Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon urged American Jews last night to do everything possible to prevent the sale of sophisticated modern arms by the United States to the Arab countries.
“If you really want that peace will develop in the Middle East … you must raise your voices,” he told some 500 persons attending the United Jewish Appeal National Leadership Conference here. “You must take every possible action in order to stop as early as possible any further supply of sophisticated modern weapons to Arab countries.”
Sharon, who is expected to discuss the proposed sales to Arab countries when he meets with Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and Secretary of State Alexander Haig Tuesday, told the Jewish leaders at a dinner last night that since 1973. the Arab countries have bought more than $75 billion in arms. This includes, he said $20 billion from the U.S., $23 billion from Western Europe and $32 billion from Eastern Europe. During the same period, Israel bought $12.7 billion in weapons, Sharon said.
The Israeli Defense Minister was especially concerned about the possible sale of I-Hawk anti-aircraft missiles to Jordan. He said they put in danger Jerusalem and half of Israel, However, Sharon stressed that Israel is out of the arms race and is only buying new weapons to replace old old ones and is not increasing its arms supply. He said it needed the funds for the development of such things as education, health services and technology.
The three-day conference, which ended today, launched the 1983 UJA Community Campaign. At the opening session Friday, Robert Loup of Denver became national campaign chairman, succeeding Herschel Blumberg of Washington.
DANGERS FACING ISRAEL
The supply of arms to the Arab countries was one of the list of dangers to Israel that Sharon outlined to the UJA leaders from across the country. “We are the same people,” he told them as he spoke in front of a blue-and-white banner proclaiming “To Life.” He stressed that he always regarded Jews outside of Israel “to be responsible for the future and for the security of Israel not less than we were…. Israel is not an Israeli project; it is a Jewish project. It is your responsibility exactly as ours,” he said.
A major danger facing Israel, Sharon said, was an attempt to “isolate” the Jewish State, “reduce our will to exist” and “maybe to exclude Israel from the family of nations.” He said Israel was being labeled “brutal” and an “obstacle to peace,” even though in its peace treaty with Egypt it has made more sacrifices than any other nation ever had and in its offer to autonomy it was giving the Palestinians more than anyone else had ever offered them.
Sharon said another danger to Israel is terrorism which, he said, is a danger not only because of the loss of lives and the cost of property, but because in the past it has led to wars. He said that in 1949, Israel and the Arab states were closer to peace then they were in 1977 when Egyptian President Anwar Sadat came to Jerusalem. But terrorism and Israel’s responses to it led to more than a 30-year period of war.
However, Sharon said, in order to respond to terrorism today, Israel must prove “clear provocation.” This apparently was a reference to a promise the Israel government has made to the U.S. over the cease-fire along the Lebanese border. Sharon asked how many Jewish lives does it take to be clear provocation. He said that since the cessation of hostilities across the Lebanese border took effect last July 14, 23 people have been killed and 250 wounded by terrorists. “Is that clear provocation or not? ” he asked.
Sharon said that among other dangers there were Soviet expansion into the Middle East and the possibility of pressure on Israel in the autonomy negotiations. He said another danger was the new coalition being forged between Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, “maybe with American encouragement” to contain Iran.
THE FALKLAND ISLANDS DISPUTE
The Falkland Islands conflict was used by Sharon in a unique appeal for aliya. He noted that there are Jews in the Argentine army and probably Jews in the British army. “Again Jews are fighting Jews in a war that does not belong to them,” he declared, adding, “We need everyone of them in our struggle for the survival of Israel.”
The Falkland Islands conflict was also contrasted to the Israel situation by Jeane Kirkpatrick, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, who addressed the UJA conference at a Friday night dinner. She told the participants that there is no real hatred between Argentina and Britain as there is between Israel and the Arab countries.
She said the UN Security Council is able to deal directly with issues involved in the Falkland crisis, which is not often the case when the issue of Israel is involved. She said that often when Israel is discussed in the Security Council, “We are not talking about what we are fighting about.”
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.
