The Palestine question will be solved when the Arab states adopt toward Israel precisely the same attitude which all members of the United Nations take toward each other–recognition of its sovereignty, integrity of its borders, establishment of relations with it and settlement of all disputes by the normal channels of international intercourse. Abba S. Eban, chief Israeli delegate to the U.N. declared here last night.
Answering questions put to him by U.N. correspondents from many nations on the radio program “United Or Not, “which was transcribed here for broadcast to the United States, Mr. Eban declared that Israel was not automatically identified with either the East or the West in the U.N. Whenever an international question arises Israel brings its independent judgment to bear on the issue, regardless of whether it coincides with either of the two main centers of world power, he added.
In response to several questions bearing on Israel’s attitude toward Germany and the German question in the U.N., the Israeli diplomat expressed doubt whether Germany, at the present time, could enhance European defense either morally, spiritually or militarily. As a clue to whether Germany could be considered an aid or a threat to European peace, Mr. Eban cited Germany’s actions in 1914 and 1939 in commencing world wars. He insisted that the present generation of Germans, who had either aided or acquiesced in the murder of 6,000,000 Jews, would not make a good ally of democracy. He also protested the “indecent haste” shown in re-admitting Germany to the family of nations.
Asked whether Israel’s attitude toward the German question might not act as a stimulant to anti-Semitism in Germany, he replied that history has proven that Germany needs no outside stimulus for its anti-Semitism. He pointed out that nothing had been done in Germany to implement restitution and reparations programs, stressing that the world must wait for permanent signs of denazification and real and tangible evidence of the German people’s repentance before re-arming Germany. Otherwise, he warned, the danger exists of a potential conflagration from a militarily and economically revived Germany.
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.
