Mrs. Roosevelt Backs Israel Refusal to Return Islands to Egypt

Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt expressed yesterday solidarity with Israel in the Jewish State’s concern lest the two small islands commanding the entrance to the Gulf of Akaba be returned to Egypt. Speaking at a luncheon sponsored by the American Christian Palestine Committee, Mrs. Roosevelt said that she felt that Israel’s only interest in the islands, which had been used to bar Israel shipping, was to prevent their being used for aggressive purposes.

Mrs. Roosevelt suggested that the United States “come to an agreement with the Soviet Union with respect to the Middle East,” adding that she thought the U. S. should “make some sort of gesture” to the USSR. Specifically, she suggested that “each side could to undertake not to sell arms to any nation in the Middle East. They could agree not to initiate military action against any nation in the area.”