Premier David Ben Gurion fervently believes that Israel can absorb 3, 000, 000 Jews from East Europe, he said this week-end, but expressed regret that “I cannot see this yet–it is very far off.”
In a wide-ranging discussion of issues connected with the new large-scale immigration Israel is receiving, the Prime Minister rejected Arab contentions that immigration would force Israel to seek territorial expansion. He noted that in Egypt alone, the population increased by a half-million annually. He likewise repudiated an Arab assertion that Communist agents might be among the immigrants.
He expressed the belief that the Rumanian Government had decided to permit the exit of the Jews for the humanitarian reason of reunion of families. “We consider all Jews one family, “he said, adding that Israel was ready to receive the entire Jewish community of Rumania. Israel, he said, relied on world Jewry to finance the absorption and he hoped that aid would be adequate.
(In Moscow, the official newspaper Izvestia declared this week-end that the Soviet Government would not alienate its Arab friends by permitting emigration of Jews to Israel. It condemned Zionism as “a reactionary movement.”
(In Jerusalem, a Foreign Ministry official said today that the immigration was an “internal affair” of this country and expressed the hope that Arab interventions would be “rebuffed” by the governments to whom the Arabs addressed themselves.)’
PEACE WITH ARABS POSSIBLE “WITHIN ONE HOUR’
Turning to the question of Arab-Israel relations, Mr. Ben Gurion reiterated his belief that peace was possible “within one hour” whenever the Arabs were ready. He expressed hope that the Arab leaders would recognize that peace with Israel was in their own interests. Egypt, as the strongest Arab country, would have to be the first among them to make a peace move, he said.
Mr. Ben Gurion disclosed that Israel was ready to resume participation in the Israel-Jordan Mixed Armistice Commission but repeated that Israel considered the Egyptian commission as non-existent because the Egyptian armistice agreement was “null and void.”
Three factors that would favor an Israeli-Arab peace, Mr. Ben Gurion said, would be the development of democratic governments in the Arab countries, the realization by Arabs that they could not destroy Israel and, finally, a lessening of world tensions.
Mr. Ben Gurion welcomed the announcement of independence for Cyprus and said this was an example of how long-standing hostility could be settled by the disputants sitting down together to negotiate. He expressed the hope that if the United Nations did the same for the Arab-Israel dispute, there might be similar results.
He said Cyprus independence meant for Israel “the positive fact” of having “in the neighborhood” a peaceful country with which Israel will be able to trade, give aid, and be aided.
In reply to a question as to whether he planned to visit the United States, Mr. Ben Gurion said that he did not think he would be able to make such a visit while he was Prime Minister.
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