President Johnson declined at his press conference this weekend to indicate whether the United States would provide arms to Israel. He was asked by one of the correspondents present at the conference the following question:
“The West German arms supply to Israel instituted with United States support has been cut off. In view of this would the United States be willing to supply arms to Israel to maintain a balance of power?”
President Johnson replied: “We don’t discuss iffy questions like that. We will give consideration to the problems and the needs of the various nations and countries, and while we have them under consideration we’ll try to evaluate them. If a decision is reached in any area with any country, why, we will carry it out. But we don’t think that it’s desirable to speculate or engage in any prophesies that may or may not work out.”
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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.