Hurwitz Stresses Israel Welcomes Support of Rightwing Christians

Premier Yitzhak Shamir’s advisor, Harry Hurwitz, declared here that Israel welcomes the support of rightwing evangelical Christians in the United States and had high praise for Rev. Jerry Falwell, leader of the Moral Majority.

Hurwitz, a former information officer in the Likud government, was strongly backed in his views by Alleck Resnick, president of the Zionist Organization of America. Hurwitz was a speaker at the ZOA’s Presidential Leadership Conference here yesterday when he was asked about the emerging alliance between some Jewish conservatives in the U.S. and militant Christian fundamentalists.

“Christian fundamentalists are by and large supporers of Israel and we are not selective when it comes to mobilizing support,” he told the ZOA gathering. He lauded Falwell for testifying before a Congressional committee in favor of pending legislation requiring the U.S. to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The move is opposed by the Reagan Administration.

Resnick declared, “We welcome, accept and greet such Christian support for Israel without involving ourselves in their domestic agenda.”

At another session, Minister of Commerce and Industry Gideon Patt, stressing that he spoke “hypothetically”, said that none of Israel’s overseas creditors is likely to contemplate the bankruptcy of Israel. Unlike many countries with significant foreight debts, he noted, Israel does not owe most of its debt to commercial banks which sometimes view forced bankruptcy as necessary to secure their investments.

Israel owes 73 percent of its overall debt to the United States, West Germany and to holders of Israel Bonds. None are likely to foreclose, Patt said, adding: “This, of course, is only hypothetical since Israel has maintained a meticulous record of debt repayment.”