“There is a growing feeling among the people in the state of Israel that our State Department is again collaborating with Mr. Bevin,” Dr, Abba Hillel Silver, chairman, of the American section of the World Zionist Organization, declared today at a, press conference following his return from Israel where be played a leading role in the deliberations of the Zionist Actions Committee.
“It is clear to them that the key to peace in Palestine is still in the hands of the United States,” he reported. “Only positive action on the part of this government, such as de jure recognition and a loan, will persuade the Arab states that this government is very sincere and earnest about its intentions with regard to the state of Israel and will persuade them to sit down and negotiate.”
Emphasizing that there is “a growing concern” as to the U.S. delegation’s attitude on Israel at the coming session of the United Nations in Paris, Dr. Silver said: “The people in Israel feel that our State Department has put every obstacle in the way of the full recognition of Israel. It has blocked a United States loan to the new state. It has interfered with the free movement of refugees to Israel from the American occupation zones on the basis of an unwarranted interpretation of the terms of the truce. The American Government has thus placed itself in line with the British Government, which, contrary to all law, has kept 13,000 Jewish refugees of military age in detention camps in Cyprus, and has prohibited them from emigrating to Israel.”
Dr. Silver added that the present hope of Bevin, now that a military victory over Israel is no longer to be expected, is that a prolonged truce will prove such an economic strain on the country that Israel will be prepared to accept a peace settlement agreeable to Great Britain. “The people in Israel wonder whether the American Government is falling in line with this new pressure politics of Mr. Bevin. They wonder whether President Truman is fully aware of all that is going on and whether his Administration approves of it all,” he declared.
Speaking about the general spirit among the people of Israel, Dr. Silver said the found their spirit at a high pitch of confidence. “The military victories which had been achieved have greatly buoyed them up,” he stated. “They succeeded in defending their state by force of arms, and they feel confident that they will continue to do so in the future. They are strong and their strength is increasing. I found then restive under the truce. They welcomed the truce in the hope that it would lead to a speedy peace settlement. But their direct approach to the Arab states for peace negotiations was rebuffed, As a result grave skepticism as to the value of the truce has spread through the entire population.
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