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Celebrating Shavuot
A youngster at Tel-Yosef Kibbutz symbolically gathers the first
harvest from the fields during Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks).
Arms, Israel spotlight
Hussein, Reagan talk
by Joseph Polakoff
TSI’s Washington correspondent
WASHINGTON —Jordan’s
King Hussein’s hour-long discus
sion at the White House June 9
with President Reagan and his
chief aides appeared to produce a
prelude to a renewal of efforts by
the administration to deliver wea
pons to his country but no percep
tible movement toward peace talks
with Israel.
Reagan “reaffirmed” his Sept. 1,
1982 initiative as “the basis of our
policy for peace in the region” said
a senior administration official,
who briefed reporters on condition
of anonymity. Its basic position
calls for a federation of the West
Bank and Gaza with Jordan.
Hussein, the official said, made
“a number of suggestions” for re
activating the momentum toward
bringing about peace talks with
Israel. “The way it was left, we will
study them and be in very close
touch” with Hussein, the official
said. He did not describe Hussein’s
suggestions in any way.
Asked whether Hussein would
enter talks without the Palestine
Liberation Organization, the offi
cial said, “The king never felt he
could go alone” and that “funda
mental” to his efforts was how to
get) Palestinians to the peace table.
“These are questions we are still
pursuing,” he said, noting the issue
was “wrestled with” throughout
1985, “in connection with the ‘con
struct’ of an international con
ference.”
The official said he was “not
going into specifics” when asked if
the PLO does not represent the
Palestinians, who would? Earlier,
he said, “hopes for progress” in
1985 were not realized because the
effort “foundered on the PLO’s
inability to meet the king’s chal
lenge on how to move forward for
the sake of peace in the interests of
the Palestinian people which they
claim to represent. While that par
ticular road seemed closed, we and
Jordan remain committed to peace
in the region.”
Yasir Arafat, the PLO’s chief,
rejected the U.S. offer, relayed to
him in February by Hussein, that it
would provide a place at the peace
table for the PLO if it declared in
advance that it recognized Israel’s
right to exist in peace, accepted
U.N. Security Council Resolutions
242 and 338, and renounce terror
ism.
With overwhelming majorities
in both branches of Congress having
insisted that Hussein must nego
tiate with Israel about peace before
arms are supplied, the White House
earlier this year withdrew its prop
osal to provide $1,900 million in
advanced weaponry to Jordan.
However, official praise at the
White House briefing for Hussein
as a “trusted friend” and Jordan’s
growing importance as a “moder
ate Arab state” evoked possibilities
that the president, encouraged by
blocking congressional antagonism
against selling U.S. missiles to Saudi
Arabia, may try again.
“President Reagan reaffirmed to
the king that (he knows) the king is
concerned for the security and
prosperity of Jordan,” the official
said. While emphasizing that
“nothing specific was discussed on
arms,” he added “our position
remains what it was.”
Hussein, who was last in Wash-
See Hussein, page 24.
Southern
Israelite
The Weekly Newspaper For Southern Jewry
'Since 1925'
Vol. LXfl Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, June 13, 1986 No. 24
Israel recalls ambassado
in wake of Waldheim wii
by Yaacov Ben Yosef
Special to The Southern Israelite
JERUSALEM — Israel has
reacted demonstratively to the
election of Kurt Waldheim as pres
ident of Austria, recalling its
ambassador in Vienna for consul
tations and dropping hints that it
might replace him permanently with
charge d’affaires.
Expressing “regret and dis
appointment” over Waldheim’s
election, Israel’s Foreign Ministry
spokesman announced Monday
that Foreign Minister Yitzhak
Shamir had decided to recall Israeli
Ambassador to Austria Michael
Elizur.
“Though the results did not come
as a surprise, until the last moment
Israel hoped that reason would
prevail among the Austrian peo
ple,” said the spokesman, “and
that the election of a man with a
past like Waldheim’s as president
would be prevented.”
Waldheim’s election puts Israel,
along with the rest of the world
Jewish community in a dilemma:
whether to continue the probe of
his alleged Nazi past or to reduce
that effort now that he has become
the head of state.
Though it is early to say with
certainty, first indications are that
Israel will push for a full investiga
tion of Waldheim’s past despite the
election.
Justice Minister Yitzhak Modai,
in New York for a visit, was forced
to backtrack on allegations he made
against Waldheim last week after it
became clear that Modai’s asser
tion that Israel had proof that
Waldheim had beaten a Jew to
death was based merely on Israeli
news reports.
Some Israelis expressed annoy
ance at President Chaim Herzog
for taking a mild position toward
Waldheim’s election: the president
argued that Israel should take care
not to disrupt prospects of bring
ing in Soviet Jews to Israel via
Austria.
Herzog did refrain from sending
Waldheim a congratulatory note
upon his election, a customary
procedure that may still take place
on July 8 when the new president is
sworn in.
Meanwhile, Israel sought to put
an end to the Jonathan Pollard spy
affair by reassuring the United
States that such espionage was
over. In an announcement read out
Yaacov Ben Yosef
to the Cabinet Sunday by Prime
Minister Shimon Peres, the gov
ernment declared that “there are
no spying activities being carried
out by Israel against the United
States.”
American press reports last week
alleged that Pollard and his wife
who had been charged with spying
for Israel, were only the tip of the
iceberg of a larger Israeli espionage
network against the United States.
Some American officials have
charged Israel with holding back in
its promised cooperation in the
Pollard case, but the government
on Sunday insisted that it had
cooperated to the hilt.
The annual meeting of the At
lanta Jewish Federation will be
held at the Academy of Medicine,
875 W. Peachtree Street, Thurs
day, June 19, at 7:30 p.m.
“I’d like to encourage everyone
in the community to circle this date
on their calendars, and make plans
to attend,” said Phyllis Freedman,
chairman of the event. “We have
an enjoyable and informative even
ing planned.”
On the agenda is the report of
the Federation’s nominating
committee, a final 1986 campaign
report, a presentation of the “State
of the Federation,” and amend
ments to the Federation by-laws.
The evening will also serve as a
forum to honor Gerald Cohen,
who will be completing two years
as president of the Atlanta Jewish
Federation.
While American Jewish leaders
visiting Israel this week insisted
that there had been no setback to
American-Israeli relations, Israeli
news reports mentioned that Israel
might lose $400 million in prom
ised aid and that a planned visit to
the U.S. by Israeli Chief of Staff
Moshe Levy might be canceled.
Finally, the new attorney-general,
Yosef Harish, is expected to reach
a decision by the end of the next
week on how to handle the affair
relating to the head of the General
Security Service. Harish has been
holding discussions with the main
actors in the affair: he apparently
will decide to push for a police
investigation, as his predecessor
Yitzhak Zamir wanted, or urge the
appointment of a judicial com
mission.
Zamir alleged that the head of
the General Security Service,
Avraham Shalom, was engaged in
a cover-up over his alleged role in
the deaths of two Arab terrorists
immediately following a bus hi
jacking in April 1984. Both Peres
and Shamir at one point argued
against such a probe; Peres has
subsequently come out in favor of
one, though Shamir remains ad
amantly against pursuing the in
vestigation.
Gerald Cohen
For more information about the
annual meeting, call Jane Leavey
at 873-1661.
Federation to wrap up year
at June 19 annual meeting
CNF I SI I ImE C p
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