Ambassador Simcha Dinitz warned here that the war of attrition being waged on the Israeli-Syrian front “would not remain one-sided” if the Syrians continue it, expressed the view that President Anwar Sadat of Egypt “is trying to find a political solution rather than another war” and stressed that Israel must remain militarily strong because “the Arabs will never negotiate with an Israel they can destroy.” The Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. made those remarks to the 1000 delegates attending the B’nai B’rith Women Triennial Convention here and to reporters at a press conference at the convention hotel.
He reiterated Israel’s often expressed intention to rely entirely on its own manpower to fight its wars. “We don’t want to be attacked by the Russians, but we don’t want to be saved by the United States either. The manpower problem is our problem alone.” he said. Dinitz said that the shooting on the Syrian front was not taking as great an emotional and physical toll as might be expected. But he warned that “the potential for war is there.” He said he thought Sadat wanted peace “because this is best for Egypt and I think he is strong enough even if others do not join him until later.”
NEGOTIATIONS PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES
Israel finds itself in a crucial period as this is the first time in its history that she has “the opportunity to not only be strong enough to avert war but strong enough to try to obtain peace,” the Ambassador said. “The process of negotiation is one of many perils, but also one of opportunities. It is this period which will determine whether or not the Middle East can march from an era of confrontation to one of negotiation, or go through another prelude to yet another war,” the Israeli envoy declared, adding. “We must be flexible to negotiate for what is marginal, but have the strength to negotiate for what is essential.”
Dinitz also addressed himself to the energy crisis, observing that the Arab oil embargo was “a blessing in disguise” because it “forced America to face the problem, to become independent as far as energy sources are concerned…You cannot leave the world at the mercy of only those people who happen to have oil.”
After a heated debate, the convention adopted a controversial resolution calling for conditional amnesty for Americans who refused to fight in the Vietnam war.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
