Sen. Charles Percy (R.Ill.) said yesterday that “the outcome of peace initiatives in the Middle East will have a dramatic effect on our future access to Arab oil and the price we pay for it.” He said he was more “convinced than ever that efforts to improve our economy and seek peace in the Middle East are closely linked.”
Percy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made his remarks in a speech before the United States League of Savings Associations. He said the threats of a new war in the Middle East “make it even more urgent that we forge a sensible economy and energy plan in the United States and move toward a mood of cooperation between the oil consuming and oil producing nations.”
Percy’s linkage of the two major problems of the Middle East–the Arab-Israeli conflict and the oil squeeze–was expected to be disputed in circles, including American supporters of Israel, who have always insisted that the price of oil was unrelated to a settlement of the Middle East dispute.
Percy is already under heavy fire from some American-Jewish leaders for his recent statements that Israel must be more conciliatory toward the Arabs, that it should return to substantially the same borders that existed before the June, 1967 war and that it would have to negotiate with the Palestine Liberation Organization whose chieftain, Yasir Arafat, was described by the Senator as a “relative moderate.”
REPORT FORD IN GENERAL ACCORD WITH PERCY
Jewish leaders have charged that those remarks by Percy, and his blunt warning that Israel could no longer count on total support of the U.S. Congress “right or wrong,” would undercut Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger who is going to the Middle East next week by creating an impression that the U.S. already has predetermined its position on the issues to be taken up by the negotiating parties.
But other sources here have indicated that President Ford essentially agrees with the position stated by Percy though not necessarily with all of his points. These sources say that Administration officials indicate that the President believes Percy’s remarks will strengthen Kissinger’s mission. At least one observer has suggested that the Ford Administration may, in fact, have inspired the Senator’s recent controversial remarks as a sort of “trial balloon.”
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
