Foreign Minister Abba Eban called on university people and intellectuals today to be more active on the Israeli political scene. He said it was pointless for them to “chant their comments on events like a Greek chorus” without trying to influence those events. Eban addressed a luncheon of the Hebrew University Board of Governors.
He said he detected winds of change in Israeli society. Young people no longer accept Zionist theories without question, he said. There is a trend to pragmatism and realism. There is also a great deal of criticism which contrasted sharply with the huge achievements of the State in its 25 years, Eban added.
The Foreign Minister said no moral or practical problems would arise in the administered territories as long as the Israeli occupation was thought of as temporary and transient. On the contrary, he said, Israel has seized the opportunities of the past five years for trade and human contacts. He rejected any blueprint which envisioned the absorption of one million Arabs into Israel without full rights of citizenship.
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