Three American Jewish leaders had a cordial half-hour meeting today with Secretary of State Alexander Haig at the State Department to discuss a wide range of questions relating to Israeli-American relations.
Meeting with Haig, at his invitation, were Max Fisher, chairman of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency, who was honorary chairman of the Coalition for Reagan-Bush in last year’s Presidential election campaign; Howard Squadron, chairman of the Congress of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; and Yehuda Hellman, executive vice chairman of the President Conference. Also present was David Korn, special assistant to Haig.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency was informed later that Squadron would report in full on the conversation with Haig to a meeting of the Presidents Conference in New York later in the day. It was indicated that the meeting with the Secretary of State symbolized the unity of the American Jewish community on problems affecting Israel.
There had been reports of concern, since the Presidential elections, that accessibility to top officials of the Reagan Administration would not include representatives of major organizational segments of the American Jewish community.
Future meetings with Haig by American Jewish leaders was among the topics discussed at this morning’s meeting. Also discussed was Saudi Arabia’s request for equipment to enhance the combat capability of the 60 F-15 warplanes it has purchased from the U.S. The JTA learned that no decisions have been made yet on the Saudi request or, specifically, on the amount of foreign aid the Administration will recommend to Congress for Israel and Egypt in the next fiscal year.
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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.