Schindler Says Israel Has Suffered a ‘major Setback’ in Its Battle for Public Support in the United

Warnings that Israel is losing the battle for public support in the United States, that its relations with diaspora Jews have become “more difficult” of late and that Jewish survival now is less certain than at any time since the Holocaust, were sounded before the 29th World Zionist Congress today.

The speakers were Rabbi Alexander Schindler, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Philip Klutznick, president of the World Jewish Congress, and former WJC president Dr. Nahum Goldmann.

Addressing the Congress’ political committee, Schindler said popular support for Israel has “suffered a major setback” in the United States and suggested that the Carter Administration was preparing the ground to advance a Middle East solution of its own.

He said that might have been the intent of the White House briefings for Senators and Jewish leaders that followed Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s visit to Washington two weeks ago. In any event, Schindler said, Israel’s drop in popularity was amply reflected in recent polls and could be attributed to the settlements issue and Israel’s clumsy efforts to explain its actions.

EGYPT’S IMAGE IMPROVED

Israel’s image has become “untruthful, conniving,” Schindler said, opening a “credibility gap” in the U.S. On the other hand, he noted, the American public “by and large” accepted Sadat’s messages: that Egypt gave much and received almost nothing in return; that Egypt took the “high road to peace” while Israel quibbled over peripheral issues; and that Egypt was on the verge of giving up hope and “chucking in” its entire peace initiative. Schindler said Carter was personally “unnerved by the threat of the interrupted negotiations and the fear that the opportunity for peace is slipping away.”

According to Schindler, Israel’s sagging image in the U.S. was due partly to the cumulative effect of the State Department’s assertions that its settlements in occupied Arab territory were “illegal” and the “double standard” the American news media applied to Israel and the Arabs.

He noted in that connection the criticism engendered by Premier Menachem Begin’s sharp lecture to Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kaamel at a dinner in Jerusalem last month while relatively little notice was taken by the press of Egyptian media attacks on Israel and Begin personally.

ISRAEL AND THE DIASPORA

Klutznick told the Congress delegates that the situation was “critical” since the break-off of Israeli-Egyptian negotiations and Jews around the world are “very, very worried.” He stressed that diaspora Jews saw their role as supportive of the negotiating efforts made by the parties themselves.

But he regretted that the “sense of mutuality and faith” between Israel and diaspora leaders proved to be “more difficult to develop than I thought.” Klutznick appeared to be referring to rumors spread in Israel that he had suggested to President Carter that the U.S. apply pressure on Israel for greater flexibility in peace negotiations. Klutznick has vigorously denied the allegations.

PROBLEM OF JEWISH SURVIVAL

Goldmann said the problem of Jewish survival troubled him deeply because, while there was no longer a danger of programs or persecution, the younger generation of Jews is being lost to “indifference” and assimilation. He observed that “the position of the Jew has become more dignified but it has not been simplified.” He said it was unrealistic to demand that the entire Jewish people should come to Israel. However, Israel should be a spiritual center and example to all of world Jewry, Goldmann said.

He recalled that whenever he visited Israel in the past he had read in the press of the development of the country. This time, however, the biggest story concerned the findings of a special committee that organized crime existed and flourished in Israel. Goldmann, who is 82, said that this was probably the last Zionist Congress he would ever attend. Peace is the precondition for the fulfillment of Zionism, he said. As long as Israel is engaged in wars and expending its energies on its defense, it could not claim to have justified Zionism.