Israel Ambassador Abba Eban paid his first official visit to Secretary of State John Foster Dulles today and, following a 45-minute talk, said that the main objective of his visit was outlining the importance of a peace settlement in the Middle East. Ambassador Eban said that he believed that there was a common desire for peace in that area and that he had suggested some methods for achieving it.
The Ambassador said he also discussed with Secretary Dulles the general position of the Middle East in relation to current world affairs. Mr. Eban said he found Secretary Dulles keenly interested in peace and stability in that area. The Israeli diplomat mentioned the general subject of strengthening both Arab states and Israel militarily, but made no formal proposal on this point.
Mr. Eban also talked with Secretary Dulles about the Soviet Union’s breaking off diplomatic relations with Israel as one of the elements which contributed to the tension in the Middle East and underlined the need of an Arab-Israel peace settlement. In summarizing his discussion Ambassador Eban said he thought that American-Israel relations were on a “firm foundation.”
(The Christian Science Monitor, in an article by Joseph C. Harsch, says that Secretary Dulles’ policy is “to withdraw any special consideration” accorded Israel by the United States and “to regard it as deserving no more consideration than any other country in the area.” The article points out that “the change assumes, perhaps naively, that backtracking on support of Israel will make possible arrangements with the Arab states which will strengthen their internal security and make military bases available to the West in the event of war.”)
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.
