An Israeli supply convoy heading for the Jewish settlements in the Negev were last night shelled by Egyptian batteries, it was learned here today from reliable sources. No other details were available.
The supply route is entirely in Jewish hands, unlike the situation which existed in the first truce when the Jews had to depend on U.N. assistance to transport supplies and replacements to the desert colonies. The Egyptian supply route from Majdal to Faluja, on the other hand, has been cut by the Jews. Until last night both parties respected the truce on the basis of a “gentleman’s agreement” since there are no U.N. observers en the scene.
Meanwhile, no U.N. observers have yet arrived in Tel Aviv. A report from Haifa stated that a U.N. plans yesterday brought 33 American, French and Belgian observers to the port city. Eight of the 33 are scheduled to remain in Haifa, while the others will proceed to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Gaza, Amman and Beirut, Another 300 observers are expected to arrive on an American warship sometime today.
STATE COUNCIL NEMES FIVE JUDGES TO ISRAEL’S SUPREME COURT
The Israeli State Council today elected five members to Israeli’s supreme Judicial body. They are; Dr. Moshe Smoira, who was born in Koenigsburg, Germany, in 1888, and who will serve as chief justice; Itzhak Olshan, a native of Kovno. Russia, who was born in 1895; Rabbi Simch, Assaf, who was born in Luban, Russia, in 1889; Dr, Moshe Dantelbaum, a native of Oracow, born in 1889; and Shneur Zalman Cheshin, born in Jerusalem, in 1903.
Dr. Smoira has served as a lecturer in law in Jerusalem, while Rabbi Assaf has taught rabbinic literature at the Hebrew University. Dr. Dunkelbaum is a prominent Tel Aviv attorney, Cheshin served as a district Judge during the British regime and Olshan has practiced law in Jerusalem.
It is expected that the Israeli supreme court will be enlarged at a later date to a total of seven judges who will be elected for life after they are nominated and approved by a majority of the steering committee in the State Council.
Addressing a session of the Council last night, Premier David Ben Gurion hinted that the Israeli Government night be willing to negotiate directly with the Arab states for a peaceful settlement, and added that the former negative attitude Israel to the U.N. mediator’s suggestions remains not only unchanged, but is stiffened by our important military successes of the past ten days. The truce is new for an unlimited period,” he said, but I am not sure that fighting will not be resumed.
“Ahead of us is a difficult period which should not make us forget to maintain our fullest military strength in case war breaks out and we are compelled to bring about a final decision by force of arms. Now, with our power strengthened, we must utilize every opportunity without the mediator’s interference to find in direct contact a common language with our Arab neighbors.
ALLIANCE WITH ISRAEL WILL SAVE ARABS FROM EXPLOITATION, BEN GURION SAYS
“An alliance with Israel will free the Arab peoples from enslavement and exploitation by foreign powers, while only in cooperation with the Arabs will peace prevail in Israel, “he stated. Asserting that “the four-week trace made possible our victories of the past ten days, and this truce, too, will be used to strengthen our power,” Ban Gurion declared: “I am not prepared to disclose the Jewish Army’s preparations for this historic battle, but I am prepared to disclose the nature of one secret weapon–the spirit of our troops and their readiness for great sacrifice. We must exploit every opportunity to find a common language with the Arab peoples not on the strength of our victories, but on the basis of great opportunities which will arise from Semitic cooperation as free and sovereign peoples.”
In conclusion, the Israeli Premier said: “The Jews’ readiness to accept the truce order was dictated by the Jewish people’s ambition to invest in peace no less effort than in the prosecution of the war. We will not miss any opportunity to contact the Arabs directly to achieve the great historic aim which will come from the cooperation of all Semitic peoples.”
The remainder of the State Council session last night was devoted to a long debate on the appointment of two new committees of the Council–a foreign affairs group and a security body. Ben Gurion insisted that neither was needed, asserting that the present governmental bodies are sufficient to deal with the problems.
At the end of the debate, which frequently cut across party lines, the government score was one victory and one defeat: the Council ordered its steering committee to report back with a plan for the composition of a foreign affairs committee; but the 37-member body upheld Ben Gurion’s contention that all that was necessary in connection with the security situation was to overhaul the present body charged with such functions and include among its members representatives of parties not now represented.
The General Zionist Party of Israel, which is holding its first conference since the establishment of the Jewish state, today adopted a resolution calling for the proclamation of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The parley earlier heard Daniel Auster, head of the Jerusalem Jewish municipality, strongly criticize the lack of cooperation among the various authorities in Jewish Jerusalem. He also attacked the Israeli Government’s attitude towards the eventual disposition of the city.
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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.
