President Chaim Weizmann has begun preliminary consultations with leaders of Israel’s political parties on the formation of a new Cabinet for the Jewish state. During the week-and he received leaders of the Mapai, Israel’s labor Party, which secured the largest number of votes in the Parliamentary elections. Later, he received leaders of the General Zionist Party, second place party in the Parliament.
Zalman Shazar, one of the Mapai leaders who represented his party at the consultations with President Weizmann, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that he reported to the President that the Mapai is prepared to broaden the present coalitionary Cabinet on the basis of the fundamental principles outlined recently by David Ben Gurion. These principles, he said, provide for an unmodified Israel policy toward the United Nations, an economic system as practiced by the present regime, no state theocracy although reasonable religious claims should be fulfilled.
Dr. Peretz Bernstein, leader of the General Zionists, reported that he told President Weizmann that his party is ready to constitute a new government if so requested and that the party hopes to formulate a satisfactory program for inclusion of the Mapai in a coalition Cabinet, On the other hand, if requested by the Mapai to join a new coalitionary government, the General Zionist Party will advance the following conditions:
1. A unified state education system; 2. Nationalization of the social welfare and medical services; 3. Government control of labor exchanges; 4. Removal of politics from the civil service system; 5. An economic policy based on free enterprise with the ultimate removal of the controls now in effect.
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.
