Shamir: Arabs May Try to Expel Israel from the UN

Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir of Israel arrived in New York this morning to represent Israel at the 35th session of the General Assembly which opens tomorrow. Before leaving Israel he said he would be surprised if the Arab states did not try to expel Israel from the UN during this session. “But we hope that such on initiative will be defeated, even with the present structure of the UN.” This was a reference to the automatic majority of Arab, Third World and Communist bloc states which support anti-Israeli resolutions.

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Yehuda Blum, underlined this concern at a press conference here this morning. He said this year’s General Assembly is likely to be “one of the most unpleasant” Assembly sessions as far as Israel is concerned. He warned of the likelihood of a move by the Arabs and their supporters to suspend Israel from the General Assembly by revoking its credentials to participate in the session.

Shamir, who will address the Assembly Sept. 29, will devote the major part of this week to meetings with Administration officials in Washington and is scheduled to meet with UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim later this week at UN headquarters. Next week; Shamir is scheduled to meet with at least 20 other foreign ministers attending the General Assembly, including representatives of European, Asian and Latin American countries which have diplomatic relations with Israel.

SATISFIED WITH U.S.-ISRAEL RELATIONS

Prior to his departure from Israel, Shamir indicated satisfaction with the state of U.S.- Israel relations. “There always were ups and downs in the relations between the U.S. and Israel,” he told reporters at Ben Gurion Airport. “I don’t think we are now in a period of crisis.” He offered his comments when reporters noted that his predecessor, former Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan, observed recently that relations with the U.S. are “at a very low ebb.” Shamir said that recent expressions by President Carter indicated otherwise. He said he did not expect the U.S. to support Israel’s position on Jerusalem but hoped the Americans at least would understand it.

BLUM; MOVE TO DELEGITIMIZE ISRAEL

At his press conference here, Blum said that Israel will come under fire not only in the general debate but in the seven committees of the General Assembly. He recalled that since the beginning of this year, nine meetings of the Security Council were devoted to Israel and said that this year would be a year “of concentrated offensive against Israel orchestrated by the Palestine Liberation Organization.”

Blum said the purpose of the PLO and its supporters is to gradually “delegitimize” Israel in the international community. The Israeli envoy also warned of the likelihood of a move by the Arabs and their supporters to suspend Israel from the General Assembly by revoking its credentials to participate in this year’s session.

NOVEMBER IS TARGET DATE

Blum said the climax of the Arab offensive against Israel is targeted for Nov. 15 and thereafter. Many of the anti-Israel resolutions adopted since the beginning of this year established Nov. 15 as the date for reviewing Israel’s compliance with them, Blum explained/ He said the Nov.15 dove was chosen also because it is after the U.S. Presidential elections.

Blum said that he and Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S., Ephraim Evron, will meet with U.S. State Department officials tomorrow to discuss the up-coming General Assembly session. The Israeli diplomat also announced that an additional 11 diplomats will join the eight members of the permanent Israel Mission and that two Knesset members will join Israel’s UN delegation as advisors during the three-month session. They are Haim Corfu of Likud and Meir Amit of the Labor Alignment.