Israel is ready to permit Moslem residents to make the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion said today during a visit at the Garqa Elgarbiya village.
He spoke at a gathering of Arab notables and citizens and was presented with a symbolic key to the village and made an honorary citizen. It was his first visit to an Arab town since Israel was proclaimed and the start of a tour of minorities districts.
The entire populace of the village turned out for his arrival and the Prime Minister told them that the Israel Government would make every effort to effect Arab family reunions and would assure each such rejoined family enough land for a viable farming unit.
The Prime Minister said he regretted that border conditions barred the end of military government in the area but he promised the maximum relaxations possible and gave assurances that the “necessary restrictions” would not interfere with the daily lives of the villagers. He told the villagers that both Israel and the Arab states needed peace for prosperity and development for their mutual good as well as for regional progress.
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.
