Israel’s viewpoint in its dispute with the Arab states was published for the first time in recent years in the Soviet press this weekend. The official foreign affairs magazine, the New Times, printed an outspoken defense of the Israeli case in the Jordan River waters controversy, diplomatic relations with West Germany and other Middle Eastern issues.
The Israeli arguments were included in excepts from a letter to the New Times by Mordechai Caspi, Moscow correspondent of the Israeli Communist newspaper Kol Haam, who had protested against a pro-Arab article carried by the magazine. The magazine said it was publishing Mr. Caspi’s comments “to enable out readers to form a fuller and more objective picture of Arab-Israel relations.”
In his letter, Mr. Caspi said that Israel had as much right to the Jordan waters as the Arab states situated along the river, and he criticized the magazine for its “negative attitude” toward the peace proposals of Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba. Noting that the Arabs openly threatened the use of force, Mr. Caspi also criticized the sweeping Soviet attacks on Israel, and suggested that Soviet policy should favor a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israel problem.
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