Rabin: Real Issue Between Israel, Arab States is ‘security Not Territory’

General Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, told a meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations that “security–not territory–is the real issue between Israel and the Arab states.” Ambassador Rabin spoke at a meeting this week at which Dr. William A. Wexler of Savannah, Ga., president of B’nai B’rith, was unanimously reelected chairman of the Presidents Conference, Dr. Wexler will serve a second one-year term. Rabin rejected the idea of Four Power “guarantees” or troops of other nations to keep the peace as “meaningless and without substance. The only peace that can come to the Middle East,” he declared, “is a peace between the parties. The problem of the Jarring mission is to eliminate the conflict between Israel and her neighbors, not to interpose barriers between them.” He said that Israel could not expose herself to attacks by an enemy made strong by outside intervention and thereby encouraged to resume hostilities. “Israel,” he said, “must have borders that it can reasonably defend.”

Rabin also charged that the Palestine refugee issue was a “false” one. “Egypt,” he said, “is not interested in the refugees. Indeed, by violating the cease-fire and inaugurating gun battles along the Suez Canal, Egypt created more homeless refugees within its own territories than Israel can conceivably be responsible for.” The Israeli diplomat also told the Presidents Conference meeting that his country was committed to full support of the Jarring mission and would do everything possible to promote its success–although he did not have great faith in the outcome of the present talks. Rabin pointed out that in order to help the Jarring talks get under way, Israel had made four major concessions: that the negotiations could consist of indirect talks at the outset; that a limited cease-fire could go into effect; that the talks could be held outside the Middle East; and that the principle of withdrawal was agreed upon even before the talks were to begin. On the issue of the Palestinian refugees, Rabin said there was agreement between the U.S. and Israel that no solution of the refugee problem would require any change in the Jewish character of the State.