Gop Chairman Rejects, by Implication, Connally’s Views on the Middle East

In a letter to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Bill Brock, chairman of the Republican National Committee rejected an imposed peace in the Middle East, condemned any negotiations with Palestine Liberation Organization terrorists and repudiated any link between Israeli territorial withdrawal and lower Arab oil prices. Brock was replying to a telegram by Theodore Mann, chairman of the Conference of Presidents, asking for clarification of the party’s views in the light of a recent speech by Republican Presidential aspirant John Connally.

Brock’s letter appeared to take issue with Connally’s proposal that Israel withdraw to the pre-1967 borders and that the Palestinians be granted the right to have a separate state if they so choose in exchange for which Arab oil producers would stabilize prices and assure an uninterrupted flow of oil to the West.

Brock called for a “total national commitment to the development of our own resources” and “the most decisive and expeditious” efforts to “achieve the capacity to supply America’s needs for energy by the production of energy in the United States.”

On the PLO, the letter declared: “No group committed to terrorism and violent action against human life should be dignified by, or even given the recognition implicit in, direct talks. The Palestine Liberation Organization whose covenant so clearly calls for the destruction of Israel and whose terrorist actions threaten the stability of the entire Middle East must be condemned by all people who value human life, democratic governance, and freedom. Terrorism seeks no compromise and deserves none.”

SUPPORTS FACE TO FACE TALKS

In criticizing proposals for an imposed settlement in the Middle East, Brock’s statement asserted: “Peace in the Middle East requires face to face negotiations between the states involved, and must include the recognition of safe, secure and defensible borders for Israel. True peace, lasting peace, can come only from within the region, and only from the decision of the affected parties therein that their own best interests have been reflected in any settlement.”

In pledging Republican support of Israel “politically, economically, and by working to provide the military aid that Israel requires to remain strong enough to deter any potential aggression,” Brock declare.

“Israel is of enormous strategic consequence to the United States. It is the strongest and freest democratic society in that part of the world. Thus any action which would require Israel to make unwarranted concessions which endanger the security and safety of its citizens would constitute a threat, not only to that nation, but to our own as well.”