A program to “help save, sustain and rebuild the lives of 750,000 Jewish men, women and children who need our help the world over,” was described here last night at the Hotel Coronado to 500 principal leaders of the United Jewish Appeal Western Region by Max M. Fisher, UJA general chairman.
At the same time U. S. Senator Jacob K. Javits of New York called on President Lyndon B. Johnson “to assume the personal direction of our policy in the Middle East with respect to Israel,” to avert an on-rushing crisis in that area. The Senator stated;
“A new storm and danger to the peace is whipping up in the Middle East and its center is Israel. We are entering a period of grave stress and tension which has progressed materially as the UAR’s President Nasser has become ever more emboldened by alleged diplomatic successes in dealing with the West, as Arab capacity for military action multiplies and as the Arab states foresee within two years the completion of their projects to drain away Israel’s lifeblood–water.”
Declaring that “the situation requires nothing less than fundamental U. S. decisions which can only be made by the President,” Senator Javits urged the addition of a number of measures to maintain peace, including the following:
“1. A determination to make good on the fundamental U. S. policy toward Israel as stated by Secretary of State Dulles: “The preservation of the State of Israel is what I regard as one of the essential goals of U. S. foreign policy.” For this purpose, if West Germany persists in the cancelation of its arms deliveries to Israel and if President Nasser persists in the mliitary organization of the Arab world against Israel, the United States must see that a defense imbalance is not created even if this means supplying the needed arms to Israel.”
“2. Notice that U. S. aid to the UAR–and if need be to Jordan–will be terminated if bellicose moves continue.”
“3. Use of our good offices with the German Federal Republic to persuade it to continue to play a constructive role in the maintenance of Middle East peace by completing its arms commitment to Israel.”
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.
