More than 500 rabbis adopted a resolution at the closing session of the annual convention here of the Rabbinical Council of America expressing “fear and grave concern over recent statements emanating from President Ford and high level authorities indicating a change of policy by our government which is seemingly more favorable to the Arabs and antagonistic to Israel.”
The resolution stated that “Israel’s pursuit of peace is unquestionable,” and that “Picturing the Arabs as the sole pursuers of peace is a denial of Israel’s constant striving for a genuine peace. Anything else is a misrepresentation of realities in the Middle East.” The resolution, adopted Friday, also said “On the eve of the President’s meeting with the Prime Minister of Israel, we call upon our President to encourage the people of Israel by reassuring them that the United States will in no ways lessen its friendship or diminish its support that has created a special relationship between Israel and the United States.’
The convention called on the Ford Administration not to impose a settlement that would “jeopardize the position of Israel as a democratic nation in the Middle East so deeply devoted to our democratic ideals and principles.”
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