The increasing amount of hate mail directed against Secretary of State-designate Henry A. Kissinger drew a warning from a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today to any witness who might come before the committee to express “venomous points of view:”
Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott (R. Pa.) delivered the warning at the confirmation hearings in the Senate caucus room this morning after telling Dr. Kissinger, “We have had lots of hate mail” and assuring him that “we will take care of them.”
Commenting on the reports of anti-Jewish hate mail against Kissinger’s nomination, Dore Schary honorary chairman of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation League, said today in New York that “once again Americans are faced with the type of reprehensible religious vilification” that attacked the candidacies of such Americans as Alfred E. Smith, John F. Kennedy and Herbert H. Lehman.
The Kissinger hearings adjourned today until Friday when the Senate Committee will hear a series of witnesses generally opposed to Dr. Kissinger’s nomination. These will include the Liberty Lobby, a Washington-based extreme right-wing organization that has been linked with anti-Semites and hate mongers in the past; the New York-based Federation of Arab American Organizations; the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA); the Lawyers Committee on American Policy in Vietnam, based in New York; and the American Friends Service Committee of Philadelphia.
Scott said he believed most of these witnesses are “responsible people, some from the far right and some from the left spectrum” and that he didn’t expect any hate witnesses. The Senator added, “When I hear witnesses expressing venomous points of view, I usually go after them to expose their motivation. I expect to make them very sorry for indulging in such tactics.”
KISSINGER REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR MFN
Dr. Kissinger reiterated today his support for most favored nation status for the Soviet Union in trade with the U.S. He said that MFN only permits normal two-way trade and is “independent of credits” which could be put to consideration of Congress. In an apparent reference to the Jackson-Mills-Vanik amendments, which he did not mention by name, Dr, Kissinger warned that to pursue discriminatory legislation would not be consistent with the trend of relations between the U.S. and the USSR.
Sen. Frank Church (D.Idaho) observed that the U.S. has given $28 billion worth of weapons free to foreign nations since World War II and asked Dr. Kissinger if military grants were still necessary. Dr. Kissinger replied that it depended on individual cases and cited Jordan as a nation whose stability it was important to maintain. Jordan has received $60 million in military grant aid from the U.S. over the past year.
Senate sources indicated today that Dr. Kissinger’s confirmation as Secretary of State was virtually assured. However, it may be delayed pending further clarification of his position on U.S. policy in Southeast Asia and his involvement in wire taps, sources said.
NO CHANGE IN U.S. POLICY TOWARD ISRAEL
Meanwhile, sources here said today that Dr. Kissinger reaffirmed U.S. support for Israel at a meeting last night with the Israeli Ambassador Simcha Dinitz. Dinitz is leaving for Jerusalem today for consultations with his government’s leaders.
(In Jerusalem, political sources confirmed tonight that the discussion Dinitz had with Dr. Kissinger proved that there was no change in the U.S. attitude toward Israel.)
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.
