The United Nations Security Council today rejected the Israeli application for membership by a vote of 5 to 1, with 5 abstentions. The United States, U.S.S.R., The Ukraine, Argentina and Colombia voted for admitting Israel, while Syria cast its ballot against it.
The ballotting followed defeat of a French proposal to delay action on the application for another month in order to give the Security Council sufficient time to consider the case in the light of the activities and findings of the U.N. Conciliation Commission which would have begun its work by that time. Also defeated was a British resolution to postpone indefinitely consideration of the Israeli application. A Syrian proposal to refer the Palestine question to the International Court of Justice was rejected.
Following the adverse vote, a spokesman for the Israeli delegation here said: “The position of France in this matter does not facilitate her task as a member of the United Nations Conciliation Commission to Israel and the Arab states, which are members of the United Nations and have diplomatic relations with France. A sound basis for those relations can be achieved only by giving Israel equal status with the Arab countries.” The spokesman welcomed the affirmative votes of Argentina and Colombia.
U.S. DELEGATE CLARIFIES AMERICAN STAND ON RECOGNITION OF ISRAEL
During the course of the discussion on international recognition of the Jewish state, American delegate Dr. Philip C. Jessup declared that his government had granted full recognition to the Jewish state, although only de facto recognition to the present Provisional Government of Israel. “Our recognition of the state of Israel is complete. We believe the state exists,” he explained. An Israeli spokesman welcomed this clarification.
Soviet delegate Yacov Malik insisted that the nature of the U.N. partition decision implies that Israel is a state which is to be admitted to the United Nations by the very wishes of that body. The Argentine delegate, reviewing the history of his country’s failure to recognize Israel, said that regardless of the action of individual states Israel should be recognized internationally — a move which, he said, would aid peace in the Middle East. Colombia said that recognition of Israel would remove another “bone of contention” and would contribute to peace.
French delegate Alexandre Parodi declared that: “The admission of Israel cannot be considered from the legal point of view alone. We must hear in mind the final consequences of the admission of Israel.” France, he wont on, was looking forward to the time when Israel could be admitted, but reminded the Council of the bitter opposition of the Middle Eastern Arab states. Canada joined France in asking for a month’s postponement.
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.
