U.S. Ambassador Malcolm Toon was under fire here for his remarks last week, attributed to “a Western diplomatic source” in which he accused Israel of playing “dirty pool” by allegedly going behind the back of the Ford Administration to convince Congress to allocate an additional $550 million for Israel to cover the transitional quarter between fiscal years 1976 and 1977. The Israeli Broadcasting Authority, meanwhile, was blasted by the Foreign Press Association in Israel for blowing Toon’s “cover” in a television commentary Friday.
The government so far has refrained from any official comment on the matter though a sharp but presumably unofficial rebuke was administered to the American envoy by Foreign Minister Yigal Allon in a speech at Kibbutz Givat Brenner. Toon’s remarks were “an unfortunate utterance.” Allon declared. “Since when,” he asked, “has an Israeli’s meeting with a U.S. Congressman been considered an attempt to go behind anybody’s back?”
Noting that both Israel and the U.S. were open societies. Allon said “I have never regarded a meeting between a foreign ambassador and a Knesset member as an attempt to go behind the back of our government.”
Sources here speculated as to whether Allon’s remarks would be the last word by a government official on the matter. The fact that Toon spoke off the record and not for attribution at an informal press briefing in Tel Aviv Thursday obviated the need for an official Israeli diplomatic response.
On the other hand, there is a deep sense of indignation in government circles and among the public at large. The Foreign Minister could summon Toon to a meeting or he could contact State Department officials in Washington for “clarification” of the Ambassador’s remarks. A formal note of protest to the State Department is ruled out, however, sources said.
The TV correspondent who revealed Toon to have been the “Western diplomatic source” did not attend the briefing but learned of Toon’s remarks from a newsman who did. He contended that since he was not invited he was under no obligation to observe the cover.
UNETHICAL JOURNALISM CHARGED
But Steve Delany, chairman of the Foreign Press Association, thought otherwise. In a sharp telegram to Yitzhak Livni, director general of the Broadcast Authority, he called the report on Toon’s briefing “a classic example of unethical journalism” and said “it will be a long time before a representative of the Broadcasting Authority is admitted to any news function organized by the FPA.”
The fate of the $550 million for the transitional quarter is hanging in the air. It was disclosed today that a delegation of Israeli economic experts is in Washington to submit further information to U.S. budgetary authorities in hope of reversing the Administration’s opposition to the additional funding.
PASSMAN WARNS ISRAEL
Meanwhile, a key member of Congress, has urged Israel to forego the extra money. The newspaper Davar published an exclusive interview Friday with Rep. Otto Passman (D.La.), chairman of the House subcommittee on foreign aid, who warned that Israel’s insistence on the sum was short-sighted and would be detrimental to Israel’s long-term interests. Israel might win this particular battle but it is doing itself a grave disservice, Passman was quoted as saying.
His remarks were similar to Toon’s. The U.S. envoy had said that Israel was “exaggerating” the effects of its probable failure to obtain the desired funding. He also chided Israeli leaders for drafting a national budget on the basis of monies not yet received or approved. (See.P. 3 for related story from Washington.)
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
