Israel withdrew its request for a separate vote on the admission of the two Germanys to the United Nations yesterday in order to avoid possible serious embarrassment to the West, the Israeli delegation said in a statement issued here. The statement explained that Ambassador Yosef Tekoah told the General Assembly his country was “not pressing” for a separate vote because of objections by the 72 sponsors of a draft resolution for the simultaneous admission of the two German states by acclamation.
The sponsors feared that pressing the matter of a separate vote “might open up a Pandora box,” the Israeli delegation said. It said that the result might have been that more states would vote for the East German regime than for West Germany, “a development which is obviously undesirable as the objective of Israel’s move is to highlight the fact that it is East, and not West Germany that is unworthy of admission.”
Israel’s intention in requesting a separate vote was to place on record its specific objections to the admission of the East German Democratic Republic. According to informed sources here, Israel came under severe pressure, notably from the United States, to withdraw its request.
It was feared by the U.S. and other sponsors of the two Germanys “package” that votes for East Germany by the Arab and Soviet blocs and by many non-aligned nations, particularly the African states, would greatly outnumber the votes cast for the Bonn regime, the sources said Moreover, they pointed out that the two Germanys “package” was a major element in moves toward East-West detente.
TEKOAH CONTRASTS THE TWO GERMANYS
Addressing the General Assembly yesterday, Tekoah said that the wounds of the Nazi holocaust “have not yet all healed.” He declared that “by history, by law and by morality Germany as a whole bears responsibility for the holocaust. The Federal Republic of Germany has consistently recognized this heavy responsibility…. Throughout the years, the Federal Republic of Germany has tried to steer a course towards a new epoch in its international conduct and in its relations with the Jewish people.”
“At the same time, however,” Tekoah said, “Israel notes with regret and repugnance that the other German state has ignored and continues to ignore Germany’s historical responsibility for the holocaust and the moral obligations arising from it. It has compounded the gravity of this attitude by giving support and practical assistance to the campaign of violence and murder waged against Israel and the Jewish people by Arab terror organizations….”
The Government of Israel “has always favored the principle of universality of the United Nations,” Tekoah stated. “It has always welcomed and attached great importance to international detente….It cannot, however, pass in silence over the policy of the German Democratic. Republic.” Accordingly, Israel “supports the admission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations, but desires to place on record its opposition to the admission of the German Democratic Republic,” the Israeli envoy said.
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