Although pleased with its military gains in the recent clash with Egypt, Israel does not seek victories, Moshe Shapira, Israel’s Minister for Religious Affairs and Social Welfare, declared here today. Dr. Shapira arrived in the United States to help in the Israel Bond campaign.
“Our one and only desire is to obtain an assurance from Egypt and other Arab states that they will end their hostile acts against us,” the Israel Cabinet member said. “We wish them to abandon their plans for the destruction of Israel and to understand that it is senseless to shed blood when the will to live is so universal. We should all have the desire to beat our swords into plowshares.”
“It is tragic that the Egyptians have chosen to revenge themselves on Israel by the persecution of innocent and defenseless Jews residing in Egypt,” Dr. Shapira continued “Thousands of Jews have been kerned in concentration camps, many others have been expelled and, today, Jews in Egypt are being deprived of their livelihood by sequestration and confiscation of their property, by dismissal from their employment and by being forbidden to practice their professions.
“We hope that the nations of the world have learned from recent experience that the Arabs cannot be persuaded to stop their campaign of hatred and their plans for destruction by conciliation and appeasement. Israel claims the same right as an other nation to live at peace and enjoy the fruits of her labors. If this plea were to be reiterated by the nations of the world, the Arab states, and particularly Egypt, would be brought to understand that they must abandon the ways of war and follow the path of peace and mutual respect,” Dr. Shapira concluded.
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