The New Jersey Senate has approved a resolution sponsored by Sen. Matthew Feldman opposing the sale of fighter planes by the United States to Egypt and Saudi Arabia. At its final session prior to a spring recess last week, the Senate instructed that copies of the resolution be sent to Vice President Walter Mondale, House Speaker Thomas O’Neill and all members of the New Jersey delegation in Congress.
In a speech in support of his resolution, Feldman told his colleagues, “How quickly the world forgets the duplicity of the Egyptian government or, for that matter, the oil-producing Arab nations. Yet, how easily we are persuaded into supplying to these unstable countries lethal and sophisticated arms that do not meet legitimate defense needs.”
The resolution expressed “alarm” that the United States “appears to be running out on its commitment of support for Israel,” and advanced the view that the U.S. offer to sell weapons to Egypt and Saudi Arabia “threatens to upset the balance of power in the Middle East and engulf that region in yet another war that could destroy Israel.” The resolution called on Congress to block the proposed sale of arms to Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
