Israel

It is my privilege, at the outset of my remarks, to express to Sir Leslie Munro the deep pleasure and satisfaction evoked in my country by his election to the highest office in the gift of the United Nations. His integrity of purpose, his clarity of thought and expression, his judicial temperament are an example here to us all and we feel fortunate indeed in the choice of our presiding officer. 85. I wish also to convey to the Secretary-General the sincere congratulations of my Government on his unanimous re-election to the onerous and distinguished office which he occupies. I hope that in the years to come, and with his vigilant help, we shall all witness the United Nations come closer and closer to the ideals expressed in the Charter. 86. In the course of the debate the Prime Minister of Canada expressed the wish that this, the twelfth session of the Assembly, might be known as the disarmament Assembly. Many other speakers have echoed this wish and this hope. But, is it rot tragic that at the twelfth session of the Assembly we should still be talking of hopes for disarmament, twelve years after a war that was characterized by horrors which no human mind could comprehend or envisage. Is it not tragic that forty years after the First World War which was fought under the slogan "the war to end all wars", we of this generation, many of whom witnessed the ravages of both world wars, are still engaged in debating the need and desirability of disarmament? 87. All employ almost the identical terminology. All speak of peace. But this is accompanied by such lack of confidence, by such lack of friendship that one often stops and wonders whether words have retained their original connotation; whether the same word spoken by different representatives really has the same meaning. 88. This general debate is being conducted in the home of the United Nations, the Organization to which the eyes of all mankind are turned. Never in history has there been an organization of States so near to true universality. Upon admittance to the United Nations, all Member States pledge themselves to respect and to uphold a Charter which embodies the universal longing for peace more faithfully than any other document in modern history, a Charter which envisages the realistic implementation of the prophet's vision of disarmament "and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks... neither shall they learn war any more". 89. Recently we have been privileged to witness the admittance of more and more new States. In our midst are seated representatives of peoples that have newly gained their independence and sovereignty. In theory, membership in the United Nations in itself guarantees their independence and integrity as it does to all Member States — including the smallest and weakest among them. I say, in theory, because neither the achievements of the United Nations nor our fervent desire for peace should blind us to the realities of the world situation. Having achieved independence, these new nations know quite well that this new status, even this link with other nations is not the fulfilment, not the final achievement in their development. Independence and membership in the United Nations is not the end — it is the beginning. It is the opportunity given to a people to build, to develop, to create and to prosper unhampered by foreign rule. We — all of the new sovereign States — should be permitted and encouraged to concentrate all our energy, all our resources in manpower and all our economic resources in fighting poverty, illiteracy, disease and desolation. But are these the realities of the world in which we live? No. The sad and cruel fact is that these new countries are born into a world bitterly divided and preoccupied with a headlong race to increase destructive power and distressed by a global tension which moves from one region to another without losing its acuteness or peril. It is under the burden of armaments that we, the young and small nations, begin our new life, and before we can cope with the problems of development we are driven by necessity to prepare to defend what was just gained — our freedom and our very being. 90. Israel fully agrees that problems of disarmament, both global and regional, should have a primary place in the work of this session. It is vital that we should break the cycle of failure which has for so long characterized this central problem. While it is true that effective progress is dependent upon the action and agreement of a very few of our Members it is the duty of all of us not to remain merely passive onlookers. We must express our opinion that it is inconceivable that these talks be discontinued. They must go on until an understanding is reached. If all those who call for peace mean it, then an agreement will be reached, has to be reached. Israel, together with all other Members of this Assembly, will follow most closely and anxiously the disarmament negotiations. 91. Ten years ago on 29 November 1947, the General Assembly adopted an historic resolution providing for the establishment of a Jewish State. In May 1948 the Arab League States launched against Israel a war intended to destroy the new State. Their failed in their attempt and a few months later Israel was admitted to the United Nations; and yet to this day these same States, despite their membership of the United Nations, refuse to accept the Charter as the basis of their relations with Israel, a fellow Member. 92. This long standing violation of the Charter is a basic factor in the unrest and tension in our area. It has expressed itself in the illegal continuance by these Arab countries of a declared state of war, of belligerency, blockade and organized acts of hostility. It was directly responsible for the crisis of last winter which in turn led to United Nations intervention. It continues unabated to this day. 93. It is true that the United Nations, which initiated Israel’s withdrawal last spring, has itself assumed active responsibility for preventing belligerent acts at the two points where the United Nations Emergency Force is deployed. No Government of peaceful intent or aspiration would wish in any way to disturb the status quo which now prevails in those two sectors. But in the Suez Canal not even this limited degree of progress has been achieved. Its international character in fact has been subordinated and obscured and the Canal is being operated under an illegal system of discrimination. Israel ships are not permitted to pass through the Canal and even ships of other flags bound for Israel are detained, cargo and crew are examined, and if an Israeli is among the crew, he is taken off the vessel, interrogated and mishandled, and kept under arrest for weeks. 94. The New Zealand representative has accurately evaluated the situation as follows: "Shipping is once more passing through the Suez Canal, but the conditions of passage are by no means satisfactory. As long as Israel shipping is prevented from using the Canal, the provisions of the 1888 Convention will not be fully carried out, and the international character of the waterway will be infringed" [683rd meeting, para. 134]. 95. This discrimination against Israel shipping is a flagrant violation of the Security Council decision of 1951 and of the six principles adopted by the Security Council in October 1956. It is a part of the continuing breach by the Arab League States of the Charter and of their international obligations. 96. In its failure to meet this challenge to fundamental principles of the Charter the United Nations has not lived up to its responsibilities. The standard for observance by members of the United Nations must be the same for all. Equality is indeed the first condition for justice. This is a question not only for Israel but for every nation; for action in respect to one sets a precedent for all. 97. The apparent passivity of the United Nations in the face of Arab political terrorism and obstruction is unfortunately reflected also in the regional activities of the United Nations. The ramified boycott operations of the Arab League against Israel extend into the fields of health, of education, of agriculture, science and economics. In this tireless campaign the Arab States seek even to involve the United Nations and its specialized agencies despite the fact that their constitutions expressly or implicitly outlaw every form of discrimination. As a result, on the economic side, for example, the Middle East is today the only one of the world’s regions without a United Nations economic commission. The regional office of the World Health Organization in Alexandria is inaccessible to one of the members of that region. The International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations are other examples of bodies whose work has likewise been detrimentally affected. One is driven to ask whether the United Nations really has to accommodate itself to Arab tactics so that even its regional agencies are paralysed or severely handicapped in their efforts to secure higher standards of economic and social progress, of health and education for all. 98. The basic problem in our area has been aggravated since 1955, when symptoms of the world struggle were introduced into the Middle East. Since then, the great Power rivalry has resulted in an increase in the offensive armed strength of those very States which openly and repeatedly express their intention of attacking and destroying Israel, 99. The Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union in his speech to the Assembly last week [681st meeting] placed much emphasis on "the need for and advantage of peaceful coexistence between States". That is an objective to which Israel stands committed with all its heart and soul. But is the massive and uninterrupted flow of weapons of destruction into our region, to States that deny the right of existence to a neighbour State, remotely likely to bring about that desirable end? We believe that this is a question which answers itself and we feel entitled to ask Mr. Gromyko whether the principle which he has adumbrated for all does not apply also to our part of the world. For Israel there is a special and unique danger in the fact that while Egypt and Syria are being flooded with arms from the Soviet Union, other Arab States, no less vigorous in their hostility to Israel, are receiving arms from other quarters. Mr. Dulles has said: "Those who feel an abnormal sense of power, as a result of the recent putting into their hands of large amounts of Soviet-bloc arms, are being incited against their neighbours by violent propaganda. And that, I say, is risky business" [680th meeting, para. 49]. It is well known that the primary target of this incitement and propaganda is Israel, and it is for us that the risks are greatest. 100. In fact a deadly spiral is being created with these consequences: first, the danger of destructive war is increased; secondly, the tensions within the region make it the focus for even greater tensions from outside, to the detriment of the hard-won independence of Middle Eastern States; and thirdly, a pathetically large proportion of the region's own resources, and of the resources available to the region from outside, must be devoted to weapons of destruction, while the population and economics of the region languish in sterile hardship and backwardness. 101. The Foreign Minister of Ireland told the Assembly, when speaking on the subject of the Middle East: "If the Powers concerned can substitute joint schemes of human betterment for their present competitive economic diplomacy, the consequent reduction in international tension will enable them to slacken the present terrifying rhythm of the arms race. And if the resources — of human skill and ingenuity no less than of material — at present committed to the arms race are used instead for an equally strenuous effort for prosperity and peace, the prospects for humanity, not alone in the Middle East but throughout the world, can be utterly transformed" [682nd meeting, para. 181. This pertains most of all to the under-developed countries which are in urgent need of economic development. Even to avoid a decline in the standard of living, production in those countries must be stepped up considerably in order to keep pace with the rapid increase of population which is taking place in most of them. But if a rise in the standard of living is sought, how much more necessary is the effective use of all available resources for this end. 102. The Middle East is one of the under-developed areas of the world. National income per capita in the Arab countries of the region is on the average estimated at a little above $100 per year, barely 10 per cent of that of some of the countries of Europe. All this expresses itself In such very real things as insufficient food consumption, unhealthy and congested housing, primitive sanitary conditions, a high incidence of disease and especially of those chronic diseases which weaken the body, sap the energies and shorten life, a high infant mortality rate and a high rate of illiteracy. Most of the amenities of life are virtually absent in the vast rural areas of the region. 103. At the same time, while in Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Egypt expenditures on health and education have amounted to between 8 per cent and 21 per cent of the total budget, defence expenditures have ranged from 19 per cent to 60 per cent of their budgets. The combined defence expenditures in these four countries during the last three years amount, according to their published budgets, to some $930 million. But tins figure includes in part arms shipments by foreign Powers at nominal value only, while the real value of these shipments is in some instances estimated to be several times as high. Some of the latest arms shipments are not included at all in this figure. The real value, therefore, of the resources used for armaments and the maintenance of armies in these countries for the last three years may be estimated at the figure, huge for our area, $1,500 million to $2,000 million. 104. Imagine what such amounts, used for investment in irrigation works, farm implements, factory plants and transport facilities could have meant in economic development and in the expansion of health and education. 105. In Israel too the burden of armaments presses hard. For its part it would wish nothing better than to use all the resources available to it for development and the fruitful economic absorption of its growing population. But in the context of its neighbours’ threats and menaces, it has no alternative. Nevertheless, despite this tragic diversion of manpower and resources to the needs of defence, Israel's record in the economic and social fields is one of no mean order. 106. Since 1948 it has received nearly one million immigrants, the great majority of whom are refugees, hailing from over seventy countries and from all corners of the world, including nearly 400,000 from the Arab-speaking lands. Its population within nine and a half years has increased from 800,000 in the middle of 1948 to almost 2 million now, including some 200,000 Arabs living in Israel today. 107. The economic and cultural integration of these immigrants and of those still to come has been regarded by the young democracy as its main goal. To achieve this, the economic framework has had to be widely expanded and production doubled and tripled. Large irrigation works have been constructed to bring water to barren areas, hundreds of agricultural settlements established, modern factories built, and great new urban areas developed. 108. But above all we are proud of what has been done with people. The great majority of those who came to Israel during these ten years came either from the post-war camps in Germany and Italy or from Arab-speaking countries. Practically everyone from the camps reflected in his loneliness the destruction of all who were dear and close. These were the remnants of the 6 million, the Hitler slaughter of the Jews of Europe. Broken in body and spirit, they came to a country of hardship, and yet at the meeting of desolate desert with victims of horror and destruction, both the land and the people have come to life. The desert has given way to cotton and wheat, forests and vineyards cover barren hills, and with a new dignity and hope the settlers themselves bear witness to the unconquerable spirit of free man. 109. I should like at this point to make reference to the problem which must be in the minds of many, if not of all the representatives. I refer to the Arab refugee problem. True, it is one of the many refugee problems in the world, but it concerns us specifically when we deal with the Middle East. Those who followed events at the time will know that this problem was the direct result of the war of annihilation launched by the Arab States on Israel in 1948. It is not my intention here to go into the history of this situation. I only wish to ask, why is this problem still unsolved? Why are many of these people still in camps idling away their lives and feeding on misery? 110. It is beyond any doubt that the solution could have been found years ago if there had been on the part of these same Arab countries a will for a constructive approach. The issue was most forcefully summarized by the adviser on refugees to the World Council of Churches in his report of May 1957. Pointing out that there were three classic solutions to the refugee problem in the Middle East — repatriation, emigration and integration — he recalled that repatriation has never yet proven to be a solution to any modern refugee problem. Both on grounds of historical experience and of practicability, the repatriation of the Arab refugees to Israel was, he concluded, "physically and politically impossible". As to the second solution it had become manifest that the possibilities of emigration out of the Arab lands for Arab refugees were in fact sharply limited. The author of the report then went on to say: "I therefore come to the solution of integration and I hold the view that, political issues aside, the Arab refugee problem is by far the easiest postwar refugee problem to solve by integration. By faith, by language, by race and by social organization they are indistinguishable from their fellows of their host countries. There is room for them, and land for them, in Syria and in Iraq. There is a developing demand for the kind of manpower that they represent. More unusually still, there is the money to make this integration possible." 111. Another detached and responsible source, which made a detailed study of the situation of the Arab refugees the Research Group for European Migration Problems, published its findings in its bulletin. After stating that the official attitude of the host countries "is one of seeking to prevent any sort of adaptation and integration, because the refugees are seen as a political means of pressure to get Israel wiped off the map or to get the greatest possible number of concessions", the Research Group recorded its conclusions as follows: "A return to the original places of residence in Israel is no longer possible, except in individual cases. Unwillingness to face this fact greatly impedes the solution of the problem. "Iraq and Syria, with the aid of U.N. Agencies and with outside financial assistance, could within the next ten years settle a large contingent of refugees, provided the projected plans are executed as envisaged. "Adaptation in the host countries is obstructed by wilful stimulation of the demand for repatriation and by the present inability of the majority of the refugees to earn their own keep." 112. I venture to say that in this respect Israel offers a contrast and an example. Since the establishment of the State nearly a million of our people have, as I have earlier mentioned, sought refuge in our small land. Not less than 90 per cent of them are in the literal and technical sense of the word refugees. The countries from which they came have become countries in which they cannot live and to which they cannot and will not return. 113. In this connexion, what the representative of Saudi Arabia had to say during this session on 2 October was perhaps too ludicrous to be worthy of notice. Having with much feeling pleaded for understanding for Arab nationalism, for the desire of the Arab people to live in freedom and independence, he went on to speak of another country and another people in the region. It was his thought that the Assembly should accept the doctrine that there is one and only one people in the world chosen to be denied that simple inherent right to be free, sovereign and independent. And since it had unfortunately happened that that people had in the meantime achieved independence it was for the United Nations itself to liquidate it. At the same time, with a magnanimity worthy of high praise the representative of Saudi Arabia notified the Assembly, "It becomes clear that we do not propose to throw the Jews into the sea." For this we thank the representative of Saudi Arabia. But does even he really believe that the 120,000 Jews who within little more than a year streamed destitute and terrorized from Iraq into Israel should or could be repatriated to Iraq? Or similarly in the case of thousands upon thousands from Egypt or from the other Arab-speaking countries? Or that the survivors of the Nazi slaughter could return to lands which are filled with tragic memories? Israel has said to these refugees, "You are our brothers." It has taken them to its heart. And today they are a part of the living and growing fabric of our life. Let the Arab nations also for their part, with their vast territories and possibilities of development and with the funds already available from United Nations and other sources, let them, who at the very least are not without blame for what has happened, say to their refugees: these are our brethren and we shall take them in. Let them do that, let them cease to play politics with human misery, and this grievous problem is solved. 114. May I take a moment to refer to the speech that we heard this morning by the representative of Jordan. He proposed a new approach to the Middle Eastern problem: first, no recognition of Israel's existence; and secondly, he put forth once again the fiction about Israel's expansionism. The only area in the Middle East that is in danger of Israel's expansionism is the vast desert within the territory of Israel itself. We have already gone into that desert. We intend to go more and more deeply into it with irrigation, agricultural implements, industrial enterprises and means of communication. We intend to make out of that desert what it was once in history — a very fruitful section of Israel in which many people can live and be happy. 115. The representative of Jordan also suggested disregard for the most elementary right of every sovereign State to conduct its internal affairs. Immigration is a purely internal affair. Israel and Israel alone will make decisions upon this question. Its policy is well known. The establishment of Israel is based on this very principle — that Israel's doors remain open forever to any and every Jew who wishes or must come to its shores. We are convinced that not only does this immigration to Israel mean not only no danger, no threat to any of our neighbours, but, on the contrary, as has been proven in the last ten years, the incoming of these people has helped in the development of the country and, I am convinced, it will also eventually serve as an example for the development of our neighbouring countries. 116. I have sought in the course of my remarks today to draw attention to some of the problems as well as to some of the potentially hopeful aspects of our area. Basically the position can be improved only by a modification of policies within as well as outside it. 117. Within the area, the question is whether the Arab States are ready to change their outlook and policy and bring them into conformity with the principles of the Charter - especially those which concern the independence and integrity of each Member State. 118. Israel has, through the Secretary-General, asked Egypt and Syria within the past six months whether they were prepared to renounce their claim to the maintenance of a state of war with Israel — surely a legitimate question when addressed to a State Member of the United Nations. The Secretary-General has received no reply from either country. 119. The position of Israel has been stated on many previous occasions and it remains unchanged. It seeks peace above all. It remains ever ready to defend itself, if attacked, but it has never had and has not now any aggressive intentions or designs against the independence or integrity of any of its neighbours. The obvious and essential need for our area is the conclusion of peace treaties placing the relationship between neighbouring States on a permanently normal footing. However, if the Arabs are not ready for this, I reiterate what was stated by the Israel representative at the ninth session of the General Assembly: "...as a preliminary or transitory stage toward this end" — towards a peace settlement — "it might be useful to conclude agreements committing the parties to policies of non-aggression and pacific settlement. Such agreements would include undertakings to respect each other's territorial integrity and political independence, to refrain from all hostile acts of a military, economic or political character, and to settle all existing and future differences by pacific means" [491st meeting, para. 37]. 120. I should like from this rostrum to address to the Arab States of the Middle East a solemn appeal: Israel is approaching her tenth anniversary. You did not want it to be born. You fought against the decision in the United Nations. You then attacked us by military force. We have all been witnesses to sorrow, destruction and the spilling of blood and tears. Yet Israel is here, growing, developing, progressing. It has gained many friends and their number is steadily increasing. We are an old tenacious people and, as our history has proved, not easily destroyed. Like you, the Arab countries, we have regained our national independence, and as with you, so with us, nothing will cause us to give it up. We are here to stay. History has decreed that the Middle last consists of an independent Israel and independent Arab States. This verdict will never be reversed. 121. In the light of these facts, what is the use or realism or the justice of policies and attitudes based on the fiction that Israel is not here, or will somehow disappear? Would it not be better for all to build a future for the Middle East based on co-operation? Israel will exist and flourish even without peace, but surely a future of peace would be better both for Israel and for her neighbours. The Arab world with its ten sovereignties and 3 million square miles can well afford to accommodate itself to peaceful cooperation with Israel. Does hate for Israel and the aspiration for its destruction make one child in your country happier? Does it convert one hovel into a house? Does culture thrive on the soil of hatred? We have not the slightest doubt that eventually there will be peace and co-operation between us. This is a historic necessity for both people. We are prepared; we are anxious to bring it about now. 122. I should also like to address myself to all representatives in this Assembly and especially to the Powers directly involved in the problems of the Middle East. The deserts of the Middle East are in need of water, not bombers. The tens of millions of its inhabitants are craving for the means to live and not for the implements of death. I ask all of you — old Members of the United Nations and the new — use your influence not to deepen the abyss of misunderstanding, but to bridge it. 123. And I wish to conclude with a word of deepest appreciation to those countries, Member States of the United Nations, who just ten years ago helped to lay the foundations for Israel's statehood and whose continued understanding, assistance and friendship have enabled us to weather the storms which have beset our path. 124. Many of these are countries without direct interest of any kind in our area. But their appreciation of the moral, social, historic and religious factors involved, led them to profoundly held convictions which they have maintained with staunchness and courage. Their friendship and their help will never be forgotten by the people of Israel and the Jewish people as a whole. It is a satisfaction and a joy too that with many among the new countries, that have in the meantime been admitted to the United Nations, we are linked in bonds of friendship, understanding and mutual aid. 125. In celebrating the tenth anniversary of Israel's independence we look back on a decade of struggle, or achievement in some areas, of failure in others. But by and large it has justified a thousandfold the vision of those who saw in the re-establishment of Israel’s nationhood an historic act of reparation and of statesmanship. Our greatest grief has been the lack of progress towards peace with our Arab neighbours. It is our profoundest hope that the coming period may make a decisive forward step in this regard, to the inestimable benefit of all the people of the Middle East and perhaps of the entire world.