Premier Golda Meir has received a personal message from President Nixon that amounts to a “strong request” that Israel cooperate with Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and do nothing that might lead to the failure of his efforts to bring about an Israeli-Syrian disengagement accord, the newspaper Maariv reported today. The Israel Radio broadcast an official denial from the Prime Minister’s Office that Mrs. Meir had received a message from Nixon. But officials at the Prime Minister’s Office told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency later that the radio broadcast was inaccurate. They said there was no denial but rather a refusal to react or comment on the Maariv report.
The officials noted that it was contrary to accepted practice to comment on messages between governments. The clear implication was that Mrs. Meir had in fact received a message from Nixon. According to Maariv, the message was “as always” written in a friendly and respectful manner but its intent clearly was that Israel should cooperate with Kissinger.
Maariv claimed that the Nixon message and Israel’s appreciation of Kissinger’s understanding of its security problems were two elements that persuaded the government to agree to pull back from the 1967 borders on the Golan Heights. Israel’s latest map, which Kissinger conveyed to the Syrians in Damascus yesterday, offers a pullback from part of the town of Kuneitra and nearby villages while safeguarding the security of Israeli settlements on the Golan Heights. The Israeli disengagement plan represented a formula that would meet American requests without damaging Israeli security, Maariv said.
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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.
