Mrs. Golda Meir, Israel’s Foreign Minister, declared last night on her return from the United States that “I am not of the opinion that there is room for disappointment here on American tactics at the United Nations concerning the Arab refugees.”
She was referring to the successful efforts of the United States delegation at the annual debate before the UN General Assembly on the issue to win approval of a resolution opposed by Israel. The resolution included a reference to a paragraph in a 1948 Assembly resolution dealing with reparation or compensation of the Arab refugees. Israel had opposed the proposal because it made no reference to a third alternative, resettlement of the refugees in the Arab countries.
Mrs. Meir also attended the funeral of the late President Kennedy and later met president Lyndon Johnson. Replying to questions at the airport, Mrs. Meir repeated President Shazar’s statement that there was no reason to suppose that the change in the American Presidency would lead to any change in American relations with Israel.
She also said that she had no doubt that President Johnson was a friend of Israel and understood its problems. She added that the new President “has given proof of his attitude on various occasions inside and outside the Senate.”
Commenting on the Assembly debate, Mrs. Meir said that she must first report to the Government and Parliament, but, she declared, there was no retreat from Israel’s stand in the position announced at the UN of favoring direct talks with the Arabs on the refugee issue separately.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
