The celebration of Israel’s 30th anniversary was launched here last night in a special assembly at Temple Emanu-El under the auspices of the World Zionist Organization. But the celebration was marred by the tragedy of last Saturday’s terrorist assault in Israel and the sense of grief over the loss of 32 innocent lives. This clearly overshadowed what was meant to be a joyful event and a tribute to the achievements of the Jewish State in the last three decades.
Addressing more than 1000 people, farmer Foreign Minister Abba Eban said that all Israelis are united behind the action of Israel to root out the Palestinian terrorists and their bases in south Lebanon. His remarks were received enthusiastically by the audience and were seen against the background of Eban’s–and other Labor Party leaders’–criticism of Premier Menachem Begin’s settlement policy in Sinai and the West Bank.
Eban said that the recent atrocities by PLO terrorists in Israel “must bring some lucidity to the confused minds” of those who admitted the PLO to the United Nations. He said the recent events prove that Israel is alone when it comes to life and death issues, and therefore “we are to decide alone” on the future of Israel.
But, Eban said, Israel must now make some departure from the concepts of the past in view of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s trip to Jerusalem. “We are more aware of the dangers than the opportunity,” he said. But he added that the Egyptians as well as the Israelis must exercise self-appraisal. A national consensus on foreign policy is imperative if Israel is to make decisions on peace–or its absence–in the Mideast.
Mrs. Charlotte Jacobson, chairman of the American Section of the World Zionist Organization, who presided over the assembly, said that the Carter Administration’s proposed sale of jet fighters to Egypt and Saudi Arabia “is incomprehensible as it is alarming. Americans cannot be expected to approve this immoral package in the name of peace, “she said. New York Mayor Edward Koch denounced the presence of the PLO in the United Nations as a “crime” and urged that the “murderous organization” be ousted from the UN.
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