Levy: Resources Israel is Investing on the West Bank Are Not at Expense of Solving Social Problems I

David Levy, Israel’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Housing, said here today that the resources Israel is investing on the West Bank are not at the expense of solving social problems in Israel,

“Whoever is against settlements in Judaea and Samaria would find a pretext against this (settlement) policy. The question is whether Israel governments in the past invested more in solving Israel’s social problems than the present government. The answer is no, ” Levy said at a press conference.

Levy, who was invited to the U.S. by Jewish organizations to be guest of honor at the “Salute to Israel” parade this Sunday, said Israel will establish only six new settlements on the West Bank this year while it will establish in Israel proper, 10 new settlements. He claimed that the sums for the rehabilitation of disadvantaged neighborhoods in Israel havebeen increasing meaningfully in the last few years, under Premier Menachem Begin’s government.

Furthermore, Levy said, the present government’s policy of finding and building housing for the poor is expanding. He said that in the last five years the government has found housing solutions for about 260,000 families.

In response to a question on the situation in Lebanon, Levy said that it seems that the American Administration is ready “to achieve a settlement in Lebanon.” He claimed that “The pressure so far was on Israel and this pressure on only one party has created a stalemate. It has been proven that if the U.S. wants, she can move the Lebanese toward settling the conflict,” he said.

Levy said, however, that Israel will not make any compromise on security but it is adhering to its policy that all foreign forces, including the Israel army, should leave Lebanon and security arrangements should be established to prevent a new outbreak of war.

Levy warned that the continuing stalemate in Lebanon poses major dangers, especially in view of the increasing involvement of the Soviet Union in Syria. “This must worry the Americans. This is one of the reasons I believe there will be a movement toward a solution in the near future,” he said.

URGES U.S. JEWS TO SUPPORT ISRAEL

Levy met this morning with American Jewish leaders and briefed them on recent developments in Israel and its relations with the U.S. He told them that Israel will not compromise on anything involving its security. He also emphasized that there is a national consensus in Israel against a Palestinian state.

Levy called on American Jews to stand behind Israel and to join in its “hasbara” (information) efforts. Asked about criticism among American Jews of Israeli policies, Levy said that this kind of criticism is used against Israel, He said Israel is the only one to decide its policy. “If anybody wants to give advice he can do it discreetly, without using slogans,” Levy said.

During his eight-day visit to the U.S., the Israeli minister will meet with various Jewish groups, including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. He said he does not have any meetings scheduled so far with U.S. officials in Washington,

Asked about new elections in Israel, Levy said he personally favors them because the present government does not have a stable majority and in order to govern efficiently, a comfortable majority is needed. He said the problem is that not all of Likud’s coalition partners want early elections.

Asked about the ethnic gap in Israel, Levy referred to a recent series in The New York Times which he claimed was exaggerated and not written “out of love” for Israel. He said Israel did have social problems but “we are overcoming them. The situation is not as bad as it was in the 1950s, To present the problems as if there is apartheid in Israel is a distortion that leads nowhere.”