Israel’s Foreign Minister Golda Meir told an Israel bond audience of 500 tonight that Israel will continue to withstand all Arab efforts to block its economic development.
Addressing Jewish business, religious and community leaders who attended a testimonial dinner in her honor, Mrs. Meir said: “We do not acquiesce, we do not accept the blocking of the Suez Canal. We will go on demanding our rights and demonstrating the rights that we have through that international waterway. It is not Mr. Nasser’s private river.”
“The objective of the Arab blockade.” Mrs. Meir continued, “could not be implemented because of Eilat. If we cannot send our cargoes through the Suez Canal, we can send them through the Straits of Eilat.” Citing the difference between Israel and its neighbors, the Foreign Minister said:
“Our neighbors are accumulating tanks and planes and big guns instead of giving their people the means for a more decent life and a higher standard of living; instead of giving their children schools and hospitals. We in Israel hate to spend a dollar on arms and military equipment. But as long as we are encircled by states and leaders of states who have vowed to destroy us and drive us into the sea, we must be prepared–and thank God we are.”
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