The Senate Foreign Relations Committee today began closed door hearings on the Arab-Israel situation as part of its hearings on the Mutual Security Act for 1954.
The hearings of the Senate body follow the recent sessions of the House Foreign Affairs Committee at which two policy-formulating officials of the State Department–Henry A. Byroade and Arthur Z. Gardiner–presented critical views of Israel and indicated that the State Department favors a reduction in American economic aid to Israel and an increase of aid to the Arab countries.
While the State Department officials’ views were unfriendly towards Israel, Harold Stassen, director of the Foreign Operations Administration, spoke favorably of Israel at the House committee hearings. At the same time, he blamed both the Israelis and the Arabs for not getting together for direct talks.
Mr. Stassen also told the committee that he is of the opinion that progress in developing Jordanian-American relations “is not satisfactory. ” He said that “the tension in Jordan, vis-a-vis Israel, is very extreme, and that frequently manifests itself in a reaction against the United States and against United States personnel. That makes it difficult at times to carry out the technical cooperation program.”
Rep. Jacob K. Javits, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sought throughout the hearings to present facts and thoughts to accurately present the Israel point of view.
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