The Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith yesterday called on President Carter to recognize Israel’s importance “as a key strategic ally of the U.S.” and to reject any linkage of the Palestinian question with lower oil prices. An ADL resolution on Israel’s security was made public at the closing session of the agency’s national executive committee meeting at the Breakers Hotel here.
The resolution, which had been adopted by the agency’s policy-making body, declared that “A strong and secure Israel” was crucial to American interests in the Middle East. On the Palestinian issue, the document stated that a successful solution to the problem could only be reached through negotiations between Israel and the people of the region, and that “Israel should not be pressured by the U.S. or others to make concessions which endanger her security.” According to the ADL, the flow of Mideast oil does not depend on “further constriction of Israel’s borders or recognition of a Palestinian state.”
OTHER RESOLUTIONS
Kenneth J. Bialkin, chairman of the ADL’s national executive committee, made public the statement on Israeli security and five other resolutions at the closing session yesterday. The ADL urged the Carter Administration and Congress to quickly adopt a national military budget that would “qualitatively and quantitatively” improve the ability of American forces to counter any threat posed by “conventional military constellations” in the next decade.
The ADL national executive also expressed support for a U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow as “a clear, forceful and appropriate response by the United States to blatant Soviet aggression in Afghanistan.”
In another resolution, the ADL cautioned the Carter Administration about military sales to Arab countries that would tip the power balance in the Middle East against Israel. The ADL resolution urged that priority for military assistance be given to those Arab countries which demonstrate “a clear understanding” that the aid is intended “solely” to combat the Soviet Union’s threat to them.
The ADL also declared its “gratitude and appreciation” to the Canadian government and its Ambassador to Iran, Bruce Taylor, “for their successful efforts in protecting American diplomats inside the Canadian Embassy in Teheran and securing their safe passage.” The ADL was referring to the recent escape of six American diplomatic personnel from Teheran, which was planned and carried out by members of me Canadian Embassy there.
The final ADL resolution urged support for President Carter’s call for the registration of all youths aged 18-20 for compulsory military service.
WARNS OF ENERGY COSTS
Earlier, Robert Nathan, a Washington economic consultant, addressing the national executive committee, predicted that rising energy costs will cause the United States to “suffer severely” during the rest of 1980.
Nathan said that the nation’s dependence on imported oil — “especially oil from the somewhat unstable Middle East” — will continue to fuel double-digit inflation.
Nathan, an advisor to U.S. presidents since Franklin Roosevelt, warned ADL leaders that the discouraging outlook for the national economy could cause domestic social instability. He urged the ADL to continue its efforts at improving intergroup relations.
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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.
