Former Prime Minister David Ben Gurion yesterday urged French Jews to emigrate en masse to Israel. The 83-year-old Israeli statesman, addressing a dinner of the French United Jewish Appeal, exhorted French Jews “not to forget or forsake their heritage of a chosen people and to fulfill their duty.” He said the aliyah movement in France “must still be built up and consolidated.”
Mr. Ben Gurion was due to leave Paris today after a three-day visit as the guest of the French UJA. He surprised newsmen yesterday when he said at a press conference that Israel should return all of the occupied territories except East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in the interest of peace with the Arabs. He said Israeli troops should abandon the Sharm el-Sheikh strong-point at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula once a peace treaty was signed and free passage through the Straits of Tiran was assured.
Mr. Ben Gurion paid tribute to former President Charles de Gaulle but deplored the change of his once friendly attitude toward Israel. He expressed hope that the 50 embargoed Mirage jets that Israel purchased from France would be delivered.
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