Not only the workers of Israel but all the Israeli people believe that the countries of the Middle East could advance toward world progress “when they live in peace with each other,” Aharon Becker, secretary-general of Histadrut, the Israel labor federation, told a plenary session of the International Labor Organization’s conference today.
Participating in the general debate of the conference here of the ILO, a specialized agency of the United Nations, Mr. Becker noted that, from this platform, he had warned repeatedly that Israel had been threatened by its Arab neighbors ever since Israel came into being in conformity with United Nations decisions. Noting that the Arab states had not stopped at mere verbal vows to destroy Israel but had implemented their threats through murder and sabotage by terrorists penetrating Israel’s borders, Mr. Becker said:
“I have come here year after year and, from this very rostrum, appealed for peace with our neighbors in the interest of the working people of the Arab countries and Israel. I have spoken for the workers of Israel, but my appeal represents the thinking and striving of the entire nation and of its Government. I believe firmly that the strength of the Middle East does not belong only to its great past, when it served as the cradle of civilization. I am sorry to say that we have had no response to this call for cooperation in the advancement of man and the improvement of his living standards, which are the ILO’s major concerns.”
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.
