Toon Assures Israelis About U.S.

U.S. Ambassador Malcolm Toon chided Israelis last night for demonstrating too little confidence in the friendship and support of the United States. Specifically, he warned Israelis who have criticized American actions at the United Nations recently that they ran the risk of doing permanent damage to the special relationship that exists between the U.S. and Israel.

The Ambassador was referring to the bitter reaction in Israel over the U.S. failure to veto a resolution in the Security Council last month that linked the Palestinian issue to renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement. Observer Force (UNDOF) on the Golan Heights. The U.S. envoy, who was posted to the Moscow Embassy for four years, made his remarks in Russian in an address to the members of three B’nai B’rith lodges composed of recent immigrants from the Soviet Union.

He said it pained him to note some questioning of American reliability as a friend and partner of Israel. It has been suggested that American violated its undertakings toward Israel at the UN but none of these charges and allegations has any legitimate or reasonable content, Toon said.

He denied contentions by some Israelis that the U.S. does not understand what the Soviet Union is up to in the Middle East or that it lacks the will to stand up to Soviet expansionism in the region. He said that detente has helped restrain the Big Powers from conflict so far. He conceded, however, that the U.S. has had less success in enlisting Soviet help in developing a constructive approach to a just and lasting peace in the Mideast, Toon returned to Israel earlier this week after Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and he, along with other U.S. ambassadors to Mideast countries, held a series of consultations in Washington.