THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, September 21, 1984 101

BE A WINNE PLAY

NEWS

Mondale blasts Reagan
on Middle East policies

Ara&
Walter Mondale takes a strong
pro-Israel stance.

Washington (JTA) — Former
Vice President Walter Mondale
on Monday accused President Re-
agan of having "squandered the
promise of Camp David" and
being "essentially absent" from
the Middle East peace effort.
The Democratic candidate for
the Presidency also told Jewish
supporters that he will personally
take charge of the peace effort,
"scrap" Reagan's Sept. 1, 1982
Mideast peace initiative and
move the United States Embassy
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
"I will lead the search for peace
personally using the weight and
influence of the Presidency," he
told some 300 Jewish leaders and
elected officials from across the
country who met at the Capital
Hilton Hotel to establish the
"Leadership for Mondale-
Ferraro" which will press the
Democratic campaign in the
Jewish community.
"Only the President leading our
government can make a dif-
ference" in the Mideast peace ef-
fort, Mondale said. He noted that
he has "25 years of knowledge,
experience, background and
commitment" and therefore "I'll
know what I'm doing."
Mondale charged that by being
absent Reagan has left Mideast
policy to others such as the State
Department and Defense Secre-
tary Caspar Weinberger. Mayor
Edward Koch of New York City,
who introduced Mondale, charged
that Reagan "is keeping Caspar
Weinberger muzzled" during the
campaign. "But if Reagan is re-
elected, Weinberger will be back
and that will mean nothing but
trouble, tsouris for Israel," Koch
said.
Noting that Monday was the
sixth anniversary of the signing of
the Camp David agreement,
Mondale said "That was a day
that we proved what leadership
can do . . ."
He charged that the Reagan
Administration "took over when
there was hope" but then proposed
a policy of "illusion" in the Middle
East. He charged that the Ad-
ministration's illusions were that
it could "enter into a policy of
stategic cooperation with Arab
countries to fight the Soviet
Union"; that if they were tough
enough on Israel somehow Hus-
sein and other Arab leaders would
sit down and talk" and "if they
were tougher on Israel, Syria
would behave as a responsible na-
tion in international society."

Mondale said that Reagan has
abandoned Camp David and the
Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty and
the situation with Egypt now was
"in reverse" from peace. "We have
entered into a cold peace wth
negotiations in cold storage," he
said. He denounced the Adminis-
tration for supplying arms to
Saudi Arabia, proposing arms for
Jordan and for having had secret
talks with the Palestine Libera-
tion Organization.
Mondale said that the Reagan
initiative "made concessions to
Arabs at Israel's expense before
talks even started." He said this
violated the Camp David agree-
ment. "It didn't work," he said.
"The Arabs pocketed the conces-
sions but refused to talk."
Outlining what would be his
own policy if elected, Mondale de-
clared, "I will once again make
America's relationship to Israel
the cornerstone of Middle East
policy. We will stand strongly and
publicly with Israel. We are not
embarrassed by our support for
Israel — we proclaim it."
He stressed that "I will make it
clear that the path to peace starts
with direct negotiations with Is-
rael. I won't impose solutions to
our friends. I will support and de-
fend Camp David and make it
clear that peace cannot come
without full recognition of Israel's
right to exist. I will scrap the
failed Reagan Plan and give the
new Israel government time to
develop its own policy with the
Arabs. I will strengthen strategic
cooperation with Israel.
"I will end the fiction that
Jerusalem is not the capital of
that good country. For more than
10 years I have supported moving
our Embassy there and as
President I will do it."
Mondale also said that he will
provide the new Israel govern-
ment with the support it needs to
get its economy back on its feet.
He stressed that "all my life I have
fought for Israel and against
anti-Semitism." He noted that he
has done this together with the
Jewish community.
"We believe in America free of
racism, anti-Semitism and moral
McCarthyisni," Mondale de-
clared. "All bigotry is obscene,
whether it comes from the ex-
tremist preachers who captured
the Republican convention, Rabbi
Kahane or the pulpit of Louis Far-
rakhan."
Mondale received a standing
ovation when at the conclusion he
declared: "I would rather lose
with your help than win without
it." But he added, "I will win with
your help."
In introducing Mondale, Koch
said in 1980 he believed that
"Ronald Reagan's position on Is-
rael was better than Jimmy Car-
ter's but "in 1984 Fritz Mondale's
position on Israel is better than
Ronald Reagan's."

Katyusha attack

Tel Aviv (JTA) — A Katyusha
rocket was fired at an IDF Army
position on the Awali River in
Lebanon Sunday, but caused no
casualties. The rocket was fired
from within territory controlled
by Israel south of the river.

1HE CIASSIflifig

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