The American people have “a stake in the economic freedom of Israel, as an example not only to all other nations in that part of the world but for our sake, for her own sake, and for the sake of the free world,” Vice-President Alben W. Barkley last night told several thousand persons at Long Island rally for State of Israel Bonds.
“No greater calamity or catastrophe could befall the democratic world than for the State of Israel to collapse, either on account of weakness within or on account of pressures or other influences from without,” Mr. Barkley said. Drawing a parallel between the United States and Israel, the Vice-President declared: “We are interested in Israel not only from the physical and financial standpoint as important as they are and good as this investment is; we are interested in it because our democracy, our greatness, the settlement of our country, its marvellous productive capacity, are all built upon the spiritual stamina and courage and determination of our people.
“Israel, too, has a spiritual and a moral value that may go beyond even its financial resources–because without the spirit, resources amount to little. Freedom is not a chemical product. You cannot buy it in a drug store or in a department store. Freedom and liberty are matters of the heart and of the spirit. Without the spirit and the vision and the foresight and the courage, the people of Israel would not be able to enjoy freedom and liberty either. But they have that spirit; they have that courage. They have shown it.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
