The Zionist Organization of America, in a six-column advertisement to appear in The New York Times Friday, urged President Nixon to initiate a “crash program” to develop “all possible domestic energy sources” and thereby relieve the United States’ growing dependence on foreign oil-producing countries.
The ad, presented in the format of an “open letter” from Herman L. Weisman, president of the ZOA, to President Nixon, stated that reliance on oil-producing countries could expose America’s “economy and foreign policy” to the “intolerable” situation of “interference by foreign governments.”
“The oil-producing countries are amassing billions of dollars from the sale of petroleum to the United States,” Weisman said in the letter, “and this gives them a lever to intervene in the direction of our economic developments to the detriment of our balance of trade and prosperity.” In calling for the immediate development of domestic energy sources, Weisman said this should include “synthetic fuels, solar and geothermal units and a network of atomic and thermonuclear power stations” capable of providing “an ample supply of energy for our industry and homes.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
