Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion criticized today a recent report by Senator J, W. Fulbright, Arkansas Democrat, on the status of the Arab: refugees. The Prime Minister made his comment in replying to a motion offered by the right-wing Herut for a full debate in the Knesset on the report. Senator Fulbright visited both Cairo and Jerusalem on a Middle East tour last May.
The Prime Minister denied the statement that press censorship prevailed both in Israel and the United Arab Republic, asserting that the press in Israel had full and uncensored freedom. He challenged the Senator’s figure of 1, 000, 000 Arab refugees. He said that statistics proved about 500, 000 Arabs had lived within the area which now comprises the Jewish State. He added that 100, 000 of these Arabs stayed put when the Arab invasion of Israel was launched and that another 30,000 Arabs were subsequently repatriated in Israel’s family re-union project.
The Prime Minister said that Senator Fulbright, the chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations committee, must “surely” be aware that the Arab states were exploiting the refugees’ plight for political advantage which the Prime Minister called “a severe crime against humanity.” Commenting that the Senator could not be held responsible to the Knesset for his remarks, he asked that the motion, introduced by Herut’s Arye Altman, be removed from the agenda. The motion was rejected.
REPORT COMMUNIST CENSURE OF BEN-GURION’S COMMUNIST VISIT
The Knesset also rejected a Communist-sponsored motion to debate the Prime Minister’s recent visit to West European countries and Israel’s bid to join the European Common Market.Communist deputy Shmuel Mikunis called the bid “an alightment of Israel with imperialism.”
The Prime Minister replied it would be below the dignity of Knesset to argue with Mikunis.He said his visit was aimed at strengthening Israel’s security and establishing closer trade and scientific cooperation with European countries and to explain Israel’s “modest” contribution toward the welfare of the Asian and African nations attaining statehood. He called such Israeli efforts mutually beneficial.
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.
