Associate Justice Arthur J. Goldberg, of the U.S. Supreme Court, today proclaimed that he is a Zionist, called on American not to “feel restrained” in their support for Israel, and urged the U.S. Government to implement pledges to safeguard Israel’ security by helping redress the arms balance.
Justice Goldberg, speaking at a dinner meeting of the sixth annual Policy Conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, reaffirmed his Zionism and likened it to that of two of his predecessors, the late Justices Brandeis and Frankfurter. He said he did understand “the reasoning of those who question the support which Americans and other free peoples, both Jewish and non-Jewish, extend to Israel and its people.” This was received with applause by delegates who saw it as an answer to anti-Zionist elements.
He said he was a Zionist because of his loyalty “to the spiritual heritage of the Jewish people.” He quoted Justice Brandeis’ statement that “there is no inconsistency between loyalty to American and loyalty to Jewry.” He also recalled that Brandeis asserted that “every American Jew who aids in advancing Jewish settlement in Palestine will likewise be a better man and a better American for doing so.”
Justice Goldberg said peace in the Near East will not be served by allowing “those whose security is imperiled to be the victim of an imbalance of arms.” Until peace can be achieved, he said, the United States must intervene against aggression in the area.
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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.
