Diplomatic sources today linked plans for Premier Golda Meir to visit the United States within the next few weeks with growing concern here that there may be some erosion of the hitherto warmly pro-Israel position of the United States in its bilateral talks in Washington with the Soviet Union. The American Embassy in Tel Aviv was reported today to be in communication with the State Department on the timetable and schedule for the proposed visit.
The concern over possible erosion of the American position stems from a mounting realization here that the Israeli position is not fully understood abroad and that without a full appreciation of the situation that confronted Israel in May, 1967, foreign powers and their statesmen cannot fully understand the reasons for Israel’s unyielding demands today on direct negotiations with the Arabs for peace and secure and agreed borders before Israel will cede any military or trading advantage it won by the occupation of territories in the Six-Day War.
One reason for Mrs. Meir’s visit to the U.S. would be to explain these reasons to President Nixon. For the same reason, Israel’s diplomatic representatives abroad will be instructed to stress the events preceding the Six-Day War in 1967, reminding foreign statesmen of the massing of the Arab armies on Israel’s borders, the closure of the Strait of Tiran and Israel’s utter isolation when no power or combination of powers came to its help or even promised to do so within a reasonable time.
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