Administration Policy on Israel is Attacked on Senate Floor

Three Democratic members took the Senate floor today to condemn the Eisenhower Administration policies on Israel and the Middle East and to charge that there was a wide gap between the Administration’s policy declarations and its practice.

Senator Ernest Gruening of Alaska told the Senate that the Administration’s pledges to Israel “are not worth the paper on which they are written. ” He charged that the Administration’s appeasement of the United Arab Republic’s blockade and boycott tactics revealed “a discrepancy between words and deeds. ” This “disparity, ” he said, was seen in a recent statement on Near Eastern issues by Vice President Nixon contained in a letter to B’nai B’rith.

Senator Gruening said the “Eisenhower-Nixon Administration” was aware of transgressions by Nasser against Israel including Suez Canal restrictions but nevertheless loaned the UAR $50, 000, 000 for canal improvements.

Senator Stuart Symington, Missouri Democrat, deplored the “ambiguous policy” of “the present administration toward freedom of the seas. ” He said that while the Administration avowedly supports navigation rights, it actually “refuses to take the practical steps necessary to assure free access for all nations to the sea lanes of the world. “

Senator Paul H. Douglas, Illinois Democrat, charged the Administration and the State Department with “pro-Arab bias. ” He said State Department officials had a “pronouncedly pro-Arab bias. “

Although the Senate had gone on record against the anti-Jewish policies of the Arab states, Senator Douglas said, “it is now apparent that the Foreign Service and this Administration have no intention whatsoever of following the recommendations made by the Senate. ” He added that “we have the right to withhold aid from countries violating international law. “