Defense Minister Moshe Arens declared here that relations between Israel and the United States have significantly improved and continue to get better. He said that in the last two years the “differences between the two countries have been fewer and the gaps smaller.”
Arens was the keynote speaker at a special tribute dinner Thursday night celebrating the 80th birthday of Jack Weiler, a realtor and dean of New York’s Jewish Community, sponsored by the Israel Bond Organization. Some 500 Jewish leaders from all parts of the United States and Canada attended the event, the largest of its kind held in North America in terms of financial support for Israel. Max Fisher of Detroit, the chairman of the dinner, announced that $80 million in Israel Bonds and securities were raised during the affair.
Arens, who arrived from Washington where he met with Administration officials, said that the improved relations between the United States and Israel are demonstrated by “the larger than ever” military and economic aid from Washington to the Jewish state this year. He noted that most of the aid would be in the form of grants, addings that the aid is “a good investment” on the part of the U.S. in view of the common strategic interests of both countries.
The Israeli Defense Minister also said that the good ties between Washington and Jerusalem are manifested by the closer personal relations of officials of the two countries. He said that it is demonstrated during the “strategic consultations” that representatives of Israel and the United States currently hold.
Arens said that there is growing understanding on the part of American officials that Israel will harm its security if it gave up territories in the West Bank and the Golan Height. He said that American Congressmen, Senators and Administration officials who visit Israel these days no longer call for Israeli withdrawal. “I have not met a single U.S. Senator or Congressman that said that Israel can afford giving back the Golan Heights,” Arens said to the applause of the audience.
LAVIE CALLED WORLD BEST
Arens hailed the Israel defense industry, which he said “has reached maturity. ” He claimed that the defense systems produced in Israel today “can be counted among the best in the world and some even the very best in the world.”
He said that the Lavie jet fighter, which is under development by Israel’s defense industry, is the “symbol” for the high technology achievements of Israel. He said that the Lavie, which will be completed by the end of the decade, is “going to be one of the best jet-fighters in the world.” He thanked the U.S. for the financial assistance it gives for the Lavie’s development.
President Reagan, President Chaim Herzog of Israel and Premier Yitzhak Shamir sent special telegrams congratulating Weiler and praising his devotion and dedication to Israel and the Jewish people in the last 40 years.
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.
