Premier Yitzhak Rabin pledged here that Israel would balance the legitimate demands of Jews from the Arab countries against the demands of Arab refugees from Israel when negotiations get underway for a peace settlement between Israel and the Arab states. Compensation for the lost property of Jews forced to flee Arab countries will be one of Israel’s peace conditions, the Premier told a meeting at the Tel Aviv Museum attended by many Israelis from Arab countries.
But Rabin was unable to predict when negotiations would start. He said there was a long road ahead fraught with many difficulties and challenges. He noted the plight of Jews in Syria and expressed hope that efforts on their behalf would be fruitful and “the day may not be far off when we shall see them among us.”
Knesset Speaker Israel Yeshayahu, addressing the same meeting, said it had been a serious error for the Israeli government in the past not to have focussed attention on the exchange of populations that occurred between Israel and the Arab states.
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