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Vol. XLII The Southern Israelite ... A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry - Established “ oV#>«Lt Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, December 29, 1967 No. 52 U.S. Final Decision on Arms Seen Awaiting Eshkol Visit Israel an\ Important Agreements WASHINGTON (JTA)—Presi ded Johnson has deferred a de cision on supplying significant new arms to Israel, including the P-4 phantom jet fighter- ooming visit of Prime Minister bomber, iat least until the Levi Eshkol, highly-placed United States officials have disclosed. The officials said that the White House was convinced that a dangerous arms imbalance in the Middle East did not exist because of the supply of 48 Douglas Skyhawk jet bombers to Israel. Purchased in 1966, thp -jet bombers are now being - produced and delivered to Israel. The President, nevertheless, described the situation in the Middle East as “dangerous,” using that term twice in a nationally-televised interview. Tjie President expressed doubt that his summer conference in Glassboro, N.J. with Soviet Premier Kosygin, though “very useful,” had “really helped solve any of the problems of the Middle East.” The President keyed his com ments to the five-point program he enunciated on June 19. These were the right of all nations in the Middle East to live in peace, acceptance by all of the right of existence of each nation, freedom of navigation in inter national waterways, solution of the Arab refugee problem, and limitation of the Middle East arms race. President Johnson said that Kosygin understood the five points and that "he did not agree with them but I think the Soviet Union understands that we feel very strongly about this matter.” He said the United Nations ap pointment of Gunnar Jarring as a special Middle East envoy had led him to be “hopeful” that his five-point program could be worked out and that "a perma nent solution can be found to that very difficult problem.” He said again that the Middle East deadlock was “one of our most dangerous situations.” Date of Trip Moved Up To January JERUSALEM (JTA)— Prime Minister Levi Eshkol’s visit to the United States, to oonfer with President Johnson, has been moved up by a month, and will take plaoe in January, instead of February, as previously schedul ed, it was announced here. The announcement said the earlier date was set at the request of the White House, because of changes in the time-table of the U. S. Congress. Mr. Eshkol is due to leave Is rael January 5, and will arrive at New York’s International Air port that day. He will stay in New York overnight, and will confer with President Johnson during the next two or three days. The place for the conference, it was indicated, has not yet been Billy Graham Voices Support NEW YORK (JTA) — Billy Graham, America’s leading evan gelist, support Israel’s efforts to negotiate directly with the Arabs, and urges Israeli officials not to __ ____ yield to pressures that could jeo pardize their nation’s physical Pretty Traffic CODS security. TEL AVIV (JTA)—A three- year agreement under which Rumania will buy 150,000 tons of Israeli phosphates annually, and a civil gviation transport pact have been signed here. Signing for Rumania was visit ing Foreign Trade Minister Gheorghe Cioara; Zeev Sharef, Trade and Industry Minister, signed for Israel. The agreements included pro vision for a mixed commission created on the basis of a wide- range economic, scientific and trade pact signed last April 14. Rumania is the only Communist country which did not break re lations with Israel during the Six-Day War last June. ., Officials of both delegations noted with satisfaction the pro gress achieved to date in trade relations. The commission also will examine possibilities of fur ther expansion of economic and technical cooperation between the two countries. El A1 Air- Romney and Percy Make Coinciding Visits to Israel TEL AVIV (JTA) — Gov. George Romney of Michigan left for Jordan after a whirlwind two-day visit to Israel during which he met with Premier Levi^. determined—nit will be either in Eshkol, Foreign Minister Abba Washington or in Texas. Eban and Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin. Sources said that the Gover nor, an announced candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968, avoided committing himself to specifics in his conversations. He was understood to have concentrated on the Viet Nam situation rather than the Middle East. The Governor was in Israel simultaneously with another presidential hopeful, Sen. Charles Percy of Illinois, but the two men did not meet. Mr. Graham’s views on Israel and Jews appear in an article published in the current issue of the ADL Bulletin, national organ of the Anti-Defamation League of B’naa B’rrth. He said he is con vinced that Jerusalem will be re united as a Jewish city, and is certain that Jews will provide Christians and Muslims free ac cess to all holy places. The evangelist sought the op portunity-to clarify bis views, 41m article says, because he was turbed by the arttdtude Jews of some evangelicals” and by the fact that, “while dialogue between American Jews and moat denom motions of American Christians was increasing, it re mained almost nonexistent be- I tions. tween Jews and evangelicals. GOP Leader Hits Johnson NEW YORK (JTA)—Rep. Ger ald R. Ford, Republican leader in the House of Representatives, a J ■ J *r I I U criticized President Johnson for /AQ milieu IO U IN Cause Traffic Jams ROME (JTA) — Three attrac tive, smartly uniformed girls from Israel caused a traffic jam in one of Rome’s busiest inter sections, though their intention was just the opposite. The girls, members of Israel’s traf fic police corps, were sent here for a week’s stay in connection with the opening of Israel Week at a large shopping center on tb' Via Tritone. They were assigned to direct traffic for several hours a day on the Piazza Bar- berini, where several roads con verge. Italian motorists, how ever, paid more attention to the girls than 'to .their traffic direc- lines officials immediately began planning flights to Rumania. The trade pact provides an option for Rumania to buy an additional 50,000 tons of Israeli phosphates annually. The phos phates will be used in Rumanian plants to produce chemical fer tilizers. Thwart Attacks By Terrorists On Christians TEL AVIV (JTA)—Security sources said the arrest of 56 terrorists in the West Bank area wrecked plans for widespread acts of terrorism against Chris tian pilgrims coming to the holy places during the Yule holiday. The report came against a background of continuing Arab guerrilla actions in the West Bank sector. In the latest inci dent, an Arab infiltrator was killed when an Israeli patrol clashed with a group of seven intruders after a number of mortar shells exploded near Yad Hanna in the Samaria district east of Hadera. There were no Israeli casualties. The security sources said that the 56 arrested terrorists all members of Ahmed Shukairy’s “Palestine Liberation Front,” had planned to carry out a num ber of incidents in the Bethle hem area against Christian pil grims and that it was for this reason that a large number of the intruders had concentrated in tike area. The sources said that the intruders found shelter* in a number of villages to avoid being conspicuous as * large group in one place. New Arab State A Helping Hand Urge Retention Of Captured Territories JERUSALEM (JTA)—An au dience of 3,000 that included many prominent Israelis, among them Nobel Laureate tS. Y. Agnon, attended a rally here of the new “Movement for a Whole Eretz Israel,” and heard an equally distinguished group of speakers urge permanent reten tion by Israel of all territories captured during the Six-Day War. However, opposition to the “movement” has also de veloped. Among the speakers were Mrs. Rachel Ben Zvi, widow of Israel’s second President, Yitz hak Ben Zvi; Dr. Haim Yahil, head of the Government’s and Jewish Agency’s Center for the Diaspora; and Brigadier Gen. A braham Yoffe, a division com mander in the Sinai pensinula during the June war. General Yoffe drew cheers when he declared that the cease fire lines afford Israel security along her borders for the first time in 19 years, in contrast to the pre-June boundaries which were "a nightmare.” his srtaitement on Israeli security, which, Mr. Ford said, obscured “the credibility of American com mitment to Israel.” In an inter view broadcast locally by Radio Station WABC, the key station of the American Broadcasting Com pany, Congressman Ford empha sized the need for firmer sup port of Israel, including the sale of new arms far Israel. The Michigan Republic a n, speaking in his official capacity as minority leader, criticized the Administration for what he term ed a “vague and weak response to Israel’s life-or-death needs.” Rep. Ford said: “President Johnson’s recent comments over the networks, in my judgment, were not very sharp or precise in most of the topics touched upon, 'but particularly confusing concerning Israel. Until the Pres ident clarifies his position, the credibility of America’s commit ment to Israel seems to have been clouded even more than it was by Administration inaction last summer.” The Republican spokesman said he was “discouraged by the grudging and very slow move ment of the Administration to ship vitally required arms, es pecially jet planes, to Israel, to balance the massive resupply by the Communists of some Arab na tions. This vague and weak res ponse to Israel’s life-or-death needs can only encourage Arab truculence and further Commun ist penetration. More than the fate of Israel is at stake. The na tional security interests of the United States are vary directly involved.” , UNITED NATIONS (WUP)— The People’s Republic of South ern Yemen, the newly-inde- pendent Arab nation on the southern .tip of the Arabian Peninsula, has been admitted to the United Nations becoming the 123rd Member State of the world organization. Addressing the General As sembly following his country’s admittance, Foreign Minister Said Ahmad Dhalee spoke glow in'-ly on the aims of his nation. “We shall strive to achieve peace in the world and to avert war and. its horrors,” he said. How ever, he served notice to the UN that South Yemen will work hand in hand with the other Arab States in aiding the “Arab people of Palestine” who “are deprived of their right to self- determination and sovereignty over their own country.” Later, in a meeting with the UN press corps, he refused to commit himself on the question of Israeli shipping through the narrow waterway leading from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Lawyer Deported JERUSALEM (JT*A) — A Ramallah lawyer, Ibrahim Bakr, was deported to Jordan for in citing West Bank residents to refuse to cooperate with Israeli authorities. Bakr was banished from his home for three months last July for similar reasons, but resumed his subversive ac tivities when the exile order expired- HOMEWARD BOUND - An Israel ambulance driver helping a wounded Egyptian prisoner of wav to beard a plane for his re turn to Egypt.