Former President Ronald Reagan pledged Saturday evening that America will stand at Israel’s side during Middle East peace negotiations. He also expressed his revulsion of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States.
“This nation is committed to Israel’s security. We must never do anything to jeopardize that,” Reagan said. “The peace process between Israel and her neighbors is foreign policy to us. But for the people of Israel, it’s a matter of survival.”
The former president made his remarks at a dinner after accepting the American Liberties Medallion, the highest award bestowed by the American Jewish Committee. The organization’s National Executive Council concluded its five-day meeting here on Sunday.
In the award citation, the group stressed Reagan’s support of Israel during his administration, his commitment to freedom for Soviet Jewry. and his efforts on behalf of Ethiopian Jews.
Touching on domestic concerns, Reagan said, “I share with you the deepest revulsion to some of the recent episodes of anti-Semitism (directed) at synagogues, on college campuses and at your very homes.”
“When one man or woman is attacked, we are all at risk,” he said.
A second honoree at the dinner was producer-director Steven Spielberg, who received the AJC’s Mass Media Award for “bringing film making to new heights while faithfully maintaining artistic integrity and deep concern for human values.”
In his acceptance speech, Spielberg credited his value system to his upbringing. “When you grow up in a Jewish home, values aren’t abstract, they are real,” he said.
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