Organ of Democratic Party Says U.S. Policy is Anti-israel

The “Democratic National Committee, through its official publication, today characterized the Republican Administration’s policy in the Near East as anti-Israel and as a failure.

The “Democratic Digest” organ of the Democratic Party, charged in an appraisal of the Administration’s policy of “impartiality ” that is has not only failed to win friends for America but has made Arab-Israel peace prospects even more remote than they were in 1952. The reason for Republican failure, it was held, could be found in appeasement of Arab intransigeance.

Questioning the decision to grant free munitions to Iraq, it was pointed out that “there is no evidence that the United States has obtained any assurances that the arms will not be used against the Israelis” It was also emphasized that the granting of such arms “may be taken by the extreme nationalists as a tacit blessing on their turning the guns against Israel”, and that the U.S. has no assurance that these weapons will be used on our side in the event of an East-West showdown.”

The Democrats maintained that while the United States cannot “impose peace” in the Near East “we ought not to make peace more difficult by letting it appear that we have relinquished hopes of its attainment. We ought not to encourage any side in the delusion that we condone continued conflict. We should not arm one side.”

Secretary Of State John Foster Dulles’ “impartiality” speech of June 1,1953, it was charged, “fitted in with the thinking of Arab leaders who have always accused America of prefering Israel.” The Arab states have been encouraged by the slogan to increase their pressure for concessions at Israel’s expense, the article says. The inevitable result of the new policy has been a sharp increase in Arab-Israel tension, marked by a series of violent border incidents, ” the organ of the Democratic Party charges.

The article stresses the fact that the new Republican policy “has not brought peace to the region; it has not improved relations between Israel and the Arab states. And it has not helped the United States itself for it has won us the friendship of neither side. ” It comes to the following conclusion:

“Until the beginning of the new Administration, American policy actively advocated direct negotiations in an effort to work but a peace treaty between Israel and the Arab states which are now technically at war. But under Mr. Dulles, our Department of State changed its position. Today, we have a limited objective in the Near East. It is to reduce tension. But tension refuses to be reduced. On the contrary, tension has steadily risen. Is so-called impartiality an adequate substitute for friendship? Is a slogan hiding a disruptive change in U.S. policy?”