Sen. Henry Jackson (D. Wash.) last night praised the Israeli-Lebanese agreement “as a courageous, constructive hopeful achievement. If it is to be followed by a wise and tough diplomacy, it could become another historic turning point in reaching stability and peace in that region.”
Jackson spoke to some 800 persons at a dinner of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, marking the start of the ADL’s 70th anniversary meeting being held here through Sunday.
“It begins to look as though the Reagan Administration has finally grasped a basic truth about the Middle East — that a strong, unwavering United States-Israel relationship must be the core of American policy in the area,” Jackson said. “I salute the President for his release of the 75 F-16 fighter planes to Israel, also in the decision to proceed with the delayed transfer of the technology needed for the production of the Lavie fighter.”
Jackson added that “efforts to implement the Israeli-Lebanese agreement are turning into quite a lesson for the Administration on what friends and allies are — and what they are not. The contrast with Israel is obvious when compared to Syria, to mention only one.”
ARMS NOT ONLY APPROACH
Jackson contrasted the standard of living and political stability in Israel with the poverty, illiteracy, tyrannical governments and political instability of the Arab states which he said continues to make the area “fertile ground for Soviet infiltration and exploitation by oligarchicelites and terrorist leaders in that area.”
He said that the lesson to be drawn is that “military approaches alone are not enough to achieve stability and security in this troubled world. Arms alone will not do the job. The underlying economic, political and social causes of instability and violence must be dealt with, and dealt with effectively.”
The ADL honored J. Willard Marriott, chairman of the board of the Marriot Hotel Corp., with its Americanism Award, presented to “individual whose contribution to democracy has been outstanding in the private and public sector of American life.”
ADL’s International Award, the Joseph Prize for Human Rights, was awarded jointly to Violinist Isaac Stern and conductor Zubin Mehta, musical director of the New York Philharmonic and musical director for life of the Israel Philharmonic. Stern accepted the award for Mehta, who could not attend. The award recognized the contributions of the two musicians “to the improvement of human relations and the growth of human rights.”
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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.
