Vice President George Bush declared here Saturday night that the U.S. and Israel “are united in a long alliance dedicated to insuring not a beginning but a continuation, not the creation of the State but its survival.” The “sheer bottom line consideration,” he said, is that the U.S. needs Israel and Israel needs the U.S. “This mutual dependence is good, not bad,” Bush stated.
Addressing the closing plenary session of the 55th General Assembly of the Council of Jewish Federations, Bush told 3,000 Jewish communal leaders from North America and abroad that this reaffirmation of the mutual bond needs to be repeated “as long as Israel is surrounded by those who could do her in.”
Israel’s friends “have a moral responsibility to declare to the world unambiguously and unequivocally: Israel is our friend and all,” Bush said.
The Vice President was frequently interrupted by applause as he talked about U.S.-Israel relations, the need “to be tough in the continued war on terrorism” and the ongoing effort of the U.S. to press the Soviet Union about the rights of Soviet Jews. He emphasized that American support for Israel is unswerving.
As an example, he noted the unremitting hostility against Israel in the UN by those he termed “racists and bullies.” “You would think that being the target of such obvious hostility, Israel would have been ejected from the UN by now,” Bush said. “But of course, she hasn’t, and the reason reminds us of how important it is for friends to make their friendship — and their intentions — clear.”
STILL IN THE UN, HE MEANS
“Israel is still in the U.S.,” he said in a slip of the tongue, which was greeted by laughter, including his own “I mean the UN,” he said, “because America has made it clear — this Administration has made it repeatedly, abundantly clear — that if Israel is thrown out of the UN, America leaves too. If they’re out, we’re out; if they get the boot, our boots are made for walk in.”
But expressing frankness and candor, he said that “over the past quarter century or so, America’s passion to defend Israel has sometimes seemed to manifest itself in kind of coldness or rejection of all things Arab. And they have sensed this, and this has not been helpful, and it has not been kind.”
Bush affirmed that the U.S. is no enemy to the moderate states. “We are a friend of Egypt, where President (Hosni) Mubarak and his people, with great courage and sense, made it clear that they need to preserve the peace with Israel. King Hussein of Jordan continues his tough and lonely search for a way to start negotiations — and this is helpful, and deserving of our praise. And the courage Shimon Peres showed when he met with King Hassan of Morocco — is another cause for hope.”
In discussing terrorism, Bush said that one element in the fight against “this viciousness and bloodlust” is to step up intelligence and analysis. He said that America’s intelligence system “is the best ever. In the past year alone, we were able to stop 90 planned attacks against U.S. citizens before they happened. But we can do better.”
He did not give specific information about the planned attacks, and, unlike Israeli Foreign Minister … Peres, who addressed the G.A. Thursday night, did not call for international cooperation in confronting terrorism on a global scale.
ON CHURCH AND STATE
On another issue, the separation of church and state, which Bush referred to as “a source of anxiety” to the Jewish community and to others, he said: “I would fiercely oppose the obvious or subtle establishment of any state religion. I would oppose any merging of church and state. I embrace, respect and support the wall that separates them, and I would never tear it down nor allow it to erode.”
But, he added, “the separation of church and state does not, and cannot, be allowed to apply a hostility of the state toward religion …. The church and the state are neighbors.” Bush said that Americans must remember not to judge each other “or to speak disparagingly of each other’s belief. In a pluralistic democracy, you’ve got to remember to give each other a little spiritual breathing room. Religion isn’t a problem in America, but intolerance sometimes is. And this is something we all have to watch out for.”
On the issue of human rights, Bush assured the assembled Jewish leaders “that the U.S. has been bringing up the problem of Soviet Jewry with the Soviets in Geneva” during the ongoing talks. He also stressed that President Reagan “pressed the Soviets on this cause” when he met with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Iceland last month.
And, Bush added, “We will continue to press. The human rights issue is now a permanent part of the U.S.-Soviet agenda. They don’t like that a lot, but that’s the way it’s going to be until they do what’s right.”
SHCHARANSKY URGES VIGILANCE
The most dramatic portion of the closing G.A. session was the appearance of Natan Shcharansky on satellite television from Jerusalem. This first satellite telecast from Israel was brought through the auspices and services of the World Zionist Organization Education Department.
Shcharansky, smiling and at ease, issued an impassioned plea for continuing efforts to pressure the Soviet Union to allow Jews to immigrate to Israel. He warned the audience not to be beguiled by the release of a few prominent refuseniks as signifying a more liberal emigration policy. It was tokenism, he explained.
He pointed out that Gorbachev was engaging in clever public relations in dealing with the West and this, therefore, made Gorbachev even more dangerous that his predecessors. Shcharansky said the change in the outward appearance of responsiveness by the USSR to human rights pressure by the U.S. was due to the Soviet Union’s need for more trade and credits from the U.S.
“Realistically, the situation of Soviet Jews is worse than ever,” he said. “The number of Jews allowed to emigrate today is the lowest in 20 years. The number of Prisoners of Zion in the camps and the refuseniks in the cities is bigger than before. There are 400,000 Jews waiting to come to Israel. That’s why we must not be deceived by the new image Gorbachev is presenting to the West.”
The former refusenik also urged that more American Jews visit the Soviet Union to establish contacts with Jews there to obtain information about the situation and let them know that they are not alone in their efforts to achieve freedom.
In an unscheduled dramatic addendum to the session, Bush asked to be allowed to address Shcharansky directly over the satellite television. The Vice President recalled his friendship with Shcharansky and his wife Avital and his visits to Israel and declared that the U.S. will not cease in its efforts to speak out on behalf of Soviet Jewry both privately and publicly.
“There is room for quiet negotiations and quiet diplomacy,” Bush said. “But we will speak out publicly against the oppression of Soviet Jews. So have no fear that we are going to resort to solely quiet diplomacy. I wanted to reassure you because of your eloquent plea with everyone you come in contact with that we will do both.”
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