U.S. Secretary of State-designate Henry A. Kissinger was described here today as a diplomat who will continue and strengthen past American policy in the Middle East. That view was expressed by Foreign Minister Abba Eban and former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yitzhak Rabin. Eban was interviewed on a television program and Rabin on radio.
The Foreign Minister said Dr. Kissinger deserved world-wide appreciation for his efforts to resolve severe international conflicts. He said Dr. Kissinger was well informed on the Middle East conflict and that while it was uncertain whether he has new, specific plans to end it, his stand is clear and well known. It practically reflects the U.S. attitude toward the Middle East, Eban said.
He noted that Dr. Kissinger has stressed many times the need for an agreement between the parties in the region and that the influence of the big powers is not enough to reach a final solution. Rabin, who had many contacts with Dr. Kissinger while he was in Washington, said he thought that as Secretary of State he would continue with even greater firmness to carry out the Middle East policy established by the White House.
NEED NOT FEAR U.S. PRESSURE
Rabin said, however, that he expected “some kind of attempt” at a new American initiative. He said that Israel need not fear heavy American political pressure as long as it adheres to the understanding reached between the two countries in 1971. The former ambassador did not elaborate. He implied that the understanding was that peace is the goal that the U.S. and Israel would work together to reopen the Suez Canal, that the cease-fire would continue and that the balance of power in the area would be maintained.
It was reported from Bonn today that Dr. Kissinger is scheduled to receive honorary citizenship of Fuerth, West Germany, the city where he was born on May 27, 1923. Kissinger, the son of a high school teacher, came to the U.S. With his parents in 1933 after his father lost his teaching post under the Nazis.
Meanwhile, Premier Golda Meir cabled today good wishes to retiring Secretary of State William P. Rogers whom she hailed as the man who initiated the Suez cease-fire and ended the shooting across the waterway three years ago.
“Please accept my best wishes as you relinquish your duties as Secretary of State,” Mrs. Meir’s message said. “We in Israel shall always recall with gratitude your role in initiating the diplomatic processes which led to the cessation of fighting in our area three years ago. For this and for your fearless championship of democratic reforms everywhere. I join in saluting you as a great American and as a great Secretary of State.”
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.
