`Closing of Aqaba a New, Grave Dimension to Crisis'
(Continued from Page 1)
States strongly opposes aggres-
sion by anyone in the area, in
The Wall Street Journal warned
any form, overt or clandestine.
editorially Wednesday that while
This has been the policy of the
the United States "apparently is
United States led by four Presi-
still committed to oppose aggres-
dents — President Tr u m a n,
sion in the Middle East," in view
President Eisenhower, President
of its heavy commitments a n d
Kennedy and myself—as well as
pledges elsewhere "it had better
the policy of both of our political
be pretty cautious about interpret-
parties. The record of the actions
ing the pledge." The newspaper
of the United States over the
said the United States has "legiti-
past 20 years, within and outside
mate interests" in the Middle East
of
the UN, is very clear on this
and an interest in peace keeping
point.
there. 'So any uses of American
"The United States has con-
diplomacy to prevent that war
would be very much in order." it sistently sought to have good re-
a s s e r t e d. "Beyond that, it lations with all the states of the
stressed, "we believe the United Near East. Regrettably this has
States should not go, and we hope not always been possible, but we
the policy makers in Washington are convinced that our differences
with each other must be worked
are of the same opinion."
The nature of the conflict, the out peacefully and in accordance
paper said. "is simply not such as with accepted international prac-
to warrant the military attention tice. We have always opposed—
of this country." It is one thing and we opose in other parts of the
to oppose communism abroad, it world at this moment — the efforts
added, since communism repre- of other nations to resolve their
sented a danger to the United problems with their neighbors by
States. But "while the Soviets have aggression. We shall continue to
long been making' trouble in the do so. And we appeal to all other
Middle East, an Arab-Israel war, peace-loving nations to do likewise.
"We call upon all concerned to
if it comes, does not constitute a
substantial threat to American se- observe in a spirit of restraint their
solemn
responsibilities under the
curity."
charter of the United rations and
JOHNSON STATEMENT
the general armistice agreements.
President Johnson, in a state- These provide an honorable means
ment urging action by the United of preventing hostilities until,
Nations Security Council, Tuesday' through the efforts of the interna-
said free passage in the Gulf of tional community. a peace with
Aqaba is a "vital interest of the justice and honor can be achieved.
international community" and the I have been in close contact, and
United States "feels a blockade of will be in the days ahead with
Israeli shipping is illegal and po- Ambassador Goldberg at the UN,
tentially disastrous to the cause of where we are pursuing the matter
peace." (It was later confirmed with great vigor and hope the
that Egypt had mined the entrance Security Council can act effec-
to the gulf.)
tively."
President Johnson focused at-
After paying a visit to Expo '67
tention on what he describes as Thursday , President Johnson con-
"three potentially explosive aspects ferred with Canadian Prime Minis-
of the present confrontation":
ter Lester Pearson on the Middle
"First, we regret that the general East question.
armistice agreements have failed
It was reported by official
to prevent warlike acts from the sources that the administration was
territory of one against another seeking a "Tashkent formula" in
government, or against civilians, or which the Arab-Israel conflict
i
territory, under control of another would be regarded in the same
government.
sense that Washington saw the re-
"Second, we are dismayed at
cent Pakistani - Indian outbreak.
the hurried withdrawal of the
The United States would immedi-
United Nations Emergency Force
ately cancel arms shipments to
from Gaza and Sinai after more
Israel and any Arab state involved
than 10 years of steadfast and
in the fighting. Washington would
effective service in keeping the
then hope that the Soviet Union
peace, without action by either
would use its influence with the
the General Assembly or the
Arabs to bring about a willingness
Security Council. We continue
to disengage.
to regard the presence of the
'TASHKENT FORMULA'
UN in the area as a matter of
Chairman J. W. Fulbright of the
fundamental importance and
Senate Foreign Relations Commit-
shall support its continuance • tee said following the appearance
with all possible vigor.
of Secretary of State Rusk be-
"Third. we deplore the recent fore the Senate Foreign Relations
build-up of military forces and Committee, that Russia sad a
believe it a matter of urgent im- "great opportunity" to display de-
portance to reduce troop concen- votion to peace by working with
trations. The status of sensitive the Arabs and Israelis for a solu-
areas, , as the secretary-general em- tion "even more spectacular than
phasized in his r e po r t to the . their -success in mediating the war
Security Council. such as the Gaza between India and Pakistan at the
Strip and the Gulf of Aqaba. is a' Tashkent Conference." He said the
particularly important aspect of Russians were "widely com-
mended" for the Tashkent formula
the situation.
"In this connection. I want to and he hoped that such efforts
add that the purported closing of might now be exerted to preserve
the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli ship-' Middle Eastern peace.
Another member of the Senate
ping has brought a new and grave
dimension to the crisis. The United Foreign Relations Committee, Sen.
States considers the gulf to be an Stuart Symington, Missouri Demo-
international waterway and feels crat. said he was not reassured
that a blockade of Israeli shipping that America can defend both the
is illegal and potentially disastrous Middle East and the Far East —
to the cause of peace. The right emphasizing that "the Middle East
of free, innocent passage of the in- is more important to the security
ternational waterway is a vital in- of the United States than in the
terest of the international corn- Far East." He said it was an in-
ternational responsibility to keep
m unity.
"The government of the United open the Gulf of Aqaba.
Administration sources, declining
States is seeking clarification on
this point. We have urged Secre- to be quoted, said that the White
tary-General Thant to recognize House was surprised by the speed
the sensitivity of the Aqaba ques- of U Thant's capitulation to Presi-
tion and to give it the highest dent Nasser's demand. It was in-
priority in his discussions in Cario." terpreted as an Afro-Asia rebuff
to President Johnson's policies in
The President added that "to
Vietnam. The United States had
the leaders of all the nations of
urged U Thant to stall on removal
the Near East, I wish to say
of UNEF until the situation could
w hat three Presidents have said
be cooled off. A personal appeal
before — that the United States
was reportedly made to U Thant.
is firmly committed to the sup-
The sources said that they es-
port of the political independence
pecially regretted the rapid UNEF
and territorial integrity of all
withdrawal because the United
nations of the area. The United
16 Friday, May 26, 1967
—
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
vision Organization, has been un-
able thus far to bring about •T-
sumption of the extraordinary ses-
sion of the Israel-Syrian Mixed
Armistice Commission.
He referred to statements made
recently both by President Nasser
of Egypt and Israel's Prime Min-
ister Levi Eshkol "which faced us
with the possibility of the danger
of direct confrontation between the
United Arab Republic and Israel
over the question of access to the
Gulf of Aqaba."
After telling the council that
its principal means for balancing
the deteriorating situation lay in
full support to Thant's mission, he
said: "I believe at this stage, the
most useful contribution which this
council can make is to reinforce
the current efforts being made by
the secretary general to preserve
peace in the area. This is the pur-
port of what we are suggesting
that the council should do. We
should, at the same time. urge that
no member state of the United Na-
tions take any action which would
either prejudice the success of
the secretary general's mission or
worsen the situation."
He was obviously hinting at
talks with the Soviet bloc, the
Arab bloc and Israel when he
said: "I must stress that we are
willing to consult with all our
colleagues as well as with the
countries most directly concerned
to try to find agreements which
will reverse the drift toward the
worsening of confrontation which
now exists and which has been
drawn to our attention in so dra-
matic a way by the secretary
general and by his mission."
In his remarks, Seydoux of
France told the council that his
delegation had not been consulted
about the "hasty" summoning of
the council.
Officials of the French govern-
ment had said earlier that France
had no plans at present to abide by
the 1950 Tripartite Declaration
which France, the United States
and Britain had issued, guarantee-
ing the territorial integrity of all
the Arab-Israeli borders.
Instead of relying on the Tripar-
tite Declaration, the French of-
ficials were quoted as saying that
France hopes that the United Na-
tions would safeguard the peace
in the Near East.
THANT DISTURBED
Secretary-General Thant was re-
ported to have been "highly dis-
turbed" at the convening of the
Security Council session during his
absence. Thant returned to New
York Thursday, cutting short his
mission to Cairo.
Thant and Nasser conferred for
three hours on the conflict after a
warning from the United States
that it would use force if necessary
to keep the Gulf of Aqaba open
to international shipping. Thant
envisioned a peace formula based
on the creation of a revamped
Egyptian-Israeli armistice commis-
sion.
The commission would be under
UN supervision and would be simi-
lar to the one dissolved in 1956
following Israel's refusal to par-
ticipate.
Egypt's first reaction to a sug-
gestion by French President
Charles de Gaulle for concerted
efforts by France, the United
States, Britain and Russia to re-
solve the crisis was "not favor-
able." The U. S. supported the
move.
The Soviet Union, at UN head-
quarters, suggested the United
States and Britain withdraw their
warships from the Mediterranean
as a first step toward reducing
tensio.
In talks with the United States
foreign minister, Russia has report-
edly linked the Middle East crisis
with Vietnam in a package deal.
Israel received the Soviet decla-
ration of full support for the Arab
states made Tuesday in Moscow
calmly and without surprise. Is-
raelis said that the Soviet Union's
attitude had been suspected from
CITES DANGER
Ambassador Ignatieff noted that the very beginning of the crisis.
The
only note of surprise sounded
Lt. Gen. Odd Bull, chief of staff
of the United Nations Truce Super- by Israelis was over the rapidity
States had counted on the UN to
keep pea c e in the area, since
America, because of its ties with
Jordan and Saudi Arabia, could
not afford to become unilaterally
linked with Israel's defense.
Chairman John Stennis of the
Senate Preparedness subcommittee
said Wednesday that the United
States must " By no means" go it
States must "by no means" go it
Israel because of commitments in
Vietnam. He said that Israel should
apply to the UN and that America
should seek an international for-
mula while avoiding unilateral
involvement. Sen. Stennis is a
Mississippi Democrat and leading
opponent of civil rights legislation.
The United States and Can-
ada voiced eloquent pleas to the
Security Council Wednesday urg-
ing that the 15-member body deal
immediately with the dangerous
situation in the Middle East.
However, opposition to the very
convening of a Security Council
session at this time oft the Middle
East issue was expressed by Dr.
Nikolai Fedorenko, 'Soviet repre-
sentative; Roger Seydoux, the
French ambassador: and the rep-
resentatives of Bulgaria, India and
Mali.
Just before the session was
opened, it became known that Is-
rael and Egypt both requested that
they be seated at the council table
during the current session.
Dr. Fedorenko declared that the
very convening of the meeting
posed a danger to world peace.
He charged that the two council
members who had requested a
meeting, Canada and Denmark,
were only acting as a front for
NATO powers and for other West-
ern interests whose real concern,
he said, lies with "a desire to
interfere in the affairs of other
nations rather than with peace in
the Middle East."
WARNING BY GOLDBERG
Dr. Fedorenko said that the
convening of the council in urgent
session Wednesday was "an exag-
gerated effort and an attempt by
some of the Western representa-
tives to dramatize a situation which
is really not of their concern."
Later in reply to those who op-
posed the council meeting, Ambas-
sador Arthur J. Goldberg, chief
envoy of the United States here,
told the body:
"This council would have to be
burying its head in the sands if
it refused to recognize that, since
the secretary general left here for
Cairo two days ago, there have
been dire and dangerous develop-
ments which were not known to
him at that time or known, indeed
to any member of the council. The
situation now is of central concern
to the world, a tragedy that poten-
tially threatens the peace of the
entire Middle East region and all
of mankind."
Both of the initial sponsors of
the call for Wednesday's session,
Canada's ambassador. George Ig-
natieff, and Denmark's ambassa-
dor, Hans Tabor, requested that
the council take actions to
help pacify the situation in the
Middle East.
"In calling this Security Council
meeting," said Ignatieff, "we are
suggesting that this council should
exercise its responsibilities under
the charter to deal with the kind
of threatening situation which the
secretary general has not only re-
ported to the Security Council, but
has regarded as sufficiently serious
to assume the responsibility for
undertaking a personal mission to
the area."
Ambassador Ignatieff referred to
the situation along the Israel-Arab
borders by pointing out that there
have been steady reports of dete-
rioration along the frontier lines
between Syria and Israel.
(It was reported from Cairo that
Wednesday night, an Israeli patrol
had a minor skirmish with 'Arabs
at the border, but were forced to
withdraw. The report said there
were no casualties.)
LBJ
with which the Moscow position
was made public and the violence
of its tone.
"MILITARY PSYCHOSIS"
The Soviet statement distributed
by the Tass agency belabored Is-
rael for "aggravating the atmos-
phere of military psychosis," af-
firmed that maintenance of peace
and security in the Middle East
"accords with the vital interests
of the peoples of the Soviet Union"
and warned bluntly that "He who
would venture to unleash aggres-
sion would encounter not only the
united strength of the Arab coun-
tries but also resolute resistance
to aggression on the part of the
Soviet Union and all peace-loving
states."
The Soviet declaration was seen
here as confirmation that Nasser's
general offensive was known to
Moscow long in advance and the
possibility was weighed here that
it might have been concerted by
the two countries during the recent
visit to Cairo of Soviet Foreign
Minister Andrei T. Gromyko. Gro-
myko had a number of secret
meetings with Nasser at the time.
(In an ironic twist, Communist
China issued a statement that
Peking supports the Arabi
against Israel, which was termed
"a tool of the imperialists." Pe-
king took a line that the Arabs
must guard against betrayal by a
Soviet agreement with the West.)
Most Israelis agreed that Tues-
day was the longest day since the
current crisis erupted and was a
particularly grueling one in the
foreign ministry.
Foreign Minister Abba S. Eban
received individually the envoys
of most of the Eastern European
countries to each of whom he ex-
plained the Israeli position and
declared that Israel. in accordance
Related Stories Page 2, 3, 7, 15, 40
with Article 51 of the United Na-
tions charter, reserved the right
of self-defense in the event that
Nasser imposed a blockade on the
Straits of Tiran.
Eban was also in close touch
throughout the day with the em-
bassies of the Western countries.
Instructions went out from the for-
eign ministry to all Israeli envoys
abroad to explain to the govern-
ments to which they were accred-
ited that Israel intended to adhere
to its policy on international water-
ways as described by Golda Meir,
then the foreign minister, address-
ing the United Nations General As-
sembly in March 1957. This policy,
it was stressed, was approved by
the 14 maritime nations w h i c h
were represented in the Geneva
Conference on the International
Law of the Sea.
POLITICAL ACTION
As on the diplomatic front, there
was intense activity on Israel's pol-
Rital scene with increasing talk of
formation of a "cabinet of national
unity" embracing all parties ex-
cept the Communists and a tiny
splinter group.
Spokesmen for the government
coalition brushed aside these re-
ports as "grossly premature," but
observers noted that the govern-
ment was seeking to associate the
opposition parties more closely to
its formulation and application of
policy. Prime Minister • Levi Esh-
kol's meeting Tuesday with all the
parties was described as the first
of such sessions, and Eshkol ap-
parently planned to hold them as
frequently as the situation de-
mands.
Only one party, the United Work-
ers Party (Rafi) had thus far come
out against the government line,
but later it, too, accede d.
In Wednesday's edition of t h e
party's weekly organ, New Out-
look, former Prime Minister David
Ben-Gurion's group asserted that
Prime Minister Eshkol had only
two possible choices now: To ac-
cept a "Munich" with all its impli-
cations, or take the action de-
manded by circumstances.
The Raft organ also hinted at
the need for establishing a ow
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