Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan (D, N. Y.) lashed out at President Carter’s reference to the “shared concerns” of the United States and the Soviet Union in the President’s speech at the Naval Academy commencement yesterday. Moynihan noted that the Soviets seek to destroy Israel, since it blocks their access to the Persian Gulf and the strategic Middle East area as a whole. The United States, on the other hand, has a special obligation to continue its support for the democratic state of Israel, he said.
Speaking before an estimated 2,000 people at the commencement exercises of Yeshiva University, Moynihan sharply criticized the American failure to pursue “good faith negotiations with an ally.” While Israel has honored its part in the Sinai II Agreement, the United States has made aid for Israel conditional upon Israeli concessions in the stalled Mideast peace talks, he said. The Senator was referring specifically to the terms of the controversial Middle East arms sale package recently passed by Congress.
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