Spokesmen for the striking Israeli seamen here today denied at a press conference that the strike of the crews of the Israeli ships “Yafo” and “Haifa” was politically inspired or had political goals. “The members of the Israeli Seamen’s Union are not affiliated with any political party,” they declared.
The spokesmen said that four of the crewmen remained on the “Yafo” and two on the “Haifa” because they are responsible for handling financial matters on the ships. Both vessels will return to Israel with crews composed chiefly of Greeks and Spaniards, the spokesmen asserted. They emphasized that the demands of the striking seamen “are entirely professional.”
The Labor Zionist Order “Farband” today announced that at a meeting of its executive committee in New York a resolution was adopted condemning the strike of the seamen on Israeli ships in American ports. The resolution charged that the strike “is being inspired and conducted by the Mapam Party in partnership with the Communists in Israel. “It expressed solidarity with the Histadrut against whom the seamen’s strike is directed.
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