Thirty-five members of Congress–six Senators and 29 Representatives–joined this week-end in expressing “grave concern” over proposals to inaugurate major programs of military assistance to the Arab states in the Middle East. In a joint bi-partisan letter to Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, they requested an early meeting with him “to consult and discuss this vital matter.”
The signers of the letter emphasized their continued support of programs aimed at economic assistance to all the peoples of the Middle East “as a means of strengthening its defences against Communist infiltration and aggression. “However, pointing to the fact that the Arab states continue in a “technical state of war” and “persist in policies of economic boycott and blockade against Israel,” the Congressmen expressed fear that “stability and unity in this critical and strategic Near East area maybe jeopardized rather than advanced by inaugurating major programs of military assistance to any of the Near East Arab states.”
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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.
