A source close to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations confirmed to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today a press report that Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger held a secret meeting with American Jewish leaders in New York last month in an attempt to reconcile their sharp policy differences with the Reagan Administration in the Middle East.
According to the report, the meeting focussed on Administration plans, strongly advocated by Weinberger, to sell advanced U.S. weaponry to Arab countries friendly to the U.S., notably Jordan. But the problem was not resolved, the report said. The meeting, at the Princeton Club, was arranged by Jacob Stein, President Reagan’s former liaison to Jewish groups. The report of the closed meeting quoted Administration officials and Jewish leaders as saying there was basic agreement that U.S. interests come first and that if was in the U.S. interest to protect Israel’s security. The differences stem from the Administration’s view that it can influence Arab countries.
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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.
