Israel’s Prime Minister Levi Eshkol today completed his 12-day tour of the United States as guest of President Lyndon B. Johnson which marked the first official U.S. Government invitation to an Israeli Premier, He expressed satisfaction on the visit’s accomplishments. He left with Mrs. Eshkol via E1 A1 for Switzerland where they will rest briefly.
The Israeli Prime Minister considered one of the main achievements to be an agreement with President Johnson for periodic high-level meetings to discuss emerging problems, it was learned. Such meetings will enable Israel to discuss security matters in a realistic manner and compare notes.
Great importance was attached here to the personal contacts establishes between Prime Minister Eshkol and President Johnson. It is understood that the President asked Mr. Eshkol to continue personal consultations with him on regional developments. This is interpreted to mean that a long-range relationship is facilitated instead of a crisis-to-crisis response. Importance was also attached to President Johnson’s emphasis on protection of the territorial integrity of the Middle Eastern states and characterization of Israel as a state seeking peace. The President’s phrasing of these thoughts directly to the Prime Minister, publicly and through the communique, gave added weight.
Another point in Israeli thinking at the conclusion of the visit was the ultimate responsibility, of the United States working out with the Soviet Union an agreement to limit the arms flow to the Middle East and create the conditions of peaceful coexistence in that region. A current move is not anticipated but at same stage the United States must act in concert with the Russians to stabilize the Near East, according to Israeli thought.
Mr. Eshkol obtained a general impression of high regard for Israel in the United States; In contacts with the American Jewish community he found the distinction becoming blurred between Zionist and non-Zionist elements. He found that he could without major controversy make open calls for aliyah in a way which would have been unacceptable 10 years ago.
ESHKOL AWARDED YESHIVA UNIVERSITY DEGREE; SPEAKS ON U. S. JEWRY
The destiny of the relationship between Israel and other Jewish communities, as well as the future of Jewish life in the United States, hinge upon whether Jewish spiritual continuity can be sustained in circumstances of freedom, Mr. Eshkol said in an address at Yeshiva University where he was awarded an honorary degree.
Mr. Eshkol stated that in his travels on his American tour he was gratified to hear of the broadening Jewish educational framework. He thought “it would be a tragedy indeed if side by side with the rebirth of Israel, assimilation should erode Jewish consciousness in the diaspora.” He emphasized that “the only effective answer is more and more Jewish education.”
In American Jewish education, he said, more emphasis should be placed on the link with Israel. The cultural exchange between Israel and American Jewry must be extended, he stressed. He pointed out “the significance of those young American Jews who decide to join with us in our spiritual adventure.”
Reviewing the religious situation in Israel, Mr. Eshkol stressed “the desire of the overwhelming majority of our population not to allow extremist courses one way or the other to rip apart the basic spiritual unity of our people.” He commended Yeshiva University and voiced faith in the spiritual unity of the Jewish people and in “the great, destiny which awaits us in this new epoch in Jewish history.”
The Israel Prime Minister also spoke at the Hebrew Union College here, commending its leaders for establishing an institution in Jerusalem and broadening exchange programs. He said that “the reinforcement of Israel’s links with Diaspora Jewry will be our growing concern.” He stressed the need for aliyah, stating that he was pleased to note that more young people are coming to Israel from the English and Spanish speaking countries and in 1963 the total number of such immigrants was close to 10, 000.
At the Jewish Theological Seminary, Premier Eshkol was presented with a facsimile of a letter written by Dr. Theodore Herzl in 1901 in which the “father of political Zionism” gives his views on the role of the American Jewish Community. The letter was written to one O, Mason of Providence, Rhode Island.
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