Rabin Praises U.S. Aid to Israel

Premier Yitzhak Rabin praised the United States last night for its aid and understanding of Israel. Speaking at the final session of the Rabbinical Council of America convention, Rabin said sometimes he found less understanding among Israelis and diaspora Jews to Israel’s policy than by the American government.

He described the relations between the two countries as reaching “one of its peaks, if not the highest one. The U.S. government supports Israel in the international arena, in the supply of arms and in economic aid almost with no precedence. The margin between what we want and what we get is very small.”

Rabin told the Orthodox rabbis that the financial support Israel received in the last four years for arms purchase was three times as much as Israel had received in the previous 25 years. “When I am asked, do I see the present relations with the United States extending into the future, I say: Definitely.”

PARTNERS IN A GREAT MISSION

Telling the rabbis he wanted to speak with them as “partners in a great mission,” Rabin said that in terms of “Shivat Zion” (return to Zion) “one must bear in mind that never in the history of mankind has there been a precedent for what Zionism has accomplished. Shivat Zion is unique, and one must be patient and understand that the fulfillment of such a vision is not easy.”

So many generations of Jews since the destruction of the Temple had dreams and aspirations of participating in Shivat Zion. Rabin noted. “But only the last two generations had the free opportunity to fulfill these dreams, the question is whether they will make use of that opportunity. The response to that question is more decisive to the fate of Israel than what a certain Senator, a President, a Secretary of State or an Arab leader says. The fate of our people has never been so much in our own hands.”