Responsibility for the prolongation of the uneasy armistice situation in the Middle East was placed squarely on the shoulders of the Arab states today by Herbert Morrison, British Labor Party leader and Foreign Secretary in the last Labor Government, who is currently visiting Israel.
Addressing a meeting called by the Mapai, Israel’s Labor Party, Mr. Morrison declared that the prolonged truce period prevailing between Israel and its neighbors, who refuse to sit down to peace negotiations, is a matter of concern not only to the countries of this region but to the whole world. “I think your government is not responsible for such a situation, but that the responsibility rests on the neighboring countries’ governments,” Mr. Morrison said.
The Labor leader also praised Israel’s achievements, which he said were admired by the whole world, and asserted that it would be a “tragedy” if “you failed to consolidate the state.” He called upon labor to increase its productivity so as to increase the country’s exports, stressing that Israel like England must “export or die.” He said that when the people of Israel made sacrifices similar to those achieved during the war of liberation Israel would reach economic independence and would contribute toward fostering world peace.
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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.
