A bi-partisan group of nine Senators introduced today a resolution calling for a tripartite mutual defense agreement with Israel and any other Near Eastern state “willing to join and carry out its obligations under such an agreement.”
The resolution called on President Kennedy to initiate negotiations, in concert with the United Kingdom and France, to perfect a defensive accord to defend Israel against attack.
The resolution was sponsored in the Senate by Senators Jacob Javits and Kenneth Keating, New York Republicans; Thomas Kuchel, California Republican; John Pastore, Rhode Island Democrat; Winston Prouty, Vermont Democrat; Leverett Salton stall, Massachusetts Republican, and Hugh Scott, Pennsylvania Republican; Clifford Case, New Jersey Republican; and Paul H. Douglas, Illinois Democrat.
The same resolution was co-sponsored simultaneously in the House of Representatives by Rep. James Roosevelt, California Democrat, and Seymour Halpern, New York Republican.
The resolution would “provide such military and other assistance and cooperation as may be necessary to protect the territorial integrity and political independence of any nation in the Middle East which is a party to such an agreement against armed attack by any other nation.”
The resolution noted the threat to peace contained in the “arms build-up by the Arab states with the encouragement and support of the Soviet Union.” The President would be urged to invite Britain, France, and “any other interested nations” to join with America in defense agreements protecting Israel and any other Near Eastern state willing to assume obligations,
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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.
