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Department of Ga., S.C. JWV
Plans July Parley in Savannah
The Department of Georgia and
South Carolina Jewish War
Veterans will hold its convention
July 4, 5 and 6, at the Downtowner
Motel in Savannah.
Bill Feinberg of Columbus,
Department commander, an
nounced that Bob Stone, past com
mander of the Fourth Region, will
be guest speaker at the closing
banquet.
An Oneg Shabbat on Friday
night, and Sabbath services on
Saturday morning will be spon
sored by the JWV. Sightseeing
tours are planned Tor the ladies
while meetings are being held.
Mr. and Mrs. William
Bromberg of Atlanta will be
awarded letters of appreciation for
their work in various JWV fields.
Chairmen for the convention are
Adolph Blumenfeld, Savannah
post commander, and Ned
Carlson, Savannah QM.
Ford Addresses Lubavitch
Dinner in Philadelphia
76 Senators Sign Letter to Ford
Urging Stronger Support of Israel
PRESIDENT FORI), with Atlanta's l.ubavitche director Rabbi
Shlomo Rluming 111 and Rabbi Abraham Shemto* of Philadelphia, organiz
er of the May 18 dinner of American Friends of Lubavitch. The Presi
dent commended the movement, saying "Your work under the guidance of
Rabbi Menachem Schneerson in reaching tens of thousands of people and
bringing to (hem the ethical and religious teachings of your religion is
not only good and cfTectbe, hut is also greatly appreciated.”
PHILADELPHIA, (JTA) —
President Ford paid warm tribute
to the Lubavitch movement here
May 18 in his first address to a
national Jewish group since taking
office.
Sen. Hugh Scott (R.Pa.), the
Senate Minority Leader, who also
addressed more than 600 guests
attending the first national con
ference dinner of the American
Friends of Lubavitch, declared in
the President’s presence that
“Each of you can be assured the
United States, will never abandon
Israel or her people.”
The dinner, organized by Rabbi
Abraham Shemtov of the
Lubavitch Center in Philadelphia,
was the occasion of the formal an
nouncement of the establishment
of the “United States Senator and
Mrs. Hugh Scott Library” on the
campus of Girls Town, Kfar
Chabad II, in Israel, a project
sponsored by the world-wide
Lubavitch movement to provide
educational and vocational train
ing for girls on the high school and
college levels.
Present from Atlanta was Rab
bi Shlomo Bluming, Southeast
region director of the Lubavitch
center.
Ford, who was introduced by
Bernard Segal, former president of
the American Bar Association,
Turn to Page II
Bv JOSEPH POLAKOFF
WASHINGTON, (JTA) —
The White House said last week
that President Ford will “consider
the letter” sent to him by 76
Senators from 46 states calling for
a firm recommitment of U S.
military and economic assistance
to Israel.
Presidential Press Secretary
Ron Nessen told reporters that
"the President believes it is
valuable to have a wide range of
views” and that the President
“welcomes all suggestions from all
sources" ?n his consideration of the
reassessment of U.S. policy in the
Middle East. Nessen said, in reply
to a question, that the President
had nqt asked for the letter from
the Senators. He said, “Of course,
the U.S. is dedicated to the sur
vival of a free and independent
Israel," adding that “the best
assurance" for Israel and other
countries in the Middle East is
peace.
Nessen said Ford did not plan to
meet’ with the Senators who signed
the letter and that he has already
been in consultation with members
of both Houses of Congress on the
Middle East. Asked if Ford or his
advisors felt that the letter might
prove awkward, difficult or a han
dicap in the President’s meeting
with President Anwar Sadat of
Egypt in Salzburg, Austria June I-
2, Nessen replied emphatically,
"No."
The White House spokesman
strongly denied that the Ad
ministration's delay in presenting
its foreign aid program to
Congress was "directed at anyone
or holding out the prospect of us
ing American aid in a punitive"
way. He was responding to charges
made by several Senators at a
press conference on Capitol Hill
on May 22 — all of them signers of
the letter to Ford — that the delay
was a form of pressure on Israel.
Nessen told the reporters at the
White House that the new aid
levels for Israel and other Middle
Eastern countries have not yet
been determined. He said
American aid “will be determined
on the basis of our interests and
our commitment to the survival of
Israel." Nessen supplied the
Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s
reporters with a copy of a letter
Ford sent to Vice-President
Nelson Rockefeller, as President
of the Senate, and to House
Speaker Carl Albert (D.Okla.) on
May 15 which stated in part that
“the review of our policy in the
Middle East which I initiated last
month will not be complete until
later this summer. 1 have therefore
also omitted specific requests for
assistance to the four major Mid
dle East aid recipients until this
review is completed.” The letter
did not name the four recipients
but they are known to be Israel,
Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
Nessen said the reassessment
was not expected to be completed
until the summer. He said it con
sisted of consultations with
members of Congress, outside
groups, private organizations and
individuals, American a m-
bassadors to Middle Eastern coun
tries and the still ongoing study by
the National Security Council be
ing conducted under the direction
of Undersecretary of State Joseph
J. Sisco,
More than half a dozen
Senators who signed the letter to
President Ford briefed newsmen at
the Capitol as to their purpose in
sending their communication urg
ing a re-affirmation of U.S. sup
port for Israel. Sen. Jacob K,
Javits (R.NY), the original spon
sor of the letter, summed up the
views of his fellow legislators when
he said that “if Israel's people feel
secure, they will be more relaxed
on concessions rather than being
Turn to Page 11
Klutznick Will Help Refugees
CHICAGO, (JTA) — Philip M.
Klutznick, internationally promi
nent Jewish community leader, has
been named by President Ford to a
newly created 17-member advisory
committee to resettle Vietnamese
refugees. The committee will be
headed by John Eisenhower.
Klutznick is a member of the
board of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Chicago and was
elected chairman of the executive
committee of the World Jewish
Congress at its recent international
meeting in Israel.
A former U. S. representative to
the United Nations Economic and
Social Council where he held the
rank of ambassador, he is
honorary international president
of B'nai Brith.
D’Estaing: Israel Should Get
Arms If Threatened
PARIS, (JTA) — President
Valery Giscard d’Estaing defined
May 21 what he considered the
best kind of Big Power guarantees
to Israel — an automatic commit
ment to step up the delivery of
military equipment should there be
a shift in the military balance of
power in the Middle East or if
Israel’s existence is endangered.
The French President made
those remarks in a conversation
with the Jewish Telegraphic Agen
cy’s European Bureau Chief dur
ing a formal luncheon at the Elysee
Palace attended by several dozen
French and foreign newsmen to
mark the first anniversary of the
President's election to office.
The best guarantee is to give a
country the means to defend itself,
the French leader said. He said no
country could be sure of obtaining
the military equipment it needs
without a guarantee and cited
Egypt's precarious situation after
the Soviet Union halted arms
shipments to Cairo last year as an
example.
Giscard d’Estaing, who seemed
well-informed on the subject, said
he was sure that UNESCO would
relent in its anti-Israel position
before the next session of its
General Assembly two years hence
and that Israel will find itself in
one of the geographical groupings
from which it was excluded by
UNESCO resolution adopted in
Paris last year.
The President refused to be
drawn into any discussion of the
status of the Palestine Liberation
Organization which claims to
represent the Palestinian people.
However, he told the JTA that the
main reason for Israel’s former
anger with France was the latter's
insistence that no peace settlement
can be concluded in the Middle
East without Palestinian participa
tion. He indicated that Israel's
position has changed somewhat
and is now a bit closer to France's.
He did not elaborate.
GFN. F.ZF.R WFI7.MAN will
speak in Atlanta, Thursday, June
5, at AJCC. Gen. Weizman. for
mer Chief of Staff of Israel
Defence Forces, was also a mem
ber of the Israeli Cabinet. Story
on Page 2.
VOLk LI
One Section, 12 Pages
Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, May 30, 1975
25c A Copy
NO. 22