The Reagan Administration’s Middle East policy will not change in the aftermath of Israel’s withdrawal from Sinai, according to Howard Squadron, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. That policy is base on a deep commitment to the security and survival of Israel but also on direct support for anti-Soviet elements in the Arab world, such as Saudi Arabia, Squadron said.
Squadron, who was re-elected to a third two-year term as president of the American Jewish Congress at its biennial convention in Grossinger N.Y. last week, spoke at a press conference as the AJCongress leadership was about to reconvene here for the second half of its convention. About 100 delegates are attending the sessions which will end Thursday.
Squadron said that in Reagan’s view, support for Israel and support for anti-Soviet Arab regimes must be part of U.S. policy even if they conflict, and the President remains committed to both.
Referring to another current matter, Squadron claimed that American Jewry respected the Israel government’s decision to ban Sabbath flights by El Al and agreed with Begin’s view that its symbolic value outweighed the economic losses.
But Squadron contrasted American Jewry’s acceptance of the Sabbath flight ban with its attitude toward the “Who is a Jew” amendment to the Law of Return which Begin has promised his Orthodox supporters to push through the Knesset. American Jews see the amendment as a mistake that could reduce support for Israel among large segments of the American Jewish community, Squadron said. (By Gil Sedan)
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