Bernard Katzen, consultant on Jewish affairs to the Republican National Committee, assured a meeting of members of the Knesset here last night that President Nixon would follow to the letter his basic promise to help Israel. Here on a private philanthropic mission, Mr. Katzen said that Mr. Nixon could not permit himself any arrangement in the Middle East that could be explained as a victory for Russian diplomacy and which would widen Russian influence in the area.
The Republican official asserted that the entire American Jewish community, with a few exceptions, shares Israel’s opposition to the Four Power talks. He noted that President Nixon had stated that the talks would not bring about an imposed solution but would seek a way to facilitate the UN mission of Dr. Gunnar V. Jarring to bring about Arab-Israeli talks. Mr. Katzen said he personally supported the Four Power talks as a logical political step.
In an interview with the daily, Yediot Achronot, Mr. Katzen stressed his belief that Mr. Nixon would act according to America’s best interests. He said America recognizes Israel as a Western democracy which has parallel interests with the U.S. He expressed confidence that the U.S. would deliver the Phantom supersonic jet fighters which it had agreed to sell to Israel despite differences of opinion that have subsequently arisen.
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.
