Schindler: Administration, Jewish Community Relations Not Irreparable

Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, stressed today that the differences between the American Jewish community and the Carter Administration are not irreparable despite the Administration’s sale of sophisticated jet planes to Saudi Arabia and Egypt. But he warned that if the Administration was to attempt now to impose a peace settlement on Israel it would result in an “irreversible break.”

Speaking at a press conference at the Presidents Conference’s headquarters, Schindler repeated his statement made yesterday that President Carter now has the “moral obligation” to see that Egypt returns to negotiating table and to persuade the Saudis to give their “full-hearted backing to bilateral negotiations” between Israel and Egypt.

Schindler confirmed that after the Senate voted 54-44 against rejecting the sale of planes to Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, top White House officials called him and other Jewish leaders and non-Jewish supporters of Israel throughout the country Monday night and yesterday in an attempt to assure them that the Carter Administration still supports the need for a secure Israel. He refused to reveal who had called him.

Asked if he believed such assurances from the White House, Schindler said he is a “pragmatist” and “I measure true belief by deeds.” He explained that when words are substantiated by action then “I believe it.” He added that Jewish history has taught him this since Jews have been betrayed so often.

Schindler noted that President Carter stressed that the U.S. was providing 60 F-15s to Saudi Arabia because of a promise made to the Kingdom by the Ford Administration. “If America has to keep our promises to Saudi Arabia it has to keep our promises to Israel as well,” he declared. He pointed out that Israel was promised as part of the 1975 Sinai agreement, planes and other weapons.

REJECTS “WATERSHED” VIEW

At the outset, Schindler stressed that the Senate vote was not a “watershed” in American-Israel relations. He said he was “outraged” by those who called the Senate vote a defeat for the “Jewish lobby.” He noted that while it was “proper” to call the supporters of Israel a pro-Israel lobby, it was improper to call them a “Jewish lobby” since it included Jews and non-Jews.

He said Israel could never have received U.S. backing if its supporters were only Jews, a small minority in this country. He said he was particularly “outraged” by the remarks of Sen. Mike Gravel (D. Alaska) who said the Senate vote would prove to be “the watershed year of Jewish influence in this country.”

Schindler maintained that if Carter had submitted the three sales separately the outcome might have been the same but because he put the proposal up as a “package” there was a great deal of “confusion” by those who voted on both sides. Asked about the support for the package by Sen. Abraham Ribicoff (D. Conn.), Schindler said he was “unhappy” with the Senator’s vote but Ribicoff was not elected as a representative of the Jewish people but of the people of Connecticut and had a right to “vote his conscience.”

HITS LACK OF LONG RANGE PLANNING

The Presidents Conference chairman was especially critical of the Administration for what he called a lack of long-range “geo-political” planning in providing the F-15s to Saudi Arabia. He pointed to the instability of the area and noted there was no guarantee that the present Saudi regime would remain in power and that would leave the planes in the hands of some radical group. He said the recent coup d’etat in Afghanistan was an example.

Schindler said the only stable regime in the area was Israel and Israel was the only nation that could meet a threat to the region from the “north” a reference to the Soviet Union and protect the U.S.’s future oil sources. He maintained that the sale to the Saudis was not based on defense needs as the Administration has claimed, but for economic reasons–oil prices, protection of the dollar, and the redistribution of petrodollars.

Schindler announced that Rep. Benjamin Rosenthal (D.NY), a member of the House International Relations Committee, will brief the Presidents Conference Friday at a closed session on the meaning of the package sale. He said professional staff members of the constituent members of the presidents Conference will meet Monday for a postmortem to discuss tactics and improved coordination between the various groups.