Sen. Jacob K. Javits, New York Republican, called on the Nixon Administration today to allay the fear widespread in Israel that the United States might be “maneuvered” by the Soviet Union into accepting a Middle East settlement inimical to Israel’s security. Sen. Javits, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke to newsmen on his return from a 17-day tour of Israel and Western Europe.
He said, “I found what is unusual to find in American-Israeli relations, a communications gap.” He said it would be “very embarrassing” to the Israelis if they were presented with terms they could not accept “with the great U.S. being a proponent of those terms.” Mr. Javits said that despite assurances he gave Israeli leaders that their fears were unfounded, they remained “deeply concerned about what the U.S. might be maneuvered into.”
Sen. Javits said Israel’s fears stemmed from the Four Power–U.S., Britain, France and Soviet Russia–Mideast talks which they opposed and the concurrent talks between U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Joseph J. Sisco and Soviet Ambassador Anatoly F. Dobrynin. The New York Senator did not think either of those forums were “capable of producing an agreement which will bring about an early peace.” He urged the Nixon Administration to clarify its viewpoint on a settlement to the Israel Government in order to bridge the “communications gap.” He said there were “plenty of things” the U.S. and Russia could discuss short of an overall Mideast settlement, enumerating arms limitations in the area, the presence of their naval forces in the Mediterranean and free transit through international waterways.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
