20 Friday, March 29, 1985 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS NEWS Only the very best. Harrah's Lake Tahoe is America's only Mobil Five Star and AAA Five Diamond Hotel/Casino. It offers the finest accommodations, outstanding restaurants and unmatched service. Enjoy the brightest superstars and sizzling casino action in a luxurious alpine setting. And experience the best. Accommodations may be complimentary for qualified casino customers. Call Eddie Singer at (313) 645 0210. - Israel Ready To Talk Peace But Not With PLO Jerusalem (JTA) — Premier Shimon Peres told the Cabinet Sunday that Israel is prepared to meet any time, anywhere with a joint Jordanian-Palestinian dele- gation, provided that the Palesti- nians were not members of the Palestine Liberation Organiza- tion (PLO). He reiterated, however, Israel's opposition to any prior meeting between United States officials and such a joint delegation, as proposed by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. According to Peres, that would only serve to work out a common position inim- ical to Israel. He said the Ameri- cans were also opposed to talks with the Jordanians and Palesti- nians in advance of direct talks with Israel. Sunday's Cabinet session was devoted mainly to proposed cuts in the defense budget. The minis- ters deliberated for more than five hours during which senior mili- tary officers explained the impact of the suggested cuts on their specific branches. The Cabinet sat as a Ministe- rial Defense Committee, the pro- ceedings of which are classified. Israel Radio reported later than none of the ministers opposed the budget cuts. Police Minister Haim Barley told reporters after the meeting that whatever cuts are made, Israel would still have a strong, first-rate army. Barley is a former Chief of Staff. In Washington, the Reagan Administration was discouraging the impression this week that the U.S. ehanged its position on meet- ing with the joint Jordanian- Palestinian delegation. State Department spokesman Bernard Kalb said that President Reagan had not indicated a change of policy toward the pro- posed delegation in his remarks at a press conference last Thursday. "If you take everything the President said in its totality you will note there is no change in U.S. policy," Kalb said. He said the U.S. remains open to the pos- sibility of meeting with the Jordanian-Palestinian delega- tion, "if such a meeting contrib- utes to the goal of direct negotia- tions between Israel and its Arab neighbors." During the nationally televised press conference Reagan said that "We are willing to meet" with a joint delegation as long as it does not include member of the PLO. Egypt and Jordan have been urging the U.S. to talk with such a delegation since the conclusion of an agreement between Jordan_ and PLO last month. But both -had maintained that participation by PLO members could not be avoided. Kalb said that a meeting be- tween Administration officials and the joint delegation "is one of a number of suggestions which have been made and no final deci- sions had been taken." He said that all suggestions would be explored during the visit by Assis- tant Secretary for near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Richard Murphy to the Mideast next month. _ _ Meanwhile, despite protests by = Israel, the foreign ministers of the ten European ,Economic Commu- nity (EEC) member-states are ex- pected to release a joint resolution on the Middle East in Brussels this weekend. According to diplomatic sources in Bonn, the statement will deal with the situation in Lebanon and in the Israel-administered ter- ritories. According to the sources, there will be no departure from the June 1980 Venice delcaration of the EEC leaders which called for self-determination for the Pales- tinian people and "association" of the PLO in the Middle East peace process. Israel rejected the declaration at the time. Israeli envoys in Western European capitals re- cently have tried to convince the EEC governments to issue no further statements on the-Middle East. Letter Outlines Strategic Value of Judea, Samaria Ha rrah+S Lake Tahoe Washington — A group of 19 United States Senators and Representatives sent a letter to President Reagan earlier this month to ask that the U.S. assure Israeli control over strategic areas vital to its security — speci- fically Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Golan. The letter, which reached the White House on the eve of Egyp- tian President Hosni Mubarak's visit to Washington, also urged the Egyptian government to honor its commitment to nor- malize relations with Israel. "Israel has already given up 90 percent of the territories taken in 1967," the letter said. "To give up the minimum geostrategic areas of defense would be a serious weakness destabilizing the region. We believe it is an illusion to imagine that the surrender. of defensible borders in exchange for an unenforceable treaty will lead to peace." The Congressmen also noted that under current Administra- tion proposals, portions of Israel could be narrowed down to a width of nine miles. "Israel cannot continue to be a strategic asset — or even a viable nation — if it is made strategically vulnerable. We cannot support any plan which envisions Israel only nine mile wide in the center." The letter was siO-ned by Sens. Jesse Helms (R-NC), Steve Symms (R-Idaho), Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY) and 16 col- leagues from the Senate and House. It was the result of numer- ous meetings between the Con, gressmen and Peter Goldman, di- rector of Americans for A Safe Is- rael.