Syrian Attempts to Stymie Huleh Project
Part of Double-Pronged Propaganda Drive
when Kidron revealed that the
Hula project was nearing com-
pletion and that it had con-
verted "a fetid swamp into a
smiling farmland."
The new Arab propaganda
campaign shows signs of
clumsy planting in an arid
political field with little fruit-
ful results in sight. Dulles
himself, it was revealed, re-
ceived the Arab memoran-
dum with apathy. And here
at the UN the Security Coun-
cil members took the move
with poker expressions to
conceal their irony.
How much capital the Arabs
can invoke against Israel as
a result of the fall of the Mol-
let government is also not al-
together "in the bag." French
statesmen have clearly indicat-
ed that relations with Israel
is not contingent on the exis-
tence of any one government,
but constitutes a decision of
broadly-based national policy.
Even in the inconclusive
Council debate of the Suez
Canal at least three delega-
tions specifically mentioned Is-
rael in their demand for genu-
ine fulfillment of Egypt's uni-
lateral commitments. Although
no formal decision was taken,
the entire Council, even the
Soviet Union and Iraq, had to
admit in the end that the
Egyptian declaration was not
a "final" settlement of the ca-
nal.
From all of these maneuvers
and from the anti-Zionist com-
munique of Saud and Faisal
there emerges the dismal con-
clusion that the Arabs have
not yet learned how to use
their unity any better than
their disunity when it comes
to Israel—nor for any better
purpose than to make Israel
a common scapegoat for their
common lack of a constructive
approach to the problems of
their religion and their peo-
ple.
0 * *
Detroit News Editorial
The Detroit News, in an edi-
torial, "A Bridge Over Hula,"
on Saturday, expressed the fol-
lowing views on the issue
raised by Syria:
"Syria's call on the UN Se-
curity Council to stop Israel
from building a bridge across
the Hula River, on the ground
that it is an aggressive action,
is an example of the absurd
limits to which Arab govern-
ments go in conducting their
feud with a neighbor.
"In northeast Israel, the Jor-
dan River drains out of Lake
Hula and into the Sea of Gali-
lee through a perfectly flat
valley floor. Israel owns the
ground on both sides of these
waters. But the heights to the
north and east of the valley are
Be Fair To Yourself .
Syrian.
"Through the centuries this
part of 'the Jordan valley has
been a military obstacle due
to the fact that the valley be-
tween Lake Hula and the Sea
of Galilee is an impenetrable
marsh overgrown with* bull-
rushes beneath which the muck
'TILL YOU GET A DEAL FROM
and water are many feet deep.
"Because there is no richer
soil than this in the Middle
East, Israel has undertaken in
the last two years to drain the
Hula marshes, so that the land
could be made productive. The
project should be completed
this year. The valley will then
WORLD'S LARGEST
become firm and ready for set-
tlement.
"The bridge over the stream
is a small wood and steel span
which one crosses almost with-
out seeing it. It has been there
DEALER
for several years and Syria has
said nothing. Without it, the
project could not go forward.
3
Further, once the "project is
CONVENIENT
complete, unless the bridge is
there, Israel will lose half the
LOCATIONS
value of its labor and that half
• 3000 FENKELL -
of the Israel - owned valley
East of Livernois
which lives east of the river
• .7 MILE ROAD
will be at the mercy of Syrian
Just East of James Couzens
raiders.
• WOODWARD • AT LOTHROP
"By any common sense inter-
One Block North of Grand Blvd.
pretation of what the reclama-
By DAVID HOROWITZ
UNITED NATIONS, (AJP)-
The Arabs this week unleashed
a double - barreled offensive
against Israel, shrewdly timed
with the fall of the pro-Israel
Mollet Government in France.
In Washington the ambassa-
dors of 11 Arab states jointly
presented the State Depart-
ment with a 5,000-word mem-
orandum calling for a halt • of
military aid to France which,
they charged, is being used in
the Algerian war.
It was significant, however,
that the Arabs took this occa-
sion to launch an attack on
Israel also. It was known in
informed circles that the mem-
orandum was ready for days,
but was presented to Secretary
of State Dulles only on Friday
—two days after the fall of the
Mollet government.
The "second front" of this
attack came here at the UN
when Syria called on the Se-
curity Council to order Israel
to dismantle a small bridge
constructed in conjunction with
the Huleh development project.
This session, too, originally
called for Tuesday, was post-
poned until Thursday — obvi-
ously to coincide with the blast
in Washington.
- Dr. A b r ah am Granott,
chairman of the board of di-
rectors of the Keren Kaye-
meth Lelsrael — Jewish Na-
tional Fund — in Jerusalem,
warned in a cable that any
ban on construction of a new
bridge over the Hula Ba-
sin in Northern Israel would
have the effect of sealing off
from cultivation thousands
of acres of fertile land just
reclaimed from whatwas'
once malarial swamp.' The
Keren Kayemeth has been
engaged in the Hula drain-
age project since 1952.
Mordecai R. Kidron; repre-
senting Israel in the absence
of Ambassador Abba Eban,
nailed -the propaganda aspect
of the Syrian move when he
reminded the Council members
of the "antiquity" of this com-
plaint already rejected by the
UN in 1951 and again several
weeks ago by the -Mixed Armis-
tice Commission.
Called upon to speak first by
Ambassador Lodge, Council
President for May, Syria's rep-
resentative Rafik Asha read
out a boring 90-minute state-
ment in which he asked the
Council to condemn ISrael on
various "violations" and alleg-
ed "non-fulfillments."
All of Asha's arguments fell
to pieces when Kidron conclud-
ed his counter-statement. The
delegates appeared impressed
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UN Discusses Hula Issue
tion undertaking and* the bridge
signify, Israel wants peace with
Syria and does not fear for the
future. Still, the family of na-
tions is compelled to take seri-
ously Syria's charge that Israel
is committing a warlike act.
Even a county drain commis-
sion, looking at the problem,
would know better."
Reports on Approval Given
By UN Acting Chief of Staff
UNITED NATIONS, (AJP)—
In his statement before the Se-
curity Council last week on the
Hula Bridge, Mordecai R.
Kidron cited the UN- Acting
Chief of Staff Colonel Byron
V. Leary as having examined
the project and found it com-
pletely within the framework
of the Israeli reclamation work.
Kidron presented the follow-
ing picture of the Hula recla-
mation scheme:
"The Hula basin, which lies
in the North Eastern corner of
Israel, is a narrow triangular
valley covering an area of ap-
proximately 45,000 acres of
land in which three streams
merge to form the River Jor-
dan. Lake Hula, surrounded
by a huge marsh, lies in the
southern part of the valley. The
southern tip of the Lake and
part of the marsh lie within
the area of the central demili-
tarized zone.
"In 1920, the Palestine Land
Development Company, which
was the holder of a concession
to reclaim this area, com-
menced drainage works at the
southern end of the Lake Hu-
la near its outlet to the River
Jordan.
"The objects of the scheme
were to reclaim some 15,000
acres of potentially rich farm
land; to prevent the annual
flooding of some 17,000 addi-
tional acres in the vicinity of
the marsh, and to rid the whole
area of the scourge of malaria.
All are palpably worthy and
beneficent objectives, of ad-
vantage to everyone living in
the area, Israeli and Syrian
alike, and, as was soon to be
proved, in no way contrary to
the Armistice Agreement."
Claims Total UN Surrender
On Suez Canal To Nasser
UNITED NATIONS, (AJP)—
The Security Council, under
U.S. pressures, last week com-
pletely surrendered to Nasser's
terms for the operation of the
Suez Canal. Summing up the
meeting invoked by France, the
veteran N.Y. Times UN cor-
respondents Torn Hamilton had
this to say:
"The Security Council, for
the second time in less than a
month, has complained, ,and
ended up by doing nothing
about the document under
which Col. Nasser says that he
will operate the Suez Can-al.
Egyptian ownership and con-
trol has thus been confirmed
beyond any doubt. Except for
the presence of the UN Emer-
gency 'Force on the soil of
Egypt," Hamilton adds, "the
status quo ante helium has in
fact been completely restored."
Agency Sets Rules
for Territorial Units
—International Photo
Israel Delegate Mordecai R. Kidron (left) chats with American
Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge at the United Nations Security
Council, N. Y., where debate opened on the Lake Hula Bridge
constructed by Israel. Syria charged Israel violated the 1949
armistice and asked the bridge be removed. Kidron defended
the project as turning a vast swampland into fertile fields.
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JERUSALEM. — The Jewish
Agency executive is formulat-
ing regulations on the structure
of territorial Zionist organiza-
tions and will submit them to
the forthcoming meeting of the
World Zionist Organizations
Actions Committee in July.
A meeting of the executive
Tuesday heard a report by Me-
lech Noy, chairman of the COM.-
mittee on -structural reorgani-
zation, of his -discussions with
Zionist leaders in Switzerland,
Austria, Belgium, France and
Britain. He said that the reac-
tion in all these countries, ex-
cept Britain, where the Mizrachi
organization is not affiliated
with the Zionist Federation, in-
clined toward-s the committee's
recommendations. ' •
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