YouSaid · the spoken record

Sharett

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS SHARETT

lines on the record: 51
first: 1950-09-24
most recent: 1951-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

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“I should also like to take the opportunity of offering from this platform the Israel Government’s hearty congratulations to Leon Jouhaux, that staunch champion of social justice in France and everywhere, on the important international distinction so justly conferred upon him.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“It ventures to express these ideas on behalf of a State whose emergence may well be viewed as a triumph of the human will against all odds of history. It voices the passionate belief that it is within the capacity of the organized human race to attain by common endeavour the fulfilment of those ideals of freedom, brotherhood and human dignity whose proclamation at a momentous juncture from this glorious city will continue to ring in the ears of tormented posterity as a message of eternal hope. 60. In conclusion, I should like to add my delegation’s whole-hearted expression of gratitude for the generous hospitality offered to us all by France and by the City of Paris to that so eloquently voiced by many other representatives. 61.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“World harmony requires that East and West in the historic sense of the term should learn to be brothers. Humanity’s survival entails a concerted effort on the part of the United Nations in all fields, political, cultural and economic, to meet the issues which face us and will face the generations to come. With unremitting toil and the full utilization of all its organs and agencies, the United Nations must persevere in forging the united will of the world as the instrument of its own salvation. 59. In offering these reflections to the collective thinking of the Assembly, the delegation of Israel does so in the name of a people whose trials and torments, through long and dark centuries, have neither crushed its national pride nor extinguished its creative genius.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The only way, incidentally, of bringing the dissidents back to the fold of common international endeavour is by a compelling demonstration of massive achievement. Much indeed has already been accomplished in these fields by the specialized agencies, the salutary effect of whose work is felt in ever-widening areas. Yet a bolder initiative and more ambitious scope appear to be urgently called for. It is enough to mention the grave prospect which confronts a rapidly increasing world population, of progressive soil erosion and the consequent menace of food shortage, to give the measure of the global effort — global in this case in the literal sense of the term — which is incumbent on the United Nations. 58. The peace of the world depends on the readiness of the contending political and ideological blocs to live together.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“It is a challenging enterprise for the United Nations to promote and enlarge the contacts between the two worlds on a cultural and social plane aimed at the growth of confidence, mutual study, co-operation and a deepening sense of their indispensability to one another. 57. Without ceasing to grapple with the burning problems of security and of resistance to aggression, the United Nations should increasingly address its attention to the fundamental issues of the survival of man and his chances of a better life. It is by striking at the roots of the basic problems of food and shelter, health and education, that the United Nations may succeed in providing that common denominator for all mankind which will in the course of time prevail against the cleavages of political systems or cultural traditions.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“What should be sought is a broad current of positive cultural integration. Mutual respect for the great human values crystallized in the tradition of both worlds is the basis for a relationship of trust and solidarity leading to the organic unity of the future. 56. In this, it is up to the Occident to go more than halfway. In bringing to the Asian continent its own modem civilization, it has so far been hardly aware of the latter’s ancient cultures. Yet it may be that in them is hidden that spiritual strength which alone can ennoble and purify technological progress and save man from becoming the slave of matter. Much as the Orient can benefit from Western science, the Occident can enrich its spiritual treasury by drawing upon the wisdom of the East.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Unless constructively faced, they will constitute a growing menace to democratic government, to international stability and to the peace of the world. They call for a universal framework of international solidarity and discipline, pledging all to the defence of each. They entail a system of international and interstate assistance such as has been initiated by the United Nations, and such as has so beneficially been practised on a most generous scale by the United States. A stable and harmonious international order can only be achieved by the rule of law and respect for established right, as well as by their peaceful adaptation to the changing realities of the modern world. 55. The issue between the Occident and the Orient is not merely one of temporary adjustment of the most pressing conflicts.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“On a different plane, independence conceived merely in terms of formal sovereignty remains an empty shell, unable to withstand internal and external pressures. Political power entails economic and social responsibility. Without a constructive policy of social justice and material advancement, both independence and democracy fail to strike root in the hearts of the masses of people, lose their vitality and eventually break down under the impact of outside aggression or internal, disorder. National independence and democratic institutions alike are brought into contempt by their inability to improve the lot of struggling humanity. 54. Inequalities of military strength, level of culture and economic development are the products of history.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Too often, undue reliance is placed on economic rationalism, on the assumed in dispensability of outside assistance, or on the inexorability of economic logic. The part played in the counsels of poorer and weaker States by their own appreciation of what is their fundamental national interest, and by considerations of national pride and self-respect, is underestimated. That one can be proud while poor — and even particularly proud just because one is poor — is not always realized. Fatal blunders are sometimes committed through disregard of these elementary truths. 53. On the other hand, grave danger's of self-defeat beset the path of a young nationalism. A nation forfeits its moral title to freedom if, on achieving it, it proceeds to oppress its minorities and to deny the right to independence of its neighbours.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Secondly, can the old relationships between the weak and the strong, so humiliating for the former and so demoralizing to the latter, be amicably transformed into a mutually advantageous partnership between two equals, or must there be a violent rupture causing havoc and ruin and leaving behind it for a long time to come a chasm of bitterness and hatred? 52. A synthetic and harmonious solution of the problem entails on both sides courageous forethought, freedom from prejudice and wise restraint. These, apparently, are not easily forthcoming. A sense of superiority, born of a privileged position enjoyed without challenge for a considerable length of time, dies hard and is not quickly discarded. Insistence on legal rights is not always mitigated by regard for genuine and deep-seated psychological susceptibilities.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“From the standpoint of the common good in the long run the question is two-fold. First, can the inevitable transformation be achieved without the destruction of the economic assets created under the old regime, without the lowering — even if it be temporary — of the standards of living of masses of people; in short, without interrupting the continuity of material civilization in the areas affected? Or is it a decree of fate that all the good in the former phase must be swept away with the evil, and the backward nation, handicapped for a long time past by its enforced inferiority, must start its hard upward struggle from an even lower level?”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Yet a symbolic framework of unity and mere statutory authority are not enough to resolve these grave discords between inherently unequal Powers which today threaten the stability of the Middle East and becloud the future of large parts of Asia and Africa. 50. Let me re-state the original question posed about the inevitability or otherwise of violent change. That we have here to deal with a world in transition is fully accepted by all concerned. It is the manner of the transition that constitutes the crux of the problem. Can it evolve peacefully by mutual consent and accommodation, or must it take the form of crisis and upheaval? It is not merely a matter of safeguarding legitimate interests and protecting lawfully acquired rights. Something far more important is here at stake. 51.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Quite apart from that grave collision, differences of race, religion, culture and economic standards, sharpened by complexes arising from close and prolonged relationships of political and social inequality, are liable to grow into unbridgeable gulfs and wreck for a long time to come the hope of a united humanity. The United Nations, which has assembled under its banner all nations, large and small, on a footing of complete equality without distinction of colour or creed, is the symbol of the fate of all of, us not only in the ultimate triumph of the brotherhood of man, but in the fulfilment of this lofty ideal in our own time.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Yet dire need and unimaginative or selfish statesmanship may drive those countries, one after the other, to take the irrevocable plunge. Should this trend prevail, democracy will find the area of its application convulsively and progressively restricted and may face the danger of losing its historic battle on a continental scale. 49. Against this background, the struggle between the two divergent political systems and social philosophies, in the ultimate outcome of which the fate of the undeveloped and under-developed areas of the world seems, destined to play a decisive role, is not the only world issue to be faced.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“corruption — above all the setting of exclusive privilege above the interests of the common man — have already proved democracy’s undoing. But there are other rapidly awakening nations still on the threshold of a fateful decision to be made by them or for them. So here comes the second query. Must the attainment by the peoples of full independence be necessarily accompanied by the loss of their internal freedom? Is there no other way to ensure their material and cultural progress than by subjecting them to the ruthless efficiency of a dictatorial regime? Would not progress then be achieved by the sacrifice of the highest values of social life — the free awakening in the masses of people of the dormant creative impulses and the full many-sided development of man’s personality?”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Yet there is no organic unity between them. The historical coincidence of the two struggles need not lead to their political identity. It is vital, I submit, that it should not. For their merger is fraught with an incalculable aggravation of the world crisis. To keep them separate is one of the most crucial and challenging tasks of international statesmanship in this critical epoch. 48. Multitudes of mankind in backward countries, consciously or otherwise, now stand at the crossroads of choice between true democracy and its complete negation. For some the die has already been cast, with the result that over immense territory democracy has missed its chance of earlier realization. Weakness of purpose, ineptitude and .”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Even old-established States seek to liquidate the heritage of inferiority in which they have long acquiesced. All these weaker nations claim an effective status of full equality. The Powers of the Occident, on the other hand, seek to safeguard positions on which depends not only their own strength but a great deal of the prosperity and security of the areas concerned. The historic query is whether these interests are necessarily incompatible or whether they can be reconciled. 47. There is yet another query. The clash between the, Orient and the Occident sometimes mingles with what is usually termed the conflict between East and West — that great controversy to which I have already referred. More often than not the former adds fuel to the fire of the latter and renders its dangers more widespread and acute.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“What we see around us is, in the broadly historic sense of the term, a revolutionary phase, the root cause of which lies in the obsolescence of time-honoured relationships of dependence and sway. These no longer fit the new realities of national and international life; they call either for a gradual adjustment or for a swift change. Over vast areas, great and ancient peoples have emerged to sovereign statehood after centuries of subjection. Their own struggle for liberation, coupled in some cases with a far-sighted statesmanship of renunciation on the part of the dominant Power, have achieved the transformation. Yet the process is still far from completion, either in area or in extent. From formal to real independence there is a road to travel.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Many of us have returned to our ancestral home in Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, after our fathers and forefathers had dwelt and wandered for centuries in the countries of the western world. We have re-established ourselves as a permanent and integral part of our old and new environment. We shall always maintain our links with the Jewish communities everywhere, while at the same time seeking new intimate relationships with our oriental neighbours, near and far. In trying to revive and reinvigorate our national culture in the country of its inception, we are anxious to preserve, to learn and to apply, the best elements of occidental tradition and modern progress as well as the teachings and attainments of western democracy. 46.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Moreover, we do not hold for the unilateral abrogation of binding treaties. And we differentiate between national and world assets. We cannot agree, for example, that an international waterway should be treated as if it were an internal river of a country which just happens to lie astride it. Nor do we have much respect for the method of lashing the populace into fury in order afterwards to become its slave. But for the genuine aspirations towards freedom and independence we have a deep understanding. We try to lift our eyes above the spray of the stormy sea of controversy raging around us and look to the distant horizon of long-term solidarity. 45.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“We are witness to deep and far-reaching antagonisms, sometimes latent and smouldering, sometimes flaring up in violent disputes, between Occident and Orient, between the more fully developed and the so-called backward countries, between nations accustomed to domination and races still recently subject, between the high industrial civilization of the West and an East only just awakening from age-long lethargy. 44. The fact that Israel itself is no longer directly involved in this clash does not make us indifferent to its trend and outcome. Nor does the absence of peace between us and our neighbours militate against our sympathy with the struggle of the surrounding world. Short-term considerations of self-defence may dictate to us attitudes which in conditions of good neighbourly relations we should have been happy to avoid.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The fateful question is whether, from the universal concern for the survival of human civilization and perhaps of the species itself, will emerge an over-riding common purpose and a will for peace powerful enough to protect society from self-destruction. 41. Moved by this anxiety, the delegation of Israel will give its most careful attention to the study of the proposals put before this Assembly for the limitation and control of armaments and for linking up all powers in an effective system of world security. 42. While the ideological clash between communism and free democracy is world-wide in its scope, there is being waged today yet another conflict, different in character, the scene of which is a vast belt of territories in Asia and Africa enfolding in one of its corners my own country of Israel. 43.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Finally, and above all, we joined this Organization to take part in the world-wide effort at buttressing the edifice of peace, and we are a people humbly conscious of the duty to maintain that dedication to the ideals of world peace and human brotherhood which has been bequeathed to us by the visions and prophecies of our ancestry. 39. We therefore deeply share the distress so sincerely and eloquently expressed by many distinguished delegates during the present debate at the tragic plight of the world, split by a seemingly irreconcilable conflict between two rival political systems and balanced so precariously on the brink of a catastrophe. 40. The prize of this conflict is nothing less than the mastery over the soul of mankind, yet the furies which it is liable to unleash may in their deadly clash destroy mankind’s very body.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Moreover, as a State very actively engaged in the twin task of reviving a country and rehabilitating a people, we are most vitally concerned in the preservation of international stability, for this effort of revolutionary reconstruction may be expected to prosper only in an atmosphere of peace. Our concern for the peace of the world is enhanced by the anxiety we feel for the fate of Jews scattered in minority groups all over the world, whose position in many a land, though happily not in all, continues to be precarious.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“37. A great deal more could be added to bring out the true nature of the distorting mirror which has been set before you from this platform, but my delegation has no desire unduly to prolong what is in this context a futile verbal controversy. We would rather apply our efforts at an appropriate stage to the exploration of the practicable and realistic solution of a problem which can be solved, if not through direct settlement between us and the neighbouring Arab States, then at least by means of a common endeavour with the United Nations. 38. Surrounded as we are at present by unfriendly States, we are of necessity intensely sensitive to the problem of our own security and to the impact upon it of the world situation.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“May I then be permitted to refresh his memory and straighten the record by pointing out first, that it was none other than the Arab States, including the Kingdom of Iraq, which set so pernicious an example by not merely ignoring a clear and emphatic recommendation of the General Assembly but by taking up arms in an attempt to defy and subvert it by force — an ignoble enterprise in which they duly failed; secondly, that it was as a result of that reckless adventure into invasion and aggressive war that the tragic problem of Arab refugees was created; thirdly, that the brunt of responsibility for the continuing failure to solve that problem again lies on the Arab States, which have added insult to injury by refusing to negotiate a peace settlement or even to make a tangible advance towards it; fourthly, that as everyone familiar with the problem is now aware, its solution can be attained only through resettlement in the Arab countries endowed with large areas of fertile and uncultivated land, and not through repatriation; fifthly, that Israel has repeatedly declared itself willing to contribute to the cost of such resettlement by the payment of compensation for abandoned Arab lands; sixthly, that within the short period of its existence Israel has given shelter and work to masses of Jews fleeing from Arab countries, including 120,000 from Iraq alone, who were despoiled of their property and arrived virtually penniless, while the world has yet to hear what the Arab States are prepared to do to relieve the misery of the Arab refugees — a misery which is of their own making; and lastly, that the position taken by the Arab States in declaring themselves to be still at war with Israel — a position given practical expression by an economic boycott, by a sea blockade and by a systematic attempt to sabotage Israel’s participation in regional organizations of the United Nations — is a violation of the Charter, a flagrant disregard of successive Assembly and Security Council resolutions, and a travesty of the protestations heard from this platform about the dedication of the Arab Governments to the ideals and ways of peace.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Applying to his task the gifts of an elastic memory and a pathetic faith in the notion, that it is possible to lend plausibility to an untruth by dint of endless repetition, he again chose to ignore or distort some of the most salient features of that phase of recent history in which both his country and mine were involved. 36.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“It had not been the intention of my delegation to take up the time of the Assembly during the general debate with any problem of specific concern to Israel, but the attack which was launched the other day from this rostrum against Israel and the Jewish people by the representative of Iraq — and also some of the remarks made this morning by the distinguished representative of Lebanon — compel a brief rejoinder. 35. Mr. Al-Jamali apparently takes a rather naive view of either the knowledge or the political understanding of the distinguished representatives here present if he believes that the picture of the situation presented by him could pass muster as true to the facts.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Firmness in dealing with aggression wherever and by whomever it may be committed, with bold foresight in attacking the twin human ills of poverty and ignorance, should be the watchwords of the United Nations. There can be no real progress without peace. There can be no permanent peace without progress. The attainment of both is the essence of the international Organization. The two are united in the hope of mankind.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“If our neighbours would heed the call of the Security Council and make peace with us, instead of confusing the issue by false charges and prolonging the plight of Arab refugees by delaying a settlement, our constructive endeavours could have merged with theirs for the benefit of the entire area of the Middle East. Be that as it may, what is being achieved, or at least attempted, in the field of development within the narrow confines of Israel, carried out single-handedly by one small State, could certainly be repeated on a vast scale by an international pooling of efforts wherever multitudes of people crave for better health, education and creative activity. 128. We are faced with a two-fold task.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“Their very evacuation to Israel eliminates sources of weakness and danger to the Jewish people and the world. Large numbers of them are uplifted in the process from the depths of destitution and backwardness to greater productivity and civilized ways of life. 126. To render this possible, all the latent natural resources of the land are being developed at an accelerated pace, and the fruits of science and technology are vigorously applied. The country is shaking off its age- old lethargy and the people are advancing towards higher forms of living. 127.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“In this direction lies the greatest positive promise of the United Nations for the future of mankind, first and foremost for the undeveloped, the under-developed and the economically and socially backward areas of the world. 125. For its part, the State of Israel, within its very limited capacity and with all too inadequate help from outside, has embarked upon an ambitious phase of reconstruction and rehabilitation. It has done so to consolidate its position and to fulfil its historic mission. As a result, the whole aspect of our country is changing under our very eyes. Our population has risen by 75 per cent within the last twenty-eight months. Masses of Jews, driven by misery and fear and drawn by the promise of freedom and dignity, are entering and settling down.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“The removal, or at least the reduction, of these inequalities, is at once the most challenging and the most felicitous task of world statesmanship. 124. The harnessing of the United Nations to great projects of economic development and the utilization of the world’s scientific and technological resources for the benefit of all is for the time being in its very inception. In his statesmanlike and imaginative memorandum, outlining a twenty years’ programme for peace [A/1304], the Secretary-General clearly discerns the vital bearing of social and economic welfare on the prospects of international security. He portrays the United Nations not only as a barrier against aggression, but also as a positive instrument of economic emancipation and progress.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“Constructive endeavours are the radical remedy, while police action is a. mere — though often indispensable — palliative. The evils to be fought and stamped out are poverty, disease and ignorance. 123. It has rightly been stressed during this debate that the real end of all our efforts is the well-being of the individual and of masses of individuals. The immense continents of Asia and Africa teem with hundreds of millions of human beings steeped in degradation and misery. The denial to them of the blessings of civilized life darkens the world’s horizon with a grave and ever present menace. Even if the present world conflict were peacefully resolved, as long as glaring inequalities of wealth and knowledge remain perpetuated on a gigantic scale, the peace of the world will be in jeopardy.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“The use of the atomic weapon is but one hideous corollary of that basic evil. The effective outlawing and prevention of aggression by strict adherence to the Charter and determined action to ensure it should precede the prohibition of this and other instruments of mass destruction. 121. The crucial question remains, which will prove stronger — the forces which disrupt the world or the framework established for its unity? This question cannot be answered by words. It is a challenge both to our vision and to our practical statesmanship. Only our effective capacity to act in concert can meet it. 122. But the task is not merely that of swift reaction to aggression. The evil should be attacked at its roots. It is the sources of discontent, strife, rebellion and armed intervention that must be eliminated.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“The holocaust perpetrated by Germany in Europe may well serve as a marginal comment on the discussion of the grave problem of atomic energy. The atomic bomb is a fearful weapon, yet it did not need that device of wholesale annihilation of life to put to death in cold blood six million Jews — men, women and children — and an almost equal number of members of other enslaved peoples. Crematoria, gas chambers and even ordinary firing squads proved as effective instruments of mass extermination as the atomic weapon. There is no end to organized mass brutality and the infliction of suffering on innocent people that can go on unhindered during a war behind the front and inside barbed-wire fences. 120. The scourge to be adjured, condemned, outlawed, prevented, resisted and defeated is aggressive war.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“Having exterminated the bulk of European Jewry and reduced the surviving remnant in Germany itself to an insignificant number, the Nazis now vent their rage on the dead by desecration of cemeteries and destruction of tombstones. 118. The appeasement now practised in both parts of Germany outrages the sacred memory of countless martyrs, betrays the sacrifices sustained in the overthrow of Nazism and sows the seeds of new aggression, savagery and horror. The danger is now imminent that the only real beneficiary of the present world crisis will be the very country which by brutal violence provoked the last world war, forced the peace-loving peoples of the world to take up arms in defence of peace and democracy and was the direct cause of the establishment of the United Nations for the prevention of such calamities in the future. 119.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“The people of Israel, and Jews throughout the world, view with consternation and distress the progressive re-admission of Germany to the family of nations, with her revolting record intact, her guilt unexpiated and her heart unchanged. 117. Judging by all accounts, the evil spirit of Nazism still dominates the German mentality. The Press of the world reverberates with brazen declarations of unreformed and unrepenting wickedness on the part of the new apostles of the resurgent Nazi doctrine. The alarming reappearance of mass organizations, Nazi in spirit, is a salient feature of the situation. Beneath the new thin crust of apparent peacefulness, the fierce flames of old hatreds are still burning.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“My delegation feels that it would be unwise for the United Nations, in disregard of compelling realities, artificially to bolster up a regime of the past, which has lost its hold on the territory and people it claims to represent. If the new regime in China is ready sincerely to uphold its obligations under the Charter, prospects of peace in Asia and throughout the world would be enhanced by its admission. 116. There is but one exception which my delegation must urge to the principle of universal participation in organized international society. That exception concerns Germany, east and west, as well as other countries where the regimes once allied to Nazism still prevail.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“In the present state of the world it is but natural that the schism prevailing inside the Organization should be reflected also among those seeking admission. The immediate inclusion of all eligible candidates would add no structural complexity to the United Nations, while the gain resulting from its completeness is patent. 115. The question of the representation of China is a most notable case in point. Much as Israel’s conception of democracy may differ from that upheld by the new Chinese Government, for reasons similar to those adduced so cogently here by the representatives of India, Sweden [285th meeting], the Netherlands [281st meeting] and Pakistan [283rd meeting], Israel is among the sixteen States which have recognized this government.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“The only development which might render such study premature would be the renewal of full co-operation among the five great Powers and the proven capacity of the Security Council in its fully representative composition to deal swiftly and effectively with threats to the peace of the world. 114. To be fully effective, the United Nations must be complete. The present position, when a considerable number of independent and fully sovereign States find themselves outside this great framework of international discipline and responsibility, is unjust, anomalous and harmful. The delegation of Israel questions the wisdom of a course which, rather than admit certain States deemed undesirable, prefers to exclude a larger number of States which are by all counts fully qualified.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“But if the Security Council is again to be paralyzed by permanent deadlock, what is to happen to the authority of the United Nations? Is it to be discounted as a bulwark of peace until the great Powers reach an understanding? It would be a dark day indeed in the life of scores of nations — nay, in the life of humanity at large — if despair of United Nations capacity to protect the world against the calamity of war should ever enter men’s hearts. 112. The dilemma is inescapable. Either a way must be found, free of hazards, to activate the United Nations against aggression, or the world must look for other remedies, leaving the international Organization to decay through futility. 113. It is for this reason that the proposals adumbrated from this platform by the United States delegation [279th meeting] deserve very serious study.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“Even then a five-Power accord would be an invaluable buttress for peace, but failing and pending such an accord, an alternative effort is imperative. In any case, nothing can absolve the great bulk of States, medium-sized and small, from their own share of responsibility for the effective maintenance of a world-wide system of collective security. 111. Outbreaks of aggression are unfortunately a feature of the post-war world. Invasion has occurred against Israel, and the Security Council failed to muster the requisite majority to check it. It happened in Korea, and this time the Security Council took action with the full approval of most States Members of the United Nations. In an hour of extreme emergency the United Nations has stood the test of action.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“It is obvious that such an endeavour, if successful, is the surest and the shortest way to the goal. 110. But approval of a method does not always signify faith in its success. Although it may be taken for granted that none of the great Powers is actually bent on war, positive agreement among them may or may not be forthcoming. In practice it seems today fairly remote. Yet the world passionately wants peace and must exert every possible effort to achieve it. Its fate cannot be left to depend on the fortuitous chance of a five-Power agreement. If there is no unanimity between the few, then the majority of the many must take such action within the terms of the Charter as may prove possible and effective.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“The preponderance of the great Powers in world affairs places on them the brunt of responsibility for the preservation of international peace. This special position of the five permanent members of the Security Council is specifically recognized in the Charter. Just because the international divergencies are most sharply pronounced in their relationships and in view of the decisive effect of their behaviour on the fate of the whole world, their restraint and sense of responsibility must serve as examples to all. Accordingly, any initiative in uniting the five great Powers for a concerted endeavour on behalf of universal peace, such as has been urged here by several representatives, and notably by the representative of the Soviet Union [279th meeting'], is to be heartily welcomed by all other nations.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“Its democracy is based upon full political and cultural liberty in its internal life and on unrestricted contact of its citizens with the world outside. To defend these freedoms against any menace Israel is ready to fight with the same determination as it fought for its independence. 108. But much as Israel cherishes these principles of true democracy and hopes that they may prevail everywhere, it fully recognizes the right of other nations to work out their salvation and to fulfil their destiny along different lines. Mutual tolerance of divergent political civilizations is the corner-stone of world security, Scrupulous non-interference in the internal life of others is the universal shield of peace and stability. 109.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“The crucial point is that an attempt to spread a regime by fire and sword across the frontiers of any State or to instigate it by interference conjures up immediately the nightmare of world catastrophe. The present international order is a highly delicate organism balanced precariously on the brink of a precipice. Any violent shock may spell disaster. In these highly sensitive times every military move, indeed every act of statesmanship, must be judged by reference to its effect on world peace, not merely because war is an evil but because peace and survival have become synonymous. 107. The young democracy of Israel draws its inspiration from ancient origins; at the same time it is its ambition to emulate the best in modern society. Freedom is the very breath of Israel’s existence and development.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“On the other hand, in many a country of orthodox democracy, patterns of life rightly claimed to be socialistic are progressively emerging. Far-reaching social progress is being achieved without any resort to violence or curtailment of liberty. 105. The point at issue is not how this or that system is to be appraised, and which is superior to the rest, but whether a system rightly or wrongly held to be superior by some governments should be imposed by force on other countries, either through invasion from outside or through subversion from within. 106. Here is the crux of the problem. It is not a question of mere ethics whether such an imposition would be iniquitous or just.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“The more determined the effort, the greater its chances of triumph. 104. To divide the world into two camps is to oversimplify the issue. Even among the countries adhering to the Soviet pattern, uniformity is by no means absolute. In other parts of the world, there prevails a wide diversity of constitutional regimes and social orders. It is fallacious to draw the dividing line between imperialism and true brotherhood of peoples. Imperialism is not an attribute of social philosophy but a product of physical might. Nor is it true to represent the issue as of capitalism versus socialism. The claim of communism as practised in the Soviet Union to be accepted as the only true form of socialist society is widely contested.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“Based on conflicting philosophies and divergent ways of life, can they achieve a balance of self-restraint and mutual tolerance, leaving it to peaceful evolution to resolve the issue — or will they be irresistibly driven to a war of total annihilation? Will all nations, whatever their political doctrine, find an overriding common purpose in the preservation of civilization and of life itself, or is mankind to give up all hope? Will scientific progress serve as an instrument of salvation or as a weapon of suicide? 103. Let us be honest and frank. There is no complete certainty in an optimistic answer. Dangers will not be banished merely by pious wishes. The challenge to survival must be sternly taken up, and a collective effort at self-rescue is by no means certain to fail.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)