A group of American Jewish leaders expressed concern to Secretary of State George Shultz today about the “cold peace” that exists between Israel and Egypt.
Julius Berman, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said the Jewish leaders had stressed that they were “very wary” that Egypt has not returned its Ambassador to Israel even though Israel and Lebanon had signed an agreement for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.
When Egypt withdrew its Ambassador last September it said he would not return until Israel agrees to withdraw from Lebanon. But Egyptian spokesmen are now talking about a complete withdrawal as well as the improvement of conditions on the West Bank before an envoy is sent to Tel Aviv.
Berman said the Egyptian position was not only “disappointing” but “not very productive toward the overall peace effort.” He said there is an “expectation,” that Israel will be asked to take “risks for peace.” But he said when it took a “major risk” for peace by its withdrawal from the Sinai all it received in return was a “piece of paper” that promised a new relationship that has not yet been achieved.
Berman and 10 other Jewish leaders, representing the Presidents Conference and the National Republican Jewish Coalition, met for an hour-and-a-half with Shultz. They had been invited by the White House which said that President Reagan had asked Shultz to brief them on the Reagan Administration’s recent meetings with Lebanese President Amin Gemayel and Israeli Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir and Defense Minister Moshe Arens.
APPARENTLY PLEASED BY U.S.-ISRAELI RELATIONS
The Jewish leaders emerged from the State Department apparently pleased by the present state of Israeli-U.S. relations. Noting that he had become chairman of the President’s Conference on June 9, 1982, Berman said, “I’ve never had it better.”
He said the present state or relations were “much more fundamental” than the “honeymoon” that it has been labeled since the May 17 signing of the Lebanese-Israeli agreement. He said first of all, two major irritants between Israel and the U.S. have been removed for the present because of Jordan’s refusal to join the autonomy negotiations, a fundamental part of Reagan’s September 1 peace initiative, and the issue of Israeli withdrawal.
Secondly, Berman stressed that Shultz himself is responsible in the improvement in relations. He said that the Secretary believes in “interpersonal relationships” and has been able to relate to Israeli officials on an individual basis. He said this is a positive sign for the future of the relations between the two countries.
COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE U.S. AND ISRAEL
Israel and the U.S. are now collaborating to get Syria to withdraw its troops out of Lebanon, Berman said. While not overly optimistic, he said the U.S. understands that it will not get Syrian President Hafez Assad to agree immediately to withdraw.
Instead, the U.S. is hopeful that in the “long run,” Syria can be “isolated” by having other Arab countries and the West Europeans join the U.S. Israeli and Lebanese efforts for Syrian withdrawal, Berman explained. He added that in this connection, the State Department believes that Saudi Arabia has been and will continue to be helpful.
This means that the naming of Robert McFarlane to replace Philip Habib as special mideast envoy was not part of a “fresh approach” to the problem, Berman emphasized. He said: “It is not a question of sending McFarlane to Syria and he’ll walk out of the meeting with Assad saying ‘okay'”: and with McFarlane saying ‘”He (Assad) didn’t give into Habib and Shultz but he gave into me’.” Instead, Berman said the Administration realizes it cannot expect “immediate results” but it was necessary “to persevere” for the “long run.”
SOVIET JEWRY ISSUE DISCUSSED
The issue of Soviet Jewry was also discussed, Berman said. He said the meeting today “reinforced” the understanding of the Jewish community that in every U.S. meeting with the Soviets, including the meetings Shultz is expected to have with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko in Madrid in September and at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this fall, the Soviet Jewry “issue will be raised, including the specific issue of Anatoly Shcharansky.”
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