Former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt warned here last night that the gains made from the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt appear to be in jeopardy and urged Israel to accept outside assistance in saving the treaty, “even if it comes from Europe.”
Brandt, who heads the Socialist International and is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was referring to the European Economic Community’s (EEC) call for a comprehensive peace settlement between Israel and all of its Arab neighbors. Israel has opposed the European initiative because it would associate the Palestine Liberation Organization with the peace process.
The German diplomat addressed some 600 people at a B’nai B’rith dinner where he received the B’nai B’rith International’s President’s Gold Medallion Award for Humanitarianism. Brandt accepted his award from B’nai B’rith president Jack Spitzer.
In the course of his 40 minute speech Brandt said his meeting with PLO chief Yasir Arafat in Vienna last year was arranged without his prior knowledge by Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky. But he said he regarded the meeting as an opportunity for fact-finding and would not apologize for it. “It did not do any harm and it could have been helpful,” he said.
SAYS EXERTION WILL BE NECESSARY
With respect to the Middle East situation, Brandt warned that “Time presses more urgently than many people realize.” The world faces new problems on top of the old, unsolved ones and a “stable peace system” is needed to resolve them, he said. Nation’s must be willing “to reach a fair balance of interests.”
Brandt acknowledged that “great exertions will be necessary” to secure and sustain Israel’s right to exist and “to harmonize with that right the legitimate claims of its neighbors, including the Palestinians.”
He declared his opposition to “opportunism” in the Middle East and warned against “unrestrained advice” from other nations. He likened the region to “a barrel of gun powder capable of blowing up the whole world.” Brandt stressed that “exploring and talking and rethinking, in most cases, are more productive than playing for time. My experience tells me that time very often is a dangerous companion for progress and peace.”
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.
