United States Ambassador to the United Nations William Scranton and Israeli UN Ambassador Chaim Herzog both warned yesterday that the calmness of this year’s General Assembly could be shattered by the Arabs in the next few weeks when they will try to revive the Zionism-is-racism resolution and when the General Assembly will consider the report of the 20-member Committee on Palestinian Rights.
Addressing a meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and representatives of the media at the Jewish Agency’s headquarters here, Scranton said that if the Arabs try to link Zionism to apartheid or to revive the Zionism-is-racism resolution in any other way or form, the United States is “determined” to fight against it because “it’s wrong, absolutely wrong and we will not allow it….”
U.S. WILL OPPOSE PALESTINIAN REPORT
Scranton also said that the United States will “strongly oppose” the report of the Committee or Palestinian Rights, which recommends Israeli withdrawal from all Arab territories and the establishment of a Palestinian state under the a egis of the PLO, and recalled that the U.S. has already vetoed it at the Security Council.
The American envoy disclosed that he was told by Arab delegates that they want a “major debate” on the Mideast at this year’s Assembly and that the debate is likely to be contentious. But Scranton expressed satisfaction that the General Assembly has been so far less acrimonious than in previous years. He said that one of the reasons for this is the role played by Herzog, who, he said, is “one of the real leaders” at the UN.
Scranton was also optimistic about the West German proposal for an international convention against the taking of hostages, noting that there is a “considerable support” for it and that he hopes it will be adopted by the UN.
REPORT OMITS JEWISH REFUGEES
Herzog, addressing the gathering after Scranton, said he does not agree that the West German proposal has a good chance this year, disclosing that “certain Arab countries, led by Algeria, are planning to sabotage the West German initiative to bar the taking of hostages.”
Reiterating Israel’s contention that the report of the Committee on Palestinian Rights “is a prescription for the destruction of Israel,” Herzog charged that the PLO “participated in the work of the committee and was actively involved in the drafting of the report.”
While the report dealt with Arab refugees. Herzog said, it did not mention at all Jewish refugees from Arab countries. He contended that “an exchange of population has taken place in the Mideast” with Israel absorbing 600,000 of the 800,000 Jewish refugees from Arab lands against the 500,000 Arab refugees who should be settled in Arab lands.
Charging that some countries are “over-represented in the (UN) Secretariat because of their automatic majority in the General Assembly.” Herzog disclosed that the Arab countries staff the UN Secretariat five times more than their quota. He also pointed out that Arab members of the Office of Petroleum Exporting Countries pay 0.9 percent of the UN budget while the U.S. pays 25 percent. Israel and oil rich Saudi Arabia pay the same amount of the UN budget, 0.24 percent.
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