Premier Yitzhak Rabin told 3000 delegates to the United Jewish Appeal “This Year In Jerusalem” convention here last night that Israel was prepared to go to Geneva to negotiate a full peace settlement with the Arabs or even a limited agreement to end the state of belligerency but that it would never accept an imposed settlement in the Middle East conflict.
Addressing the closing session of the week-long convention, Rabin said the ball was now in the Arab court and it was up to them to decide what to do with it. He warned that if the Arabs chose the road of aggression they would face an Israel that is “stronger today than any enemy.”
The UJA delegates set a target of $657 million to be raised in 1977 compared to $500 million raised in 1976. Frank Lautenberg was reelected to a third term as UJA general chairman.
Addressing a meeting of UJA delegates Friday, former Defense Minister Moshe Dayan proposed that Israeli forces cross the Lebanese border to block the return of terrorist gangs into the border region of southern Lebanon. He described the “good fence”–the gap in the border fence through which Lebanese villagers may enter Israel for medical treatment or to work–as not much more than a public relations measure. If the army does not take the necessary steps, there will be nothing left of the fence, Dayan warned.
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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.