Israel Minister Yaacov Herzogtoday conferred at the State Department on the implications of the Iraqi situation for Israel.
United States officials were in agreement today that the Iraqi revolt could easily have extensive repercussions in other Middle East countries. They avoided speculation on how Israel might be affected, except to state that a change is sure to come in the present Arab-Israel situation.
The Premier of Iraq’s new revolutionary military junta was identified here as a diehard anti-Israeli, Gen. Abdul Kerim Kassem, who commanded an Iraqi brigade in Palestine in 1948. Troops under his command were accused of atrocities against Jews. Gen. Kassem a relatively little known military man, was identified also as a leftist and admirer of President Nasser of the United Arab Republic.
Demands emerged in the Senate today for United Nations Intervention in Iraq to put down the revolt. Sen. Mike Mansfield, a Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for United Nations action on Iraq “as soon as possible. ” He said he hoped the possibility of dispatching a United Nations emergency police force is “immediately considered.”
Sen. Jacob K. Javits, New York Republican, said that the events In Iraq emphasize “the critical importance of Israel’s independence as the most reliable free world bastion in the Near East. ” He stressed that the conflagration in Iraq calls for reaffirmation of the Eisenhower Doctrine and the development of alternative oil routes to those controlled by the United Arab Republic. He called for reaffirmation of American determination to stand by commitments to Near Eastern states.
A measure of blame for the Iraqi revolt was placed on Israel and on the Arab nations today by Republican Senator Ralph Flanders of Vermont. He said: “Israel must cease recruiting Jews from areas where they are not in want or oppressed. ” He attributed blame for the present state of affairs in the Middle East to policies under which he said millions of U.S. dollars can be sent to Israel. He referred also to what he described as Arab fear of Israeli expansionism.
Looking to the Arab world, he blamed the Arabs for refusing to recognize the existence of Israel. He stressed In general that “we should have the active cooperation of Israel” in finding a Middle East solution.
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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.
