Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey, a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said today he thought it necessary to follow the special assistance issue involving Israel, to make sure Israel is actually restored to the grant aid list.
The Senator, a Minnesota Democrat, said he thought a fight still lies ahead. He said he would continue work on the matter, to see that Israel receives fair treatment as events progress.
Sen. Wayne Morse, Oregon Democrat, who fought with the State Department on the Israeli grant issue, said today that the action of Congress in taking a strong stand on the question caused the State Department to review the matter and may now result in the actual inclusion of Israel in the program for fiscal year 1960. He credited Congress with a show of strength on this issue, sufficient to cause a change in the State Department’s policy.
C. Douglas Dillon, Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs, had indicated to the Foreign Relations Committee that the State Department might restore the grant. Mr. Dillon pointed out that, if such action were taken, it would result from “psychological” considerations rather than for “economic” reasons, because the Department remained unconvinced of the “economic” necessity for restoring Israel to the grant aid list. He indicated that Israeli representations here on the grant were voiced far less than those from Congress.
A. D. A. CONVENTION URGES CONTINUATION OF U. S. GRANT AID TO ISRAEL
A resolution adopted today at a national convention of the liberal political group, Americans for Democratic Action, said: “The recent proposal of the Administration to eliminate grant aid to Israel cannot be justified” and “Congress should insist upon the continuation of such aid to Israel.”
The resolution also stated that the first objective of the U.S. in the Middle East “should be to arrange for the exclusion of the Arab states and Israel from the theatre of the cold war. These efforts should be made to the maximum extent possible within the framework of the United Nations. The United States should propose a Great Power guarantee of the security and territorial integrity of the Arab nations and of Israel.”
The ADA also resolved that the United States should “vigorously press for an equitable solution for the Arab refugee problem, with a peaceful settlement of all other Arab-
Israel issues.” It urged that “patient pressure must be exerted for such a settlement by the encouragement of steps that lead to a recognition by the Arab people that Israel has the right to exist and is in the Middle East to stay.”
The ADA also urged continued technical and economic assistance to the countries of the Middle East.
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