International: Diplomacy by Swoon

Diplomacy by Swoon "The latest diplomatic feint," said a U.N. wag last week, "is the dead faint." The trend was set by Iran's new Premier Mossadeq, who swoons whenever he gets really worked up during a political speech (TIME, May 21). Last week, Israel's U.N. Delegate Abba S. Eban, a good deal younger (36) than Iran's 70-year-old Premier and far more robust, followed the fashion: at the end of an hour-long speech before the Security Council, Eban blanched, staggered out of the Council chamber and keeled over in the corridor.

The cause of Eban's excitement: a proposed Security Council resolution condemning Israel for bombing Syria in retaliation for the shooting of seven Israeli soldiers (TIME, May 14). Eban's faint failed to influence the Council: while he was out, it adopted the measure 10-0, with Russia abstaining. The resolution ordered Israel to 1) suspend work on its project to drain Hula swamp in the demilitarized zone between Israel and Syria, which had caused the flare-up, 2) return Arabs whom it had deported from the area to make room for Jewish settlers. The sponsors of the resolution (U.S., Britain, France and Turkey) made it clear that they only wanted to postpone the Hula project until Syrian interests could be safeguarded. This week, Israeli tractors were back in the Hula swamp, busily working away. Explained the Israelis: they had not received official notification of the U.N. order.