Charging that the Arab world’s refusal to accept Israel’s right to exist was responsible for the failure of Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger’s latest peace efforts in the Middle East, Rabbi Israel Miller declared today that the wisdom of Israel’s insistence on tangible pence moves by Egypt before relinquishing further territory in Sinai “is confirmed by what is happening today in Vietnam.”
Rabbi Miller, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, drew the Middle East-Vietnam parallel in a statement issued here today. “There too, Secretary Kissinger served as mediator among the local parties to the conflict” and “there too, pledges of peaceful intentions were offered but without the necessary safeguards to make sure the promises would not be broken,” Rabbi Miller said referring to the 1973 Paris peace accords.
“The agony of Vietnam today is a price that is being paid for the failure to insist on such vital safeguards. Israel has learned the lesson of Vietnam, and both the American people and the cause of peace are the gainers,” Rabbi Miller observed. He said “It is clear now that by its refusal to renounce belligerency against Israel, Egypt and the Arab world are not yet ready to accept Israel’s right to exist as a legitimate and permanent political entity in the Middle East.”
STAND FAST AND STAY COOL
Rabbi Miller pledged “unity and solidarity with Israel in her struggle for peace and security. He said that “the collapse of Secretary Kissinger’s peace mission is regrettable but not fatal. Far worse for Israel’s security, for America’s strategic interests and for the cause of world peace would have been Israel’s submission to Egyptian intransigence. For that would only have whetted the Arabs’ appetite for the goal that they have not yet abandoned–the destruction of Israel.”
Rabbi Miller advised that “Now is the time for Israel to stand fast and stay cool. For Israel’s friends in this country it is a moment to speak out in solidarity with the Jewish State, recognizing that peace cannot be achieved by surrender nor security bought with promises.”
TELEGRAMS SENT TO FORD
In related actions, two Jewish organizations called today upon Ford to reaffirm the Administration’s commitment to Israel’s security. Dr. Joseph P. Sternstein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, in urging Ford to “make known your Administration’s support for Israel’s rightful position and that the United States will not abandon her loyal ally,” blamed the prevailing Arab intransigence aided by the Kremlin for Egypt’s rejection of moderation.
Howard Adelson, president of the United Zionists-Revisionists of America, noted “with dismay reports that you (Ford) place responsibility on Israel for the failure of Secretary of State Kissinger. Egyptian refusal to take steps toward a political solution made failure inevitable.” Both leaders made their statements in telegrams to Ford.
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