Israel Government officials abstained today from comment on President Eisenhower’s Middle East stabilization plan, but a number of political observers stressed the importance to Israel of the statement that the United States would continue to feel free to help nations opposing aggression.
These observers also commented favorably on President Eisenhower’s proposal to establish monitoring of Middle East broadcasts. They said such monitoring would bring to the attention of the world the incessant Arab broadcasts threatening Israel’s very existence.
Criticism was expressed of the fact that the President’s speech, particularly the sections dealing with economic aid, seemed to give the impression that the Middle East was entirely an Arab area, devoid of Turks, Pakistanis, Persians and Israelis.
The right-wing Herut party announced plans today to seek an emergency session of the Knesset, which is now in recess, for a discussion of political issues arising from the present Middle East crisis.
Herut leaders said there should be a Knesset session to debate the Anglo-American over flights, and Israel’s attitude toward the various proposals for the Middle East stemming from the emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The Herut asked leaders of the other parties to join with them to detain the 30 signatures required for such a Knesset meeting. The General Zionists and the Religious Bloc parties said they would consider the Herut demand.
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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.