U.S. Welcomes Israel’s Move to Drop Pledge Requirement, but Won’t Take Credit for the Change

The State Department welcomed today the Israeli decision to no longer demand that foreign teachers at West Bank universities sign a pledge not to support or assist the Palestine Liberation Organization or any other hostile group, but refused to take credit for the change.

Department spokesman John Hughes said that based on newspaper reports about the new directive, the Department “welcomes what appears to be a moderation” of the earlier directive. The new requirement would give foreign workers, including teachers, a one-year-work permit instead of the three-month visa they now receive. It carries the stipulation that if the holder of the permit “gives aid or support to the PLO or other hostile groups, the permit will be withdrawn.

Hughes denied that the change announced yesterday was a “response” to Secretary of State George Shultz’ strong attack on the pledge last week. He said it was “an internal matter” for the Israeli government and that Shultz had said what he had to say based on what he considered a violation of academic freedom. Shultz called the requirement that the teachers sign the pledges a violation of academic freedom which he compared to the loyalty oaths same American schools required of teachers in the 1950s.

Meanwhile, Hughes had no comment on a report that Morris Draper, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East and South Asian Affairs, accused Israel on Saturday, September 18, of responsibility for the massacres at the two Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut and demanded that Israel stop the massacres by Lebanese Christians. Draper’s remarks were quoted yesterday to the Israeli board of inquiry by Bruce Cashdan, the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s representative in Beirut. Hughes also had no comment on whether the U.S. would permit Draper to testify before the board which is investigating the massacres.