U.S. Friendship Stressed by Dr. Goldmann on Israel’s Anniversary

“Israel’s achievements during the first six years of independence are without parallel in history, ” Dr. Nahum Goldmann, chairman of the Jewish Agency, said today in a statement issued on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel which will be observed this week in all major Jewish communities throughout the United States.

Dr. Goldmann pointed out that “numerous grave political and economic perils” lie ahead for Israel, but he emphasized that in the light of the record of the past six years there is no reason to doubt Israel’s ability to overcome her difficulties, with the support of the Jewish people.

“United States-Israel friendship is one of the essential elements facilitating Israel’s solution of its tremendous problems during the past six years, ” he declared. “This friendship is based on the common concept of a democratic way of life and the presence, in the United States, of the largest Jewish community in the world. Notwithstanding the differences of opinion on many specific problems, there is no reason to fear any fundamental changes in the basic friendship between the United States and Israel. There is even less reason for any misgivings over the continued enthusiastic support of American Jewry in the years to come.

“The profound emotional and spiritual commitment and solidarity with Israel of Jewish communities the world over and the Jewish people in its entirety, is our unqualified legitimate right. The establishment of Israel would be meaningless without this commitment, and fair-minded non-Jews understand and respect this connection of the Jewish people with Israel resulting from a unique past dating back thousands of years,” Dr. Goldmann stated.