The Vatican was criticized in the Knesset today for “meddling” In Israeli affairs. Mapai deputy Zalman Aharonovitz said that the Vatican “did nothing” when the fate of 6,000,000 Jews was at stake in Europe but is Interfering now in Israel and is “tampering” with the Jerusalem issue.
Former Sternist chief Nathan Friedman-Yellin, speaking for the Fighters Party in the general debate on Israel’s foreign policy, maintained that the government’s effort to achieve peace by diplomatic means had failed. He advocated beating Israel’s opponents by force and then sitting down at the peace table to write an honorable peace.
Yitzhak Ben Aharon, Mapam deputy, severely criticized the government for agreeing to deal with the “one-sidedly composed” U.N. Conciliation Commission. He also demanded that the government coalition broaden its party base in order to enable it to withstand pressure from foreign governments.
One of the high points of the debate was an attack on Britain and the Arab states for their responsibility for the plight of the Palestine Arab refugees by one of the two Arabs in the Knesset, Seif el Din el Zabi, who is a member of the Mapai’s parliamentary delegation. Expressing the thanks of his people to the Israeli Government, he added that the “Jewish people have clean hands in their dealings with the Arab problem.”
On the other hand, El Zabi took issue with the official government position that the Arab refugees must not be readmitted to Israel because of the security risk involved. He insisted that after experiencing life in the Arab states, the refugees would make the most loyal of citizens of Israel. He proposed that Arab families remaining in this country be permitted to bring in their relatives from outside. At the same time, he suggested that Arab refugees whose abandoned houses are occupied by Jewish immigrants would have to wait for a general settlement. In conclusion, the Arab deputy appealed to the Arab states not to use the refugees as “pawns.”
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