Gov. Her Ter Wants Israel Included in Mid-east Defense Alliance

Expressing confidence in the stability and the future of the State of Israel, Governor Christian A. Herter of Massachusetts called today for the inclusion of Israel in a Middle East defense alliance.

The need for peace in that area, Governor Herter said, is imperative, He urged that the Arabs and Israelis meet at the conference table for “peaceful cooperation, for both development and defense.” which he declared is “the most effective way to strengthen the Middle East against Communist subversion and aggression.”

The governor also urged the Arab States to accept Israel as a partner in the development of the entire region and added that the shipment of arms by the United States to the area “is not the answer to the establishment of peaceful relations.”

Governor Herter was one of the principal speakers at the New England regional conference of the American Zionist Council. Held at the Bradford Hotel, it was attended by more than 500 Jewish leaders from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Among the other prominent speakers were Berl Locker, chairman of the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem, and Rabbi Irving Miller, chairman of the American Zionist Council, which consists of all the Zionist organizations in the United States.

Asserting that the creation of the State of Israel received the support of both political parties in the United States, Gov. Herter expressed the hope that it will always receive the support of both Republicans and Democrats. “Israel,” he said, “is here to stay, and only peace between the Arabs and the State of Israel will bring stability and lasting benefit to all the peoples of the Middle East.”

Emphasizing that the shipment of arms to the Middle East “is not the answer to the establishment of peaceful relations” between Israel and the Arab states, Mr, Herter added that “it is a source of deep regret that the Middle East has not yet been granted peace.”

LOCKER SAYS ISRAEL MUST BE WATCHFUL

Mr. Locker, who recently arrived in the United States, declared that Israel must be prepared for all contingencies so long as the Arab States refuse to recognize the need for peace and so long as they receive arms from the Western powers. He added that there are some individuals even in the Arab lands who would like peace with their neighbor. “But these persons and groups are afraid to speak out lest they incur the wrath of the mob, incited by the present rulers,” he said.

Rabbi Miller praised the United States for its opposition, in the Security Council, to the blockade of the Suez Canal by Egypt to Israel shipping. Adding, however, that Egypt and Israel both receive economic aid from this country, Rabbi Miller stated that the value of this aid is “completely negated, if one beneficiary, as in the case of Egypt, attempts to maintain a strenglehold on its neighbor’s lifeline with half the world.” What is required, he said, is not only a “verbal chastisement” of Egypt but a “constant, vigilant and dynamic American policy in the Middle East, working towards peaceful settlement of disputes.”

“Quite apart from the folly of supplying weapons of war to Egypt and other Arab States which continue to threaten renewed war against Israel, “Rabbi Miller said, “surely there is no logic in the provision of economic aid to countries which discriminate against their neighbors and make impossible the free flow of commerce across frontiers.”

At a workshop session which preceded the formal addresses, the delegates discussed vital Zionist problems as well as methods to combat the increase of anti-Israel, pro-Arab propaganda in this country. Rabbi Jerome Unger, executive director of the American Zionist Council, as well as the heads of various departments in the Council described its many activities, including its role in Jewish education and culture; its youth activities’ program; and organizational problems.