Ambassador Eric Johnston said today in an address at Cornell University that he has just received Arab and Israel reports on a proposed Jordan Valley Authority and will return to the Near East toward the end of this month for further discussions regarding the cooperative use of the Jordan River waters.
Despite Arab-Israel tension, Mr. Johnston said “the Arab nations and Israel have shown marked and unmistakable interest” although none have yet accepted the proposal. He said Arab reactions and suggestions have been received and “their report represents serious and constructive effort. ” Israel, he added, has so far been receptive in principle and non-committal in detail. “The U. S. Embassy at Tel Aviv, ” he reported, “has just obtained Israel’s comments and reactions and they are now on the way to Washington, where we will study them carefully. “
Mr. Johnston said it was clear that the political situation is such that the proposed system of waterworks in the valley would require international administration and supervision. Eventually, if a total valley program became reality, “some kind of valley authority, possibly under the United Nations, would have to be created, ” he stated.
Reflecting optimism, Mr. Johnston said that the tension in the area was such that one might expect an immediate rejection of his approach, but that this did not prove to be the case. The main concern at this stage is to establish “a sound, mutually acceptable basis for sharing the water among the states which claim it, ” he declared.
“The core of the idea is to use Lake Tiberias as a natural storage reservoir,” he explained. Israel’s share would be drawn mainly from headwaters upstream from Tiberias. He said, however, that none of the details he put forward on behalf of President Eisenhower last November were fixed in a rigid pattern and were subject to modification,
“Unless a mutually acceptable formula can be found for dividing the water of the Jordan fairly, any attempt by one country to harness the stream for its own use will be an explosive provocation to the others, ” he stressed. He noted that if his plan develops, the Jordan will irrigate land which might provide a livelihood for Arab refugees, thus relieving a source of tension. He said the JVA could mark the beginning of Arab-Israel cooperation and understanding. Until such rapprochement comes, Near Eastern social progress will advance slowly, he warned.
As chairman of the International Development Authority Advisory Board, he said, he investigated the investment potentialities and concluded that private investors are fearful of a renewal of the Arab-Israel war.
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.
