Israel’s views on some of the major aspects of the Middle East problem were shared by a substantial majority of residents of New York’s Westchester County, one of the most affluent regions of the United States and one that is predominantly non-Jewish.
This was indicated in the responses to a questionnaire which Representative Ogden Reid, New York Republican and a former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, sent to his constituents in the 26th Congressional District. The questionnaire covered several aspects of U.S. foreign affairs. Three of the questions concerned the Middle East.
The Congressman asked, “Do you favor supplying Israel with additional jet aircraft to restore its deterrent strength in face of the growing arms imbalance between Israel and certain Arab states?” An affirmative reply was given by 62.5 percent of the respondents; 28.6 percent said “no.”
The balance was 88.9 in favor to 6.5 percent against “encouragement by the United States of direct talks between Israel and certain Arab states as called for by Article 33 of the United Nations Charter.” On the question of “a summit meeting between the Soviet Union and the United States to seek a halt to further major escalation of the arms race in the Middle East,” 81.5 percent of Rep. Reid’s constituents replied “yes” to 13.7 percent “no.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
