Ri 1 erhiry. College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University 630 West 168th Street New York, New York 10032 For Further Information, Telephone: Lillie Shultz, PL 2-6697 80 AMERICAN LEADERS, 16 OF THEM NOBEL LAUREATES, ASK U.S, GOVERNMENT TO INITIATE RENEWED ACTION IN THE U.N. AND OUTSIDE IT TO INDUCE ARAB STATES TO NEGOTIATE DIRECTLY WITH ISRAEL FOR PEACE SETTLEMENT Call Such Action Central Issue of Peace and Security. Urge All Our Strength As Nation Be Put Behind It; Say Direct Confrontation May Prove More Effective Than 20 Years of Public Debate Warn Without Settlement We Are Storing Up Fuel for New Outbreaks With No Assurance They Can Be Limited to Conventional Weapons or Regional States; Request Sent to President FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1967 Dyaqn atti Eighty American leaders, distinguished in the fields of science, education, literature, law, economics, art, architecture and public affairs, 16 of them Nobel Laureates, today called upon the United States Government, “as a central issue of peace and security," to initiate renewed action within the United Nations and outside it, to induce the Arab States to enter into direct negotiations with Israel for a peace settlement. In a joint statement, in which they expressed support for the five principles set forth by President Lyndon B. Johnson on June 19, they urged that this U.S. “policy be fortified and pursued inside the United Nations and outside it with all the authority of our strength as a nation." Declaring that peace and security require that "in fact as in principle, there can be no return to the status quo ante,” they underscored that "Israel's security is bound up with our own." They warned that "without peace settle- ments entered into by Israel and each of the warring States, we are only storing up fuel for new outbreaks, with no assurance that a new encounter can be con- tained or restricted either to conventional weapons or to regional States." They recalled that Israel by its own valor had "surmounted a climactic unified attack to destroy it" and that "thus it has forestalled the dangers of a military confrontation between the major powers." Direct negotiations, they emphasized, "provide no privilege to either side; they are common practice among sovereign States." Moreover, "in the delimited atmosphere of a direct confrontation between the parties, insulated against the competitions and pressures of major or minor States, hard reality may prove more effective counsel and impetus for a settlement than the public debates of the past 20 years." Communicated to President A copy of the statement with the list of the signatories was sent to President Lyndon B. Johnson in behalf of the initiating group and the signa- tories by Dr. I. I. Rabi, University Professor Emeritus, Columbia University, 1944 Nobel Laureate, Physics. Five Scientists Initiate Statement The statement was made public in behalf of the signatories by five scien- tists who had initiated it: Dr. Louis F. Fieser, Professor of Chemistry, Harvard University; Dr. Maurice Goldhaber, Member, National Academy of Sciences; Dr. Robert Hofstadter, Professor of Physics, Stanford University, 1961 Nobel Laureate, Physics; Dr. I. I. Rabi, University Professor Emeritus, Columbia University, 1944 Nobel Laureate, Physics; Dr. David Rittenberg, Chairman, Department of Biochemistry, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. In inviting signatories, the group said "its purpose is to support our Government, and others, seeking a settlement of the conflict in the Middle East, which is realistic and capable of stabilizing the area after 20 years and three wars." Nobel Laureates among Signatories Nobel Laureates among the signatories include: Dr. Felix Bloch, Professor of Physics, Leland Stanford University, 1952 Nobel Laureate, Physics; Dr. Carl F. Cori, Biochemist, Massachusetts General Hospital, 1947 Nobel Laureate, Medicine and Physiology; Dr. Andre F. Cournand, Professor Emeritus, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, 1956 Nobel Laureate, Medicine and Physiology; Dr. Robert Hofstadter, Professor of Physics, Stanford University, 1961 Nobel Laureate, Physics; Dr. Charles Huggins, Director, Ben May Laboratory, University of Chicago, 1966 Nobel Laureate, Medicine and Physiology; Dr. Arthur Kornberg, Professor of Biochemistry, Stanford University, 1959 Nobel Laureate, Medicine and Physiology; Dr. Polykarp Kusch, Professor of Physics, Columbia University, 1955 Nobel Laureate, Physics; Dr. Joshua Lederberg, Professor of Genetics, Medical School, Stanford University, 1958 Nobel Laureate, Medicine and Physiology; Dr. Fritz A. Lipmann, Professor of Biochemistry, Rockefeller Univer- sity, 1953 Nobel Laureate, Medicine and Physiology; Dr. Edwin M. McMillan, Professor of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 1951 Nobel Laureate, Chemistry; Dr. I. I. Rabi, University Professor Emeritus, Columbia University, 1944 Nobel Laureate, Physics; Dr. Peyton Rous, Member Emeritus, Rockefeller University, 1966 Nobel Laureate, Medicine and Physiology; Dr. Emilio Segre, Professor of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 1959 Nobel Laureate, Physics; Dr. William Shockley, Professor of Engineering, Stanford University, 1956 Nobel Laureate, Physics; Dr. Harold C. Urey, Professor of Chemistry at Large, University of California, San Diego, 1934 Nobel Laureate, Chemistry; Dr. Selman A. Waksman, Professor Emeritus, Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers University, 1952 Nobel Laureate, Medicine and Physiology. Other Distinguished Signatories Other distinguished signatories include: Francis Biddle, former Attorney General of the United States; Alexander Brook, artist; Dr. Arthur F. Burns, Professor of Economics, Columbia University, former Chairman, President's Council of Economic Advisors; Dr. Lawrence M. Gould, Professor of Geology, University of Arizona, former President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; Dr. J. J. Hooker, Head, Department of Economics, Catholic University; Dr. Sterling M. McMurrin, Professor of Philosophy, University of Utah, former U.S. Commissioner of Education; Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison, Ret., historian; Robert Motherwell, artist; Dr. Mies van der Rohe, architect; Dr. Warren Weaver, scientific advisor and scientific medalist; Dr. Herbert F. York, Professor of Physics, University of California, Vice Chairman, the President's Science Advisory Committee. In seeking new initiatives by the United States, the signatories emphasized that following the Middle East war, “alone among the major powers, the United States has evinced realistic initiative to seize the opportunity thus created for a settlement which could lead to ultimate reconciliation, the stabilization of the area and its development for the benefit of its peoples." " the statement said: "To Calling Israel "a great human and creative source, preserve and encourage it is surely a major responsibility of the civilized world." Call Israel Center of Intellectual Dynamism Of Israel's development since its founding, the statement noted: "In 19 years, while struggling to protect itself from physical destruction, Israel has become not only a haven for the survivors of the Hitler holocaust, but a center of intellectual dynamism and one of the world's great sources of scien- tific research. "Enabled to develop in peace, Israel's contribution to the region and to the world may rival in fruitfulness and enduring quality that of the ancient state in the days of the Bible." "Once peace settlements have been reached," in the opinion of the signatories, "it becomes possible to tackle the formidable human and development problems of the region which have resisted solution until now." Text of the statement with full list of signatories follows: