Mchenry: Peace Prospect is Bright

“We have reason to rejoice because the prospect for peace in the Middle East is better in 1979 than at any time in the century of modern Jewish-Arab relations,” said Donald McHenry; United States Ambassador to the United Nations, who was guest speaker last night at the Appeal of Conscience Foundation’s Award Dinner at the Pierre Hotel honoring Harry Helmsley, a prominent realtor, and Axel Springer, a noted German publisher. Members of the audience included Ambassadors from 25 countries.

The Appeal of Conscience Foundation, an interreligious organization headed by Rabbi Arthur Schneier, spiritual leader of the Park East Synagogue in New York, promotes religious freedoms throughout the world.

McHenry declared that “None of us can be insensitive to the courage of President (Anwar) Sadat and Prime Minister (Menachem) Begin, or to the risks which each has taken. The treaty (between Israel and Egypt) is a major step forward towards peace, but it is not an end in itself. The principal unfinished item on the Middle East agenda today is the relationship between Israel and her other neigh bars, particularly between Israel and the Palestinian Arab people. Our goal now must be to assure on a permanent basis the full security of Israel and at the same time to respect and fulfill the legitimate rights of the Palestinians.”

Schneier, in presenting the award to Springer, said he “has made reconciliation his life’s mission. He has made an historic contribution to bring about a better understanding between the German and the Jewish people.”

Springer, in reply, stated: “Israel is threatened now because her friends in the world make recommendations and suggestions which, if carried out, will imperil the safety of the young Jewish State. Israel is threatened because so many among us follow the dictate of oil, instead of the dictate of conscience.”