The Cabinet accused U.S. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger today of paying ” lip service” to Israel’s security while advocating the sale of advanced American weaponry “to the enemies of Israel-Jordan and Iraq.
The charge was contained in a statement released after the weekly Cabinet session during which Premier Menachem Begin assailed Weinberger for saying that the sale of sophisticated air defense systems to Jordan was in the strategic interest of the U.S. Weinberger spoke at a luncheon of the Foreign Policy Association in New York last Friday. (See separate story, P. 2.)
He reportedly said that Jordan needed the American weaponry because it was squeezed between hostile Syria and Iran. According to the Cabinet secretary, Begin told the ministers, “I am sorry to say this is a misleading statement.” He claimed that Jordan was not squeezed because Iran is not a neighbor and the two countries are separated by a large desert and the territory of Iraq.
According to Begin, Jordan decided of its own accord to join Iraq in an aggressive war against Iran. “The real reason which moved Jordan to ask for modern sophisticated weapons from the U.S. is neither Syria nor Iran, but Israel,” Begin reportedly said.
He added: “It is true that lip service has again been paid to assuring the so-called edge of Israel. But how can it be maintained if only a score of miles separate Jordan, equipped with, in addition to Soviet weapons, the most sophisticated American tools of war, from the centers of Jewish population.”
‘A DIRECT AND PRESENT DANGER’
The Cabinet communique issued later echoed Begin’s remarks. “To give such weapons to the enemies of Israel — Jordan and Iraq — and to pay lip service to Israel’s security, creates a direct and present danger to the Jewish State and for peace,” it said.
The blast at Weinberger come shortly before Defense Minister Ariel Sharon is to meet in Washington with Reagan Administration officials, including Weinberger. It is widely believed that the discussions will include re-instatement of the memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation between the U.S. and Israel which Sharon and Weinberger signed last December and which the Administration suspended a week later after Israel annexed the Golan Heights.
Israel, meanwhile, is launching an information campaign in the U.S. against the sale of improved Hawk anti-aircraft missile systems to Jordan. According to political circles here, the Reagan Administration is about to ask Congress for approval of the sale. Sharon is expected to register Israel’s protests when he meets with Weinberger this week.
Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S., Moshe. Arens, will head Israel’s campaign against the weapons sale in the American media and American Jewish organizations have reportedly pledged their support.
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.
