Senator Estes Kefauver, of Tennessee, termed as “well founded” the alarm felt by the State of Israel over its security as a result of the “one-sided policy of our State Department in supplying arms to the Arab states, which threatens to upset the status quo and the precarious balance of military power in the area.”
“I favor every effort to win the friendship of the Arab states – but not at the expense of impairing our friendship with Israel or imperiling her security, ” the Senator asserted. He emphasized that “Israel is our real ally and dependable friend in that part of the world” and that they “are proof against the blandishments of Communist propaganda and fiercely opposed to totalitarian doctrines of whatever brand.”
Senator Kefauver, who returned last week from an extended visit to Europe and the Middle East, made his statement in a special report today on his visit to Israel in the form of a letter to Mortimer May, president of the Zionist Organization of America. In his report Senator Kefauver paid tribute to Israel’s “great constructive efforts of the past few years. “
“Despite the misgivings and disappointments experienced by Israelis over certain aspects of United States policy in the Middle East, I feel that the great mass of the people are not only deeply grateful to the United States, but have a profound and warm friendship for the American people and a tremendous admiration for the American way of life, ” Sen. Kefauver said. “The overwhelming majority of the population is definitely in our corner, devoted to the cause of world democracy and the ideals of Western civilization. “
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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.
