President Nixon and other top U.S. officials have reached the conclusion that the best guarantee of peace in the Middle East is a strong Israel, Premier Golda Meir told the final session of the B’nai B’rith Board of Governors meeting here. It was her first public appearance since returning from a 13-day visit to the U.S. last Sunday. (See P. 3 for separate story on U.S. planes for Israel.)
The Premier said that the Suez cease-fire, now in its third year, was not achieved because the Arabs decided against war but because the Egyptians knew another war but would mean another defeat. They understand that Israel is strong enough to defend itself, Mrs. Meir said, adding that in order to remain strong, “We are asking for more planes, tanks and guns.”
She said she hoped those “deterrents to war” would be forthcoming. Mrs. Meir said Israel’s future borders must be “defensible borders so that either attacks are deterred or we have as few casualties as possible, should they occur.” The Premier received a prolonged standing ovation. She was presented with the B’nai B’rith Presidents Award by David Blumberg, international president of B’nai B’rith.
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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.
