Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts declared today that the United States must provide the military support that Israel needs to defend itself in order “to persuade both the Soviet Union and the Arab countries that our commitment to Israel’s freedom is not negotiable.” Addressing a dinner of the national trustees of the Israel Bond Organization at the Fontainebleau Hotel tonight, Kennedy said that the Soviet Union “must be convinced that the United States and its people are firmly and determinedly committed to the future of the State of Israel.”
He attacked the exit tax on educated Jews seeking to leave the USSR as “a blot on the conscience of the world” urging all Americans to join in calling for “an end to the unconscionable ransom being demanded in Moscow.”
Referring to growing opposition in Congress to any trade agreements with the Soviet Union unless barriers to Jewish emigration are lifted Kennedy declared “I cannot believe that this administration, or any administration, would give higher priority to trade with the Soviet Union than it gives to safeguarding basic human rights.”
On the possibilities for peace in the Middle East, Kennedy expressed the hope that the USSR would follow up its removal of military forces from Egypt with pressure for direct negotiations between Israel and the Arabs. The dinner marked the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Israel and the first phase of the International Inaugural Conference for the 1973 campaign for Israel Bonds to raise $360 million for the economic development of Israel. On March 3, Premier Golda Meir will be in Miami for the official launching of this year’s Israel Bond drive.
Sam Rothberg, general chairman of the organization, presented the Israel Freedom Award to Kennedy citing him for his “friendship and warm support of Israel as a symbol of mankind’s struggle for freedom, peace and brotherhood.” The dinner was attended by 300 top national leaders of the campaign.
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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.
