The national executive committee of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States opened its annual conference here today – the first JWV meeting ever held on foreign soil – and heard the organization’s National Commander, Samuel Samuels, declare that Israel holds the line for democracy in the Middle East, just as the United States is holding the line in Southeast Asia. The meeting will be addressed by President Shazar and Prime Minister Eshkol.
Mr. Samuels, who recently returned from a tour of the battle zone in Viet Nam, said that the enemy there and the enemy facing Israel, the hostile Arab states, are one and the same. Both North Viet Nam and the Arab states are supplied by Soviet Russia with modern, sophisticated weapons, he pointed out, adding that the democracies confronted by the North Viet Namese and by the Arab states are in actuality confronted by Soviet imperialism.
Mr. Samuels said he supported Israel’s determination to secure free passage for its shipping through the Suez Canal and praised Israel for its willingness to permit the freeing of 15 merchant ships, among them several American vessels, that have been stranded in the canal since the June war. He said the ships remain trapped because of Egyptian sabotage.
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.
