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Senator Keating Calls for Middle East Pilot Arms Control Parley

April 29, 1963
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Senator Kenneth B. Keating (R.N. Y.) today urged the U.S. to exert leadership in having the United Nations arrange a “regional arms compact” between Israel and the Arab States to ease the “real crisis in the Middle East. ” He said he thought there was a “fighting chance” for a Middle East arms agreement constituting a “breakthrough on a limited scale which could serve as a model for a worldwide understanding to save all mankind from the inferno of a nuclear conflict. “

In an address delivered before the 34th annual convention of National Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs at the Concord Hotel, Sen. Keating called upon U.S. officials to “get tough” and “act to pull the fuse out of the Middle East powder-keg. ” He said Congress may deny foreign aid to Egypt’s President Nasser if he does not stop using our assistance to divert funds to develop an offensive missile capacity.

The Senator also decried the lack within our government of “real feeling about the plight of Israel–and of America’s commitment to the preservation of a free and secure Israel. ” He said a “strong and clear reaffirmation” by the President of America’s dedication to Israel would “command proper respect in the Arab world. “

More than 1,000 delegates from the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico are attending the four-day NFJMC conclave. The Federation is comprised of 331 men’s clubs and brotherhoods with a total membership of 70,000 congregants in Conservative synagogues in the three countries.

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