U.S. Reform Rabbis Say Egypt Provoked Israel’s Entrance into Sinai

The Central Conference of American Rabbis, central body of the Reform rabbis in this country, issued today a statement emphasizing that “Israel’s action in the Sinai Peninsula was the inevitable consequence of years of Arab aggression and was also taken to ward off the murderous assault which a Soviet-armed Egypt would soon have made.”

The statement, issued by the Commission on Justice and Peace of the rabbinical body, said that “the Jewish people has had enough experience with tyrants not to have estimated Nasser’s intentions incorrectly.” The statement also pointed out that it must not be overlooked that “the nations now acting so zealously through the United Nations to protect the interests of Egypt did nothing to insure the security of Israel” against the Arab incursions into her territory, or to secure her legal right of passage through the Suez Canal.

“While from a long-range point of view it may be possible to question the wisdom of France and Britain in moving into the Suez Canal zone, it must be understood as an action prompted by the desperate necessity of keeping their economic lifeline from being placed at the mercy of the Soviet Union,” the rabbis declared. “No informed person can cow doubt that in his illegal seizure of the canal, Nasser was acting as the willing and conscious tool of Russia. The fact has certainly been underlined by recent developments in other Arab countries.

“We sympathize with the desire of our government to oppose that type of colonialism which until recently exploited and presented the development into freedom of the peoples of Asia and Africa. But the issue is not so simple. It is permissible to doubt whether turning the destiny of a people over to the rule of a despot like Nasser is sincerely furthering its welfare.

SUPPORTS U.S. REQUEST FOR ISRAEL’S WITHDRAWAL FROM EGYPT

“We endorse the action of the United States in supporting the UN resolutions urging Britain, France and Israel to withdraw their military forces from Egypt proper, and the establishment of a UN police force to promote the conditions of pacification in that area,” the rabbinical statement continue. “At the same time it must be realized that the goal we are seeking cannot be realized unless the international force remains on the scene of the conflict until the Suez question is satisfactorily resolved, and until the establishment of a permanent peace between Egypt and Israel.

“The Suez Canal should be placed under some type of international authority which will guarantee the right of passage to all nations including Israel, while at the same time safeguarding the sovereignty and legitimate interests of Egypt. Israel’s frontiers must be secured against further lawless attacks from neighboring states. It is important likewise, both from human and political considerations, that a program for the resettlement of the Arab refugees be promptly undertaken, in the implementation of which Israel and the Arab states shall assume fair shares. At the same time the rights and persons of Jewish residents of Egypt and other Arab States, now being violated, must be safeguarded,” the Reform rabbis suggest in their statement.

The statement urges the U.S. Government “to undertake those constructive measures which will help to lay the foundation for a permanent Arab-Israel peace and speedily to reestablish the closest relationship of friendship and cooperation with our Western allies.” It reminds the U.S. that “early in the discussion of the problem in the UN Assembly, our government had contemplated the introduction of a resolution calling upon the United Nations to engage in an immediate effort to establish a lasting peace between the nations of the Middle East.”

Pointing out that “this would have been a start in the right direction,” the statement says: “It is difficult to understand why that resolution was never presented. Now is the time to pursue the laudable intent behind it, and to support it with the entire weight of the moral authority of our country and the immense prestige of our President as a leader of peace.”