Americans for a Safe Israel (SAFE) said today that syndicated columnists Rowland Evans and Robert Novak erred when they reported on April 8 that Israeli government officials had promoted the sale of land on the West Bank to American Jews during a SAFE conference in New York on March 13.
The organization, which contends that Israel must permanently retain the West Bank if it is to be secure, said the conference was a forum in response to President Reagan’s September 1 peace initiative which Israel rejects, that none of the speakers could be considered an Israel government official and that none promoted land sales.
SAFE said the only mention of land sales to Americans at the conference was contained in a flyer explaining how Americans could buy land on the West Bank. "None of the Israelis addressing the conference was aware of the existence of the flyer," SAFE said.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
