Fresh water resources and the negotiation of a peace treaty were seen by Sen. Wayne Morse, Oregon Democrat, as two essential requirements of Israel now. Addressing 1,000 delegates at the opening session of the Founding Convention of the Federated Zionist Organization of Canada, he reported on a visit to Israel made during an Asian trip at the behest of President Johnson.
He spoke hopefully about the desalination program he had seen in Israel during his visit. He said that he reported to President Johnson that the desalination agreement with Israel “is progressing very satisfactorily and soundly as far as scientific advances are concerned and its administrative efficiency is concerned.”
The Senator advised the U.S. Government to join with whatever governments are willing to help subsidize this Israeli breakthrough. He spoke on the two desalination plants he saw at Eilat, and said that the Israeli advisors told him the operation was not on a sound basis as the sweet water extracted from salt water costs Israel the equivalent of 30 cents per 1,000 gallons. “My observation,” he added “was that if I lived in that desert area, I would consider the price remarkably cheap.”
REVEALS ISRAEL’S MILITARY PROBLEMS; URGES CANADIAN JEWISH AID
Sen. Morse dealt with the question of military aid to Mideast states. He repeated a conversation held with Golda Meir, whom he described as “the greatest stateswoman in the world.” Mrs. Meir, responding to the reassurance given by some members of the Senator’s delegation that Israel was safe from invasion because the Israel Government had a standing pledge that the United States would come to Israel’s defense if Israel was attacked, stated that the Israeli Government was concerned as to whether or not there would be an Israel left to defend, in view of the time it takes to put such a defense in operation.
“In support of her observations, she pointed out that the nearest concentration of air military jet power was seven minutes from Tel Aviv, the next concentration 13 minutes away and the third and largest was in the Cairo area, 22 minutes away,” Sen. Morse said.
“This was why it is so necessary for organizations such as the one I am addressing tonight to give consideration to their obligations of tradition, morality and humanity to help keep Israel’s economy strong as it moves ever faster and faster toward economic self-sufficiency,” he stated.
The Senator spoke against military aid given by the United States to some of the Arab governments which he said is used to keep juntas and cliques in power, not for purposes of self-determination but to suppress it. “I will continue,” he said, “to support military aid for constructive governments to protect themselves against coups from the right and the left but that is not what happens to military aid given to the various Middle Eastern states.”
He denounced the tendency to defend nuclear aid to Arab nations by saying that otherwise they would apply to Russia. This, he said, was a total non-sequitur and in his view his Government should never yield to such blackmail which serves only the cause of nuclear proliferation. He made a strong plea for free universal high school education in Israel, “Every boy and girl is entitled as of right to go to high school. In the end it doesn’t cost a cent as it is an investment in brain power many times repaid.”
ISRAEL ENVOY SEES NO ARAB-ISRAEL PEACE IN NEAR FUTURE
Other speakers were Judah Shapiro, New York educator, and Gershon Avner, Israeli Ambassador to Canada. Mr. Avner held forth no realistic hope for Arab-Israel peace in the foreseeable future. “There is no formula we offer that the Arabs can accept and the Arabs have no formula we can accept. Conflict, therefore, will continue and with it heavy expenditure on defense for a number of years to come.”
Mr. Avner told the delegates that the”restructuring of Israel’s economy is one of your tasks. Israelis will soon be approaching industrialists abroad to use Israel-made spare parts and unless the Federated Zionist Organization of Canada is going to tackle these needs and stop bickering, my feeling is it will be bypassed and other groups will be the main vehicle for Israel’s aid.”
Pro-Arab pickets paraded outside the hotel with anti-Israel placards calling Zionism a “ruthless ideology.” There were about 50 to 75 picketers.
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