Rogers Sees No Immediate Problems Between Israelis-Arabs over Jewish Emigration

Secretary of State William P. Rogers does not see that the release of Jews in large numbers from the Soviet Union or settlement in Israel constitutes "a problem for the immediate future." In a television interview in London last Thursday, the transcript of which was distributed here today by the State Department, Rogers was asked whether the "United States accepts the full implications of the Zionist doctrine that all Jews in the world have the right to settle in that part of the Middle East." Mr. Rogers responded that "we don’t ask ourselves that question." But his interviewer, Robert Kee of Thames TV, interrupted the Secretary at that point and remarked that that was "of course the question" that the Arabs are always asking themselves and "that is why they are so worried at what they call Israeli expansion."

Rogers pointed out that both the Arabs and Israelis were concerned about guarantees for their borders. Egypt, he added, has "accepted the proposition" that if the conditions it has "laid down are satisfied" the Cairo government has agreed, among other things, that "it will not interfere with the internal affairs of Israel." The transcript gives the following questions and answers account: Kee: "But still, if the large number of Jews who are at present in Russia and agitating to be let out are let out, it would severely aggravate the whole problem in the Middle East, wouldn’t it?" Rogers: "Well, I am not sure how many persons Israel can accommodate in the present territory, but they say they can accommodate a great deal more. I don’t believe that is a problem for the immediate future." Kee: "You see, that is exactly the Arab problem, because you said in their immediate territory, and the Arab fear seems to be that the Israelis might need more territory." Rogers: "Yes, but if the agreement provides guarantees against that from the Arab standpoint, and if Israel is guaranteed, satisfactorily, that the present territory of Israel is not going to be invaded, then you would have stability in the area."