French Premier Guy Mollet today said that Israel “can count upon the aid of France” to ensure that her right is respected. He stressed “the warm friendship uniting Israel and France” in a message to the national convention of the Women’s Division of the American Jewish Congress now taking place here.
The message, which was read to the 650 delegates at the convention by French Ambassador M. Herve Alphand, said: “It is important for all the free peoples caring for justice and democracy to show their solidarity with Israel. It is important that world opinion realize that the very principles of international law are involved in the settlement of the problems facing Israel, be it that of the free passage of its ships through the Suez Canal, the free navigation in the Straits of Tiran and in the Gulf of Akaba, or, even more so, of the general peace settlement in the Near East to which it is entitled.”
The convention was also addressed by Israel Ambassador Abba Eban; Dr. Israel Goldstein, president of the American Jewish Congress; and Senator Jacob K. Javits. Ambassador Alphand, addressing the delegates, said that he is “pleased to think that France has contributed both in Washington and at the United Nations to the defense of Israel’s rights” in the Suez and Akaba zones.
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