President Ford, in a political campaign appearance Friday in Chicago, claimed he had “assurances” that Soviet Jewish emigration would have exceeded the high mark of 35,000 in 1973 had Congress not adopted the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. He did not identify the sources of the assurances nor precisely when he received them.
The President also said he thought “world pressure is going to be helpful in continuing the momentum” in which “we played an active part” in bringing about a resolution of the problems in the Middle East. Ford made these remarks following his prepared address before the Chicago World Affairs Council in which he stressed his “policy of peace through strength.”
His only reference to the Middle East in his text was one sentence that “the Sinai agreement between Israel and Egypt reached last September is working well and is a milestone toward a permanent settlement in the Middle East.”
MIDEAST MOMENTUM MUST CONTINUE
Asked about prospects for continued stability in the Mideast, Ford said “Obviously, there are very great problems to solve–the policy of the PLO, the Golan Heights, the West Bank, the rest of the Sinai and agreements to be reached–whether a full peace or non-belligerency.” He noted, “These are very complicated and emotional issues. But I am an optimist, predicated on the success we had with Prime Minister (Yitzhak) Rabin and (Egyptian President Anwar) Sadat.”
Ford then added: “I think it would be in the interest of the world as a whole and certainly in the best interest of that volatile, complicated, controversial area if we could continue to move ahead responsibly, bearing in mind that this country is dedicated to the security and survival of the government of Israel, that this country believes that we have to work with some of the Arab nations to convince them of our good faith and that they can trust us.
“But, if we stop and do nothing, if we don’t move to help the momentum going, I think we could have another outbreak and we’ve had four in 25 years and each one gets bloodier and worse with world powers potentially involved. So we have an obligation to work with the Israelis as well as their Arab neighbors and this Administration will” he emphasized, because “we have their faith and we have shown results by working with them.”
J-V AMENDMENT WAS A BAD MISTAKE
His reference to Soviet Jewish emigration arose in what he described as “some actions” by Congress which he said were “harmful to the implementation of an effective foreign policy” since his assuming the Presidency 19 months ago. The “certain limitations,” he said that were placed in the 1974 Trade Act–the Jackson-Vanik Amendment–were “a bad mistake because I was personally confident from assurances that I had that instead of keeping the emigration at 35.000 it probably would have increased if we had not had the action by the Congress.”
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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.
