White House Refutes Fears That Carter. if Reelected Could Resort to Pressuring Israel

Distressing assumptions, which have escalated into fears, that if President Carter is reelected for a second term he would have no obligation to pursue the policy of unrestrained defense of Israel’s security and might yield to demands for “pressures” upon Israel to submit to enemy demands, were emphatically retired in a statement to The Detroit Jewish News mode in behalf of the President.

Jody Powell, Press Secretary to the President, presented that refutation in on extensive reply from the White House to questions on this issue, raised primarily in the media and in some Jewish ranks, by this editor of The Detroit Jewish News. In a letter to the President, I wrote: “The predictions, if the reports are to be treated as justified and acceptable prophecy, is that 1981 will be a ‘tough’ year for Israel. Some apply to such augury the definition ‘calamitous’.

“We are not dealing in secrets. The media keep emphasizing that the general trend is to await action on peace negotiations until after the Presidential election. The contention is that as of November 5 the avenues will be opened for pressure on Israel. It is not necessary to define the term. Pressure is assumed to mean obstruction in Israel’s path against assuring the notion’s guaranteed security.

“Egyptian spokesmen have been quoted similarly, giving emphasis to the view that biding time until after the election will give you the freedom to exert your influence. The intimation is that as of November you will be a free man to act firmly, to deal with the Israel issue without interference from the pleadings that come in behalf of Israel and from the friends and supporters of the Jewish State …. What of November 5 and its aftermath, Mr. President?”

REPLY BY THE WHITE HOUSE

In response to the letter, Powell replied: Thank you for your recent letter to President Carter expressing your concern over news media predictions and unsubstantiated reports that claim the year 1981, after the Presidential election, will be a “tough” year for Israel and that President Carter will be a free man to “bear down” on our friend and ally.

We regret that you lend so much credence to these reports and urge you to, once again, review the public record and the words and actions of President Carter.

In March, 1978, he repeated a pledge he has never varied from: “We have a commitment to the preservation of Israel as a notion, to the security of Israel, the right of the Israeli people who have suffered so much to live in peace, that is absolutely permanent and unstoppable.” The President has never wandered from this commitment, and never will.

In his recent statement to the Democratic Platform Committee, which laid down on agenda for 1981 and thereafter, the President pointed out: “Our nation feels a profound moral obligation to sustain and as sure the security of Israel. That is why our relationship with Israel is, in most respects, a unique one. It is organic; it is derived from our deepest moral imperatives.”

The President’s commitment to achieving peace in the Middle East is also unshakable. No previous President has devoted as much as his personal time, so much of his heart and soul, so much of his will power, and sincere prayer to achieving peace in the Middle East than Jimmy Carter….

We know of no intentions, to quote your words, of putting “pressure” on Israel after the elections. Our role has always been that of a mediator, a friend, talking to one side, then the other, trying to keep the negotiations alive and moving. Pressure never works and we do not employ it, and won’t in the future. We will, however, continue to stress the vital importance of constantly working towards peace ….

You wrote of echoes of what is being repeated “in the spoken commentaries, in the printed columns of correspondents, in the conclusions reached that at the moment there is an election at stake.” But none of these sources carries the words of Jimmy Carter. The reports do not reflect the President and his plans. He has repeatedly made his commitments known, his intentions known, his hopes and prayers known, and has never wavered from them as regards Israel and the Middle East. Nor will he.

I do agree that 1981 will be a “tough” year. It will be tough on the United States because of our economic and energy problems. It will be tough on other nations which are suffering from higher inflation and more desperate energy problems than we are. It will be tough on nations of the Middle East as we Try to work through some difficult negotiations. It will be tough on the developing Third World Nations; on the hungry people of the world. But “tough” also means challenge — an atmosphere in which President Carter is disciplined, compassionate, a man of peace and fair play ….