Sixteen major American Jewish organizations today issued a joint statement appealing to the United States Government to take into consideration the fact that the Egyptian ruler Col. Nasser has demonstrated “implacable hostility” to the Western democracies while Israel has demonstrated basic identity with the free world. The statement, adopted at the conclusion of a two-day emergency meeting on the developments in the Middle East, reads:
“We regret the bloodshed and loss of life in the Middle East and are in accord with our government’s expressed desire for a just and lasting peace in that region. However, such a peace cannot be achieved without a bold and statesman like appraisal of the issues behind the conflict. The time for a fresh appraisal is now. The disclosures and developments before the Security Council have placed in focus the fundamental issue. The conflict in the Middle East is not simply between Egypt and Israel, but between democracy and an expansionist dictatorship, between the free world and Nasserism backed by Moscow.
“The Middle East has been plunged into turmoil by the Egyptian dictator’s ambitions for aggrandizement and empire. Under his leadership, Egypt has voluntarily opened itself and the whole Middle East to Soviet penetration and Communist subversion. He has incited nation against nation, peoples against peoples. He has instigated civil war throughout that turbulent region and undermined the stability of existing governments in Asia and Africa. The evil spirit which motivates him revealed itself in all its malice when he told the American people ‘may you choke to death on your fury.’
“Over a long period, the Egyptian Government has systematically sought to terrorize the people of Israel. It has sent trained fedayeen into Israel to derail trains to mine roads, to ambush innocent travelers. The commandos’ have come like thieves in the night and have murdered citizens on their farms and in their homes. These continuous acts of horror and violence have been accompanied by Egypt’s announced intention to annihilate Israel.
“Events have demonstrated Nasser’s implacable hostility to the Western democracies. Events have also demonstrated the basic identity of interest of Israel and the free world. It is in our own national interest to recognize this truth and to act upon it.
“We therefore call upon our government to shape its policies and chart its course in the light of these facts and this challenge. We pray that the traditional moral stature of our country may be sustained in this solemn hour. We pray for the restoration of peace in the Middle East and for the freedom and security of Israel and all other peoples in that part of the world.”
The joint statement was signed by the following presidents: Dr. Philip M. Bernstein, American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs; Joseph Breslaw, American Trade Union Council for Labor Israel; William Carmen, Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.; Dr. Maurice N. Eisendrath, Union of American Hebrew Congregations; Moses J. Feuerstein, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America; Dr. Miriam Freund, Hadassah; Dr. Israel Goldstein, American Jewish Congress; Mrs. Rose L. Halprin, Jewish Agency; Adolph Held, Jewish Labor Committee; Rabbi Max Kirshblum, Mizrachi Organization of America; Philip M. Klutznick, B’nai B’rith; Rabbi Irving Miller, American Zionist Council; Dr. Emanuel Neumann, Zionist Organization of America; Charles Rosengarten, United Synagogue of America; Louis Segal, Labor Zionist Organization of America, and Bernard H. Trager, National Community Relations Advisory Council.
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.
