Bialkin: Reagan’s Visit to Bitburg Did Not Damage Relations Between the Administration and U.S. Jews

Kenneth Bialkin, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, asserted today that President Reagan’s visit to the Bitburg military cemetery, where 49 Waffen SS soldiers are buried, did not damage the relationships between the Administration and the American Jewish community. He said the Jewish leadership in America will continue to work hand in hand with the Administration on behalf of Israel and Soviet Jews.

“I would like to think that the relationships (between the Reagan Administration and American’s Jews) are not damaged,” Bialkin said in a press conference here today. But he was quick to add that Reagan’s Bitburg visit “was most regrettable.”

Characterizing the visit as an “essentially symbolic act”, a result of a “series of mistakes,” Bialkin added: “We do not accuse the President of ill will. It was a failure to recognize how deeply we feel — and millions of Americans as well — that led to the series of errors he (the President) made.”

Asked if he and other Jewish leaders are going to meet with the President soon, as some reports suggested yesterday, Bialkin said that “we would like to meet with him but we did not make any request for a meeting” so far. He said he hoped that when a request will be made it will be granted.

PRAISES REAGAN FOR COMPASSION AND UNDERSTANDING

In a low-keyed prepared statement, which he read at the opening of the press conference, Bialkin said that although Jews and many non-Jews were hurt and disturbed by the Bitburg visit, “We must recognize the words President Reagan spoke at the U.S. airbase in Bitburg and Bergen-Belsen, words that confirm our confidence in his compassion and understanding. He may have made a choice with which we disagree, yet we must state honestly that the policies of his Administration have strengthened the safety and security of the State of Israel, and his understanding of the true nature of Arab political leadership has produced a sensible foreign policy in the Mideast.”

Continuing, Bialkin stated that Reagan’s “commitment to the freedom of Jews living in the Soviet Union, his actions in behalf of Ethiopian Jewry, his sympathy for many of our community’s concerns — all these must not and should not be either forgotten or over looked. We also join with the President in hailing the development of democracy in West Germany and in rejecting the concept of collective guilt.”

But, Bialkin said, the rejection of collective guilt “does not involve forgiveness of or reconciliation with the Nazi movement, or those who consciously or willfully advanced or supported it. For them there can be no forgiveness from us.”

Bialkin’s mild criticism of the President over the Bitburg visit was in sharp contrast to criticism made by Jewish leaders before the visit and indicated a wish to minimize the impact of the event on relations between the Administration and American Jewry.

“We hope to work together with the Administration… “Bialkin stated.”We will, of course, discuss the lessons of Bitburg, but we will also take up the situation of our fellow Jews in Israel and in the Soviet Union. The six million will always be with us. But today our task is to protect those in danger now — whether from economic hardship or from government oppression. Here is where our energies must be spent and our efforts directed.”