Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Zionist Organization, warned today that the relative quiet in the Middle East, particularly on the Israel-Arab borders was unlikely to continue long.
Dr. Goldmann made the prediction in an address summing up general debate at the current session of the Zionist Actions Committee, in which he asserted that the present “static stage” in the international situation was nearing an end and unsettled problems were due for new discussion.
He said the attempts at restoration of good relations between King Hussein of Jordan and President Nasser of the United Arab Republic represented a danger to Israel.He cited as evidence the recent extremist attitude taken by Jordan on the matter of Israel’s customary inclusion in its Independence Day parade on April 20 of weapons in which Jordan forced a meeting of the Security Council.
He also said that Israel’s position in the United Nations had deteriorated as indicated by the vote on the resolution on the Arab refugees. These developments, he said, obliged the Zionist organization to be prepared to support Israel’s interests in these various areas.
Discussing Israel’s relations with non-Israeli Jews, he stressed the immense sympathy of the Jewish people for Israel but added there had developed two negative factors. He said one was the mistaken feeling that Israel had solved all of its economic problems and the other the “unsavory impression” created abroad by “several events in Israel’s internal politics. ” This was understood to be a reference to Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion’s fight against Histadrut secretary-general Pinhas Lavon.
Behind the scenes efforts to reach agreement among the parties on the composition of the new executive of the Jewish Agency continued during the morning session of the Actions Committee.The standing committee failed to bring a solution to the impasse over parties over distribution of some key portfolios, particularly on the issue of the New York chairman of the executive.
The General Zionist faction headed by Dr. Israel Goldstein and Mrs.Rose Halprin was reported to have demanded that when former Prime Minister Moshe Sharett takes office as the now chairman, he should reaffirm his stand that he should not appoint as New York chairman a member of the faction led by Dr. Emanuel Neumann.The Goldstein-Halprin group contended the Neumann faction was the smaller in General Zionism and that it already had the presidency of the American Zionist Council.
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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.
