Foreign Minister Golda Meir declared here last night that Israel would defend itself against any attack or attempt to curtail its right to development and survival. Addressing the annual convention of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel, Mrs. Meir said:
“While nobody has the slightest doubt that the people of Israel have the greatest hope and ambition to live in peace with their neighbors and the people of the world, and while nobody really believes Israel has any ambition for territorial expansion, and while everyone knows that Israel is ready every minute to sign a peace agreement–everyone should know beyond any sign of doubt, that we, the Jewish nation, small in numbers, who waited for generations for the rebirth of the State, would do anything within our power to assure the survival of Israel.
Mrs. Meir referred to the debate in the Security Council over the Israeli action against the Syrian gun position and stressed that “it was the basic principle of every nation–small or big, rich or poor–to defend itself and to want to live.” This right, she said, and not the number of voting hands, is the moral rule.
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.
