Israel’s Finance Minister, Yoram Aridor, called on Jordan last night “to free itself” from the chains of the extremists in the Arab world and start negotiations with Israel without any preconditions.
“There is no chance for peace based upon the consent of the PLO, ” Aridor told an Israel Bond Dinner last night at the Pierre Hotel here. “So let us go back to the Camp David accords and ask Jordan to join the negotiations under the framework of Camp David,” the Israeli Minister said, adding that in order to achieve peace Hussein should show the courage of the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
Aridor charged that Israel’s insistence on direct negotiations and its desire to have full peace with its neighbors are not “understood” by the United States and other countries. “We want peace and normalization of relations with Lebanon and we are told that time is not ripe for peace between the two countries. We want peace with Jordan and we are told ‘stop the settlements’, ” Aridor said.
He recalled President Reagan’s statement in 1981 that the settlements are not illegal. “Why should we be requested to stop something that is legal?” Aridor asked. Turning to the audience, he said: “Would you agree that any part in the U.S. be closed for the Jews? Why should Jews be barred from settling any place in Eretz Yisrael?”
Aridor said that in spite of the friendship between Israel and the U.S. and all the thanks Israel owes America, Israelis themselves will continue to decide on matters concerning their security. He added that the help given to Israel by the U.S. “should never be used to pressure us or used as a weapon against us.”
Last night’s dinner was attended by members of the Mediterranean-Dead Sea Canal Founders and the Prime Minister’s Club, At the end of the evening it was announced that $8.8 million in new 1983 Israel Bonds commitments and cash payment on previous commitments were made during the evening.
The dinner also served as the occasion for honoring David Zysman for his 35 years of dedicated service to Israel. Zysman, one of the founders of the Israel Bonds in 1951, is leaving the organization to accept the position of vice president of Yeshiva University.
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