F

60th Anniversary
of Jewish
Telegraphic Agency:
Medium Connecting
World Jewish
Communities
Journalistically

Commentary. Page 2
Editorial, Page 4

VOL. LXXII, No. 9

E JEWISH NEWS

A Weekly Review

of Jewish Events

Quebec and
the Jewish
Exodus:
A New Area
of Concern
for Northern
Neighbors

Editorial, Page 4

17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. 48075 424-8833 $12.00 Per Year: This Issue 30c November 4, 1977

Easing Israel's Economic Crisis
Sought in Concessions to Labor

Israeli Doves, PLO Members
Break-Off Their Paris Meetings

TEL AVIV (ZINS)—The "romance" between the Israeli Council for
Peace and the Palestine Liberation Organization, which has fueled
sensational accounts in the international news media, has quietly
expired. The leader of the Council, Knesset member Arye Eliav, dis-
closed that his group has discontinued the talks with representatives
of the PLO, which have been going on for 13 months.
Eliav revealed that his group held 12 meetings with representatives
of the PLO. Representing the Israelis
were General (Res. ) Matty . Peled,
Eliav, Uri Avneri, and Dr. Yaacov
Amon.
On the PLO side participating were:
Dr. Issam Sirtawi (an optometrist),
Sabri Jiras (representing the Propa-
ganda Department of the PLO), Dr.
Waled Halida (a professor at Harvard
University), and a number of other
Arab intellectuals.
The meetings took place in Paris in
the residence of former Premier Pierre
Mendes-France. The gobetween who
arranged the meetings was an Egyp-
tian, Joyce Blau, professor of the Kur-
dish language at the Sorbonne.
ARYE ELIAV
Eliav explained that the rupture in
relationships was one that was mutually agreed upon by both sides.
The representatives of the PLO said that the Knesset elections in
May proved that Eliav's group represents only a small percentage of
• the electorate. In fact, Eliav's people received only two seats in the
Knesset, and therefore, they have very little influence with their
government-.
On the other hand, Eliav explained that the PLO representatives in"
the negotiations had no real influence since they were unable to per-
suade the PLO to recognize the existence of Israel. As a result, with
both sides finding no point to their continued contacts, the meetings
were discontinued:

Five to Beat Boycott
Egyptian Plants?
''WASHINGTON
_ASHINGTON (JTA)—Egypt has entered into an unwrit-

ten understanding with five U.S. corporations— Coca Cola,
Ford Motor, Xerox, Motorola and Colgate Palmolive — to
help them get off the Arab boycott list if they will invest in
industrial activities in Egypt. according to reports from
Cairo.
The five corporations are ready to invest in Egyptian
projects, even if unprofitable, if Egypt can open -the way to
luctative markets in the rest of the Arab world. it was
reported.
To date, Egypt has had minimal success in attracting
Western. particularly American, capital investment it des-
perately needs. At least four of the five firms have gotten
preliminary approval from Egypt's General Authority for
foreign investments but implementation of operations in
Egypt awaits results of Egypt's efforts to get them off the
blacklist, the reports noted. They said the two projects far-
thest advanced in planning are those of Ford and Coca-
Cola, blacklisted for years because of their trade with
Israel. Boycott officials said twice over the weekend that
Ford would remain on the blacklist.

TEL AVIV (JTA)—Worker opposition to the new economic program has forced the
Israeli government to yield some concessions in an effort to end the wave to strikes and
work-stoppages that have hit the country. The Treasury is considering advance payment
of higher cost-of-living (COL) allowances. The payments, normally due in April, may be
made in January.
But the government reportedly has rejected Histradrut demands for COL payments
this month to compensate for the sudden rise in prices and for computation of a new
COL index every three months instead of semi-annually as provided in the existing labor
agreements.
The government is also considering special compensation for 215,000 families on
social welfare or in the lowest income brackets.
Finance Minister Simha Ehrlich repeated his call to Histradrut for talks to resolve the
outstanding issues, warning that strikes and demonstrations will solve nothing. But with
the Histadrut convention coming up next week, the trade union leaders are seeking to
project a tough image as protectors of the workers. Talks with Treasury officials are
considered certain but they will be deferred until after the convention.
The new economic program announced last Friday abolished currency regulations
on the Israeli Pound. Banks re-opened Monday, buying U.S. dollars at the rate of 1L15.15
to $1 and selling them at IL15.50 to $1. The rate of exchange last Friday was IL10.36 to
$1. Also, the value-added tax was raised from eight to 12 percent.
Last week the government announced a reduction in subsidies for basic commodities
and food items, and coupled with the end of currency regulations, Israelis went on a
buying spree over the weekend as prices began to rise.
The government said the new economic policies will stimulate foreign and domestic
investment, revitalize exports, reduce imports, and put Israel on the road to self-
sufficiency and fiscal solvency.

(Continued on Page 24)

Goldmann: Jewish Emphasis Must Shift

WASHINGTON (JTA) Nahum Goldmann, stepping down as president of the World Jewish
Congress, said in a farewell address to the organization Sunday night that Jewish leadership is
"more complicated" at present than "in my time" and must shift its emphasis.
"Today, we have to oppose men of good will and convince them they are wrong," the diminutive
82-year-old leader said, in clear allusion to Middle_ East policies being . pursued by Western
democracies and voting in the United Nations. He noted that when Israel was founded, two-thirds
of the United Nations General Assembly had voted for Israel.
Referring_ to himself as "a non-conformist" and one who - has "often expressed ideas which
others dislike or oppose," Goldmann hailed the Gush-Erriunim who are striving to settle in Judaea
and Samaria as the "most idealistic group in Israel today." He also praised Menahem Begin as "the
most honest man of all politicians in Israel " and called himself a "good friend" of Begin.
Goldmann received standing ovations before and after his extemporaneous 50-minute address
from the approximately 800 delegates from 41 countries at the WJC General Council Conference.

—

(Continued on Page 6)

State Dept. Fails to Allay Anger Over Israel

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
State Department officials did
not farewell in attempts to defend department and Carter
Administration policies at a series of sessions with Jewish
leaders and the Jewish press last week. Spokesmen kept
reiterating promises that sounded like rejections of the
PLO, denial of pressures and promises of aid for the secu-
rity of the Jewish state.
They were delcarations that were echoed from a session
with 73 of American Jewry's most prominent Jewish lead-
ers on Oct. 26 and repeated at a session with 51 represen-
tatives of the Jewish press. in talks with editors of 51
newspapers from coast to coast on Oct. 28.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

—

The two sessions, at the State Department, both con-
vened by Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, had
a similar posture. The aim was the same: a face-saving
device. But there was a difference in one respect:

The Oct. 26 meeting ended in a spirit of bitterness. The
Jewish leaders were angered. They refused to be "led by
the nose" with false promises which were being negated
by actions. They were "angry." There was "dismay."
They were "disappointed." One of the leaders did not
hesitate to use the accusation "betrayal." There was no

doubt about the terms "concern," "distress," "duty to
protest,". .
There was - a measure of similarity in the reactions of
the press at the meeting held two days later. The Jewish
leaders conferred with the State Department for 90 min-
utes, the Jewish editors debated with State for fully two
hours. There was a sense of anger also in that gathering.
The editors did not accept the promises without challenge.
It was at the meeting with the Jewish leaders, when a
demand was made to know whether the charge that Israel
was to be penalized with a cut-off in American aid that the
gathered were told of the decision to continue the $1.8 bil-
lion allocations for 1978 and 1979 and that Israel was to be
the largest recipient of foreign aid from the U.S.

Martin Citrin, president of the Jewish Welfare Feder:
ation of Detroit, one of the 73 national leaders who met at
the White House on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 26, was
asked that midnight about his impression. "Did they
(State) get the message?" The question related to the
charges against White House and State Department that
the attempt was being made, in the series of negotiating

(Continued on Page 72)