Theodore Mann, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, took sharp issue today with Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jakobivits of Britain for his recent remarks implying that Israel was not sufficiently forthcoming in its approach to peace with the Palestinians and the Arab world as a whole. Jakobovits spoke to a group of Anglo-Jewish and Israeli journalists who were luncheon guests at his home in London last week. He observed, at one point, that “if I knew we could never attain peace with the Arab world, I would say, liquidate Israel now.”
In a cable to the Chief Rabbi, Mann declared: “I cannot be silent in response to such an astonishing statement. For 32 years the message from all but one of Israel’s neighbors has been ‘we will never make peace with you: liquidate now.’ It is beyond my comprehension that the religious leader of the great British Jewish community should appear to encourage the Arab world’s continued refusal to acknowledge Israel’s legitimate place in the Mideast.”
Apparently referring to Jakobovits’ statement that he would not rule out the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza Strip and would even allow it to be governed from East Jerusalem, Mann declared: “You have once again publicly advised Israel how to conduct the current negotiations, as you did in the summer of 1978. I will not repeat now what I said to you then. I will only remind you that three months after your advice was rejected by the government of Israel, the Camp David accords were signed, confirming that the Israeli negotiators merited our patient trust. It believe they merit our patient trust today.”
Mann said he shared Jakobovits’ view “that leaders of Jewish communities are obliged to speak out on the great issues confronting our people and our time.” He observed, however, “As we approach the target date for the conclusion of the autonomy negotiations three months from now, once again I beg you–and Jewish leaders everywhere–to understand that the final throes of difficult negotiations are a time for steely nerves, a time to recall the admonition that ‘to everything there is a season … a time to keep silent and a time to speak out’.”
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