The entry of the Soviet Union into the Middle East creates a fundamentally new situation for Israel, Arthur Lourie, Israeli Ambassador to Canada and a member of its delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, declared here tonight. The Arab-Israel dispute, Ambassador Lourie pointed out, “is only one of the underlying and basic issues which have determined and will determine political developments in our region.”
Mr Lourie spoke at the four-day 43rd national convention of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America. More than 2,500 delegates and guests representing the organization’s 315,000 members are in attendance.
The Ambassador warned that “an Israel restricted in its capacity to defend itself means instability and is a standing temptation to aggression.” In terms of Arab views of American policy it means ambiguity where there should be certainty.
“For Israel itself, since physical survival must come before everything else, it means the disproportionate diversion of resources needed for its health and growth to the demands of military preparedness. Above all it means the postponement of peace to some still remoter time.”
In a message to the conference, President Eisenhower declared:
“Your program is an expression of the noblest sentiments of mankind, the desire to give unselfishly for the welfare of our neighbors. In today’s interdependent world, by helping people of all faiths and creeds develop their full capabilities and assume helpful roles as members of a free society, Hadassah adds strength to the foundations of peace. In the activities of your devoted and well informed membership in the American heritage is advanced and the success of your convention is assured.”
Dr. Miriam Freund, president of Hadassah, in a keynote address, accused Soviet Communist leader Nikita Khrushchev of “double talk” in dealing with the conditions of Jews in the USSR. She scored the publication in the Ukraine, where over half of the USSR’s three million Jews live, as an indication that despite Mr. Khrushchev’s insistence there is no Jewish problem in the USSR.
It was reported at the convention that during the past year Hadassah raised $9,750,000 for its Israeli network of medical and welfare agencies, bringing the 45 year total to over $1.30 million.
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.
