The American Government’s new policy of granting military materiel to Egypt was criticized sharply here today by Rabbi Irving Miller, chairman of the American Zionist Council, which represents eight country wide Zionist organizations with a total membership of 750,000. That Washington policy, he declared, has resulted in “profoundly shaking the precarious balance of military power in the Middle East” at a time when Egypt “continues to threaten a renewal of war against Israel.”
The veteran Zionist leader appealed to the President and Secretary of State Dulles “to throw the full weight of America’s influence behind constructive and statesmanlike efforts to bring peace to the Middle East,” asserting that it was “not yet too late.”
Rabbi Miller called on both Britain and the United States to obtain from Egypt “an affirmative guaranteee” that the Suez Canal area, to be taken over soon by Egypt, will not become “a springboard for fresh Egyptian adventures against Israel and the general security of the Middle East.” He criticized Western diplomatic and military thinking which relies on Egypt as the “defender” of the Middle East and Africa against possible aggression. “It is sheer military folly,” he said, “to believe that Egypt can be defended without Israel.”
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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.
