Sen. Robert Morgan (D.NC) feels that some of President Carter’s actions and comments on the Middle East since assuming office “may give Israel reason to feel insecure.” Addressing the annual Home Furnishings Division dinner of the State of Israel Bonds at the Waldorf-Astoria last night. Morgan said that at no time should Carter’s “good will and concern for Israel’s survival, or his determination regarding Israel’s right to exist and to maintain its integrity” be questioned.
However, “he speaks now of a homeland for the Palestinians, a more specific-sounding term than the traditional American concern for the Palestinians’ ‘legitimate grievances.’ But what exactly he means, and what exactly would be possible within the context of events–these we will have to be patient to examine,” Morgan said.
As additional examples, the Senator cited Carter’s cancellation of the concussion bomb sale and the denial that Israel could sell its Kfir fighter to Taiwan and Ecuador. He stated that he agreed with the President’s decision on the bomb but felt that Israel should be permitted to sell the planes, because “Israel needs desperately to increase its exports, and has been forced by its position to go into the arms business.”
Morgan felt that the burden of obtaining Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian acceptance of Israel and her right to exist lay with such Arab leaders as President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Jordan’s King Hussein, and Syrian President Hafez Assad. “The Palestinians continue to take a hard line, despite hopes that there would be some accommodation on their part,” the Senator told the Israel Bond guests.
Morgan called the new Administration’s peace efforts “admirable” in trying for a spirit of “conciliation and compromise” in getting all parties to the negotiating table. “Therefore, Americans would do well to understand that Israelis may be slow to share the new optimism brought on by a change of Administration in Washington. Americans should understand Israel’s quickness to worry about America’s intentions. And while we can let no reasonable chance to negotiate escape us, we should keep in mind what kind of ‘settlement’ is really needed in the long run.”
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