Lawmaker Urges Israel to Develop Its Own Middle East Peace Plan

Rep. Jonathan Bingham (D. NY) has urged Israel to develop its own plan for “long-range peace” in the Middle East.

“Surely the Israelis have the courage and the imagination, if they will set their minds to it, to decide how long-range peace in the Middle East is going to be achieved and then to pursue that objective,” he told the B’nai B’rith International’s monthly public affairs program last Friday at the organization’s headquarters here.

Bingham, who is retiring from Congress after 16 years, was honored by B’nai B’rith for his support of Israel and the struggle of Soviet Jewry. He is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Commission of Security and Cooperation in Europe, which monitors the Helsinki accords.

The New York Congressman said he was “worried” that Israel was “moving away” from United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 and “toward” holding on to the West Bank. “That is not the way to true long-range peace,” he said. He said it means instead “continued tension. The kind of threats of war, actual war,” the conditions Israel has experienced since its establishment.

SAYS BEGIN REJECTED TOO MUCH OUT OF HAND

Premier Menachem Begin “rejected too much out of hand” President Reagan’s peace initiative, Bingham noted. He said the plan had “good things” and “flows” but said it was probably “academic anyway as long as King Hussein is not willing to play the role that is envisaged for him.”

Instead, Bingham said, there is a necessity to urge the Israelis that “they have a responsibility themselves to think through how they are going to arrive at the goal of long-range peace.” If Israel comes up with such a plan it should then receive the “whole-hearted support” of the United States, Bingham said.

REPORTS INCREASED ANTI-ISRAEL SENTIMENTS

The Congressman noted that many of his colleagues in the House have reported more anti-Israeli sentiments from their constituents than ever before. But Bingham noted that this has not translated into efforts to place sanctions on Israel and, in fact, the continuing resolution on the budget adopted last week provided even more economic and military aid for Israel than the previous year.

Bingham said he was “dismayed” by the initial Israeli government reaction to calls for an inquiry on the Beirut massacre. But he said now, “Israel and Israelis have demonstrated once again what a vibrant and wonderful democracy they are.” He said he believes this will result in the attitude in Congress swinging “back to the more normal one of warmth toward Israel.”

WORRIED ABOUT SOVIET JEWS

On the issue of Soviet Jewry, Bingham, who initiated the first Congressional letter in support of Soviet Jewry in 1965, said he was “very worried” about the condition of Jews in the USSR now. But he said the “treatment of Jews in the Soviet Union, both internally and with respect to emigration, is not going to improve until we improve our basic relations with the Soviet Union.” Bingham, who said he initially supported sanctions against the Soviet Union because of its actions in Afghanistan and Poland, said sanctions are not effective if they are just used for punishment and not as leverage to press the USSR to change its methods.

Daniel Thurz, executive vice president of B’nai B’rith, presented Bingham with a kiddush cup. Rep. Stephen Solarz (D. NY) said that the American Jewish community and the people of Israel will “always be grateful” for the contributions made by Bingham.

He said that while there are many friends of Israel in Congress, Bingham was always at the “center” of the efforts to put coalitions together. Solarz added that while Jews in Congress provide a major source of support for Israel, having Bingham in the House gave “our course significance and credibility.”