— Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D. Ohio) has called on American Jews to voice protest against the Reagan Administration’s intention to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s air force that he said “immeasurably increases danger in Israel.”
Addressing the Associated Jewish Charities and Welfare Fund in Baltimore Monday in opposition to the sale of U.S. arms to Saudi Arabia and enhancement of combat performance of the Saudis’ fleet of 62 American-made F-15 warplanes, Metzenbaum said:
“The time has come for American Jews to dig in their heels and say ‘no–this is wrong. This is dangerous and we’re not going to sit idly by while the survival of Israel is threatened.’
“For five thousand years, we Jews have been a persecuted people–hunted, hounded, murdered and driven from place to place. Today, just as in times past, there are powerful forces in this world dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish people. Soudi Arabia is one of those forces. That’s a fact–a fact borne out by history and by the words and actions of the Saudi leaders themselves.”
American Jews, Metzenbaum added, “cannot ignore a policy of our government that immeasurably increases the danger with which the people in Israel must live each and every day of their lives. We’ve got to fight. There’s simply no other decent or honorable choice.”
Metzenbaum pointed out the Saudis have participated “to the extent of their ability in every war between Israel and the Arabs. Today, with the sale of this advanced military equipment, their ability is about to become much greater, and to those who say the Saudis would not use these weapons against Israel, I say ‘look at the record.'”
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