Roger’s Mid-east Policy Assailed As Appeasement by Massachusetts Lawmaker

Rep. Thomas P. O’Neill Jr., a Massachusetts Democrat, has made public the text of a letter to Secretary of State William P. Rogers in which he characterized the new American policy on the Middle East as “appeasement” and warned that its only effect was to make war “profitable” for the Arabs and to facilitate a Soviet takeover of the area. Rep. O’Neill asserted that since Israel’s establishment in 1948, “the fundamental issue between Israel and the Arab states has been the right of Israel to exist as a sovereign nation.” American opinion, he said had been “overwhelmingly” in support of Israel’s right to exist. Present-American policy, he said, would condemn Israel to continue to suffer a major war every 10 years and daily terrorist attacks.

“Your position of appeasement makes war profitable for the Arab states and allows the Soviet Union to use the Arabs in its plan to take over the Middle East,” Rep. O’Neill declared. “Enough of our unilateral concessions to the Soviet Union.” Sen. Stephen M. Young, veteran Ohio Democrat, told the Cleveland Section of the National Council of Jewish Women that he was “in complete agreement that our government should continue to give complete support to Israel in order to assure direct negotiations and hopefully to secure peace and tranquility in the Near East.”

OPPOSES PRESSURES UPON ISRAEL FOR UNCONDITIONAL WITHDRAWAL

Sen. Young declared that the United States “must oppose all pressures upon Israel to withdraw unconditionally from any of the territories taken over by this valiant little nation during the Six Day War.” He said this was important “in view of the massive shipment of arms, tanks and planes by the Soviet Union to Arab nations.” Connecticut Democrat Thomas J. Dodd told the New Haven Jewish Community Council that the Western nations should step up delivery of modern arms to Israel to offset the 150 percent increase in strength provided to the Arabs by the Russians since the Six Day War. He criticized the French Government for its agreement to sell 50 Mirage jet fighters to Libya intimating that these war-planes would wind up in Egyptian hands.

The senator urged Secretary Rogers to make public the full text of the notes it transmitted to the Soviet Union detailing the American proposals for an Arab-Israeli settlement. The text of the Soviet rejection of the American proposals for an Egyptian-Israeli settlement has been released but Mr. Rogers indicated last week that the text of the American proposals would not be made public. Rep. Lowell Weicker, a Republican, told the Council briefing session that the United States Government should “stop making ever-expansive peace offers in hopes of enticing Arab nations to negotiate directly with Israel.” He said the United States should “play down the oil factor” in the Mideast.