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Israel won’t change
PLO policy—Arnon
by Vida Goldgar
Consul General of Israel Joel
Arnon, just back from home leave
in Jerusalem, made it quite clear
last week that Israel is not about to
change its policy toward the
Palestine Liberation Organiza
tion.
Addressing the Delegate
Assembly of the Atlanta Jewish
Federation, Arnon said, “The
PLO has declared war on Israel,
and is at war with Israel, and until
such time that terrorism is
completely stopped, that the
Palestinian convenant is dropped
and the idea of a secular
Palestinian state is dropped
completely, we will not deal with
the PLO."
Emphasizing that Israel's
position is not only that of the
present government but the
previous one, he said, “We have
been very often accused of not
being crystal clear in all kinds of
matter, but not regarding the PLO.
“It is the duty of the government
of Israel to protect its citizens.”
Arnon noted that the present
government has changed its
tactics. “Previously whenever they
(PLO) launched an attack, we
replied. This government has
decided, and I believe rightly, to
wage war before they get to Israel.
When we know there is a terrorist
base, we do go in." Then, forcefully
and with emotion, and interrupted
by applause from the audience,
Arnon said, “Regardless of outside
reaction, we will continue to do so,
because the PLO is at war with us.”
The Consul General supported
Prime Minister Begin’s refusal to
see Jesse Jackson in Israel, saying
“To expect the Prime Minister of
Israel to receive Mr. Jackson after
Jackson uttered anti-Jewish and
anti-Israel remarks is something I
do not understand." Also beyond
understanding,' Arnon said, is
Hosea Williams' presentation to
Libya’s Qadaffi of a Martin Luther
King peace medal. “Regardless of
Israel, Qadaffi is the past master of
international terrorism. I think
Martin Luther King turned in his
grave."
Repudiating the need for
intermediaries between the PLO
and Israel, Arnon was again
stopped by aft>1303cf "WUln he
said, “The PLO knows where we
live. If they want to deal with us,
then let them find us the very same
way Mr. Sadat found us.”
Then, in Yiddish, Arnon said,
“We have more than enough
people giving us advice.”
Blacks-Jews share
feelings and fears
by GRS
Across the crowded restaurant,
he whispers the word "Jew." and at
our table all conversation stops:
What is he saying? Is he with us, or
with Them? What is he saying,
what are They saying in their
Board Rooms, in their locker
rooms? So much of the time we
are simply what we seem to be:
WHITE. So much of the time, we
do not know, we do not even want
to know, that we are Jews. Do not
know, save for the gnawing fear.
LEONARD FEIN
Moment Magazine
In Atlanta during the past
month, attention has been sharply
focused on being Jewish: the fear,
the reality, the repetition. This vital
issue was reported on at the
Atlanta Jewish Federation’s
Delegate Asembly meeting last
week by Gerald Cohen, AJFs vice
president for community
relations.
Cohen detailed steps being
taken within the Jewish
community to make Jewish
concerns known to the black
community. Specifically, he noted
“that meetings have been held
between prominent blacks and
groups of lay leaders and
professionals in the Jewish
community. At these meetings, the
feelings of the Jewish community
were expressed and the black
leaders were made cognizant of the
depth of disappointment in the
events which have occurred since
the resignation of Andrew Young.
It is hoped that at these meetings
black leadership was made aware
of the fears and angers of the
Atlanta Jewish community."
Cohen went on to say, “As a
result of these meetings it was
decided that the time had come
that the Jewish community should
make positive plans to strengthen
ties with other groups in the
community—Church groups,
labor groups, political groups—
wherever a commonality of
interest might lie."
The delegates were told “The
general conclusion reached has
been that the ‘Black-Jewish
Problem' is not as deep into the
black community as it was initially
feared.
“Atlanta seems to be a focal
•See Blacks-Jews page 5
The Southern
Israelite
VOL. LV
The Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry
Our 55th Year
Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, October 19, 1979
'Israel security for oil
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Connally draws flac.
from senators, leaders
WASHINGTON (JTA)—John
Connally’s nine-point Middle East
plan, which calls for Israel's
withdrawal to its pre-1967 borders
except for “minor” changes, a
permanent U.S. military presence
in the Mideast, and which would
discard the Camp David accords,
has come under fire from a number
of Congressmen and American
Jewish leaders. Senators Howard
Baker (R.Tenn.) and Robert Dole
(R.Kan.) charged that Connally, a
fellow Republican presidential
hopeful, who unveiled his plan last
week in an address at the
Washington Press Club, is seeking
to trade Israel's security for oil.
Baker, in a speech in the Senate
last Friday, said, “I am not
prepared to accept the sacrifice of
Israel as the price of peace in the
Mideast or as the hope of
moderation in the price of oil.”
This was a reference to Connally’s
statement that the U.S. “must
secure a clear understanding” from
Saudi Arabia and other oil
producers of a return to “stable”
oil prices. “The Arabs must, in
short, foresake the oil weapon in
return for Israel’s withdrawal from
the occupied territories," Connally
said.
Baker, the 1 ’ Senate minority
leader, said that Connally’s
Mideast plan “represents a
fundamental shift from a political
and moral base to an economic
base.” He added that American’s
oil supply “is not a bargaining chip
for Mideast peace negotiations.”
Dole said that Connally’s speech
“looks more like an energy
program than a peace plan. The
speech smacks of trading Israeli
security for our oil savings.” Dole
also said that Connally’s plan
ignores Israel's need for defensible
borders and underrated the
achievements of Camp David.
Jewish leaders who attacked
Connally charged that he was
emerging as the candidate of the oil
interests, that he was rehashing the
stale arguments of the Arab
potentates and dictators, and that
he was fostering the notion that
the U.S. should submit to Saudi
Arabian oil blackmail.
Discarding the Camp David
accords, which he said are now
“without form or effect,” Connally
urged the U.S. to adopt “a far more
forceful American diplomacy” and
start “a new process toward peace
by presenting to the parties a new
set of principles that will be the
building blocks to a fair and
comprehensive settlement."
He called for Israel’s withdrawal
to its pre-1967 borders except for
“minor” changes, a permanent
U.S. military presence in the
Middle East and a flow of cheaper
oil from the “moderate” Arab oil-
producing states in return for
Israel's withdrawal.
In broad aspects, the Connally
plan appeared to be the Rogers
Plan of December 1969, proposed
by then-Secretary of State
William P. Rogers, plus U.S.
military guarantees with support
from the NATO countries and
Japan and an assured petroleum
output for the industrialized world
at stable prices.
Connally said “The only basis
for a Middle East peace settlement
is a balanced agreement which
meets Israel’s requirements for
peace and security within
recognized borders and Arab
requirements for the evacuation of
their territories occupied in the
1967 war and some form of
Palestinian self-determination.”
Connally indicated that his
views were inspired by the letter
earlier this year to Israeli Premier
Menachem Begin by “a number of
America's most prominent
Jewish leaders and intellectuals”
that, he said, urged Begin “to
abandon his policy of creeping
annexation of the West Bank by
means of his settlement program."
Free Soviet Jewry
Atlanta’s Simchat Torah March drew large crowd despite chilly weather. For more
photos, see page 24^ v.v.v.v.v.w.v.v.v.v.v.w. ■ . ,t. • ■.
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