Canada’s Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson and Israel’s Prime Minister Levi Eshkol agreed here today that “all concerned” in the Middle East crisis must cooperate fully with the peace-making efforts being undertaken in the Middle East by Ambassador Gunnar V. Jarring, the special United Nations emissary active in the region now.
A spokesman for the Canadian Ministry of External Affairs issued, this afternoon, the following communique: “The Prime Ministers of Israel and Canada discussed the special task of U.N. Ambassador Gunnar Jarring and the vital need for all concerned to cooperate with him for the success of his difficult and all important mission of bringing the parties together in a spirit of the Security Council’s resolution.”
The communique was issued on the conclusion of the talks here between the two Prime Ministers. Their conversations, with the participation of Canada’s Minister of External Affairs, Paul Martin, “concerned questions of topical interest, especially the situation in the Middle East,” the Ministry spokesman said, and also covered “various aspects of Canadian-Israel relations.”
Mr. Eshkol arrived in Ottawa this morning and later lunched with Mr. Pearson and members of his Cabinet at the Prime Minister’s residence Mr. Eshkol was accompanied at his meeting with Mr. Pearson by Dr. Yaacov Herzog, director-general of the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem and Aryeh Eshel, Israel’s Ambassador to Canada. Also present at the talks, in addition to Mr. Martin, were Under-secretary for External Affairs Cadiux, and Assistant Under-secretary for Middle East Affairs, Ralph Collins. The talks lasted an hour and a half.
COMMUNIQUE STRESSES FRIENDLY RELATIONS; ESHKOL THANKS CANADA FOR ITS EFFORTS
The communique noted that this was Prime Minister Eshkol’s first visit to Canada and “provided the Israeli Prime Minister with an opportunity to outline the position of his Government with respect to a settlement of the Middle East question in accordance with the principles of the Security Council’s November 22, 1967, resolution” on the Middle East. The statement went on to say that Mr. Eshkol expressed appreciation to the Canadian Government for “its continued efforts to reduce tensions throughout the world, and especially for its valued contributions to United Nations efforts for peace in the Middle East.”
“In recognizing the friendly relations which have existed between Canada and Israel, Mr. Pearson and Mr. Eshkol reaffirmed the desire of both governments to maintain these ties,” the statement said, and expressed satisfaction that “the visit of the Prime Minister (of Israel) and the formal exchange of views that have taken place have made a useful contribution to these ends.”
As Prime Minister Eshkol neared the end of his brief visit to Canada, Canadian circles indicated that, in their view, there are no immediate prospects for direct negotiations between Israel and the Arab states, but that every avenue of contact must be explored. The Canadian sources further indicated their belief that the Vietnam question is the core of international tensions today, and that a solution of the Vietnam crisis will make a solution of the Middle East crisis easier.
It was learned that Mr. Eshkol and his aides analyzed the trends in the Middle East today, and emphasized to Canadian leaders that positive trends in that region can be strengthened only by the maintenance of Israel’s military capacity there.
Mr. and Mrs. Eshkol were received for tea this afternoon by Governor General Rowland Michener of Canada and Mrs. Michener at the Governor’s Mansion. Later, Mr. Eshkol was scheduled to hold a press conference and broadcast a television interview for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. This evening he held a reception for his hosts, and attended a reception given in his honor by the Jewish community of Ottawa.
STRESSES THEMES OF JEWISH IMMIGRATION, RETURN OF THOSE WHO LEFT ISRAEL
The themes of aliyah — movement of Jews to Israel for settlement — and the return of the “yordim” — Israelis who left their homeland — have been stressed by Mr. Eshkol in the course of his visit to Canada.
On a number of occasions in the course of his visit, he stressed the need to fight assimilation throughout the world and increase the settlement of Jews in Israel. In Toronto, he voiced an appeal to former Israelis, calling “on those thousands who have left Israel trying to find their destiny in other countries including Canada,” to come back.
He told thousands of Israelis who left Israel; “Israel is awaiting you. I call on the parents, and even more, on the children — return to your homeland. We shall greet you with open arms.” He asserted: “Let it not, God forbid, be said in the future that the Jewish people in our time created a state and lost a people.”
In various speeches in Canada, he emphasized that Jews, especially young people, should come to Israel “from the countries of affluence” because of what Israel is doing to rehabilitate the Jewish people.
Mr. Eshkol was, on the whole, well received in Canada but some newspaper editorials urged Israel to make concessions to the Arabs. In Toronto, a group of less than 100 — mainly university students and Arabs — demonstrated against Mr. Eshkol when he addressed a public meeting at Beit Zedek Synagogue.
ADDRESSES BOND DINNER, HADASSAH-WIZO IN MONTREAL; CALLS FOR FIGHT AGAINST ASSIMILATION
Addressing 500 persons at an Israel Bond dinner held in Montreal yesterday, Mr. Eshkol traced the 20-year history of hostilities between the Arab and the Jews, emphasizing that Israel must depend on it-
Later yesterday at a Montreal gathering of some 10,000 representing Hadassah WIZO(Women’s International Zionist Organization), Mr. Eshkol was presented with 50 Youth Aliyah scholarships. The Prime Minister challenged his audience to fight assimilation throughout the world, to “assure the peace and progress of 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.
