Dr. Nahum Goldmann, chairman of the Jewish Agency, who has just returned from an on-the-spot study in Israel, warned today that unless the West takes steps to check the present explosive situation in the Middle East resulting from Soviet arming of the Arab states, the Arab-Israel conflict might explode into war.
He charged that the most recent statement by Soviet “boss” Nikita Khrushchev “makes it clear that the Soviet Union is aligned with the Arab states.” He described the position of Britain as “clearly unfriendly to Israel,” and the U.S., while considerably and patently friendlier, as lacking in policy while “time is running short.”
Dr. Goldmann warned that “if the balance of strength between Israel and the Arab states” is not preserved by firm American action, “the extremists in Arab states, emboldened by their arms superiority may be induced to attempt to attack and destroy Israel, and as a consequence of frustration, alarm and despair, a frame of mind might develop among some in Israel towards fighting it out before the Arabs have established absolute and formidable superiority.” As of today, however, no responsible leader in Israel, and no one in the government of Israel, entertains the alternative of a preventive war which could only lead to catastrophe for all, “he stressed.”
The Jewish Agency leader announced that 16 major Jewish organizations have convened a conference in Washington for January 17-18 to consider the Middle East situation. “The security of Israel is intimately tied to the cause of the free world,” he asserted. Dr. Goldmann described as “the only alternative, the provision of U.S. arms to Israel to maintain the status quo in strength and American guarantees of the security and defense of Israel against aggression.”
URGES U.S. TO PROVIDE ARMS AND SECURITY PACT FOR ISRAEL
Dr. Goldmann said he found the state of mind in Israel tense, determined, but not desperate. “The leaders and the man in the street realize fully the gravity of Russia’s intrusion into the Middle East and the ominous implications of the arming of Egypt, and possibly other Arab states, by the Soviet bloc,” he stated. Should this situation remain unchecked and unaltered, it would destroy the balance of strength between Israel and the Arab states and present a war danger, he warned. He said that. “Israel, confident in the basic humanity and concern for peace in the Western world is still hopeful that the Western powers and primarily the U.S.A. will take firm measures to preserve the balance of strength and to guarantee the stability and security of the area of which Israel is an indigenous part.”
“Unfortunately,” he continued, “several months have passed since the Egyptian-Czechoslovak arms contract was signed. Arms have already been delivered and yet there is no evidence of a clear and affirmative policy by the Western powers. Britain has assumed a position that is clearly unfriendly to Israel, while the U.S., considerably and patently friendlier, has not yet determined what is policy should be in reaction to Russia’s intrusion in the Middle East and in order to secure peace in the region. Time is running short-that is my main impression of my visit to Israel.
“Our government cannot afford to lose more time before announcing a policy that would indicate to the Arabs that the U.S. will not stand by and see Israel destroyed and that would bolster the confidence and lessen the tensions of Israel.” Dr. Goldmann declared. “The only effective way in which Israel’s frustration and isolation can be alleviated, and in which the tension, mutual suspicions and fears which pervade the area since the Egyptian-Czechoslovak arms deal was announced, can be eliminated, is by providing Israel with defensive arms and guaranteeing its security by means of a treaty open to all friendly nations ready to avail themselves of such treaty.”
FEARS OUTCOME OF FRENCH ELECTIONS MAY AFFECT JEW IN NO. AFRICA
Dr. Goldmann also touched upon the outcome of the French Parliamentary elections this week. He expressed the fear that as a result of these elections the negotiations between France and the newly established Moroccan cabinet may not progress as speedily as expected. This, he said, may result in a resumption of violence in Morocco, which in turn may affect the Jewish population, as it did last year before quiet was restored in that country.
The Jewish Agency chairman said that 80,000 Moroccan Jews have so far registered for immigration to Israel and that more want to register because of growing economic difficulties in the country and uncertainty of the future for the Jews there. However, the Jewish Agency is not encouraging any further registration because it would take two years to bring out even those Jews already registered, unless more funds are raised urgently by American Jewry, through the United Jewish Appeal, to bring into Israel the maximum number of North African Jews in the shortest possible time.
“Unstable conditions in North Africa have made even more unbearable than ever the difficult position of large sections of North African Jewry that have for centuries lived in misery,” Dr. Goldmann stressed. “For tens of thousands of North African Jews their economic salvation and their redemption as useful humans lies in their emigration to Israel. The absorption of these Jews imposes heavy financial burdens on the economy of Israel. While we acknowledge and appreciate the assurances of Moroccan leaders that the Jewish population will be accorded full equality, we are painfully aware that for a large segment of these Jews there is little possibility of rehabilitation in North Africa. The Jewish community the world over and especially the American Jewish community will have to assume directly in the years ahead the responsibility for transferring them to Israel and help Israel in its efforts to accept them,” he stated.
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.
