Golda Meir Says Israel Belongs to ‘unaligned’ Group Among Nations

Israel belongs to the “non-aligned” nations of the world, Foreign Minister Golda Meir declared here today, asserting that there are four groups of nations in the world now, and not three as some analysts hold.

The three groups identified by many people, she said, are the Western bloc, aligned with NATO; the Soviet group around the Warsaw Pact; and the neutralist bloc. Israel, she said, is “not automatically neutralist,” deciding its position on world affairs always “on the merits of the issue.” But, Mrs. Meir stated, there is an “unaligned” bloc, as identified recently at the United Nations by V. K. Krisnha Menon, India’s Defense Minister. “Israel,” she said, “also belongs to that group, since she is not bound either to NATO or to the Warsaw Pact.”