Assistant Secretary of State Henry A. Byroade denied here he had urged Israel to limit its immigration. Mr. Byroade made this denial at a press conference held in connection with the current meeting here of American envoys to the Middle East states.
Mr. Byroade, who is presiding at the parley, insisted that his recent statement in Philadelphia–which caused a furor in Israel and the United States–had been misinterpreted. He said that he had merely pointed out to the Israelis that mass immigration was virtually ended and that therefore it would be wise if Israeli statesmen found a way of allaying Arab fears of Israeli territorial expansion under the pressure of an increased population.
Commenting on the general Israel-Arab situation, Mr. Byroade charged that the Soviet Union had recently stepped up its political activities in the region and was also conducting a campaign to sabotage the United Nations on the Arab-Israel problem. He told newsmen that the major item on the agenda of the diplomats’ parley was means of combatting Soviet propaganda in the Middle East, particularly among the Arab countries.
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.
