Secretary of the Interior Oscar L. Chapman, addressing a mass celebration at the Hotel Astor here marking the second anniversary of Israel’s independence, arranged by the American Zionist Council, declared tonight that the “birth of Israel is a bright chapter in the history of mankind.”
The war in which Israel fought for her survival immediately following the proclamation of statehood, Secretary Chapman asserted, “was not won by superior military might alone. The people of this new nation won their independence by superior moral forces. They won because they were fighting for the thing that it is dearest to man–freedom.” Israel’s struggle, he added, “was for the right to dwell in peace, to live amicably with its neighbors and to achieve prosperity and security for its people.”
Ambassador Eliahu Elath, who was the other principal speaker at the celebration, reviewing the past two years in Israel’s history, said that the “need for continued sacrifices for the sake of the ideals to which Israel is devoting her energies will last for years to come. It cannot be met by idealism and devotion alone.” Paying tribute to the “sustained help and assistance” the United States has given Israel, Ambassador Elath noted the “readiness of the U.S. and of its people to continue their sympathy with our endeavors and to strengthen the ties of friendship linking the two countries.”
Louis Lipsky, chairman of the Council, who presided, stated that the “perverse climate of the United Nations still pervades the land of the people of Israel, which has been subject to constant barrassment by U.N. commissions and subcommittees.”
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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.
