Arab-Israel peace would be much nearer if the United States issued a security guarantee of Israeli territory similar to the U.S. guarantee extended to Turkey, Israel Premier David Ben Guion said in an interview broadcast yesterday by the Columbia Broadcasting System over national television and radio programs.
Asked whether Israel would accept “open skies” inspection of the Arab-Israeli frontiers, Mr. Ben Guion replied: “We are going further than that. We would be in favor of a complete disarmament of all peoples in the Middle East. Although we are the smallest people among them, we would not mind that.” He also referred to the letter which was addressed to Soviet Premier Khrushchev (reported in the JTA Bulletin yesterday) without mentioning the Soviet leader.
Asked how long Israel expects to draw on the financial aid from Jews abroad, the Israel Premier said it is a “privilege” for Jews outside Israel to aid Israel and that he believes they will do so as long as necessary. Taxed with a purported “loss of Jewish consciousness among Israeli children, ” he replied, they lose consciousness of being unequal to others, but if there is a Jewish consciousness it is in Israel that it is growing.
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.
