French Embargo Angers Israel's Friends
(Continued from Page 1)
supports a memorandum presented
last week by the Kremlin which
calls for the Big Four—United
States, Russia, France and Britain
—to cooperate to bring about a
lasting solution to the Mideast con-
flict.
"The total embargo on war
material and similar products to
Israel was announced by the
French foreign ministry Tuesday.
A ministry spokesman said the
measures were taken as "a warn-
ing to Israel in view of Israel's
agressive acts, especially the re-
cent raid on Beirut airport."
The most serious consequences
of the embargo according to ob-
servers here will be to cut off
spare parts for the French-built
Supersonic Mirage fighter-bomber
planes which are the backbone
of the Israeli Air Force. An embar-
go on the delivery of Mirages was
imposed by President Charles de
Gaulle after the June 1967 Arab-
Israel war. As a consequence, 50
Mirages bought and paid for by
Israel more than a year ago are
still held in a French warehouse.
But the 1967 embargo had been
relaxed to the extent of permitting
delivery of spare parts for the
repair and maintenance of the
aircraft.
The announcement of "total
embargo" came as a shock to
diplomatic observers here since
there had been no prior hint that
such action was contemplated. The
decision was believed to have been
made by President de Gaulle last
week and was communicated to
Israel's ambassador. Walter Eytan,
Monday by Herve Alnhon, secre-
tary general of the foreign minis-
try.
Gen. de Gaulle reportedly clear-
ed his decision at a full-dress
cabinet meeting where Foreign
Minister Michel Debre was re-
ported to have raised objections.
Debre was said to have argued
that the act would deprive France
of its neutral role in the Middle
East conflict and make it more
difficult to convene a four-power
conference on the Middle -East.
Debre was also said to have
warned that Israel might be push-
ed into "desperate acts" raising
the possibility of a major new
military confrontation in the area.
Alphon was reported to have
warned Israel, through Ambas-
sador Eytan, against "renewed
aggression" against Lebanon. The
embargo was put into effect im-
mediately and all airports and
harbors were reportedly now
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closed to the proscribed materiel
for Israel.
France said Wednesday it will
not return the $100,000,000 Israel
paid for the planes. "One does not
have to reimburse for materiel
placed under embargo," said le
Theule.
The de Gaulle embargo of
military spare parts and equip-
ment to Israel was under sharp
attack in virtually all sections of
the French press, except the Com-
munist one.
Le Figaro termed it a "further
escalation of France's anti-Israel
attitude. L'Aurore called t h e
de Gaulle decision "a breach of
honor." Several prominent French
political personalities also critic-
ized the De Gaulle move, among
them George Duhammel, president
o! the Independent Party, and
Deniel Mayer, president of the
French League for the Rights of
Man.
The Soviet ambassador to
Paris, Valerian Zorin, said at a
reception Wednesday that "other
countries, notably the United
States, should follow the example
of France." Egypt also praised
the de Gaulle move as a "model"
for the world. The authoritative
Cairo newspaper Al Ahram said
Wednesday that the embargo
"clipped the wings" of the Israeli
Air Force.
JERUSALEM — Israel's foreign
ministry denounced the French
embargo on the shipment of mili-
tary material to Israel Tuesday as
"a one-sided and unwarranted an-
nulment of agreements between
states" that demonstrated "the
will to hurt Israel's ability to
defend herself against the con-
tinuing aggression and enmity of
the Arab states."
The foreign ministry's state-
ment, released late Tuesday night,
said French policy has been
"s t ea dily approaching that of
countries which are the declared
enemies of Israel" and declared
that the embargo annulled any
possibility that the French govern-
ment might "fullfill a positive
function in the Middle East crisis."
Defense ministry circles here
said Wednesday that while the
embargo posed serious prob-
lems, Israel had prepared itself
for such contingencies by stock-
piling aircraft and other spare
parts. Industrial and military
sources said the country had a
sufficient stock of French air-
craft parts to last until Israel's
own defense industries could
replace them. Tuesday's foreign
ministry statement noted that
Israel "by her own efforts and
the optimal use of her inter-
national connections, is continu-
ing to maintain her defensive
strength."
The reference was to the ex-
pansion of Israel's military in-
dustries in recent years and to
the expected delivery of 50 super-
sonic F-4 Phantom jets from the
United States. Defense ministry
sources said that local industry
can at present meet almost all
requirements for spare parts but
conceded that the air force would
be the service most affected by
the French embargo.
With the exception of American
Skyhawks, a subsonic fighter, Is-
rael's air force is composed
primarily of several types of
French planes.
The chief of Israel's military
purchasing mission in France,
Gen. Mordechai Limon, returned
home Tuesday for urgent con-
sultations with the defense minis-
try and army officers. Gen. Limon
refused comment on the embargo
to reporters who met him at the
airport.
Semi-official sources here said
the latest de Gaulle move fits
in with France's Middle East
policy which is to court oil-
rich Arab countries to win oil
franchises in order to become
less dependent on British and
American oil companies. The
Middle East supplies about one-
third of France's oil needs, and
France is irked by the near
3 :".', 1; ,; 1%.:, •
monopoly enjoyed by British
and American firms in Saudi
Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and the
Persian Gulf oil shiekdoms, they
said.
Editorial comment was bitter.
The independent daily HaAretz de-
clared: "We will never forget
de Gaulle's hostile intention to
make us surrender. But we will
not surrender."
LONDON — British newspapers
Tuesday predicted serious military
consequences for Israel as a re-
sult of France's "total embargo"
on war supplies to that country
announced in Paris. The Telegraph
said the French move will hit
the Israel air force hard, though
perhaps not immediately, because
the Israelis presumably have on
hand a substantial supply of spare
parts for their French-built Mirage
jets. When the supplies are ex-
hausted, the Telegraph said, Is-
rael may have to replenish them
on the "international black mar-
ket."
The Daily Express predicted
that the French embargo could,
in time, virtually ground Israel's
air force. The Sun said President
de Gaulle's move made Israel more
dependent than ever on the
delivery of American
speedy
Phantom jets. The paper added
that many Israelis fear the Nixon
administration might reverse
President Johnson's decision to
sell the Phantoms to Israel. The
paper said that Nixon was thought
to have close links with American
oil interests pressing the Arab
case in the Middle East dispute.
The S u n's diplomatic cor-
respondent said that despite their
anger over Israel's Dec. 28 reprisal
raid against Beirut International
Airport, Britain and America can
not permit Israel's military de-
ficiencies to render her vulner-
able to Communist-backed Arab
blackmail and the threat of
liquidation.
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israel's
charge d'affaires expressed con-
fidence that the United States
would not let his nation's attack
on Beirut International Airport
block the sale to Israel of 50 super-
sonic F-4 Phantom jets. Appearing
on a local television program,
Shlomo Argov said he was certain
that "Your government, having
made an agreement, will live up
to it. Rumors circulated here, how-
ever, that Israel has been informed
that delivery of the jets must be
let for final approval to the in-
coming Nixon administration.
High - ranking officials of the
Johnson administration said that
French termination of shipment of
all military hardware and spare
parts to Israel might achieve the
"good result" of inhibiting Israel's
reprisal policy. While not approv-
ing the decision by President de
Gaulle, the officials said it might
serve a "constructive purpose" by
setting limits upon Israeli be-
havior.
(Checri Kanaan, editor of the
Lebanese Gazette of Detroit, said
Wednesday he would advocate
"peace and love" between Israel
and Lebanon in his forthcoming
issue. He expressed regret that
commandos of El Fatah should
have operated from Lebanon and
he said there was hope that peace
would be restored, that the two
countries will live in harmony as
neighbors and that anti-Israel pro-
ganda from Lebanon would cease).
Overseas Farm Planning
Grows as Israel Export
TEL AVIV—The planning of re-
gional agricultural developments
is becoming an Israeli export of
growing importance.
Major new projects are being
launched in Brazil and Mexico in
1969 as overseas work for the com-
ing year will add an estimated
;16,000,000 in engineering fees to
the Israeli firm Tahal. This is com-
pared to less than $2,000,000 in
overseas contracts in 1962.
More than 150 Israeli engineers,
agronomists and regional planners
from Tahal will work in regions of
Africa, Asia and Latin America, to
support massive planning work of
the Tel Aviv spffice.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
16—Friday, January 10, 1969
Arabic Educators in Oakland U. Series
The public may attend the lec-
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CARS TO BE DRIVEN
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