The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations urged today that more Phantom jets be made immediately available to Israel in order to restore the Middle East military balance and “assure Israel’s deterrent capabilities.” The request was contained in a telegram sent to Secretary of State William P. Rogers. The telegram followed an announcement yesterday that the 25-member Conference of Presidents would meet at B’nai B’rith headquarters in Washington, D.C. Nov. 29-30 to demonstrate American Jewish solidarity with Israel’s request for more Phantoms and to outline a program for further action.
Today’s telegram was signed by Rabbi Israel Miller and Jacob Stein, acting co-chairmen of the Conference. It cited Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s “incendiary statements coupled with accelerated deliveries of sophisticated weapons by the USSR to Egypt, as confirmed by the State Department” as reasons for sending more Phantoms to Israel. The telegram called for “forthright action by our government to prevent war” in the Middle East. It concluded “only in this way will Arab attack be prevented and peace be preserved.”
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.
