Presidents Conference Denies Any Administration Pressure on Jews

An official of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said today that the Reagan Administration did not exert pressure on American Jews to press Israel to release the some 700 Shiites held at the Atlit prison camp.

“There was no government pressure on American Jews to pressure Israel,” said Yehuda Hellman, executive vice president of the Presidents Conference. “And there was no pressure of American Jews on Israel whether government inspired or autonomously inspired.”

Hellman was responding to an inquiry from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about a Washington Post report last Friday in which an unidentified “well informed White House official” was quoted as suggesting that American Jews pressure Israeli Premier Shimon Peres to release the Shiite detainees it holds in order to facilitate the release of the American hostages in Beirut.

“We figure that Peres can read our minds, ” the official was quoted as saying. “Peres knows what is happening here. He can understand the delicacy of the situation.” The official was also quoted as saying that “certainly there are enough people over here of the Jewish faith who can read … who must be telling people over there (in Israel) ‘for God’s sake, look what you’re doing to public opinion’ ” in the United States.

JEWISH LEADERS CONCERNED

Jewish leaders here were clearly concerned that Israel’s position on the release of the Shiite detainees could result in a backlash of anti-Israel or anti-Jewish sentiments. A Washington Post-ABC News poll last week suggested that American public support of Israel might be weakening due to the impasse over the hostage drama.

Nonetheless, the Washington Post quoted a senior White House official over the weekend as describing the words of his colleague as an “unfortunate remark” but he did not elaborate. The Post also reported that representatives of some six leading American Jewish groups had been contacted by the White House and assured that the White House official’s comment does not reflect the views of the President. This however could not be independently confirmed at press time.

Reagan has during the hostage drama repeatedly assured Israel that it will not ask Jerusalem to bow to the demands of the hijackers and release the Shiite detainees. In fact, Reagan, in response to a reporter’s question last Friday in Chicago, said he would not ask Israel to give into the demands of the hijackers. “I only know that none of us, any country, can afford to pay terrorists for crimes that they’re committing because that will only lead to more crime,” Reagan said.

HOSTAGE RELEASE WELCOMED

The Presidents Conference, meanwhile, welcomed today’s release of the 39 American hostages taken on June 14 when the TWA flight 847 was hijacked en-route from Athens to Rome and said “It seems clear that the hostage crisis, far from disturbing relations between Washington and Jerusalem, in fact drew them closer together in common refusal to surrender to terrorism.”

“President Reagan wisely rejected the terrorists’ demands and refused to pressure Israel to release the Shiite detainees as Amal had demanded, ” the Presidents Conference said in a statement issued here. “If there is any lesson to be learned, it is that freedom loving countries must stand together in the war against terrorism in which they find themselves the targets.”

“During the period ahead, we believe America and Israel will work even more closely together on the common agenda of preventing and punishing terrorism,” the Presidents Conference said. “The American-Israeli alliance today is stronger than ever.”

BIALKIN SEES RELATIONS NOT DAMAGED

In Israel, Presidents Conference chairman Kenneth Bialkin echoed the statement issued here that Israel-U.S. relations had not been damaged by the hijacking-hostage episode. “Perhaps at the margins there was some difference of view as to who is trying to get who to blink first –but that’s part of the give and take,” Bialkin said.

Bialkin conceded that there had been communications problems early on, but spoke of harmony during the later stages of the crisis. He voiced criticism of the Reagan Administration for focusing on its view that Israel’s detention of the Shiites here was contrary to international law and thereby centering media attention on them rather than on the hijack victims.

He said that if there was an impression of damaged relations in the media, it was for the Administration as well as for the Jewish leaders to work to repair them. Bialkin spoke to reporters after meetings with Premier Peres and Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir. He added that he hoped the release of the hostages had been obtained without an American pledge not to retaliate. If such a pledge had been given — it ought not to be considered binding, he urged.