Friday, April 5, 1957 — THE DETROIT JEWIS H NEWS-2 '
Purely Commentary
Will Self-Respecting Democracies
Permit Nasser. to Remain 'on Top'?
Newspapers throughout the land early this
week flashed the headlines that "Nasser is on
top" in the Suez wrangle.
Such is the upshot of a shocking interna-
tional crisis that could have been solved with
great speed if the UN had not blundered.
Courage seems to have fled from the demo-
cratic ranks. The great powers have cowered
before a tin dictator; they are cringing in fear
of the Russian Bear, and these panic-striking
attitudes seem to be infecting other nations.
Norway was among the countries that de-
manded international rights in the Suez, but,
grudgingly — that's how it has been described
— she was among the first to send her ships
through the Egyptian canal, thereby yielding
completely to the rules set down for a cringing
world that calls itself free but really is on
display in shackles.
It isn't a matter to jest about. It is a major
tragedy for libertarians who had begun to
believe that two world wars had brought
decency to mankind and an end to dictator-
ships. Instead, a. frightened world bows down
to a new dictator; and little Israel, always in
•
danger from attack by the saber-rattling
na-
tions who surround her and continuously shout
war threats to her, is left holding the flag of
courage alone. Only Frande still clings to the
ideals of .justice and fair play. Only with the
aid of France does Israel - hope to be 'able to
acquire liberte, egalite, fraternite in her end of
the world ; and, eventually, perhaps also to re-
gain these principles for the rest- of the world.
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France and Israel: Did U. S.
Renege on Gaza Pledges?
This brings us to the issue . involving
French-Israeli cooperation and the -reported
interference with it by U. S. politicians.
France was reported to have reaffirmed
her readiness to back up Israeli defense move-
ments. That's when the rumor mills began
grinding again in Washington, whence Stewart
Alsop wrote, on March 25, in his column in the
New York Herald
"Informatiox. :1 reached Washington, just
after Secretary-- of State. John Foster Dunes .
had left fir Bermuda, that French Defense
Minister Bourges-Manoury had encouraged
Israeli Foreign Minister Golda Meir t _ o be-
lieve that French support would_ be forth-.
coining in case of a second round...On in-
structions from Dulles and the President,
Under Secretary of State Christian Herter
called in French Ambassador . Herve Alphand
and politely read him the riot act. Since then,
the French have hastily backed away from
Bourges-Manoury's offer ; amidst a . spate of
diplomatic denials." -
But the French, it seems, do not frighten
that easily. Speaking to the French National
Assembly, March 27, on the eve of the 221-188
vote of confidence given PreMier ‘Gdy Mollet,
the French Foreign Minister, Christian Pineau,
said that the - . United States and France had
agreed to Israel's light to defend herself against
an Egyptian attempt to bar her ships from the
Gulf of Aqaba, and he implied. that the U. S.
had gone back on agreements involving re-
tention of UN forces in areas conquered by
Israel and evacuated under U. S. pressure.
Russia, too, has warned France and Is-
rael, as part of the Communist pro-Nasser
game; and, once again, the U. S. is on the
side of the Communists in an international
power game. Should We be proud if THAT?
Here is corroboration of the . charges made
by Drew Pearson that "the biggest diplomatic
double-cross" was perpetrated in the State
Department against Israel:
Ernest R. Lindley, noted Washington
eorresondent, discloses in the current issue of
Newsweek that the March 1 statement to the
' General Assembly by Mrs. Golda Meir, list- '
ing the "assumptions" of Israeli's Sinai with-
. drawal, "was written in full collaboration
with our State Department" and personally
approved by Secretary of State John Foster
Dulles, which supports Lindley's contention
that "the honor and good faith of our gov-
ernment and of the President himself, are
directly involved in the Israel-Egyptian
crisis." The columnist also reported that Mrs.
IVIeir's original draft was "extensively
altered" at the request of the State Depart-
ment and that Ambassador Abba Eban and
various U. S. officials "spent more than eight
hours in hammering out the final version"
which was "approved" by Secretary Dulles.
Thus, Mrs. Meir's statement was actually a
joint statement" of Israel and the Eisenhower .
Administration.
We ask again: is it any wonder that we
blush over the actions of our State Depart-
ment; that we are shocked by the actions
of our representatives in Washington who are
betraying basic humanitarianism?
Now our spokesmen in Washington are be-
ginning to yield to a new farce: an attempt to
place emphasis again on the Arab refugee
problem. Nothing has been done to solve it;
the Arabs insist on perpetuating it; bigoted
missionaries are making it a major issue, while
By Philip
Slomovitz
474 ,WD1.0.466111111.00.1,
Rabbis Issue Appeal
for City-Wide Support
of 1957 Allied Drive
preventing the sincerely concerned elements,
including Israel, to find a realistic solution to
the issue. Let those who spread libels get down
to business and help solve the problem—not
All of Detroit's rabbis, repre- should match the courage of our
through distortions but by insisting on round- I senting the Reform, Orthodox people in Israel .. .
table talks for peace. Instead, they act against and Conservative wings, joined
"We must likewise uphold the
peace by encouraging every new trick intro- Iin issuing a statement appealing hands of our brethren in Israel
duced to harm Israel.
strongly for the community's in keeping their doors open to
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most generous ,support of the Jews fleeing ``the oppression of
Allied Jewish Campaign.
Nefarious Propaganda About
Egypt and the terror of • Hun-
Rabbis Morris Adler, Milton gary. Our brothers are ready to
Tragic Arab Refugee Problem
Vice President Richard M. Nixon displayed Arm, David Bakst, David A. share their home and their life
Baylinson, Jacob Chinitz, Haym
naivete in his apparent discoveries about the Donin, Herbert Es-kin, Moses with those who need refuge
"The local and national com-
Arab refugee problem. This sad issue is not
a mystery. Its aspects are known and the Fischer, Israel Flam, Leon Fram, munity has built, through the
facts are on the record. As we have indicated Abraham Gardin, Leo Y. Gold- years, important institutions for
last week, it is a soluble problem—provided man, Chaskel Grubner, Solomon the education of our young, for
the kinsmen of the refugees, the Arab nations Gruskin, Benjamin Gorrelick, the healing of our sick, for the
that are bent on creating a war atmosphere Israel I. Halpern, A. M. Hersh- care of our aged, for families
will display an iota of cooperation towards man, Richard C. Hertz, Yaakov needing assistance and guidance,
T. Homnick, S. F. Kahana, Moses for the defense of the democra-
arriving at the desired solution.
Lehrman, Leizer Levine, Joel
It is good to know that our Vice Presi- Litke, Samuel H. Prero, Joseph - tic way of life, and for the rights
de•t is fully aware of the problem and that Rabinowitz, Milton Rosenbaum, of minorities. These agencies,
which serve us so faithfully, are
he may do something about it.
Moses Rothenberg, Jacob E.
They
But when propagandists come to mislead Segal, Joshua S. Sperka, Isaac the pride of Detroit Jewry.
on
the public, we must be more cautious. Last S t o 1-1 m a n, M. Robert Syme, Must be enabled to carry
of
their
indispensable
programs
week, - for instance, an Aramco (Arabian-Amen-. Joseph Thumim, Sherwin T.
and
instruction,
health,
welfare
can Oil Co.) official, Harold B. Minor, was here Wine and Solomon - P. Wohlgel-
service.
to deliver one of the periodic facetiously below- ernter, declared in their appeal:
"The Allied Jewish Campaign,
the-belt-hitting speeches for which the Eco-
"The State of Israel is engaged
nornic Club has become notorious in recent in a struggle for its survival in the source of their support, alone
years. He threw in a sop by advising 'Israel's , the -face of the hostility and un- can insure their continued ac-
neighbors to stop inciting to anti-Israel propa- friendliness by -which it is now tivity and effectiveness in our
ganda, but the major portion of his address surrounded. Our generosity midst."
was, in effect, an attack on Israel by resort
to innuendos: advising Israel to seek trade with
her neighbors—knowing full well that this is AN EXPOSE OF INCONSISTENCY
just what Israel has been striving for but
that the obstacle is the Arab boycott; by telling
Israel to stop speaking for all the Jews in the
world—thereby using the Council for Judaism's
nefarious propaganda•; telling Israel to inter-
nationalize Jerusalem—knowing that Jordan,
By MILTON FRIEDMAN
(Copyright, 1957, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
which controls nearly all of the Holy Places in
the 'Old City of Jerusalem, refuses to turn over
WASHINGTON—An authoritative new biography of the
their supervision to the UN, etc.
Secretary of State inadvertently reveals a totally contradictory
His chief misrepresentation was his ref- response by Dulles to communist arms shipments to Guatemala
erence to the refugee problem. He told an and those to Egypt. It indicates a lack of response by Dulles to
innocent and, unsuspecting Economic Club Israel's security problems and a probability that the Secretary
'audience: "Israel has given them ( the refugees) will continue to support Egypt's Nasser.
The book, "John Foster Dulles: A Biography" by Time Maga-
no help. The problem is like a cancer in the
zine's diplomatic correspondent, John Robinson Beal, tells why
. heart of the whole situation."
We grant the existence of a cancerous Dulles saved Egyptian President Nasser and suggestS that he
growth, but we protest against an oil man's would again rescue Nasser.
Dulles loathed Israel's recent action against Egypt. His re-
outrageous misrepresentatiOn of faets. Those
the forgiving
who have failed to help the refugees are the sponse to Nasser, however, is depicted as that of
Arab states. They have used them as pawns father of a mischievous but beloved brat. Dulles found Nasser
"a problem. child, not only because he wanted his friendship but
in the fight against Israel. They have refused
-because national independence was in the U.S. tradition, a bond
to provide work for them and have perpetu-
of sympathy which caused us to strain our basic ties with such
ated_them as pariahs in order to use them as
symbols of their fight against Israel. But colonial powers as England and France when emerging independ-
Israel, - on the other hand, has been impover- ence clashed with their colonial interests."
Beal's study amounts to a subjective paean of praise for
ished and her position has been made in-
Dulles. It is only by evaluating the realities of the Arab-Israel
creasingly difficult because she was morally
situation that the reader sees the one-sided role Dulles has
obligated to rescue 400,000 Jews from Moslem
countries where the lives of Israel's kinsmen played. Always, it seems, Dulles had unqualified support from
President Eisenhower. When Dulles rushed to the UN to save
were endangered.
Nasser, he did this "in close consultation with President
The Arab lands confiscated the properties
of these Jews, persecuted them, made their Eisenhower."
The book defends attempts by Dulles to dissuade America's
lives insecure. Israel welcomed them and western allies from taking firm action against Nasser. Dulles is
integrated them into her economy. On top of
lauded for preventing a pending Anglo-French military move
it, Israel welcomed back nearly 100,000 rela- when Nasser first seized the Suez Canal. He forestalled later
tiveS of the wiser Arabs who remained in the
action by conjuring up a receptive illusion known as the "Suez
Jewish State, thereby relieving the refugee
Canal Users' Association." His anger at the Anglo-French op-
problem. It was the only direct help given the
refugees. If; as the Armco propagandist told eration in early November was immense.
President 'Eisenhower, Beal indicates, was with Dulles
the Detroit audience; U. S, prestige is low in the every step of the way. Beal reported the President "angry
Middle East, it may be the fault of the oil
clear through at what he knew from intelligence sources was
magnates who—like the Arab potentates—are
an Israel-French-British plot to seize the canal . . ."
less concerned with the plight of the Arab
Beal reveals "the big, underlying reason" for the Eisen-
masses than they are with the accumulation of hower-Dulles support of Nasser. It was their feeling that use of
wealth by the two per cent of the Moslem effen- force against him "threatened the loss of all Asia in the cold
dis who oppress the Arab masses; and it certain-
ly is the fault of the Arab dictators whom the war with Russia for mens' minds."
What were Dulles' real thoughts at the time Israel pleaded
U.S. and the UN pampered by lifting them
to buy arms to balance the flow of Soviet jets and tanks to
up after they went down to a count of ten in Egypt? Dulles strung Israel along. He had no intention what-
actual warfare; by bailing them ov -t after they soever of identifying the United States with Israel despite
sunk low in the seas of moral combat.,
growing communist support of Egypt.
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•
According to Beal, "The State Department reasoned that it
A Bit of Humor
would be fatal to American interests" to sell arms to Israel. The
Saul Carson, JTA's UN correspondent, last thing the Department wanted was to give the Arabs an im-
informs us that . another UN correspondent has pression of taking Israel's side. All moral considerations involving
paraphrased the famous toast to Boston— Israel's isolated plight were ignored.
Dulles, in effect, facilitated the communist threat to the
"The home of the bean and the cod, where
the Lodges speak only to the Cabots, while
Suez Canal by rescuing Nasser. But when the Communist Bloc
shipped arms to Guatemala, his response was far different. He
the Ca-hots speak only to God"—as follows.:
was then concerned about "the possibilities of Communist-
"Here's to the United Nations,
armed military domination of an isthmus which contains the
Snug as a pea in a pod,
Panama Canal." He justified and supported the invasion of
Where Ambassadors Plenipotentiary speak
Guatemala from Honduras by forces of Col. Castilia Arenas.
only to Hammarskjold-
Dulles was - deaf to Israel's alarm when . Soviet ships un-
While he speaks to no one he is God."
Since we are winding up with humor— loaded MIG jets and Stalin tanks in Egypt. When a single com-
although the above can be classed only as munist freighter, the Alfhem, brought machine guns and rifles
Galgenhumor (humor on the gallows), we'd to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, he considered it a grave threat to
like to turn to Marya Mannes' article in world peace. He supported armed intervention.
"By this arms shipment," Dulles said, "a government In
The Reporter for the following:
"We feel,". said a de-legate from Ireland, which communist -influence is very strong has come into a posi-
"that we have made OUR contribution to tion to dominate militarily the central American area. Already
its
world peace by sitting between the Israeli the Guatemalan Government has made gestures against led
neighbors which they deem to be threatening and which have
and Iraqi delegations."
Thanks also to alphabetical seating, Ire- them to appeal for aid."
He warned "the extension of communist colonialism would
land, Israel, and Italy formed together`
they called "the New York Delegation." It endanger the peace of this hemisphere."
It was the same Dulles who considered Zionists "hysterical"
was the cosiest corner of the Eleventh
and refused to sell arms when the analogy between Guatemala
Assembly of the United Nations.
In other words, it was the oasis in the and Egypt was pointed out. In the cast of Egypt, Dulles found
it expedient to rescue the regime importing communist arms,"
United Nations desert.
Dulles" Conflicting Attitudes
Toward Israel and Nasser
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—