The Society for the Prevention of World War III today proposed a United Nations effort to establish peace in the Middle East based on the first step of an Eisenhower Administration bid for “unity of action in the Middle East with France and England.
In a strong denunciation of the policies of President Nasser of Egypt, the Society asserted that the Israeli Sinai campaign disclosed “all of the hidden ramifications of Nasser’s conspiracy” against the west, a conspiracy which “constituted nothing less than a major threat to world peace and security. “
“The denial of Israel’s sovereign rights through unlawful economic blockade and nets of physical terror and attack run counter to the UN Charter and violate resolutions adopted by the Security Council, ” the Society declared. It added the warning that in terms of its own security, the West can no longer sit by and accept as a matter of course Nasser’s defiance on this question. “
The view of President Eisenhower that “free and innocent passage” through the Gulf of Akaba for Israeli commerce was “in accordance with international law” was hailed as “a hopeful sign.” The Society stated. “As a logical sequence to the President’s position, support of all nations’ rights of passage through the Suez Canal, including Israel, must be unequivocal.”
The other points listed in the program were: A fundamental Israeli-Arab settlement of outstanding differences through peaceful negotiation. Insistence that all “hate-inciting propaganda in the Middle East against the West cease and that Arab leaders publicly recognize the rights of the Israeli people to live a normal economic life with all of her neighbors. A United Nations program to help the distressed Arab refugees and to contribute to the development of the resources of all the Middle Eastern states.
Asserting it had “no illusions with regard to the complexity and difficulties attending the situation” in the area, the Society stated that “if the actions of the United States are based on these principles of justice, we shall have safeguarded our own interests while, at the same time, give new faith and confidence in the United Nations as maris best hope for world peace. “
The Society stressed that the Arab refugee problem “would never have developed in its present form had not the Arab leaders made war on Israel in the first place, and having done so, induced the Arabs living in Israeli territory to leave. ” “Fortunately,” the Society added, “public opinion is getting to know these facts and this is reflected in new efforts by the United Nations as well as by our own representatives at the UN to solve this problem in a concrete and just manner for all concerned. “
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
