THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
U.S. Says Kissinger Met With
PLO Official as Private Citizen'
WASHINGTON (JTA) —
The State Department
stressed last week that
when former Secretary of
State Henry Kissinger met
a Palestine Liberation
Organization official in
Morocco last November, he
was doing so as a "private
citizen" and was not con-
ducting "back channel"
talks for the Reagan Ad-
ministration.
Department spokesman
John Hughes, in a state-
ment defending the former
Secretary, also rejected the
claim in a newspaper story
published last Thursday
that the meeting had caused
"complications" in the U.S.
effort to get King Hussein of
Jordan to join in the Middle
East peace negotiations.
"Neither that conversa-
tion nor any of Dr. Kissing-
er's private activities have
been a complicating factor
in our diplomacy or have de-
layed the process," Hughes
said.
He said Kissinger's ef-
forts had been "mischar-
acterized" in The Wash-
ington Post story which
revealed that Kissinger
had met with Ahmed Da-
jani, a member of the
PLO executive commit-
tee and a top aide to PLO
chief Yasir Arafat. Kis-
singer was in Morocco at
the time for a meeting of
the American-Moroccan
Foundation, a private
foundation of which he is
co-chairman of the board
of trustees.
Kissinger, appearing on
the NBC-TV "Today Show"
last week, said his meeting
with Dajani was not a 30-
minute private tete-a-tete
as the Post reported, but in
full view of all those attend-
ing a party at King Hassan
of Morocco's Moroccan
Academy. Dajani appar-
ently is a member of the
academy. Kissinger said he
was brought over to meet
Dajani as a Palestinian and
did not know he was an offi-
cial of the PLO.
He said their conversa-
tion consisted of Dajani tel-
ling him that the U.S.
should change its policy
toward the PLO and he ex-
plaining why the U.S.
should maintain it.
It was Kissinger, who as
Secretary of State in 1975,
made a pledge to Israel that
the U.S. would not
negotiate with the PLO.
That policy "remains un-
changed," Hughes said. "We
will not recognize, not
negotiate with that organ-
ization until it accepts
United Nations Security
Council Resolution 242 and
recognizes Israel's right to
exist."
Hughes added that "ac-
tions of private citizens,
including former offi-
cials, do not change nor
alter U.S. policy." At the
same time, he stressed
that Secretary of State
George Shultz "highly
values Dr. Kissinger's
counsel and support and
will continue to talk to
ricrilltergitKOF
HENRY KISSINGER
him." He said Kissinger
has been "scrupulous in
keeping the (State) De-
partment and the Ad-
ministration in general
fully informed" about his
trips to the Middle East.
He said Kissinger talked
to Shultz about his Middle
East trip last November and
has talked to him about his
upcoming trip there. But
Hughes stressed that on all
of his travels, Kissinger is
acting as a private citizen.
The Washington Post
story said that Phillip
Habib, President Reagan's
special envoy to the Middle
East, had to explain the
Kissinger meeting to King
Hussein in London last
month because when Hus-
sein learned of it, he feared
the U.S. was working out a
separate arrangement with
the PLO which would
exclude Jordan.
Friday, April 15, 1983 27
Hate, Day School
25th Anniversary
Dinner
Dancing with the Bill Meyers Group
Sunday Evening
Hughes noted that in all
negotiations, especially in
the Middle East, questions
are always being raised that
have to be clarified.
May 1 9 1983
Tourists Will Dig in Israel
at Congregation Shaarey Zedek
Fund Raising Chairman
Sharon Hart
Patron Chairmen
Among the digs available for tourist participation
is this one in Jerusalem. In the background are part of
the fortifications of Israelite Jerusalem from the
Eighth-Seventh Century BCE. In the foreground is a
Second Century BCE city wall tower built by the
Hasmoneans.
NEW YORK — Interna-
tional travelers who often
spend considerable time vis-
iting archeological excava-
tions can now experience
the dig itself. "Dig-For-A-
Day," a new concept under
the supervision of Israeli
archeologists, offers the
rare opportunity to partici-
pate in current excavations
in Israel.
The "Dig-For-A-Day"
program operates in
Jerusalem under the aegis
of a company called Prom-
ised Land International. A
multi-media orientation
seminar stressing history
and the development of the
dig site precedes the actual
digging. Experienced ar-
cheologists are on hand for
orientation, lessons in the
use of excavation tools and
for the dig itself.
For the traveler in-
terested in a richer
encounter with archeol-
ogy, a special two-week
program has also been
created which highlights
dig sites and their ar-
cheological and histori-
cal importnace.
Programs for special
interest groups focusing on
particular topics by histori-
cal periods and/or religious
denominations can also be
arranged.
For information, contact
Promised Land Interna-
tional (toll-free 800-243-
1806) or the Special Traffic
Department of the Israel
Ministry of Tourism, 350
Fifth Ave., New York
10118.
Jewish Roots
Topic of Parley
LOS ANGELES — The
third annual national
seminar in Jewish geneal-
ogy will be held July 31-
Aug. 4 at the Ramada Inn in
Beverly Hills, Calif.
Conceit is God's gift to lit-
tle men.
Doreen Hermelin
Michael Maddin
Barbara Stollman
Ad Book Chairmen Gail Goodstein, Beverly Leuchter
Dinner Committee*
Rabbi Robert Abramson
Michael Alterman
Sharon Alterman
Leonard Baron
Anaruth Bernard
Norman Cohen
Barbara Cook
Gerald Cook
Amy Cutler
Mark Eichner
Robert Finkel
Rona Freedland
Melvyn Friedman
Susan Friedman
Ellen Glen
Max Goldsmith
Judith Gordon
Cheryl Guyer
Dan Guyer
David Harold
Martin Hart
David Hermelin
Lawrence Jackier
Rochelle Jackier
Jerome Kaufman
Stephen Klausner
Jack Liwazer
Aaron Lupovitch
Donna Maddin
Stephen Medow
Allan Nachman
Barbara Nusbaum
Irving Nusbaum
Maurice Opperer
Judith Phillips
Emma Schaver
Sandra Schram
Phyllis Schwartz
Joel Shere
Bluma Siegal
Carol Sole
Gary Sole
Rabbi Efry Spectre
Karen Spoon
Bernard Stollman
Charlotte Tessler
Arlene Tilchin
David Tisdale
Saul Waldman
June Weinberg
Melvin Weisz
Betsy Winkelman
Lawrence Zeff
*in formation
For Information and Reservations call:
Mrs. Brenner at 851-2394