Seen here in the Forward's archival image, Abba Eban, UN Representative for Israel at the Security Council, discusses the serious issue du jour with Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff and ultimate Israeli icon General Moshe Dayan and lesser known but widely traveled and frequently appointed ambassador, Emile Najar of Israel's Foreign Ministry. A few years after this photo was taken, in 1958, Najar was Israel's first diplomatic minister in Japan.

Conveniently located nearby the UN, is the Jordanian mission to the UN. Tensions between the two countries were the source of much of Eban's oratory that week. Also conveniently located near the Jordanian mission back then, was the Peking Restaurant seen above, billed as "the east side's favorite Chinese restaurant," and most importantly, "near United Nations." One hopes back channels were opened over New York's best Chinese food, a time honored Jewish city tradition no doubt, sometimes referred to as "soy vay" Earlier in his career representing Israel at the UN, in 1949 a year after Israel's statehood was established, Eban, heard here in New York's public radio WNYC's archival recording had to argue for the young state to even be accepted into the UN. At one point, the council debates an adjournment, whether for lunch or just to force Eban not to finish speaking is unclear, according to the transcript notes. Undeterred, the talented, resilient Eban won Israel's membership in the UN. Perhaps then, he was finally able himself to step out into midtown east's array of fine dining.

Sidelong to the United Nations Gift Garden, whose sculptural emblem is seen here, is Dag Hammarskjold Park named for the UN Secretary General during this Jordan-Israel crisis. The much respected Dag Hammarskjold, had a turn on the front page of the Forward that October in '53, as he conferred with Major General Van Benike, leader of the Arab-Israeli Ceasefire Commission.

Meanwhile, life in the city hit a milky impasse. Readers woke to news that week in October, of a vast milk delivery strike affecting, the Forward reported, over 12 million people in the New York area. The strike was led by 13,000 milk truck drivers affiliated with the American Federation of Labor represented in the city by the New York City Central Labor Council, located at the address seen above. And the middle east conflict continued to churn. Jordan, the Foward's other headlines read, was warned not to attack Israel in response to a perceived attack on a local Arab village, by Israeli troops earlier. Western diplomats were alerted by their Jerusalem representatives, that Jordan was amassing troupes for an attack on Israel's Mount Scopus region, in the northeast.

The following day, Forward readers learned of the celebratory ticker tape parade given General William Dean, the highest ranking p.o.w held by North Korea, who had been released. Together with the NYPD and NYFD he was feted along the city's Canyon of Heroes from Battery, near Bowling Green, seen in the image above, up to City Hall. As for the Middle East, the Forward's suspenseful headlines spoke of an important UN proposal forthcoming about Israel.

Meanwhile and still, New York's City Council met with New Jersey's Governor Driscoll to solve the milk strike crisis affecting folks. "The last of the fresh milk has sold out in New York" the Forward reported. City leaders demanded an end to the strike. The UN's Major General's ceasefire commission report suggested that in fact Israel had killed scores of civilians in Operation Shoshana against the West Bank village of Qibya, in pursuit of infiltrators, while Jordan had been a frequent disrupter of the ceasefire all along. Eban appeared in the Forward's single front page photo that day, addressing the UN rejecting Pakistan's suggestion that Israel stop construction on its water delivery system known as the Jordan Project, until the UN Security Council came to its conclusion about it.

Also nearby the UN is the British mission, further up second avenue, near the site in the photo above. As accusations in the UN volleyed back and forth and more human casualties were presented in the middle east conflict of the month—delegates raised questions. The British UN rep, Sir Gladwyn Jebb representing an only recently departed British mandate force in the region, queried the UN Peace Commission's ability to engender cooperation in their investigation of the recent attacks and murders of an \[three Israelis] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehud\_attack) that October.

As October 1953 drew to a close, the milk strike also faced acts of sabotage. Forward readers learned of the kerosene poisoning of an entire shipment of fresh milk designated for hospitals and schools. All 250 quarts of the milk had to be tossed out, the Forward's front page reported. Police suspected vandals got to the milk on its truck set for transporting. At the same time, the article said, teamsters were in negotiations with over 200 farm owners whose milk is distrubted to the New York area, to come to a quick ending of this strike. Also negotating an end was the city's labor relations board, located nearby this East River Bank in the Financial District, seen in the image above.

Down the block, not far from the site in the image above, but still walkable to the UN is the Syrian permanent mission. On the last day of October 1953, Syria was assured by Abba Eban, per the front page of the Forward ongoing, that Israel's new water canal project would not disrupt the flow of the Jordan River nor irrigation to nearby sites across the border. Syria's demand for a veto, Eban affirmed, was merely to cause Israel's water starvation and ultimately, its demise. In other Forward news: Dr. Albert Sweitzer and General George Marshall were awarded Nobel Peace Prizes. And Mayor Vincent Impellitteri made a statement demanding an end to the milk strike. The mayor order all parties to be gathered up in a room where they were to remain until reaching an agreement, reported the Forward. By that December, a couple of months later, the mayor would lose reelection.

Israel's permanent mission to the UN, located next to the Ford Foundation's building shown here, nearby its geographic neighbors, Syria and Jordan on the block of 2nd Ave that leads to the UN, is reminiscent of the literal proximity the countries face back home in their actual middle east 'hood. Would they find peace? Only a few decades later, by 1994 Israel and Jordan would sign peace accords, but Syria remains in turmoil. The first day of November brought Forward headlines practically blaring that the milk strike was solved. Abba Eban remained in the public eye for decades, until fading from the diplomatic scene with the changing Israeli political scene. He went on to create and narrate a well received television program about Jewish history entitled "Civilization and the Jews." Having guided Israel's early years as a nation state among the nations, he brought much understanding of the young state to the public stage. For wonks and debating geeks everywhere, he remains a hero. The middle east is still one of the toughest peace deals ever sought, with a near half century's worth of diplomats worldwide having gamely taken on the challenge. For the women and children of the region, killed at Qibya and Yehud in 1953 and for the scores whose lives have been taken needlessly since then, with only a hint of middle east peace on the horizon, they remain forever in the world's headlines.