Secretary of State, Henry A. Kissinger has declared that the United States “strongly opposes” expulsion of any country from the United Nations General Assembly, but said the Administration has “not decided on specific steps” should the Arab bloc and its supporters seek to oust Israel from the Assembly in September.
Kissinger was asked for his view Friday by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency following a difference between two American diplomats over how the threat should be met. Daniel P. Moynihan, U.S. Ambassador-designate to the UN, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that the U.S. should declare “now” that it would freeze its contributions to the UN should even an “effort” be made to expel Israel. But Malcolm Toon, Ambassador-designate to Israel, told the same committee that the Moynihan approach was “very undesirable” and he favored “quiet diplomacy” in order to avoid a confrontation between the U.S. and the non-aligned countries.
When the JTA asked Kissinger for his view, he quipped that he would have to “referee” the dispute. The nominations of Moynihan and Toon were approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the full Senate is expected to act on them this week.
Kissinger also told newsmen that both Israel and Egypt are “taking a constructive” attitude toward new peace moves but said it was “premature” to say he was definitely planning to attempt a new negotiation effort between them. He said a final decision would depend on the talks between President Ford and Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin here this week.
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.
