World Powers Stress Israel's Role
as 'Pivot' Nation in Suez Crisis
(Continued from Page 1)
"However, almost at the same
moment British Prime Minister
Eden in the House of Commons
predicted that if Egyptian Presi-
dent Nasser succeeded in his
seizure of the Suez Canal he
next would launch a military at-
tack on Israel. Some felt there
was an implication that Britain
would assist Israel with arms
in this event.
"Meanwhile Premier Guy
Mallet of France had asserted
that the proposed canal 'users
association' of Western powers
would assure the right of Israeli
ships , to negotiate the water-
way which has been closed to
them by Egypt since 1948. This
is the first time the cause of
Israel against this blockade has
been espoused by one of the Big
Three in the current crisis.
"The British Foreign Office
.
has avoided such a linking of
the issues, possibly feeling that
its own rights must be estab- .
lished before it could do much
for others. There is also the
complication that Egypt and
Israel are still technically at
war, and that it has always
been difficult to compel a coun-
try to allow a trade facility
which it controls to be used
against itself.
"The Western powers would
be in a stronger position to pro-
test Colonel Nasser's expropria-
tion of the canal if they had
_ pressed more vigorously the 1951
recommendation of the UN Se-
curity Council against Egypt's
blockade of Israeli shippin9. , - .
And Israel's difficulties in
maintaining security along its
borders would have been less j
if Colonel Nasser had not been
bent on building himself up as
a leader by rousing pan-Arab
ambitions in Syria and Jordan:
"But Egyptians can hardly be
surprised if a result of this 1 -4. !
sion is higher rf,•,- e••r.? Ior the
Israel on the part
of the West."
►.
Editorial writers in newspa-
pers in this country, Britain and
France constantly refer to Nas-
ser as another Hitler and warn
of imperial implications in his
defiance of the Western Powers.
In most quarters, the call for
a firm stand against Nasser
also is coupled with demands
that serious efforts should be
made to attain peace between
Israel and the Arab states.
Writing on "Nasser and
Israel," in the New York Post,
Dr. Max Lerner declared:.
"As Prime Minister Eden
wound up his speech to the
House of Commons before the
vote of confidence, he said the
one . thing. that no Western
states up to now has dared
say publicly. 'What will be the
next step,' he asked, 'if Colonel
Nasser be allowed to succeed in
the action he has taken? I have
no doubt what it will be, and
I do not think the House has
— Israel.'
"Eden thus put in its sharp-
est form the truth about Nasser
that Dulles and even Gaitskell
seem to have missed—that the
Suez incident is part of a larger
empire-building plan, and that
Nasser is unappeasable because
(as was true of Hitler) he 'al-
ways has a target beyond the
immediate target."
the Prime Minister continued,
"and do the Labor MPs really
believe that if Nasser has his
way in this business of the
canal, we, who have undertaken
obligations under the Tripartite
Declaration within and outside
the framework of the United
Nations and reaffirmed our in-
tention to discharge them,
would be in the same position
to do so then as we are, today,
or as we were a few months
ago? Of course not. Do the MPs
really think that if Nasser has
his way we would be in a posi-
tion to go to the help of Israel
as we can do today? Of course
we couldn't."
When Hugh Gaitskell, leadei
of the Labor opposition forces
intervened, however, to ask
why, in view of the concern
expressed for Israel, the British
government continued to refuse
arms to Israel, the Prime Min-
ister replied, "I am not dis-
cussing arms for Israel. I am
discussing our own national ob-
ligations. I am not prepared to
make a public statement now
about the other matter."
In Washington, Secretary of
State John Foster Dulles indi-
cated at' a press conference
that the users association
would not be "oblivious" to
the right of Israeli ships to
pass through the canal. How-
ever, he added that the users
association is in no position to
guarantee anything at this
time.
Ilytchev gQw; -!--; Warsaw Paper for
Baring Stalin's Anti-Semitism
Israeli Actress in
U. S. for Bond Tour
Israel In Danger if Nasser
Succeeds in Suez, Eden Warns
LONDON, JTA) — Prime
Minister Sir Anthony Eden, in
the debate over the Suez Canal
issue, warned - that the danger
to Israel from Egypt will be
greatly increased if- Egyptian
ruler Gamal Abdel Nasser is
permitted to "have his way"
over the seizure of the Suez
Canal Company. But the Prime
Minister refused to discuss the
matter of British arms supplies
to Israel for self-defense.
He reminded the House that
Nasser had called Israel a
"stooge of imperialism" in the
same speech in which he an-
nounced the nationalization of
the Suez Canal Company.
"That's what he called it,"
stressed time and time again,
heard the broad outlines of a
plan — accepted by Britain,
France and the United States —
under which an association of
nations using the canal would
be formed to operate and main-
tain the water way.
(In Paris, Premier Guy Mol-
let declared that the new Suez
Canal users association will as-
sure Israeli ships right of pass-
age through the waterway.)
The possibility that Israeli
ships would receive undisturbed
passage through the Suez Ca-
nal if the Big Three plan for
the formation of a "users -associ-
ation" to direct the affairs of the
Canal materializes, was held out
in United Nations circles fol-
Mr. Gaitskell, summing up lowing receipt by UN Secretary
the debate for the Opposition, General Dag Hammarskjold of
returned again to the theme the text of the speech made in
of arms aid for Israel. There the House of Commons by Sir
was a danger, he said, that Anthony Eden.
Nasser might at some time
It was noted here that the
launch an attack against the projected "users association"
.Israelis. "We cannot deny that, would employ the canal pilots
but what is the right answer? who would quit the jobs they
If that is what the Govern- now hold under Egypt's nation-
ment fears, surely they should alized company. The "users as-
do what we have pressed them sociation" would then be in a
to do again and again — allow position to order these pilots to
Israel to purchase arms," he take through the canal all ships
added.
"without distinction of flag" —
The Commons debate, in including ships bound to or
which Israel's right to free pass- from Israel, even if these ves-
age through the Canal was sels were under the Israel flag.
NEW YORK, (JTA) — The
Warsaw newspaper Volkstimme,
Yiddish - language Communist
organ in Poland, has been ac-
cused by Leonid Ilytchev, chief
press officer of the Soviet For-
eign Ministry, of having printed
"slanderous, anti-Soviet" mat-
erial when it revealed that
Jewish writers and cultural
leaders in the USSR had suf-
fered from anti-Semitic perse-
cutions during the Stalin re-
gime. The disclosures appeared
in Volkstimme last April.
Ilytchev's "bitter, personal"
condemnation of the Volks-
stimme was voiced in an inter-
view in Moscow with Tabitha
Orna Porat, leading actress
of Israel's Cameri (Chamber)
Theater, will address the
Mobilization Conference for
Israel, sponsored by the Israel
Bond Organization, this week-
end, in Washington, D.C. Fol-
lowing her appearance at the
two-day conference, Miss
Porat will undertake an in-
tensive tour of more than 40
American cities in behalf of
the Israel Bond Issue,
Propose Ban on Sabbath Travel
to Appease Religious Elements
Petran, correspondent of the
National Guardian here.
Jewish cultural leaders and
writers did suffer persecutions,
Ilytchev admitted to MiSs Pet-
ran, but the motive was "not
anti-Semitic." The Jewish per-
secutees suffered merely as part
of an overall driVe against Sov-
iet intellectuals of many na-
tional origins, he maintained.
"We have corrected our mis-
takes against Jews as against
other peoples," he told the cor-
respondent.
The press chief told Miss
Petran that the Soviet govern-
ment would not make public
any details about past persecu-
tions, but would follow its aim
of rehabilitating those who had
suffered unjustly. He also in-
sisted that other reports of dis-
criminations against Jews were
"incorrect," and he denied that
there were quotas for the em-
ployment of Jews in govern-
ment work. He declared how-
ever that Jews, like members of
other nationalities in the USSR,
must indicate their nationality
when applying ,for work, but
insisted that implied no "discri-
mination."
The Freheit, New York Yid-
dish Communist newspaper, in
an editorial last week, express-
ed dissatisfaction with Ilytchev's
explanations and called upon
the Soviet government openly
to declare itself against anti-
Semitism and racial hatred "as
in the days of Lenin."
* * *
Czechoslovakia Orders
Synagogue Converted
VIENNA, (JTA)—The Czech-
oslovak government has con-
verted a former synagogue in
the town of Kosice into a con-
cert hall on the grounds that the
Jewish population of the town
is so small that it does not need
the synagogue.
Reconstruction of the build-
ing,' which suffered damage
during the Nazi occupation, was
completed two years ago.
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — Three
districts of Jerusalem whose
residents a r e predominantly
Orthodox should be _barred to
all Sabbath traffic, Levi Abra-
hami, Jerusalem's police chief,
recommended to a public com-
mission investigating the death
of 55-year-old Pinhas Segalow
in a riot following attempts by
Neturei Karta members to in-
terfere with Sabbath traffic in
this city.
Testifying before the inquiry
u n i t, Commissioner Abrahami
also recommended that the
transportation of Jerusalem res-
idents by truck to nearby swim-
-ming pools and other amuse-
ment spots on the Sabbath be
barred.
This device has been used to
circumvent the closing down of
bus transport on the Sabbath in
Jerusalem by the government-
operated bus line.
Finally, the police commis-
sioner suggested that some 30
ring-leaders among the Neturei
Karta, who, he said, instigated
roadblocks and other attempts
at halting traffic, be kept under
police surveillance. If they cre-
ate f u r t h e r difficulties, he
added, they should be banished
to the Jordan-held Old City of
Jerusalem under the govern-
ment's emergency powers.
Abrahami's - proposal note d
that members of the ultra-Or-
thodox sect, which does not
recognize the Israel government,
haVe indicated a desire to re-
turn to the Old City.
Jordan Bound?
Rabbi Aram Blau, leader
of the Neturei Karta, said
that he would be ready to,
take 300 families -across the
border into Jordan if Israel
will permit such emigration.
In an interview with the
newspaper Maariv, R a b b i
Blau stated that "from the
religious viewpoint, we will
feel more secure in Jordan."
In Israel, he declared, "we
are concerned lest our chil-
dren deviate from traditional
Judaism among so-called
Jews who are actually non-
believers and hardly differ
from Christians. There would
be no such danger in Arab
surroundings."
strations, he insisted. There is
a strong feeling that unless Sab-
bath traffic to amusement places
and swimming pools is not
checked, public transportation
on the Sabbath will become an
accepted practice in Jerusalem.
While he deprecated the ac-
tivities of the Neturei Karta,
Mr. Gewirtzman said t h a t
grounds existed for continuation
of the demonstrations, without
which desecration of the Sab-
bath would spread.
He opposed Abrahami's sug-
gestion that traffic be banned
in three districts of the city
where. the Orthodox are con-
centrated. All of Jerusalem is
holy, the Mizrachi Laborite de-
clared, and such a proposal
would only create ghettoes in
Jerusalem.
Religious leaders who previ
ously had boycotted the hear
ings were heard from later in
the day.
Rabbi Salman Sorotzkin, pres-
ident of the Agudath I s r a e
Council of Sages, told the com-
mission that the "sabbath was
given to all Jews, and it is the
duty of the Orthodox to make
all others observe the sabbath."
He blamed police interference
for the demonstrations turning
into riots.
Expressing similar views were
Rabbi Abraham Shaag, former
Mizrachi member of Parliament;
and Shmuel Weingartner, o f
the Jerusalem Religious Coun-
cil. Dov Lipov, secretary of the
Jerusalem Labor Party, said the
day of rest might equally be
used for athletics, trips and
other recreation.
Rabbi Ezra Attiyeh, head of
the Sephardic Yeshiva Portah
Joseph, asserted that Jerusalem
which is "the heart of the na-
tion" has a unique spiritual as-
sociation and enjoys the rever-
ence of the entire world, includ-
ing Jewry.
Rabbi Attiyeh insisted that
Torah exhorted the non-religi-
ous to observe the Sabbath and
that demonstrators were per-
forming a "good deed" in terms
of Torah when they attempted
to persuade the non-observant
not to desecrate the day.
Rabbi Shlomo Zevin, who cri-
ticized the methods of the ultra-
orthodox Neturei Karta which
sparked the demonstration, said
that flouting the Sabbath was
tantamount to desecrating Jeru-
salem, Israel and the Jewish na-
tion because Jerusalem is the
symbol of the nation.
While he granted that there
was no question about the right
of prying into personal lives of
citizens, this was not a case of
religious coercion of private
conscience. He noted that there
was a national law forbidding
commerce and trade on the Sab-
bath and said that taxi opera-
tions came under than ban.
Shlomo Lorenz, parliamentary
deputy representing the Labor
Agudah Party, said that anti-
traffic demonstrations could
only be halted by force since the
matter touched on deeply-rooted
feelings among the people of
Jerusalem. He called for
changes in police personnel in
order to effect a better under-
standing between authorities
and Orthodox residents.
His testimony followed that
of Rabbi Moshe Porush, an
Agudah leader, who charged
that by failing to halt traffic
circumventing the Sabbath reg-
ulations the - government was
responsible in part for the riots.
Medical testimony earlier re-
vealed that Mr. Segalow had
died of an internal hemorrhage,
but that there were no external
signs of wounds which might
have been inflicted during po-
lice action against the rioters.
A post mortem was not pen.
mitted because of the religious
beliefs of the dead man. -
Judge Eliyahu Man, president
of the public commission, issued
a blast against religious leaders
who "strengthen the hand" of
the utra-Orthodox group by re-
fusing to testify before the com-
mission.
Other members of the inquiry
group refused to associate them-
* * *
selves with Judge Man's state-
ment.
Earlier, witnesses represent- New York Jews Protest
ing the Histadrut and the left- `Persecutions' in Israel
wing Socialist Mapam testified
NEW YORK (JTA) — More
that the. majority of Jerusalem than 2,000 orthodox Jews ral-
'residents were not Orthodox lied in Union Square to protest
and that the anti-Sabbath traf- what they termed the persecu-
fic demonstrations sparked by tion of religion in Israel, and
the Neturei Karta sect were not adopted a resolution with the
representatives of Jerusalerhites. overtones of an ultimatum.
Moshe Gewirtzman, former
The resolution, which set
Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem and forth grievances against Israel's
a representative of the Hapoel policy in a number of religious
Hamizrachi; challenged this as- fields, warned that if Israel did
sertion, pointing to school reg- not change its attitude in the
istration figures which indicated matters noted, the organizers of
that more than 60 percent of the the protest — identified as the
city's school: children were en- "National Committee for Free-
rolled in institutions operated dom of Religion in Israel" —
by the Orthodox.
would feel free to take the ques-
The Neturei Karta has no to appropriate "international in-
monopoly on Sabbath demon- ,stitutions."