President de Gaulle asserted here last night, in his traditional year-end address to the nation, that, on the strength of his past policies, he would ultimately be able to bring peace to the Middle East as well as to Vietnam.
Without mentioning either Israel or the United States by name, but referring to his policies of opposing Israel’s role in the Middle East and the American role in Southeast Asia, he declared that the warnings he had issued to both Israel and the U.S.A. had proved justified by events. All sides are now coming around to his views, he stated, and “all signs indicate, therefore, that we shall be in a position to contribute most effectively to international solutions.”
In his address to the nation, which was televised, Gen. de Gaulle avoided all the harsh terms he had previously employed, either against Israel and the Jews or against the U.S. role regarding Vietnam. His castigation of Israel and Jews in general, at a press conference here last November, had aroused much world criticism as well as the opposition of many Frenchmen in public life.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
