Senator Hugh Scott, Pennsylvania Republican, has urged President Johnson to authorize the sale of F-4 Phantom jet fighter-bombers to Israel as a deterrent to aggression. “Israel must have the Phantom Jets to match the performance of the Russian jets in President Nasser’s arsenal. Otherwise the precarious balance of strength which is the only restraint upon Nasser, will be upset,” he said in a telegram.
Senator Scott said while the recent signing of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty with the Soviet Union “raises hopes” that an arms control agreement can be reached for the Middle East, such efforts require time and “in the meantime, the Soviets continue to arm the Arabs. As long as they do so, the U.S. must help to keep Israel strong.”
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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.