This year’s first full-scale Arab attack against Israel in the current General Assembly was delivered here today by Ahmad Shukairy, chairman of the Saudi Arabian delegation who, for several years now, has been the self-anointed principal anti-Israel spokesman on behalf of the Arab bloc.
The Shukairy attack singled out Britain and the United States as prime supporters of Israel. In hitting at the United States, he included directly or through sarcasm everybody from former President Harry S. Truman to President John F. Kennedy, from Secretary of State Dean Rusk to Adlai E. Stevenson, chairman of the American delegation here. Assailing U.S. help to Israel, he said:
“If we are to stockpile all the resolutions passed by the United States in support of Israel, and if we are to add up the grand total of United States economic and military assistance extended to Israel–the conclusion is dreadful. One would then be led to believe that this country is not the United States, it is Greater Israel.”
Unlike his attitude in past Assemblies, when he sought specific actions against Israel ranging from outlawing of Jewish immigration to dismemberment of the Jewish State and its “return to the Arab Nation,” Mr. Shukairy this time asked the United Nations and the United States only “to leave Israel on its own.”
What he demanded was that no further help of any kind be given to Israel, either by the Western Powers or by the United Nations, while the Arab states “do everything in our power to help Palestine regain its unity, Jerusalem to redeem its integrity, and the people to rebuild their national entity. We shall do everything in our power to make peace reign again in the land of peace. Peace based on justice is our ultimate goal in Palestine.”
Addressing himself to the African and Asian countries in terms of hostility to colonialism and imperialism, Mr. Shukairy told them: “Israel is the embodiment of imperialism, the symbol of colonialism, the fruition of capitalism, the founder of racialism, and finally Israel is the author of anti-Semitism.”
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
