The political committee of the Mapai Party, Israel’s leading government coalition group, approved today the Lavon Plan for mobilizing Israel’s manpower and economic resources for an expected Arab invasion. The committee which drafted the “preparedness” plan–under the chairmanship of former Defense Minister Pinchas Lavon–was instructed to work out the problem of putting the plan into effect.
The proposal suggests that the government proclaim a “state of preparedness, “set up a National Defense Council composed of citizens representing all parties in Israel including the far right Herut, classify manpower now for call by the army and defense industry when the need arises, restrict the movement out of the country of military age men and women, prepare air raid warning and protection services and shelters, reduce government spending and tighten the economy, and institute a special taxation program to meet the costs of the preparedness program.
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