Declaring that he had been an ardent Zionist for a quarter of a century because he shared a Christian’s sense of guilt for the persecution of the Jews, Sir Norman Angell, British author and Nobel Peace Prize winner, declared yesterday that the state of Israel can become “a true bastion of western civilization” provided it avoids “destructive nationalist impulses.”
“I am now beginning to see the same evils in Jewish nationalism–the same violence–that I have seen throughout my life in other nationalisms,” Sir Norman told 75 guests who attended a meeting of the New York chapter of the American Council for Judaism. He emphasized that the policy pursued by the Jewish state is likely to determine the attitude toward the Western world of Arab states which, he said, are occupying “vital strategic positions.”
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