A program designed to ease tensions in the Middle East, “where the peace of the world hangs in the balance,” was proposed today by former Senator Herbert H. Lehman, general chairman of the American Committee for Israel’s Tenth Anniversary Celebration. He called for:
1. A guarantee by the West and the United Nations “of the national security and territorial integrity of all the nations” of the Middle East “against either direct or indirect aggression.”
2. A prompt and constructive response on the part of the West to “just Arab demands for economic and social justice” which “should not be ascribed to Communist intrigue.”
3. Recognition of Israel “as one of the major centers of stability and strength in the Middle East, which has served as a containing wall for the explosive forces which have erupted in Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.”
4. Pending a disarmament agreement for the entire area, the “supplying of arms to Israel to balance those which have been acquired by Arab forces hostile to Israel.”
Sen. Lehman’s statement, cabled from Europe, where he is travelling, was part of a report summarizing the past year’s activities of the Tenth Anniversary Committee, now being brought to a formal close.
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