Arens Urges Jewish Leaders, U.S. Not to Dwell on Peace Plan Details

Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Arens urged the U.S. government and American Jewish leaders Wednesday to fully endorse Israel’s latest peace initiative and not get bogged down in “details” over his government’s call for Palestinian elections.

Arens, who arrived here Wednesday, spoke to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations before departing for Washington to meet with Vice President Dan Quayle and Secretary of State James Baker.

“The United States has a crucial role to play in adding momentum” to Israel’s peace initiative, Arens said. “It would be wrong to divert attention to this or that detail that may or may not be spelled out.”

Israel’s initiative is so compelling, he added, that attention need not be diverted to “all kinds of microscopic details.”

But it is the details of the plan that seem to bother members of the Israeli Cabinet, especially as they relate to the plan’s call for Palestinian elections in the administered territories.

U.S. officials also seemed troubled by unresolved details of the plan, including whether East Jerusalem Palestinians would be allowed to vote and who would supervise the polling.

But Arens said Wednesday that it would be wrong to focus solely on the elections proposal, which he described as only one element of the four-part plan.

The other parts call for a reaffirmation of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty; an effort by neighboring Arab states to begin “normalizing” their relations with Israel; and for an international effort, led by the United States, to solve the Palestinian refugee problem.

Members of the Conference of Presidents evidently will respond positively to Arens’ call for support. Seymour Reich, chairman of the 46-member umbrella group, said it would soon issue a statement hailing Cabinet approval of the plan.

REJECTS PLO ROLE

In a brief question-and-answer session with the Jewish leaders after his speech, Arens faced one question that he is likely to be asked again in Washington.

Henry Siegman, executive director of the American Jewish Congress, said his organization endorses the peace initiative, but is concerned with Arens’ angry dismissal of the U.S. dialogue with the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Siegman asked Arens why he remains so opposed to talks with the PLO if the elected Palestinians may well turn out to be supporters of the organization. He also asked whether Arens thought the United States could apply pressure on the PLO to “accommodate themselves” to the peace plan.

But Arens again ruled out a role for the PLO. He explained that the PLO says it speaks not only for the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but for those in Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait and other countries.

“They cannot speak for anything but a Palestinian state,” possibly as a first stage to the eventual destruction of Israel, said Arens.

“But there is reason to believe that the people who live in the area (of the administered territories) will be more realistic and understand that Jews and Arabs have to live together.”