The World Congress of the Socialist International, which opened here today, was urged by Harold Wilson, leader of the British Labor Party, to condemn the recent renewal of anti-Israel attacks by Israel’s Arab neighbors. He called also for the establishment of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, warning, however, that such a pact would be a “mockery” unless the shipment of conventional arms into the area were stopped by “other powers, creating a dangerous imbalance of conventional capacity.”
Mr. Wilson’s proposal of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, with a guarantee against a simultaneous influx of conventional arms, was endorsed by Moshe Sharett, chairman of the Jewish Agency executive, leader of the Israeli delegation to the congress; and by Paul-Henri Spaalt, Foreign Minister of Belgium.
Delivering the first major address of the congress, Mr. Wilson told the Socialist International: “We must condemn the recent outburst of violence on the frontiers between Israel and her neighbors. We endorse the condemnation (of Syria) expressed by eight members of the United Nations Security Council last week. We condemn also the new statements of aggressive intent issued by the Governments of Iraq, Syria and the United Arab Republic. While we want to establish friendly relations with these states and their leaders–this cannot be done at the expense of Israel.”
“Even if political agreement between the Arab states and Israel is far off, ” continued the leader of Britain’s Labor Party, “the great powers should assist in stopping the present frightening race in armaments in the area. We must view with great alarm the development of nuclear power in the area. We have condemned the hiring of West European rocket engineers in Egypt. But there should be a nuclear-free zone covering the whole area, provided it is not made a mockery by shipment of conventional arms from other powers.”
SHARETT WELCOMES ARMS RESTRICTIONS IN MIDDLE EAST; LAUDS KENNEDY
Mr. Sharelt told the Congress that he welcomes Mr. Wilson’s proposal for denuclearization of the Middle East accompanied by limitations on conventional arms in the region. Agreements for elimination of nuclear arms without simultaneous limitations on conventional arms, he said, “would greatly increase the uncertainties, by lulling world opinion into a sense of false security, leaving aggressive states free to accumulate deadly weapons. “
Mr. Sharett paid warm tribute to President Kennedy’s “imaginative, dynamic peace policy.”
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.
