba Hillel Silver, chairman of the American section of the Jewish Agency, Rabbi Jonah B. Wise, national chairman of the U.J.A., and a number of other Jewish leaders, still scheduled to speak at the closing meeting.)
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
