A national testimonial committee to pay tribute to Israel Ambassador Abba Eban has been established in Washington, with Vice President Richard M. Nixon, Chief Justice Earl Warren, ex-Presidents Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman, and Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn among the 200 prominent Americans who have joined the group.
Formation of the national committee was announced here by former Sen. Herbert H. Lehman, honorary chairman, and Sen. Jacob K. Javits, chairman of the group. The testimonial committee has been organized as a farewell tribute to Mr. Eban. He is leaving his ambassadorial post in this country and returning to Israel at the end of May to take part in Israeli politics.
The committee is organizing two major farewell dinners, one to be held in Washington, and the other at the United Nations in New York. Mr. Eban has left Washington on a farewell tour that will take him to 15 major U.S. cities. He is scheduled to address the State Legislatures of Massachusetts and Colorado, and a number of university groups.
In announcing the formation of the committee, Senators Lehman and Javits said, in a joint statement, that they had taken the initiative in setting up the national committee because of the impact that Ambassador Eban has had upon American understanding of Israel, the Middle East and world events generally, and because of our own deep respect and affection for him, now shared by so many Americans.”
“During his tenure of eight years as Ambassador of Israel in Washington and more than ten years as its permanent representative to the United Nations,” the statement declared, “Ambassador Eban’s contribution to American-Israel relations and to international comity and diplomacy in the United Nations has been of historic proportions. By his brilliant articulation of the tradition of his people, Ambassador Eben has become a truly memorable figure in hundreds of American communities, as well as in the diplomatic world and in the council of nations.”
Commenting on the formation of the committee formed to honor him, Mr. Eben said; “The committee contains a rare aggregation of eminent Americans whose friendship I have enjoyed and cherished during my mission here. Apart from the personal satisfaction which I feel toward the gesture, I regard this primarily as an impressive tribute to the people of Israel. It is a striking manifestation of friendship at all levels of communion and contact between our two peoples.”
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