Israel joined the majority of the U.N. General Assembly in rejecting a Soviet charge that United States forces committed the “mass murder of Korean and Chinese prisoners of war on the island Pong Am” which was debated early this morning just before the Assembly adjourned.
The resolution was turned down by five in favor (the Soviet bloc) to 45 against and ten abstentions (Asians and Arabs). Israel delegate Gideon Raphael, explaining Israel’s vote, recalled that his country, together with 53 other member states, had voted for the Indian proposal for an armistice which had been rejected by China. He described this as “one of the most saddening events and a blow to peace.”
The Israeli delegate declared that death and devastation was still gripping Korea “because a group of states” refused in accept the “just and reasonable” proposal. He hoped that the General Assembly would dispose of the Soviet charges and concentrate on bringing peace to Korea.
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.
