The present proposals voiced by Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba for Arab-Israel peace talks indicate an emerging realism in the Arab world toward recognition of Israel, Deputy Premier Abba Eban told the triennial convention of B’nai B’rith here last night.
He told the delegates that the doctrine of President Nasser of Egypt that Israel would disappear under unrelenting Arab pressures was being questioned by “new voices” in the Arab world, voices which he said were likely to grow.
Linking the survival of Jews outside of Israel with Israeli Jewry, he said that the solidarity of the world Jewish community in support of Israel was an important factor in assuring Israel’s security. He cited a number of other factors involved in Israel’s security and growth.
These, he said, included the commitment of the international community to Israel’s independence, the resistance of most nations to forcible changes in political and territorial structures, the revulsion against war, and the Israeli policy of containment and deterrence which depended less on population and size and more on technology.
He said the Arab realism about Israel was developing from the realization that in 17 years of Israel’s existence, the Arabs had failed to curtail Israel’s territory, to force a return of the Arab refugees to Israel, to prevent Israeli relations with most of the world and to prevent Israel’s national irrigation development project.
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