... ■■ •• ■ ••
Confidence Expressed in Nixon's Handling of USSR Issue
NEW YORK (JTA) — President
Nixon met Sept. 26 for 45 minutes
with 32 American Jewish leaders
to tell them that he was working
through diplomatic channels over
the plight of Soviet Jews who have
been denied exit visas. According
to Presidential press secretary
Ronald L. Ziegler, Nixon informed
the Jewish leaders, all of whom
have publicly identified themselves
as his supporters for re-election
that he does not want to "politi-
cize" or "demagogue about" the
matter or "inject it into public de-
bate" or "engage in harsh con-
frontation," with either the Soviet
leaders or Presidential campaign
rivals.
Ziegler told newsmen at a press
conference at the Commodore Ho-
tel shortly after Nixon met with
the Jewish leaders at the Waldorf-
Astoria that an extensive public de-
bate on the issue of exit visas
would "only serve to be counter-
productive." He added, in response
to a question, that he meant coun-
terproductive to Soviet Jewish in-
terests.
of public "confrontation" but to
the strength of Israel"; that the leaders who were invited to attend
deep feelings about the (emigra.
deal with It through "diplomatic
U.S. would continue to "make the meeting with Nixon in addition
tion) matter and indeed shared the
channels."
available the assistance to Is- to the 35 who did, were reported
human concern involved," Ziegler
rael (necessary to) maintain her out of the country or unavailable.
"The abhorrence our government
reported.- lie said in response to
questions that neither Nixon nor
strength," and that the "strong They included Joseph Meyerhoff, feels over the persecution of Soviet
Jewry is consoling but ineffective
U.S. presence in the Medlterran- Louis Boyar and Taft Schreiber.
the Jewish leaders raised the ques-
ean" would be maintained.
tion of the amendment proposed
Two Jewish leaders criticized as long as it finds no expression in
practical action," Rabbi Hertzberg
by Sen. Abraham A. Ribicoff (D.
The Jewish leaders attending in-
the Nixon administration - policy
asserted. "We do not see it as 'con-
Conn.), making the projected U.S.- eluded Max Fisher, Dr. William
on
Soviet
Jewry
that
was
pre-
frontation'
for the President to
USSR trade deal contingent on Wexler, Samuel Rothberg, Mrs.
sented by President Nixon to make clear both to the American
elimination of the exit fees.
Rita Hauser, Leonard Goldfine,
the 32 Jewish leaders. Rabbi people and to the Soviet leadership
Ziegler said Nixon also assured Lawrence Goldberg, Jacques Tor-
the Jewish leaders that the U.S. czyner, Rabbi Herschel Schacter,
Arthur J. Hertzberg, president of that the U.S. will not grant major
the American Jewish Congress, economic benefits to the Soviet
would "under no circumstances Rabbi Seymour Siegel, Meshulem
and Harold Ostroff, president of Union while that country continues
impose a settlement in the Mid- Riklis, Rabbi Gilbert Klaperman,
the Workmen's Circle, criticized to blackmail Russian Jews seeking
die East"; that the administra- Herman Weisman, Rabbi Ronald
Nixon's decision not to make the to emigrate."
tion was "committed to the sur- Greenwald, Melvin Dubinsky and
plight of Soviet Jewry an issue
viva! of the State of Israel (and) Rabbi Solomon Sharfman. Six other
What Makes a Jewish Leader? Political Connotation Noted
By TRUDE B. FELDMAN
Special Washington Correspondent
The White House last week in-
vited 32 Jewish supporters of the
President to meet with him in New
York. The 32 are all working for
his re-election. The White House
said Mr. Nixon met with them in
order to express his appreciation
Aiiked if diplomatic channels for their support.
were in fact being used, he replied:
The meeting took place in the
"The Soviet Union is aware of the Carpenter Suite of the Waldorf
United States view In this matter
Astoria Hotel and lasted 45 min-
and I don't want to go any fur- utes. The White House described
ther."
the 32 persons as "Jewish leaders."
The Presidential press secretary Asked how the White House de-
said that the Jewish leaders "ex-
termines who is •a Jewish leader,
pressed concern" about the imposi- Ron Ziegler, presidential press sec-
tion of heavy exit fees on educated retary, replied:
Soviet Jews seeking emigration,
"We don't determine that. That's
but voiced "nothing but confi- determined—as it is in any achieve-
dence" in Ni
's handling of the ment of any individual within a
matter. Ziegler re
that Nixon given society—and that is the ac-
prefers to deal with the exit tax complishments of those individuals
matter through "diplomatic chan- within their own community and
nels," and the Soviet leadership their own country. The individuals
has been "aware of our views for who met with the President are—
some time," Ziegler continued.
in their own right—leaders of the
At the meeting with the Jewish Jewish community."
Ziegler was further asked:
leaders, Nixon "understood the
r
p
"Then, how did you determine that
they were Jewish leaders?"
"They are leaders within the
Jewish community who support the
re-election of the President," he
said, "end were invited for the pur.
pose of the President expressing
his thanks for their support."
"Is this an ad 'hoc movement?"
he was asked.
"I don't believe this group is
formally constituted. It's a group
of national leaders 'who are sup-
portive of the President's re-elec-
tion."
He added that the President
talked about the Middle East and
Soviet Jewry. But he would not
say whether there was any dis-
cussion on whether or not the
Soviet Union should be granted
"most favored nation" treatment
under any trade agreement as long
as they are charging an exit tax
on Jews leaving the Soviet Union.
Did the "Jewish leaders" ask
the President to do more than
what he had offered to do through
diplomatic channels'?" Ziegler said
they expressed their concern about
Deliveries of U.S. Arms to Israel Already
Under Way; McGovern Pledges Military
Assistance and Diplomatic Support
.
Present
NEW YORK (ZINS)
relations between the United States
and Israel "are better in virtually
every respect then they have been
at any time in recent memory," an
authority on the Middle East has
declared.
Dr. George Gruen, American
Jewish Committee director of
Middle East affairs and professor
of international relations, in a lead
article in the September Middle
East Information Series, points
out that "during the past year, de-
fense contracts were signed under
which the United States will sell
Israel all the planes, tanks, sophis-
ticated electronic equipment and
other military hardware that Is-
rael has requested."
Deliveries have already begun,.
Dr. Gruen says, and are expected
to continue into 1974. He adds:
"To help Israel pay for the mili-
tary equipment Congress has ap-
proved and the administration has
provided in the past two years,
more than $825,000,000 in long-
term credits."
Meanwhile, the newly formed
Committee of Americans for Mc-
Govern in Israel has launched an
information, letter-writing and voter
registration campaign with offices
in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa.
Announcement of the effort was
made by the group of Americans
new living in Israel, headed by Dr.
Miron Sheskin, originally from
New York.
Others on the organization ex-
ecutive committee include Judith
48 — Friday, Oct. 6, 1972
the problem, but they showed con-
fidence in the President's views.
"Those leaders support the Presi-
dent and his policies," he said.
"They expressed their appreciation
in relation to the course he is tak-
ing, the policies he has followed in
the last four years."
Since one of the 32 is a former
Presidential appointee, who has
never been active in Jewish life
(Rita Hauser); one of the men is
currently employed on the Com-
mittee to Re-Elect the Presi-
dent;
and fewer than
10 of
the 32 could actually be considered
"leaders" of the Jewish community,
the report of the meeting caused an
uproar among many lay and pro-
fessional people who are daily in-
volved with Jewish issues.
They were not offended that the
President had met the 32 persons
to express his gratitude for their
support.
They were puzzled, and annoyed,
that the White House not only de-
scribed them as "Jewish leaders,"
but that Mr. Nixon saw fit to dis-
cuss with them his policies on the
Mid East as if they represented the
entire Jewish community,
Hebrew Column
Quicker,
Better,
Cheaper
Rubin of New York, Hal Lieber- D.C., which carried a headline,
A submarine of the Israeli Navy
man of Chicago, Rachel Lieber- "Gary Hart: Israeli Raids Wrong." was in the need of urgent repairs.
The article, signed by Mark The workmen of the Israeli Navy
man of Boston, Sam Felman of
Pittsburgh and Andrew Silver of Nadler, editor-in-chief, stated that came forth for the work. This was
Hart, Sen. McGovern's campaign a difficult technical operation, the
Tennessee.
In a letter to Dr. Sheskin, thank- manager, in response to a ques- first of its kind in the country. A
ing him for his support, Sen. tion, told a crowd of 500 students
prize was given to the groups of
George McGovern stated that he at the university on Sept. 19 that workmen for this job. It is to be
has supported every major effort McGovern should condemn Israel remembered: a submarine is a
to supply Israel with military and for its recent retaliatory raids on very complicated boat. One small
economic assistance. He added Lebanon.
mistake, a bolt in the wrong place
that "Israel's survival must be
"I don't know whether he (Mc- can cause disaster. The team did
guaranteed by more than the will- Govern) has or not, but he should the work quickly and for a much
ingness of the United States to have condemned Israel," Nadler cheaper price than it would cost
keep her militarily strong. The reported Hart said.
abroad. It was IL 1,000,000
United States should back Israel
Hart, in a letter to the editor cheaper. And not less important:
diplomatically by supporting her
which appeared in "Hatchet" a from now on the navy will not
basic peace proposals . . . Israel, week later, stated that in response have to turn to foreign dockyards
our ally, believes, as I do, in di- to a question concerning the fail- to repair its boats.
rect negotiations without prior ure of the political community to
Another group prize was re-
condemn "the killings of a large ceived by the "Scientific Transla-
conditions . . .
"Not only should Israel continue number of Lebanese civilians dur- tion Institute." The enterprise
to govern Jerusalem, but I pro- ing those raids . . . I suggested which belongs to the Prime Min-
pose that the United States should that Sen. McGovern has con- ister's office and the Jewish
recognize Jerusalem as the capi- demned and would continue to con- Agency, exports scientific transla-
tal of Israel and move our em- demn, any military action which tions to 50 countries. The income
bassy there," McGovern wrote. resulted in the killing of innocent, is $2,000,000. Fifty steady trans-
lators and another 400 work part
". I have pledged to be the first unarmed noncombatants.
"The question of whether the time. Many of the workers are
American President to visit Israel
while in office. I hope I can make raids themselves, directed against new immigrants.
This year the Kaplan efficiency
that trip to dedicate the American guerrilla camps on the Lebanese
Embassy in Jerusalem and to par- border, were justified was never prize was given to a group of
celebration
of
the
raised,
and
therefore
never
re-
young
women from Beisan — the
the
ticipate in
Immigrant city. These were nurses
25th anniversary of Israel's in- sponded to?'
An unsigned editorial in the stu- who care for mothers and chil-
dependence."
A representative from the New dent newspaper, defended its treat- dren. This group of nurses through
ment
of Hart's speech and noted its great devotion was successful
York Committee to Re-Elect the
President, distributed a copy of a that his letter "clarified but did in diminishing the baby death rate
article that appeared in a news- not alter the substance of his ori- and raising the health standard of
f a mili es from underdeveloped
paper, "Hatchet," a publication of ginal remarks."
The editorial stated further that countries. The judges praised the
a student society at George Wash-
ington University in Washington. Hart "made an unfortunate state- work of the "white angels."
Translation of Hebrew column pub-
ment of great news value and
Usher( by Brith Sue- Oh Otarnsth, Jeru-
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS that's the way we treated it."
salem.
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