Arens: U.s.-israeli Relations Are ‘better Than Ever’

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Arens said last night that present American-Israeli relations are “better than ever.” He predicted that this relationship will last for a long time.

Addressing more than 1,600 people at Yeshiva University’s 59th annual Chanukah dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Arens noted that the improved relations between the two countries “stem ” from the war in Lebanon. He noted that at the outset the war in Lebanon brought “friction” between Israel and the U.S. “But finally it brought understanding that the United States and Israel share common strategic interests,” the Defense Minister said.

Arens said that recent events in Lebanon had brought better American “understanding of what and who we are up against.” He said that the agreement of cooperation reached recently between the U.S. and Israel was needed in order “to coordinate our moves, so Lebanon will become again a free country. We are presently pledged to work together to attain this goal.”

Arens said that Israeli troops will withdraw from south Lebanon “only when we are assured that terrorist gangs will not return to the area after we depart.” Syria, he continued, “threatens war against Israel. We are prepared and strong and able to defend ourselves.”

The Israeli minister devoted most of his speech to Israel’s urgent need for aliya. He said that Israel receives “moral, political and economic” support from the American Jewish community on an unprecedented scale. “But most of all, Israel needs people,” he declared.

Arens contended that “The creation of Israel and its development have been paced by the rate of aliya. Had there been more aliya over the years, Israel would have been established earlier and would be stronger today. Had there been less, the State of Israel might not have come into being, it certainly would be weaker today.”

He continued: “Aliya is still Israel’s central challenge. What is referred to as our ‘demographic problem’ is just another way of saying that secure borders and aliya to Israel go together.

“This is the challenge that faces us — all of us survivors of the Holocaust. It faces us in Israel and you in America. It cannot be ignored — it has to be addressed. Means must be found — I say can be found — to meet this challenge. This is the test of our leadership and yours. It will no doubt be seen as such in future generations. It is a test we dare not fail.”

Earlier in the evening, Arens and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick received honorary Doctor of Law degrees from the University.

In brief remarks after the ceremony, Kirkpatrick said that the new cooperation agreement between Israel and the U.S. is “a cause for celebration.” She said that this is “affirmation of the close alliance between Israel and the U.S.,” adding: “The U.S. and Israel had had, has and will have a very close relationship.”

During last night’s dinner, gifts and pledges totalling some $10 million were announced on behalf of Yeshiva University. That $10 million will be counted toward the goal set for the University’s Century Campaign, a drive established to raise $100 million before the University’s Centennial in 1986.