The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Digital Edition > My Day
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt

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HYDE PARK—Everyone will watch with great interest what happens in the United Nations Security Council when the question of admitting 18 new nations comes up. The General Assembly, as you may have read, has voted 52 in favor with only two dissenting votes, Cuba and Nationalist China, though five other countries abstained, including the U.S.

It is, of course, true that Outer Mongolia, which has been the reason for not accepting this "package" proposal, is not an independent state. But while this will mean, if the 18 are voted in, that five Communist states are admitted there will be 13 non-Communist states admitted at the same time. So, if you believe that we are striving toward a universal organization, this is a step toward it and in all probability Outer Mongolia, while not a sovereign state, is no more subject to control than some of the other Communist states.

Of course, there is still a possibility that in the Security Council a veto will be cast even though the General Assembly vote of approval has occurred. This is a procedure which is not very clear to me, as I thought the Security Council action must be taken before action was taken in the General Assembly.

There was an account in one of our New York City newspapers the other day that stated that our Secretary of State has told Israel it should be more "ready to negotiate" and "to come forward with contributions toward a settlement," adding that Israel has been too rigid in its actions.

It must seem odd to the government of Israel, which has repeatedly asked for negotiations with the Arabs directly, to be urged to negotiate when it is the Arabs who have been unwilling to meet with them.

The only rigid position that I know of on Israel's part has been a very natural one. The country is very tiny and it does not see how it can accommodate its population if it gives up any part of its land, which has been won at the cost of many of its young people.

On other points the Israelis are completely ready for negotiation and they are even ready to try to find ways of solving the admittedly difficult question of land access for Egypt to Lebanon and for Jordan to the sea. This can be met in other ways than by establishing corridors, which have not proved satisfactory in the past. But only negotiation can bring solutions to these questions.

It is not fair to call a nation rigid when it has even one point on which it is unable to negotiate. In our policy we have often had positions on which we were somewhat rigid, with less excuse for our rigidity than Israel has for its stand.

I have again been asked to say a word for safe driving during the holidays and to beg people at the end of Christmas and New Year's parties to send their guests away with a cup of coffee rather than with one last drink.

Driving is dangerous at this season and especially when we have congested highways as we always have during holiday seasons. Drivers should remember to stay alert, and drinking is not a good way to prepare for winter driving.

E.R.

(Copyright, 1955, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

Geographic
  • Hyde Park (Dutchess County, N.Y., United States) [ index ]


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, December 10, 1955

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
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Digital edition created by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project The George Washington University 312 Academic Building 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007

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Transcription created from a photocopy of a UFS wire copy of a My Day column instance archived at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.
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