Foreign Minister Shimon Peres kicked off the United Jewish Appeal’s 50th anniversary Jubilee Mission to Israel on Saturday night by reiterating his unfailing hope that negotiations will bring peace to the Middle East.
He reaffirmed his faith in a Jordanian-Palestinian solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
He spoke to some 900 mission participants, each of whom have pledged at least $10,000 to the central philanthropic agency. Premier Yitzhak Shamir will address the group Tuesday.
Peres praised American efforts to achieve Middle East peace, especially those of U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz who, he said, has the capacity to preside over controversial situations without becoming a controversial figure.
The foreign minister, who could again become prime minister if his Labor Party wins the Nov. 1 elections, also had kind words for the Soviet Union and envisioned its eventual participation in an international peace conference for the Middle East.
It is more dangerous for the Russians to be left outside of the agenda, and remain a supplier of missiles and planes to the Arab countries, than to be inside and join the United States as a supplier of peace, Peres contended.
The presence of the UJA mission, more than 1,000 strong if one counts its accompanying staff and journalists, is a much needed boost to the local economy and morale, after one of the worst tourist seasons on record.
VISITS TO EAST EUROPE, MOROCCO
Mission chairman David Hermelin made that point. He said participation in this year’s UJA mission was up 4 percent over last year.
The Palestinian uprising in the administered territories may have kept visitors away from Israel last summer. But it did not deter the UJA delegates. Nor did the recent polio scare, though visits to some Project Renewal neighborhoods were curtailed.
About 850 of the American mission participants arrived here from countries other than the United States, where they participated in one of seven preliminary missions aimed at seeing first hand the work of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. A share of UJA funding goes to JDC, which provides rescue, relief and rehabilitation programs for Jews overseas.
The delegates paid visits from Oct. 9 to 13 to Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary, Morocco, Poland and Romania.
In addition, the Women’s National Board of UJA visited Paris and Marseilles, and two non-UJA sponsored groups went on preliminary missions to the Soviet Union and Italy.
The UJA leaders began arriving in Israel late last week. On Thursday night, 150 of them went to Masada for an Israel Philharmonic Orchestra concert celebrating Israel’s 40th anniversary, under the baton of Zubin Mehta.
On Friday evening, the delegates welcomed the Sabbath at the Western Wall, capping a day of sightseeing in Jerusalem. Immigrants from various countries joined them for Sabbath dinner at the six hotels where the delegates are staying.
Saturday night was a celebration of the UJA’s 50 years of helping to build the Israeli nation and facilitate the so-called “ingathering of the exiles.” A recent arrival from Ethiopia sang “Lach Yerushalayim” (For you, Jerusalem).
On Sunday, UJA Square was dedicated near the Knesset building, followed by a festival in Liberty Bell Park. Visits to Project Renewal neighborhoods were scheduled for later Sunday.
JEWISH AGENCY BRIEFINGS
On Monday, the delegates were to visit Jewish Agency and JDC installations.
Tuesday’s schedule calls for a briefings by Mendel Kaplan, chairman of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors, and Simcha Dinitz, chairman of the World Zionist Organization-Jewish Agency Executive. They will be followed by a farewell dinner, hosted by Premier Shamir.
The mission is more than a string of festivities, however. The participants represent the top echelons of UJA lay leadership across North America. They are here, in part, to evaluate how well funds raised in their communities are being spent in Israel.
They are also here to discuss policy issues with Israeli officials. This was reflected in the exchange with Peres after his welcoming remarks.
Asked to defend the morality of Israel’s use of force against Palestinian civilians in the administered territories, Peres said, “We do not have a policy of using force in the West Bank. We are forced to do so.”
He observed that in Israel’s 40 years of existence, only one person has ever been executed for crimes — the convicted Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.
Peres also said Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin has announced an amnesty for Palestinian deportees. He said that some would be allowed to return on their good behavior and that one already has returned.
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