Nixon Outlines His Views on Arab-israel Conflict to American Zionists

Former Vice-President Richard Nixon, speaking at an informal luncheon tendered him by the Zionist Organization of America under the chairmanship of its President Jacques Torczyner, said that Israel should not and cannot withdraw from the occupied territory until permanent peace be achieved. This territory must serve as a bargaining point in its negotiations with the Arabs, he said.

Mr. Nixon, who Just returned from a visit to Israel following a tour of Europe, Africa and Asia reported the following major observations in most countries he visited: 1) a unanimous respect and admiration for feats of the Israeli army even among foes; 2) no credence was attached to the reports that the United States and the British gave manpower to Israel in the war against the Arabs; 3) President de Gaulle’s new line, while motivated by his anti-American bent, envisioned for France an independent role. The President of France believed that France was too close to Israel and that the United States and Britain were losing Influence in the Middle East. His stand was not so much anti-Israel but pro-Arab trying to play mediator between the United States and Soviet Russia, Mr. Nixon stated.

He reported that a large measure of support for the Israeli cause in African countries stemmed from Israeli technical assistance. He explained the Soviet’s policy in the Middle East and elsewhere as motivated by the goal of the creation of maximum confusion and minimum commitments. He said he did not believe that Soviet Russia would take a softer line in the Middle East, charging that had it not been for Soviet arms there would not have been a war in the Middle East.

Mr. Nixon also urged that the positions of the United States must be reshaped. It must support our friends and not support those who are not our friends, “In my view.” he said. “United States policy should be that if Nasser wants to ally himself with Soviet Russia then Russia should take over its entire support. On the other hand the moderate Arab countries should receive substantially more assistance than they received heretofore.”