The Franco-Israeli “fraternity of arms born in 1956” during the Sinai campaign “will never cease,” Raymond Schmitlin, president of the Gaullist UNR party, told an Israel Independence Day rally here last night. Israel Ambassador Walter Eytan and French Chief Rabbi Jacob Kaplan also addressed the meeting.
The former French Cabinet Minister told a packed meeting, sponsored by the French Zionist Federation, that world Jewry and Israel should understand that Franco-Israeli ties were “too solid and deep to be changed. ” “Can you imagine President de Gaulle giving in to threats from President Nasser of Egypt and demands that France stop helping Israel?” he asked.
“On the contrary, “he told the assemblage, “France will continue to help Israel and to work for its association with the European Common Market, an association which would help Israel’s economic stability and security. ” He emphasized that while Israel needs France, “France also needs Israel, whose ally it is.”
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