THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

JERUSALEM (JTA) —
Premier Yitzhak Rabin
and U.S. Secretary of
State Cyrus R. Vance ag-
reed that the Geneva con-
ference shbuld be recon-
vened during the latter
half of 1977.
They indicated that Is-
rael and the U.S. were of
one mind in opposing the
participation of the
Palestine Liberation Or-
ganization in 'peace
negotiations. Vance also
conveyed to the premier
and Mrs. Rabin an invita-
tion -from President Car-
ter to meet with, him in
Washington early next
month.
Rabin and Vance met
for three hours. Wednes-
day. The Israeli leader
said . afterwards that
there were no major is-
sues on which the U.S.
and Israel differed. Vance
described the meeting as
"thorough, helpful and
useful."
Israeli sources said
Vance informed Rabin at
their meeting that Presi=
dent Carter would delay
his decision on whether to
sell concussion bombs to
Israel until after the sec-
retary of state returns
from his Mideast tour. Ac-
cording to the sources,
Vance explained that any
decision at this time could
have adverse effects on his
mission which includes
visits to five Arab coun-
tries.
. On the issue of PLO
participating in the
Geneva conference,
Rabin told reporters after
the meeting that there
was no change in Israel's
refusal to have any con-
tacts with the PLO which
it regards as a terrorist
organization with the
stated aim of destroying
Israel. Asked about the
U.S: attitude "toward a
PLO presence at.Geneva,
Vance replied, "the ans-
wer is no." However,
Vance had said before his
departure from Wash-
ington that he intended
to explore reports that
the PLO has modified its
policies.
Another matter taken
up at the meeting was Is-
raeli oil exploration in the
Gulf Of Suez. According to
,sources here, Vance
asked Israel to permit
AMOCO, a division of the
Standard Oil Co. to carry
out drilling in the gulf on
the basis of an Egyptian
lease and said Israel did
not have a legal right to
carry out exploration
there. It was reported
that floating oil rigs
owned by AMOCO en-
tered Israeli-controlled
waters in the Gulf of Suez
several days ago but left
witheu.t incident after an
Israeli patrol boat sig-
naled that the rig was in
Israeli waters.
Wednesday's working
session with Vance, held
at the prime minister's
residence, was attended
by Simha Dinitz, Israeli
ambassador to the U.S.,
and. Philip Habib of the
State Department. Later,
Vance and his aides met
with the Israeli ministe-
rial negotiating team

consisting of Rabin, De-
fense Minister Shimon
Peres, Foreign Minister
Yigal Anon and Chief of
Staff Gen. Mordechai
Gur. Between meetings,
Vance visited the Yad
Vashem Holocaust
Museum guided by Gi-
deon Hausner, a member
of the Cabinet.
Allon told the Cabinet
Sunday he expected
Vance's visit to be more a
get-acquainted occasion
than a round of negotia-
tions on a substantive
level. Nevertheless, he
said, Israel would eluci-
date its basic positions.
Vance will be told that
while Israel favors an
overall peace settlement
at this time, it is ready, as
an alternative, to conduct
negotiations separately
with each Arab state.
Israeli leaders will also
stress their opposition to
participation by the PLO
in peace talks because of
the PLO's covenant call-
ing for the destruction of
Israel, Allon said.
. Publicly and privately,
Vance has said his week-
long journey is explorat-
ory. Nevertheless, his vis-
its to Israel, Egypt, Jor-
dan, Saudi Arabia, Leba-
non and Syria are consi-
dered at the Capitol and
within the Administra-
tion to be of the, highest
importance for their im-
pact on future U.S. policy
towards Israel and the
Palestine Liberation Or-
ganization.
In a related develop-
ment, Israeli officials be-
liei.re the 36-hour visit by
UN secretary General
Kurt Waldheim which
ended last Friday' was
productive inasmuch as
Waldheim now knows
exactly where Israel
stands with respect to the
Palestinian issue and the
Geneva conference.

Israeli leaders also reaf-
firmed, in the course of
their conversations with
Waldheim, that Israel
would participate in the

Geneva conference if in-
vited on the basis of the
original terms of the con-
ference embodied in Sec-
urity Council Resolutions
242 and 338.
Israel does not recog-
nize and will not accept
UN General Assembly re-
solution of Nov. 24; 1976,
demanding Israel's with-
drawal from all occupied
territories by June, 1977,
Waldheim was told. That
resolution and earlier
ones in the General As-
sembly calling for PLO
participation in any Mid-
dle East peace talks dep-
rives . the UN, in Isreal's
view, of any substantive
role in the negotiating
process. -
Waldheim's talks with
Israeli leaders were cor-
dial although they disag-
reed on a number of
points, chiefly the at-
titude of the PLO. The
Secretary General, who
had met PLO chief Yasir
Arafat. in Damascus be-
fore coming to Israel, said
Arafat told him that the
Palestinians were pre-
pared to accept a "mini-
state alongside Israel"
consisting apparently of
the West Bank and Gaza
Strip.
According to Wald-
heim, this indicated at
least de facto acceptance
of Israel by the PLO and a
new, moderate ap-
proach.
But Israel gives no cre-
dence to the PLO's alleged
moderation.
Although Waldheim's
visit was of little diploma-
tic importance, the sec-
retary general -responded
favorably on certain mat-
ters of special concern to
Israel. He promosed to
take up with Syrian au-
thorities the problem of
some 400 unmarried
Jewish women in Syria
who have applied for exit
visas so that they can find
husbands abroad. He also
promised to contribute
his efforts to ease the
emigration of Jews from
the Soviet Union.

Sephardi Head Charges Bias
Against His Peers in Israel

JERUSALEM (JTA) --
Nessim Gaon, president
of the World Sephardi
Federation, accused the
government and the
Zionist establishment of
perpetuating the social
gap between Ashkenazim
and Israelis of Oriental
background and depriv-
ing the Sephardi com-
munity of its rightful rep-
resentation on leadership
bodies. He demanded the
creation of a new Cabinet
ministry to deal directly
with the social gap.
Gaon's statement at
the convention of the
World Sephardi Federa-
tion's presidium in
Jerusalem drew some
strong criticism, espe-
cially his implied warning
that Sephardic Jews may
be tempted to leave Israel
and even return to the
Arab countries of their
origin.
He said that Sephardim
have not yet been temp-
ted "by recent invitations
from Arab governments
to return to their coun-
tries of origin," adding,
"Imagine what would be-
come of Israel if and when
they should emigrate en
masse."
Gaon cited statistics on
poor housing and in-
adequate education for
thousands of Oriental
Jews. He charged that the
authorities have forgotten
that the creation of
families by young Israelis
who marry comprises an
"internal immigration"
that is greater than im-
migration from the out-
side. Yet new flats remain
"empty for months waiting
for olim," he said.
Gaon accused the World
Zionist Organization of
"keeping the representa-
tion ('of Sephardim) on
decision-making bodies at
a minimum." He noted
that of the 42 members of
the Jewish Agency's
board of governors, only
one is a Sephardi.

Caricatures

- Despite their criticism,
the convention delegates
endorsed Gaon's de-
mands for adequate rep-
resentation in the Knes-
set and government, im-
proved living standards
for disadvantaged
families and better hous-
ing for large familieS. The
convention called on the
government to give the ,
social gap issue the same
priority as defense.

WATCH REPAI R WHILE YOU WA IT

Vance, Rabin Agree on Convening
Geneva Conference Late in 1977

Friday, February 18, 1977 19

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'U•S: Expected to Take Lead
.
in Mideast Peace Negotiations'

WASHINGTON (JTA)
— A 12-member Senate
group that toured the
Middle East in November
released a report stating
that "all parties expect
the U.S. to take the lead
in the Middle East" and
that "not to put forward a
plan (for peace) early in
1977 would 13.9 to ignore a
chance for peace."
The group, headed by
Sens. Abraham Ribicoff
(D.-Conn.) and Howard H.
Baker (R:-Tenn.), now Re-
publican Minority Leader
in the Senate, said it
found a readiness on the
part of Egypt and Jordan
to recognize Israel's right
to exist, but not to estab-
lish formal diplomatic
ties or open borders with
the Jewish state.
It found Israeli leaders
unconvinced of Arab read-
iness to accept Israel but
nevertheless hopeful that

once negotiations started,
progress would be made.
The 12 Senators visited
Israel, Egypt, Jordan and
Iran. They stressed in
their report that "the
prospects for worsening
economic situations in
Egypt and Israel argue
both for serious conces-
sions in moving toward a
peace settlement and for
a strong American effort
to take the lead."

JNF Plants
More Forests •

JERUSALEM (JTA) —
The -Jewish National
Fund has begun work in-
tended to make the green
line between Israel and
the West Bank into. a
green belt of forests. The
250-acre area is between
Samaria and the valley of
Yizreel. -
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