State Dept. Seeks to “Soften Up” Israel by Supplying Arms to Egypt, Dr. Neumann Reports

A warning that "the British Foreign Office and our own State Department must know that they are playing with fire when they place at Egypt’s disposal jet bombers, tanks and naval craft" was sounded here tonight by Dr. Emanuel Neumann, former president of the Zionist Organization of America, addressing a Zionist meeting at the Hotel Waldorf-Astoria following his return from Israel.

"The official explanation by the State Department that this type of equipment is required for Egypt’s internal security deceives nobody," Dr. Neumann said. "If our State Department is permitting or helping to provide Egypt with such weapons which may be turned any day against Israel, it is indulging, at the very least, in a squeeze play designed to ‘soften up’ the Government of Isael and force it into making political concessions," the Zionist leader stated. He added that "Israel will not be intimidated and is preparing to mest any new attack."

Reporting on the internal situation in Israel, Dr. Neumann said that the major difficulty confronting the Israel Government at the moment is the economic problem, particularly the problem of foreign exchange. The leaders of the government, he said, are most anxious to attract private capital from abroad by encouraging private enterprise.