THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, October 9, 1981 5 Status Quo for AWACS Deliberations in Congress AWACS sold to Saudi Arabia because Israel en- gages in "reckless missions" such as its raid on Iraq's nuclear reactor last June. Harold Saunders, Assis- tant Secretary of State for Near East and South Asian Affairs in the Carter Ad- ministration, testifed before the Senate Foreign Rela- tions Committee on Mon- day. Saunders stressed that the "U.S. must develop the best possible rela- tionship" with all states in the area. He said the United States has to be an arms supplier to the countries of the region in order to have a voice in bringing about arms con- trol in the area. He said that by not selling the AWACS to the Saudis it would confirm the view of Arabs that the United States only considers the in- terests of Israel and the Un- ited States therefore would not be regarded in the Arab world as a "guarantor" of a Middle East peace, AGENCY 10MEGAI SALES &9IEPAIRS George Ohrenstein Jewelers Ltd. creative Jewelers Diamonds — Precious-Stones — Precis/on HARVARD ROW MALL 11 MIN a Labor 353-3144 nr.. Former Undersecretary of State George Ball has characterized the con- troversy over the AWACS as "a test of strength bet- ween the President and Former Officials pro-Israeli factions" and -Joining Reagan warned that its defeat "will Reagan on Monday mean the end of an effective lunched with a dozen former United States policy toward officials of past administra- the Middle East." Ball, who served in the WHY RUN AROUND TOWN? tions, including defense sec- SAVE TIME 8 MONEY: SEE 1500 retaries, national security Kennedy and Johnson assistants and chairmen of Adminsitrations, made Wedding-Bar Iftra-Diaisg-Party the. Joint Chiefs of Staff, that assessment in a SHORT SHORT who, according to the White three-page letter addres- House, expressed strong sed individually to Se- support for the AWACS nate opponents of the TO LOOK YOUR MST — srns 4 70 44 $8.5 billion AWACS sale. • TODAY Thru SAT. — 10 AAA To 3:30 • A statement issued on weapons sales package. JEWISH 154 SOUTH Ball listed a moing the behalf of the group warned 0005 A RD NATIONAL FUND that Congressional rejec- consequences of Congres- - MI 2-4150 • BIRMINGHAM 27308 SOUTHFIELD tion of the arms package sional rejection of the SFLD. MI. 48076 "would damage the ability AWACS sale "humiliating 557-6644 ty—thapital of the United States to con- the President," hobbling his Sympathy Monday thru Thursday. duct a credible and effective diplomacy and engendering 9 AM to 5 PM mistrust of his commit- foreign policy, not only in FRUIT Friday 9 AM to 4 PM the Gulf region but across a ments on the part of the BASKETS Arab states. He predicted broad range of issues." 3 Times Daily The White House said increased "subsidy de- Nation-Wide 7, that former President mands" from Israel after Delivery Jimmy Carter, who Reagan having "proved its clout :41 $ 17" contacted by telephone, with Congress." He also suggested that backed the sale. White RODNICK- House press secretary Larry advanced American milit- MeINERNEY'S Speakes said the luncheon ary equipment provided to 772-4350 session would "demonstrate Israel was more likely to fall to doubters that there is into Soviet hands than strong support, going back eaPPeopie • GREAT R DETROIT OLDS DEALERS `Pie- Real People over six Administrations." Henry Kissinger, who was Secretary of State under Nixon and Ford; attended, but not Car- ter's Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, an outspo- Plus Tax ken opponent of the And Plates AWACS deal. Ar i l Pr I W I\ The Israeli Cabinet de- Begin Assures Agunda Faction on Implementation of Agreement JERUSALEM (JTA) =— transferring promised Premier Menahem Begin funds to the Aguda's Torah assured Agndat Yisrael on institutions. But Aguda cir- Monday that his govern- cles insisted that the council ment would honor all the had not dealt with money, promises he made to the especially during the 10 ultra-Orthodox party as a days of penitence preceding condition for its support of Yom Kippur wheu such his coalition. mundane matters are con- Begin met with the par- sidered inappropriate for ty's four-man Knesset fac- the pious. tion after the Aguda's rul- Instead, the sages re- ing council of Sages dis- - portedly concentrated on played impatience over the the controversial ar- government's alleged de- cheological dig at the lays in implementing their City of David in demands. Jerusalem. They are de- manding that the gov- The council was convened Sunday by its chairman, the ernment invoke Article Rebbe of Gur, following 45 of its coalition agree- complaints that the gov- ment which would give ernment was too slow in -the Chief- -Rabbinate dared Sunday that Saudi Arabia's unequivocal re- fusal to agree to joint opera- tion with the U.S. of five AWACS reconnaissance aircraft was further proof of Israel's long-standing con- tention that the_ AWACS and other advanced weaponry the U.S. proposes to sell to the Saudis would constitute a serious danger to its security. Meanwhile, former Is- raeli Chief of Staff Gen. (ret.) Mordechai Gur, now a leading Labor Party spokesman in the Knesset, warned that if the AWACS deal goes through, Israel would have to regard Saudi Arabia as a "confrontation state." Council sole legal author- ity to determine whether the excavations involve the desecration of an an- cient Jewish cemetery, as the Orthodox establish- ment contends. If the government acts ac- cording .to the Aguda's de- mands it would be in direct conflict with a Supreme Court decision last month that the Chief Rabbinate has no authority whatever to interfere in matters sub- ject to state law. The license expires at the end of this year and the Chief Rabbinate, backed by the religious parties, insists that it must nut be renewed. .19 SAY IT WITH TREES G OWNS '199 You'll Never Buy For Less!! 0\° ----- CF',,, ., t \ 6■ •'*V-'V li- co c p ,..,c, --- I L - - ; isai It =MI; /111iMEL s.::1/ 467.7...csmay7 OLDS SAAB 28000 Telegraph At the Tel-12 Mall Open 'T11 9:00 Mon. and Thurs. Eves. 354-3300 earl:topic GREATER DETROIT OLDS DEALERS clhe earPeople 11 8 SHANDELS Haien sal. Jib . i a • Hyman Bookbinder, the Washington representative of the American Jewish Committee, sent a letter the day after the news confer- ence to Jacob Stein, the White House liaison with Jewish groups. It said: "Believe me, Jack, I hate to say the following, but my heart and my mind force me to do so. Once again, I fear, Jews (and Israel) are being prepared for our centuries- old curse, being scapegoated for problems not of our do- ing." Bookbinder asserted that the AWACS issue "is not only or even primarily an Israel or a Jewish issue in the minds of many, many could be worked out in the sale of AWACS reconnais- sance aircraft to the Saudis. He added that negotia- tions over the $8.5 billion arms package have been completed with the Saudis and that he would not go back for further negotia- tions because he regarded that as "counter- productive" and "impru- dent." Haig said that the type of joint command prop- osed by Sen. Glenn "is simply not possible now. Therefore, there is abso- lutely no point what- soever in comparing the present proposal with some imaginary, even highly desirable, joint command arrange- ments." Haig claimed that Israel now has the ability to jam the sophisticated radar used on the AWACS planes. OFFICIAL alin Sal .U0G13 0 Reagan Charged With Scapegoating inembers of the Senate and the House. Many opponents of the AWACS sale have ex- pressed fears that the military secrets encom- passed in the AWACS and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles included in- the sale could easily be com- promised in Saudi Arabia. A State Department spokesman denied that President Reagan's state- ment was criticizing Israel's right to publicly oppose the sale. _ - - Department deputy spokesman Alan Romberg said what the President was saying was that only the United States government - has the right to make deci- sionson its own foreign pol- icy. He noted that Secretary of State' lexander Haig has said on many occasions that Israel and other countries have the right and even the "obligation" to "express the view on issues that affect them." Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Commit- tee indicated their con- tinued opposition to the sale despite the assurances given to them by Secretary of State Alexander Haig in both private and public tes- timony last week. Sen. John Glenn, (D- Ohio), whose demand for joint control of the five AWACS had set off the flurry of new negotia- tions between the Reagan Administration and Saudi Arabia, said although he was "hope- ful" that an agreement could be reached before the 30-day period the Se- nate has to vote on the proposal expires, he found nothing new in the new arrangements. Haig admitted to Glenn that the assurances given to the United Sates by the Saudis were "fundamental understandingsThnd not in writing as Glenn and other Senators had demanded. On Monday Haig warned members of the committee that they are suffering an "illusion" if they believe that a U.S.-Saudi Arabian joint command arrangment , c4R ea • .ple GR EATE R DETROIT 0 DS DEALERS 9); ■ a Peopi. (Continued from Page 1) decisions and reiterated his continued support of the proposed sale of AWACS. In an opening statement read to reporters at his first press conference in three months, Reagan indirectly, referred to Israel's vehe- ment and outspoken opposi- tion to the proposed arms package. "It is not the busi- ness of other nations to make American foreign pol- icy decisions," the President, said. Reagan said the prop- osed sale, which faces stiff opposition from both Houses of Congress, will !'significantly enhance Our national interests in the Middle East." He noted that the sale will improve U.S.-Saudi abil- ity to defend-the oil fields "on which our security depends ..." The President said that both a secure Israel and a Stable Middle East are in our national interests. "The sale poses no threat to Is- rael, now or in the future," he declared. Asked about his opening statement and whether Is- rael should keep its hands off national security in- terests, the President re- sponded, "I don't mean that in any deprecating way." It is important that other countries do not get the im- pression "that we are being unduly influenced" by other powers, Reagan said.