Mrs. Meir Worried if Israel Can Stand Up to Political Pressures

Premier Golda Meir told a Labor Party youth assembly last night that she was worried if Israel had the fortitude to stand up to political pressures and not “lose in the political arena what was won on the battlefield.” Mrs. Meir did not elaborate on the causes of her concern although she appeared to be referring to recent developments. She said she never feared that Israel’s soldiers would abandon the battlefield “but of late I have begun to worry whether we have the same strength to insist on matters which are essential to our security.” Mrs. Meir added that “The question is whether there is indeed a readiness to stand firm in full knowledge of the factors at play, whether in our neighborhood or in far-off places.” She said that the Labor Party was sufficiently strong “not to go out and seek the unattainable.” On the other hand, she continued, “We must not allow ourselves to be trapped by the notion, accepted in a number of countries, that it was immaterial in this age of planes and missiles whether a border was five or ten kilometers away.”