Neumann Warns Against “exaggerated Optimism” over Present Israeli Situation

“The greatest Ganger confronting the Zionist ##se at the moment is undue complacency and exaggerated optimism regarding the out### of the political and military struggles which are still in progress,” Dr. Emanuel ##mann, president of the Zionist Organization of America, told a press conference ## today upon his return from Israel.

Lauding the Army of Israel as a “magnificent fighting force” and paying high ?bute to the statesmanship of the Government of Israel, Dr. Neumann said: “It is ## too evident that the enemies of the now-born state are making new and concerted sports to rob the Jewish people of the fruit of their labor and sacrifice by wring## from Israel political and terricrial concessions.” He expressed the fear that ##se efforts will come to a head during the U.N. session in Faris and charged U.N. ##iator, Count Folke Bernadotte, with lending himself to those “maneuvers.”Declaring that the indefinite truce in Palestine “represents a new strategy## the enemies of Israel to bring her to her knees by slow attrition,” Dr. Neumann ##nted out that the Government of Israel is, as a result of the indefinite truce, expelled to keep all available manpower mobilized and all industries engaged in war production. “This means a gradual sapping of the economic strength of the nation and steady draining of its resources.”

Indicating that the Israeli Government is not in a position to tolerate such truce indefinitely, the Z.O.A. president insisted on the withdrawal of all invading Arab forces from Palestinian soil. “Otherwise Israel must be driven by necessity to ##minate the truce by fighting it out–now,” he said. He emphasized that the policy of the United States remains “a factor of supreme importance” in the Israeli situation.