Deputy Premier Yigael Yadin of Israel warned here that “appeasing the PLO might have serious consequences in the process of carrying out the Camp David accords.”
The Israeli leader, who addressed more than 3000 delegates and guests attending Hadassah’s 65th national convention at the Palmer House from Sunday through today, said, “The best policy is to build on the positive–to invest in success, which means the Camp David accords and the subsequently signed peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, which was a major breakthrough for which much credit must be given to President Carter.”
He pointed out that the accords refer to the Palestinians and provide for negotiations between Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on self-rule. A new United Nations resolution on the Palestinians would therefore be regressive. He also said that only last week Egyptian President Anwar Sadat agreed that bringing in the PLO would be counterproductive. Yadin said that the issue is peace not oil, and that Carter has firmly stated that the U.S. would never yield to blackmail nor can Israel sacrifice its security for it.
Yadin stated that UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 are the basis of “the official and the main policy of the United States in the Middle East, and any attempt to take a different course by appeasing the PLO might have serious consequences in the process of carrying out the Camp David accords. Let us stick to the main objective–carrying out the Camp David accords–and give peace a chance.”
‘CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE’ REJECTED
Bernice Tannenbaum, president of Hadassah referred to President Carter’s recent “crisis of confidence” statement and said: “Certainly we have problems–we have difficult decisions and hard choices to make–but so long as we are free to make the choices and capable of meeting the challenges, I see no reason to despair.”
Continuing, she noted that “there are major upheavals in the world today–and change is always upsetting. An orderly society is easier to deal with than a dynamic one. But too often maintenance of the status quo does not reflect contentment but apathy.”
Focusing on the United States, she said, “we have an energy problem. This is hardly a crisis. First, it is a matter of credibility to persuade the American people that there is a real shortage. Secondly, to accept the reality that in planning a fair distribution of our energy resources, hard decisions must be made that cannot please every sector of our society. I believe that we are a socially mature, law-abiding nation, who will respond to the elected leadership when it is clear that whatever sacrifice is demanded does not fall on the weakest and most vulnerable parts of the population.”
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