Israel will achieve peace with the Arab world in the next decade, or at least know that peace is much closer, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion told members of the United Jewish Appeal Young Leadership Mission today.
He said he hoped this goal would be achieved – if not because of good will on the part of the Arabs, then as a result of moral pressure by the world’s emerging new independent states, particularly those in Africa.
The Prime Minister listed three other main goals which he said he hoped would be preached in the next decade. One was an increase of Israel’s population by one million; the second was the development of the Negev, including the creation of 15 more development towns; and the third was the lifting of the level of education for Israelis.
He said, in reply to questions, that he did not anticipate any mass immigration of American Jews in the immediate future. He added, however, an appeal to young American Jews to strengthen their ties with Israel by learning the Bible in its original language, studying Jewish history, and by person-to-person contacts through visits to Israel.
Members of the mission also were received by President Ben-Zvi, and were guests at a luncheon given by Mrs. Golda Meir, Israel’s Foreign Minister, They visited the JDC Malben Institutions and flew to the Negev for a study of that part of Israel and the port of Eilat.
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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.
