The Democratic Party, at its national convention here, today pledged itself to assist Israel and the Arab countries economically, urging at the same time, the sale of American arms to Israel to redress the “dangerous imbalance of arms” in the Middle East created by Egypt’s acquisition of armaments from Communist countries.
The pledge was incorporated in the party platform presented to the convention by the Platform Committee. The convention disapproved strongly of the present U.S. Government policy tolerating discrimination against American Jews by Arab countries. The Democrats said they would not countenance any treaty with any government in which such discrimination is sanctioned.
The full text of the plank, as presented by the Platform Committee, reads as follows:
“The Democratic Party stands for the maintenance of peace in the Middle East, which is essential for the well-being and progress of all its peoples. We will urge Israel and the Arab states to settle their differences by peaceful means, and to maintain the sanctity of the Holy Places and permit free access to them.
“We will assist Israel to build a sound and viable economy for her people, so that she may fulfill her humanitarian mission of providing shelter and sanctuary for her homeless Jewish refugees, while strengthening her national development.
“We will assist the Arab states to develop their economic resources and raise the living standard of their people. The plight of the Arab refugees commands our continuing sympathy and concern. We will assist in carrying out large-scale projects for their resettlement in countries where there is room and opportunity for them.
“We support the principle of free access to the Suez Canal under suitable international auspices. The present policies of the Eisenhower Administration in the Middle East are unnecessarily increasing the risk that war will break out in this area.
“To prevent war, to assure peace, we will faithfully carry out our country’s pledge under the Tripartite Declaration of 1950 to oppose the use or threat of force and to take such action as may be necessary, in the interests of peace, both within and outside the United Nations to prevent any violation of the frontiers or armistice lines.
“The Democratic Party will act to redress the dangerous imbalance of arms in the area created by the shipment of Communist arms to Egypt, by selling or supplying defensive weapons to Israel, and will take such steps, including security guarantees, as may be required to deter aggression and war in the area.
“We oppose, as contrary to American principles, the practice of any government which discriminates against American citizens on grounds of race or religion. We will not countenance any arrangement or treaty with any government which by its terms or in its practical application would sanction such practices.”
(See page 2 for a statement by 10 Jewish organizations presented to the Platform Committee of the Republican National Convention in San Francisco. Also for testimony by Jewish Republican leaders Harold Riegelman of New York and John W. Dinkelspiel of San Francisco.)
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