A strong Israel, equipped with qualitative parity in modern arms, is the one real guarantee of peace in the Middle East, Yigal Allon, who rose to the rank of Brigadier General in Israel’s Army during the War of Independence in 1948 and now is a member of Israel’s Parliament, told a press conference at the national headquarters of the United Jewish Appeal this week-end.
Gen. Allon, acclaimed by his countrymen as the “Liberator of the Negev, “arrived in New York to start a month-long speaking tour of key cities on behalf of the UJA’s 1956 nationwide campaign. A second generation Israeli, he grew up in a settlement which had many Arab neighbors and he is fluent in Arabic. During his youth he often served as a mediator in blood-feuds between Arab families.
“Continuation of the present arms situation is explosively dangerous, “Gen Allon warned. ‘Modern offensive armaments are going to the dictatorial Arab powers while the democracy of Israel is denied weapons of equivalent quality for self-protection. This is building up a grave disparity in military force. If the military imbalance is allowed to develop further, it will embolden an aggressor to strike.”
“There are statesmen. “he added, “who tell as that they are not giving us arms in order to prevent an arms race. But in fact, as everyone can see for himself, the race continues, with only one horse allowed in the field. That kind of race can end only one way The arming of the Arabs only, makes the renewal of large-scale war almost inevitable.”
Gen All on said that Israel was under great pressure to accept “a peace based on blackmail–the surrender of the Negev, “Israel’s people, be declared, will never give up the Negev or make any other territorial sacrifice. “The Negev is our Texas. It is the future of Israel. Without the Negev, Israel would be no more than a city-state and I think we can agree that the days of the city-state are passed. Such a state would not exist one month.”
Gen All on made it clear, however, that his present mission in the United States had nothing to do with Israel’s military or political problems. “I am here on a humanitarian mission,” he said. “Israel’s people will do whatever they must to defend themselves. But we are also concerned with the problem of a new mass immigration of Jewish refugees frontiers North Africa. It is beyond our financial means to properly absorb these thousands of newcomers. We are calling upon the American Jewish community to make available through the UJA the urgently needed funds that can help provide homes, agricultural training and constructive lives for the immigrants we are welcoming.”
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.
