Ncjw Says View of Saudi Arabia As Moderate is a Fairy Tale

Shirley Leviton, president of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), declared here last night that only those who believe in “fairy tales” can accept the Reagan Administration’s assertion that Saudi Arabia will be a moderating influence toward a Middle East peace.

She told the more than 400 women from across the country attending the NCJW’s 1981 Joint Program Institute that with the fight over the sale of AWACS surveillance planes and other military equipment to Saudi Arabia there is a need for “binding up wounds” and “moving courageously toward fulfilling our nation’s commitment to the Camp David peace process and the Camp David agreement.”

But, Mrs. Leviton warned, “It is imperative for us to remain cautious and aware of the Administration’s perception that Saudi Arabia is a moderating influence in the Arab world, that it will ultimately recognize Israel’s existence as a nation, and that it will play a major role in protecting American security interests in the Middle East.

“As knowledgeable citizens, we know the cost of blind faith and we cannot believe in fairy tales,” she declared.

OUTLINES PRIORITIES AND OBJECTIVES

Mrs. Leviton spoke at a dinner at the Hyatt Regency which marked the start of intensive advocacy training for the NCJW members in public policy and family self-sufficiency and Israel and American foreign policy. Mrs. Leviton noted that while choosing priorities the NCJW must focus attention on problems both at home and abroad.

“As activists involved in many service projects in our own communities we have all seen the effects of the current economic policies on the family,” she said. She noted that President Reagan has called on the voluntary organizations to help people being cut off by federal budget cuts. “How can organizations with limited funds serve the needs of the millions cut off from federal aid by the 25 percent cuts in allocations?” she asked.

Mrs. Leviton said that while there is the need to meet these social problems and combat such groups as the Moral Majority, “The necessity for strong advocacy in behalf of Israel has never been so vital.”

In addition, she warned that the terrorist “battleground” for the Palestine Liberation Organization and similar groups “is no longer limited to Israel but has spread to victimize Vienna, Antwerp, Paris and Jewish communities in many other parts of the globe. There are 14 million Jews in the world — only three million live in Israel. It is the responsibility of all of us to protect and support Israel — the central core of Jewish existence — the home of Jewish history and tradition.”