William Scranton, who is scheduled to be named U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations to succeed Patrick Moynihan, said here that he agreed completely with Moynihan’s sharp criticism of the UN General Assembly for its Nov. 10 vote approving a resolution which equated Zionism with racism.
Speaking last Thursday night at a meeting of the Philadelphia chapter of the American Jewish Committee, Scranton said he believed Moynihan’s position at the UN was a good one and called himself a “fan” of Moynihan. He told the 200 members that the United States was correct in condemning Third World nations that “scapegoat” Israel or see Israel as a menace. He said Israel deserves peace and security as much or more than any nation in the world.
Scranton praised Arthur Burns, Federal Reserve Board chairman, for his letter to banks warning them against accepting letters of credit with Arab boycott restrictions.
DEFENDS. 1968 ‘EVEN-HANDED’ STATEMENT
He defended the statement he made as President Nixon’s special envoy after a tour of the Middle East in 1968 that the United States should adopt a more “even-handed” policy toward Middle East countries, a statement widely criticized at the time by supporters of Israel. Scranton said that “that was then and this is now.” He said at the time the Soviet Union was predominant in the Arab world and that it was important for the United States to have “credibility” in the Arab world, a situation which led him to offer his comment then.
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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.
