Israeli Ambassador Meir Rosenne stressed Tuesday that the fate of Soviet Jewry depends on what the West does rather than any renewal of relations between Israel and the Soviet Union. But Rosenne said that for Israel improved relations with the USSR would require increased Soviet Jewish emigration.
“What is totally unacceptable is to see the release of one or two individuals, creating the impression that the problem is solved while you have 400,000 Jews that have applied” for emigration visas, he said at a breakfast meeting with reporters.
The Soviets accused the Israelis of “arrogance” for bringing up the Soviet Jewry issue at a meeting in Helsinki Monday to discuss the resumption of some relations between the two countries. The meeting broke up after 90 minutes.
However, Rosenne rejected the view that the Helsinki meeting was “a flop” or that there would not be any further meetings. But he said “it’s too early to tell” whether the Soviets want to resume diplomatic relations which Moscow broke with Israel after the 1967 Six-Day War.
CAUTIONS U.S. ON MIDEAST PEACE PROCESS
On the Middle East peace process, Rosenne appeared to be cautioning the Reagan Administration which is reportedly studying the U.S. policy in the region in order to decide whether the U.S. should take a more active role.
The Israeli Ambassador stressed that the U.S. cannot replace the parties to the Arab-Israeli conflict and that there must be a willingness for the Arab countries to negotiate with Israel before the U.S. can play its very important role in the process. “The U.S. cannot impose peace if a party doesn’t want it,” he said.
Asked about charges of Israeli espionage in the U.S., Rosenne said that Israel apologized in the case of Jonathan Pollard, the former Navy analyst who pleaded guilty in June of providing Israel with classified intelligence information. But he said that none of the other cases reported in the media had ever been proven. He said the latest incident involving the Recon Optical Inc., of Barrington, Ill., was a contract dispute. (See August 20 Bulletin.)
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