The Zionist Organization of America and the Zionists-Revisionists of America voiced requests to India today — as India’s Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, came to New York for a three-day visit — to establish formal diplomatic relations between India and Israel.
The New Delhi Government has recognized Israel since 1950, but has never established diplomatic relations with the Jewish State. Israel has only one Consul in India, stationed in Bombay. He has often been snubbed by the Indian Government. At the same time, however, India was the first country in the world to give formal recognition to the Arab League, whose 13 members seek the destruction of Israel.
The ZOA request was voiced by Jacques Torczyner, president of the ZOA. The Zionist-Revisionists made their demand in a telegram to Mrs. Gandhi from Beinish Epstein, executive vice-chairman of the Revisionist group. Both also referred to the fact that, only last week, India had shown discourtesy to Israel’s President Shazar while he stopped in Calcutta on his way home from a state visit to Katmandu, Nepal.
In his statement on the issue, Mr. Torczyner said: “American Jewry was most sympathetic toward India at the time of her struggle for independence. The improvement of diplomatic relations between Prime Minister Gandhi’s country and the State of Israel would be in keeping with India’s traditions and lofty ideals.”
The telegram from Mr. Epstein stated: “We are at a loss to understand how the Government of India, whose stated aim is the championing of justice, prevention of aggression and fostering peace, maintains its anti-Israel stand to curry favor with the Arab states and give aid and comfort to their belligerency, contrary to the spirit and charter of the United Nations, undermining the cause of world tranquility.”
Mr. Torczyner made his statement at a rally conducted in his honor last night by the metropolitan district of the ZOA. The principal guest speaker at the event was U.S. Undersecretary of Labor John F. Henning. Identifying himself as a “fellow Zionist,” he told the meeting that Israel was justified in its resolve to defend its security against the 40,000,000 hostile Arabs surrounding the Jewish State. “Surely,” he said, “Israel is no threat to them.”
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