“The majority of Arabs and Jews have a sincere desire for peace and a deep-rooted feeling of neighborliness,” said Rev. Stephane Valiquette, educational director of the Canadian Jesuit Bureau in Montreal, who recently returned from a lengthy tour of the Middle East.
“In Israel,” he said, “I found people who were healthily optimistic, under severe food rationing and strict financial control, but happy to take it, proud of their achievements, facing a gigantic task ahead, all the while surrounded by menacing neighbors. Yet through the sacrifices of the present generation, the dream of a homeland for the wandering Jew will come true. They are a peace-loving people, calling for security. This venture is bound to succeed because it has been undertaken by Jews, a people long used to hardship and with a pioneering spirit.”
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.
