Secretary of State Dulles was called upon today to place solution of the Suez Canal controversy within the framework of long range objectives designed to achieve peace in the Middle East. The appeal was made by Irving M. Engel, president of the American Jewish Committee, at a meeting with the Secretary of State. Within this framework, Mr. Engel urged a solution of the Suez Canal dispute which would insure free navigation of the canal to all nations without exception.
Mr. Engel also suggested that despite the Suez Canal crisis, the United States reiterate its interest in objectives that would insure the peaceful development and security of the Middle East. In this connection, Mr. Engel called upon Mr. Dulles to “publicly reaffirm the determined resolution of the United States to safeguard Israel’s sovereignty and to oppose all acts that threaten that sovereignty.” Such a declaration, Mr. Engel said, would offset any attempts by both Arab and Israeli extremists to exploit the present tension in the Middle East.
In addition to the Suez Canal crisis and general aspects of Middle East peace, Mr. Engel discussed with the Secretary violations by Arab governments of the rights of American citizens of the Jewish faith and interference by Arab diplomats in the internal affairs of this country. A documented brief detailing the multiple infringements upon the rights of American Jews by Arab nations and an extensive study including a series of comprehensive, long-range recommendations for solving Middle East problems were presented to Mr. Dulles.
Mr. Engel also discussed Arab propaganda in the United States which, he said, is harmful to development of peaceful relations between this country and Middle East nations. He urged Mr. Dulles to caution foreign diplomatic representatives in the United States against engaging in propaganda activities which tend to create divisiveness in American life by pitting one American group against another. He made a distinction between such divisive propaganda and an honest difference of views on American foreign policy.
In discussing the multiple infringements of the rights of American Jews by Arab nations, Mr. Engel stated that particularly in the light of the present Suez Canal emergency, it is important for the United States to take steps to rectify the grave injustices perpetrated by certain Arab countries and to eliminate violations of American citizenship rights.
Mr. Engel emphasized the concern of the American Jewish Committee in “long-range equitable solutions” to insure peace, stability and prosperity in the Middle East. However, he recognized that these goalie, held both by interested organizations and by the United States, can be thwarted by any Middle East country that refuses to cooperate. He said that violations of international agreements, such as those involving the free passage to any nation through the Suez Canal, clearly interpose such obstacles.
Jacob Blaustein, honorary president of the American Jewish Committee, had a long conference at the State Department today with George V. Allen, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, his deputy secretary William M. Rountree, and Raymond A, Hare in a general review of the Middle East situation, including the arms matter and the Suez Canal problem. Mr. Rountree will shortly succeed Mr. Allen in his post; Mr. Hare is succeeding Mr. Henry A. Byroade as American Ambassador to Egypt.
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