Shimon Peres, Israel’s Deputy Defense Minister, declare here last night that “an Ara attack would not endanger the existence of Israel but could danger world peace.”
He spoke at a dinner of the Joint Palestine Appeal, at which 600,000 pounds sterling ($1,680,000) was raised. He declared that Jews, as Jews, were opposed to war because war was against everything for which Jews-stood by their ethics in Israel and elsewhere.
He denied assertions that Israel needed more space and might be tempted to expand the expense of its Arab neighbors. He cited the high living standards of heavily populated Belgium and said that by those standards, there was room in Israel for some 9,000,000 people. He said it all depended on what use a nation made of its territory.
He insisted that the supply of water was not an insoluble problem and that apart from pipeline distribution, desalination of sea water might be a final solution eventually and there was plenty of water in the sea.
The sacredness of human life to Jews and the preciousness of Jewish lives after Hitler holocaust made Israel abhor war, he said. However, he added, as long as Israel neighbors remained hostile, Israel had no choice but to maintain a high degree of preparedness, however great the cost. He added that an Arab attack now would not impar Israel’s existence because Israel’s defense forces could defeat the Arabs.
Anthony Greenwood, chairman of the Labor Party, told the dinner that he hoped “the lesson of the Mancroft affair has been learned. Those firms that have ignored the Anti boycott trade with both sides happily. In Jordan, there are Imperial Chemical Industry advertisements on display though the ICI has close business connections with Israels.” said that a strong Israel contributed to world peace by preventing war in the Middle East.
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.
