Premier Shimon Peres of Israel had lavish praise for the United States’ action against Libya in the Gulf of Sidra last month. At his first public appearance here Monday night following-his-arrival from Israel, he maintained that the U.S. action was “right, timely and the only way to meet the threat of a dangerous man,” Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar Qaddafi.
Peres addressed more than 250 top leaders of the United Jewish Appeal and UJA/Federation of New York at UJA/Federation headquarters. He referred to the challenge by the U.S. Sixth Fleet to Qaddafi’s claim that the Gulf of Sidra is Libyan rather than international waters and the resulting exchange of missile fire which sank several Libyan gunboats and damaged shore installations.
Peres termed that “an action against international terrorism.” He said that to have allowed Qaddafi to continue his terrorist activities with impunity would only have increased the danger. “It was a show of American responsibility” on behalf of freedom, the Israeli Premier said. He said that although many countries have not expressed support for the U.S. actions, they were nevertheless “relieved” by them.
Peres’ brief remarks also focused on Project Renewal, the partnership between American Jewry and Israel to rehabilitate depressed neighborhoods in Israel. He called it “a tremendous success….an outstanding success in human terms.”
He said Project Renewal has become a model for study by other countries. But more efforts are needed to complete the project. “Go ahead with it,” he told his audience, which responded with vigorous applause.
Peres also referred to Israel’s economy, claiming that his government’s economic measures to date have been a great success, especially in breaking the spiral of inflation which is down to 12 percent from a peak of 1,000 percent. He noted as well a clear reduction of Israel’s balance of payments deficit and disclosed that for the first time this year, Israel has reached the point of no deficit in its national budget and in fact has a $200 million surplus.
Peres stressed, however, that Israel still faces severe economic problems because of the burdens of defense and the cost of absorbing new immigrants. He called for continued cooperation between American Jews and Israel.
Peres had a 30-minute meeting with Mayor Edward Koch of New York at his suite in the Regency Hotel Monday night. He left for Washington Tuesday morning. (See P.3 for related stories from Washington.)
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.
