By a vote of 35 to 6 with 11 abstentions, the U.N. Ad Hoc Political Committee tonight invited the representative of Israel to be head before the committee. After the vote, committee chairman Carlos Romulo announced that Aubrey S. Eban, Israeli representative, was in the room but preferred to be heard tomorrow morning.
The six negative votes were supplied “by the Arab League states. However, among the abstentions were the East European bloc of nations who, by abstaining, |registered their protest against the whole procedure of debating the application. All favor unconditional admission of Israel.
In taking the decision, the committee adopted an amended proposal of El Salvador inviting the Government of Israel to send a representative “to answer such questions and to make such statements” as the committee might deem desirable.
In the preamble the resolution specifies in particular the attitude of Israel on the Jerusalem and refugee issues and, by Denmark’s request, the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the assassination of Count Folke Bernadotte.
On a motion by Denmark the Committee adjourned debate on proposals to invite religious denominations to be heard on Jerusalem until after the Israeli Government had made known its views on the question. The U.S., Britain and Australia expressed the opinion that the Committee dispense with the views of religious denominations on the issue.
Earlier, Iraq withdrew her resolution to refer the Israeli membership back to the Security Council. It was pointed out at the Ad Hoc Political Committee session, however, that the Iraqi delegation reserves the right to reintroduce the resolution at any time.
The Iraqi action followed a statement this morning by British representative Sir Terrence Shone who insisted that the validity of the Security Council’s recommendation that Israel be admitted to membership was unchallengeable. As the representative of the only one of the permanent members of the Council to abstain on the issue, Sir Terrence “pointed out by agreement among the Big Five an abstention on such a matter could not be interpreted as a veto.
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