Richard Crossman, a leading member of the Labor Party’s House of Commons majority, and Lord President of the Privy Council, told members of the Pioneer Women here last night that “Israel’s existence has reduced anti-Semitism everywhere.” The old forms of anti-Jewish activity, he said, now seem remote in England. He was among the principal speakers at the annual dinner of the women’s Labor Zionist group. Other speakers included Isaiah Anug, Israel Minister to Britain; and Ian Mikardo, also a Labor member of Parliament.
According to Mr. Crossman, the problem of “dual loyalties,” which once troubled sections of diaspora Jewry, is now one which faces actually only the Israeli Jews. England and Israel, Mr. Crossman said, now exhibit many similarities, “even in their relations with the United States, which are different from those of other nations.”
Turning to Arab-Israel relations, the British author-statesman said: “Bevin destroyed the possibility of peaceful relations between Jews and Arabs. Now Israel is justified in looking at the present Labor Government with a certain amount of suspicion. Only if Israel is strong can peace be maintained in the Middle East, and therefore steady assistance to Israel will keep the peace in that region.”
Mr. Anug told the women’s group that “perhaps Israel’s most difficult problem lies inside rather than on her frontiers. The economic crisis is a crisis of growth. Nevertheless, it is a serious crisis. But it is comforting to see that the Jewish people as a whole consider the State of Israel as their collective responsibility.”
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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.
