Sen. Jacob K. Javits (R.NY), in a report in the Congressional Record of this week, assessed the condition of Israel under its new leadership and the position of that State in relation to world affairs. Based on his impressions during a visit to Israel from July 3 to July 7, Javits concluded that the new governmental officials there are “confident and competent,” and the stresses and tensions reported as characterizing Israel now have been overemphasized by the press.
“My experience in Israel fully confirmed my belief that the relationship of Israel and the United States is closer and more intimate than ever before,” said Javits. “On the question of peace negotiations, I found Israel’s leaders to be open-minded and realistic, though perhaps more skeptical and cautious than our government.”
Besides overemphasizing the stresses felt by the new government, Javits also said the Israelis feel the international press has overemphasized the support which the Palestinian terrorist organizations have among Palestinian people in general. “The Israelis point out that there is a vast “silent majority’ among the Palestinian people living on the West Bank, in Gaza, within Israel proper and on the Jordanian East Bank.” said the Senator. “In the Israeli view, peaceful relations between Israelis and this Palestinian ‘silent majority’ is a reality borne out by daily experience.”
CONCERNED ABOUT U.S. NUCLEAR AID TO EGYPT
Javits also reported that Israel is concerned over the possible long-term consequences of U.S. nuclear aid to Egypt. “In my judgement,” said the Senator, “the Congress must weigh the proposed nuclear power agreement with Egypt most carefully and subject it to the most searching scrutiny of all its possible ramifications.”
During his visit, Javits made a trip to Maalot, where he visited the classroom where Palestinian terrorists held 90 school children hostage. He traveled to the grave sites of the Cohen family, the three people also killed by the terrorists, and placed wreaths on the graves during a memorial service there. “My pilgrimage to Maalot serves as a burning symbol to me of the enormous courage of those martyred victims and the enormous courage of the people of Israel,” said Javits.
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.
