Premier David Ben Gurion, of Israel, expressed his country’s current “moderate” views, which are shared by the majority of Israelis, in his address to the Mapai Party convention, the Jerusalem correspondent of The Times of London said today.
Mr. Ben Gurion, the correspondent reported in his analysis of the Prime Minister’s address, “was more concerned with economic and social conditions in his country, rather than with security matters. His sharp reference to the Suez Canal crisis, as it affects Israel, were perhaps no more than could be expected at this time, and after a period during which his government has been surprisingly restrained on the subject.”
The Israel leader, according to the analysis in The Times, “is not an economist and has a reputation of being impatient with most professional economist.” Just the same, the correspondent pointed out, “Mr. Ben Gurion made it clear that he has come around to the side of those — including Finance Minister Lexi Eshkol — who believe that the Israelis are living beyond their means, working fewer hours per day, and producing far less than they should produce.”
The Mapai Party, leading component of the Israel government coalition, must now choose, according to the analysis, “between a demagogic electoral policy and a courageous national decision.” The party will risk losing votes to the two Marxist parties, Mapam and Achdut Avodah, unless it follows a courageous policy, the correspondent asserted.
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.
