Sen, Stevenson Says U.S. Has No Reason to Fear Outcome of Israel’s Elections

Sen. Adlai Stevenson (D. Ill.) said last night there is no reason to fear the results of Israel’s elections or to doubt America’s “irrevocable” commitment to the Jewish State. Addressing a meeting of the American Jewish Congress’ policy-making Notional Governing Council, Stevenson said he saw no reason to believe the election results would harm U.S.-Israel relations.

“The government of Israel will be confronted by inescapable realities and also by a chance for peace which could pass,” he declared. “It would assign to that government the most irrational bent to conclude from the statements of one man, often out of context, that a new Israel government might reject its only ally and the solemn international undertakings of its predecessor governments for a policy that implies war and invites a violent end to our struggle to right the terrible wrongs and make a reality of Israel.”

Stevenson said that “Nothing warrants such fear. The American commitment to Israel is irrevocable. It depends not on the steadfastness of America–that is not in doubt–it depends on the steadfastness of Israel and that is not in doubt either.” He stressed that “two centuries of experience with self-government at home should enable us to accept changes abroad with the equanimity with which we accept them here.” He noted that in a democratic government if a mistake was made it can be unmade. “But it is premature at least to conclude that a mistake was made in the recent (Israeli) election.”