President Eisenhower Message to Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver on the
Near East Situation
(November 15, 1955)
I AM GLAD to comply with your request to send a message
to the meeting which you are addressing this evening, as I know of your
great concern about the recent developments in the Near East which disturb
all of us.
A threat to peace in the Near East is a threat to
world peace. As I said the other day, while we continue willing to consider
requests for arms needed for legitimate self-defense, we do not intend
to contribute to an arms competition in the Near East. We will continue
to be guided by the policies of the Tripartite Declaration of May 25,
1950· We believe this policy best promotes the interest and security
of the peoples of the area.
We believe the true and lasting security in the area
must be based upon a just and reasonable settlement. It seems to me
that current problems are capable of resolution by peaceful means. There
is no reason why a settlement of these problems cannot be found, and
when realized I would be prepared to recommend that the United States
join in formal treaty engagements to prevent or thwart any effort by
either side to alter by force the boundaries upon which Israel and its
immediate neighbors agree.
The need for a peaceful settlement becomes daily more
imperative. The United States will play its full part in working toward
such a settlement and will support firmly the United Nations in its
efforts to prevent violence in the area. By firm friendship towards
Israel and all other Nations in the Near East, we shall continue to
contribute to the peace of the world.
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
Sources: Public Papers of the President |