The news of President Johnson’s announcement last night that he would not be a candidate for re-election stunned Israel today. Although officials maintained a strict silence to avoid any position of appearing to Intervene in the internal affairs of another country, the general feeling here was that there would not be any major changes in United States policy toward Israel as a result of Mr. Johnson’s decision.
The view was expressed that support of Israel has become a tenet of American foreign policy regardless of the person holding the Presidency. It was also asserted that the United States interest in maintaining pro-Western Influence in the Middle East depended on the existence of a strong Israel and that therefore United States efforts to bring about an agreed Israeli-Arab peace not at Israel’s expense did not involve considerations of vote-getting in American presidential races.
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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.
