Three North African heads of state, including Egypt’s President Nasser, met in Bizerte this weekend to stress efforts toward “Arab unity.” For two of them, this meant doing something against Israel.
Nasser set the tone by calling for unity against Israel, “one of the last sequels of colonialism.” He was seconded by President Ahmed Ben Bella. of Algeria, who called Israel “colonialism imposed by the West” and said “all means should be used to end this “colonialism.”
However, host President Habib Bourguiba said nothing about either Israel or Socialism, another favorite topic of Nasser and Ben Bella. He stressed instead step-by-step unity, first of North Africa, then of the entire Arab world. The occasion was the anniversary of the withdrawal of French troops from Tunisia. King Hassan II of Morocco sent a representative, but refused to come because Nasser was there.
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.