Premier Yitzhak Rabin gave a sober review of the Middle East situation at the closing session of the Jewish Agency’s fourth annual Assembly here tonight and told the silent and solemn audience of more than 300 delegates and guests, “Let us be hopeful, but let us also be realistic,” The Premier said, “In my talks in Washington, we proved that Israel is forthcoming. Egypt must prove that she too can be forthcoming–otherwise I doubt if an interim agreement will be achieved.”
Apparently sensing the gloomy mood in the chamber, the Premier added, “But I think and hope it will be achieved. If it is not, though, then the efforts toward peace negotiations must be continued,” Rabin said he hoped the efforts currently underway would succeed but he emphasized that there were positions beyond which Israel could not afford to retreat. It will depend, he said, “on the extent of Egypt’s readiness to move forward” whether a settlement would be reached. He said that the U.S. had learned from the failure of the negotiations last March that if progress is to be made, both sides will have to be forthcoming, not just Israel. (By David Landau)
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
