Yosef Tekoah, who recently completed seven years as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, warned Israelis this weekend not to expect the world organization to collapse if Israel is expelled from the General Assembly. In a speech at the Tel Aviv Labor Council and on Israel Radio, Tekoah said it is not the UN that is trying to expel Israel but the Arab states, and Israel should therefore fight the attempt as part of her overall struggle against the Arabs.
However, Tekoah, who is now president of the Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba, said if Israel is expelled it could untie her hands in dealing with the Arabs. He said Israel could then press for direct negotiations with the Arab states rather than the Geneva conference which was forced upon her. In addition, Israel should then reconsider the advisability of having UN forces in the buffer zones and in stead seek joint Israeli-Arab patrols.
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