The hope that peace will soon come to Palestine was expressed here today by President Weizmann at a luncheon tendered to him by the City Council here which is composed of Jewish and Arab representatives. He also hoped that Israeli-British relations would soon improve. Several hundred leading citizens attended the luncheon, which marked the first official visit of the Israeli President to this city.
Haj Karaman, an Arab member of the Council, asked the Israeli President to help obtain equal rights for Arabs in the state of Israel. The Arabs who remained in the Jewish state after the outbreak of fighting, Karaman said, did so because they believed the Israeli Government would treat them on an equal basis with the Jews. The Arab official also voiced the hope that brotherhood and peaceful relations would soon replace the present Israeli-Arab situation.
In a brief address, Dr. Weizmann emphasized that he had devoted all of his life to friendship among the Jews, Arabs and British and still believed that it will soon be possible to renew cooperation with peace-loving Arabs. The return of the Arab refugees to Israel depends on the establishment of peace with the Arabs and it is out of the question to consider their return before peace is secured, he stated.
Touching on the question of the Negev, Dr. Weizmann said: “The Jewish settlers, whose blood has shrunk the soil of the Nogev, will not withdraw and no force in the world can make them retreat. The Jewish people will not give up the Negev, which is absolutely essential to the development of the Jewish state.”
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.
