Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 23, 1980 Page: 2 of 28
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TEXAS JEWISH POST THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1980 PAGE 2
Major Lesson Learned from Iraq-Iran War Schindler, Squadron Say 'Connection'
Arab Treaties 'Valueless'-Mossad Chief Between Terrorism in France and M.E.
BY YITZHAK RABI
NEW YORK [JTA] - The
major lesson for Israel thus
far from the three-week war
between Iran and Iraq is
that agreements and
treaties in the Middle East
are ‘Valueless,” according to
the former head of the
Mossad, Israel’s intelligence
and security services.
In a special interview with
the Jewish Telegraphic
Agency, Meir Amit, a Labor
Alignment Knesset mem-
ber, who headed the Mossad
in the years preceding the
Six-Day War, pointed out
that the Iraqis, by launching
the war against Iran, abro-
gated a 1975 treaty between
the two countries which
gave Iran the control of the
Shatt al Arab estuary. The
treaty was signed by the
late Shah and Iraq’s then
Vice President Saddam Hus-
sein who is now President.
“Only five years have
passed since the signing of
the treaty and one- day
somebody comes along and
abrogates it,” Amit said. “So
what value can you attach to
agreements with this kind of
people?” Amit, who is now in
New York as a member of
the Israeli delegation to the
35th session of the United
Nations General Assembly,
said that another lesson for
Israel is that it must be more
cautious in evaluating the
military powers of its
neighbors.
“We have to be careful not
to exaggerate nor treat with
disdain the military strength
of Iraq,” he observed. He
pointed out that when the
war broke out many expect-
ed a more impressive per-
formance by the Iraqis,
while in reality the Iranians
have been performing much
better than expected.
Oil Crisis Likely To Follow
Amit said that a major
concern for Israel is the ofl
crisis that is likely to follow,
particularly if the Iraqis
accomplish their objective of
destroying Iran’s oil centers
in Khuzistan and if the
Strait of Hormuz is closed to
oil shipments. Contending
that such a development
would inevitably raise the
price of oil, Amit warned
that this would severely
affect Israel’s economy
which is already suffering
from the high cost of fuel.
Amit, who also served as a
General in Israel’s Defense
Force, claimed that in case
of an Iraqi victory, which
would give Iraq control of
what is now Iranian oil
sources, “Saddam Hussein
can become a mini-power.
From Israel’s point of view it
is a very dangerous situa-
tion.” Amit noted that Iraq
has actively participated in
all the wars against Israel.
At the same time, he
continued, the Iraqi-Iranian
war has divided the Arab
world, “and this division is
weakening to a certain
degree the forces against
Israel.” In Amit’s opinion,
the present war will prob-
ably continue for a few more
weeks unless both sides
solve the acute problem of
obtaining spare parts for
their military weapons.
“In my view,” he said,
“neither the Russians nor
the Arab countries are
interested in an all-out Iraqi
victory. An Iraqi victory
means the strengthening of
Iraq, and the stronger they
become the more indepen-
dent they will be. The
Soviets and the Arabs are
not interested in such a
development._
Consequences For The PLO
As to the implications of
the war on the Palestine
Liberation Organization,
Amit said that the fiercely
anti-Israel group “is finding
itself in a not very comfort-
able situation” since the
PLO is on good terms with
both sides. As a result of
the war, the Israeli military
expert said, the Palestinian
problem has been pushed
aside, the PLO “is trapped
between two fighting
friends and cannot take
sides,” and the prestige of
the PLO has been damaged
because its intention to act
as mediator between the
two warring countries had
failed._
BY YITZHAK RABI
NEW YORK [JTA] -
Two prominent Jewish lead-
ers said that there was an
obvious connection between
French Middle East policy
and the recent wave of
anti-Semitic acts in France,
including the Oct. 3 bombing
of the Rue Copernic Temple
in Paris.
That viewpoint was ex-
pressed by Howard Squad-
ron, chairman of the Confer-
ence of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Organiza-
tions, and Rabbi Alexander
Schindler, president of the
Union of American Hebrew
Congregations (UAHC), at a
meeting of the Presidents
Conference here. Squadron
spoke of the meeting he had
earlier this week with the
French Ambassador to the
U.S., Francois de la Boulez
and Schindler reported on
his visit to Paris recently to
speak at the bombed out
synagogue.
Squadron said that the
French Ambassador did not
accept the contention that
there is a link between his
government’s Middle East
policy, including its advo-
cacy of full status as a
Middle East negotiating
party to the Palestine
Liberation Organization and
the outbreak of anti-Semi-
Israel-U.S. Sign Agreements Guaranteeing
Oil to Israel if Normal Sources Stop
BY JOSEPH POLAKOFF
WASHINGTON [JTA] -
Israel and the U.S. signed
contingency implementing
arrangements” at the White
House regarding U.S. as-
surances of supplying oil to
Israel, the State Depart-
ment announced.
The signing by Secretary
of State Edmund Muskie
and Israeli Minisiter of
Energy Yitzhak Modai was
witnessed by President Car-
ter. It culminated technical
discussions between the two
governments over the past
year. The new agreement is
with regard to the memoran-
dum of agreement of June
22, 1979 between the U.S.
and Israel which was direct-
ly related to the Egyptian-
Israeli peace treaty of March
26, 1979 and the Sinai II
agreements of 1975.
State Department spokes-
man John Trattner said the
U.S. commitment provides
that it will make oil available
for purchase by Israel in the
event Israel is unable to
secure enough oil on its own
“through normal pro-
cedures” to meet its domes-
tic requirements.
The 1979 memorandum of
agreement specifies under
what circumstances it could
be activated. Israel’s obliga-
tion is to look for alternate
sources of supply. The
manner in which the U.S.
government would make oil
available, price and other
factors such as transporta-
tion, are included in the new
compact. The State Depart-
ment was reluctant to
discuss what measure will
be used to determine if
Israel needs oil from the
U.S.
The Department said that
the arrangements to be
signed have a duration of
five years and after that in
periods of three years until
1994, for a total of 14 years.
“Either party can suspend
the arrangements after each
period but the memorandum
of agreement will remain in
effect until 1994,” the
Department said. Should
either party suspend it, it
could be subject to rene-
gotiation.
Trattner replied “No,”
when asked if Israel is about
to ask for U.S. oil. He said
the arrangements were
made despite uncertainty
over the world’s oil market
because of the Iraqi-Iranian
war. “We do not anticipate
Israel will encounter serious
difficulties in obtaining oil
through normal procedures
in the foreseeable future,”
he said. Privately, State
Department officials in-
formed the Jewish Tele-
graphic Agency that Mexico
and Egypt are Israel’s major
suppliers.
The State Department
said that the U.S. probably
will find oil for Israel on the
world market and, if neces-
sary, the government has
legislative authority to sup
ply Israel with American oil.
The Department would not
say whether the American
oil would come from govern-
ment or private stocks.
U.S., Other Nations Block Efforts
Of Saudis, Kuwait, To Give PLO Satus
WASHINGTON [WNS] -
The United States and other
industrial nations succeeded
in blocking the efforts of
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to
grant observer status to the
Palestine Liberation Organ-
ization at the annual joint
meeting of the World Bank
and the International Mone-
tary Fund (IMF), which
ended Oct. 3. However, a
committee of nine was
named to study the Arab
claim that the quorum vote
which blocked observer sta-
tus to the PLO was illegal
and to submit a report to the
boards of governors of the
World Bank and the IMF by
Jan. 31. The committee is
made up of Sweden, Bel-
gium, France, West Ger-
many and New Zealand
which backed the quorum
decision and Indonesia, Pak-
istan, Nigeria and Yugo-
slavia which did not. In
addition, the executive
bodies of the two institu-
tions will draft recommen-
dations for submission by
March 1 to the governing
boards on possible changes
in the bylaws regarding
observers and the powers of
the chairman at the annual
meeting. This year’s chair-
man, Finance Minister Amir
Jamal of Tanzania had
“disinvited” all observers
from the 1979 list because
the PLO was not invited.
The Governors found they
could not reverse him.
Meanwhile, the Arab
states and their allies in the
Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries
(OPEC) appeared more in-
terested in their demands
for more voting power than
in the PLO. It was decided
that this would be negotiat-
ed over the next two years
and as possibly as long as
until 1985. Saudi Arabia and
Kuwait have earlier threat-
ened to cut financing to the
IMF and the Bank if the
PLO was not admitted. But
Sheikh Mohammed Abal-
Khail, the Saudi Minister of
Finance and National Econ-
omy, told the Governors,
“we are fully prepared to
participate with others in a
discussion to look into all
aspects of the proposal” by
outgoing World Bank presi-
dent Robert McNamara for
an “energy affiliate” to help
poorer countries with en-
ergy problems. McNamara
suggested a pool of $25
billion for this purpose.
Arnon Gafny. governor of
the Bank of Israel, pledged
Israel’s support to poor
countries. “As in the past,
we stand ready to share our
experience and technology
with other developing coun-
tries and with international
and regional development
institutions,” he told the
meeting.
Cleveland Memorial
For Terrorist Victims
CLEVELAND [JTA] -
Some 400 persons, Jews and
non-Jews, attended memor-
ial services here for the
victims of the neo-Nazi
terrorist bombing of a Paris
synagogue in which four
were killed and 32 injured.
The service, sponsored by
the Jewish Community Fed-
eration of Cleveland, was
held in the patio of the JCF
building.
Speakers included Dr.
Donald Jacobs, a Protestant
minister who is director of
the Interchurch Council of
Cleveland; Rabbi Daniel
Roberts, president of the
Cleveland Board of Rabbis;
Father John Helinski, chair-
man of the Social Actions
Committee of the Cleveland
Catholic Diocese; Jacques
Royet, Consul General of
France; and Asher Naim,
Consul General of Israel.
Ed Richards, special assis-
tant to the Mayor, read a
message on behalf of Mayor
George Voinovich. Last Ap-
tism in France.
“I have not seen any sigr
that the French government
will reconsider its Middle
East policy which is to
appease and give respecta
bility to the PLO,” Squadron
said, “to join prominently ir
every public criticism oi
Israel no matter how extrav
agant and unjustified; to
risk global catastrophe by
providing nuclear know-how
to the radical regime in
Baghdad in exchange for
Iraqi oil; and generally to
sabotage the Camp David
peace process.”
He said he told the French
envoy that the attitude of
the Jewish community in
America and Americans
generally toward France “is
going to be tainted” as a
result of the French govern-
ment’s pro-Arab policy.
Squadron said the French
Ambassador expressed the
“profound dismay” of the
French government and
people at the anti-Semitic
outbreaks and repeated his
government’s pledge to
bring the perpetrators to
justice. Squadron and Ye-
huda Heilman, executive
director of the Presidents
Conference, are going to
Paris to attend a meeting of
the Representative Council
of Jewish Organizations in
France (CRIF) next Thurs-
day.
Schindler, a past chairman
of the Presidents Confer-
ence, said the major lesson
learned from the synagogue
bombing is that “the unjusti-
fied blackening of Israel by
governments of Western
Europe diminishes the
status of the Jews” and that
“the extortionist price does
not have its limits” because
terrorism which is first
aimed at Jews is later used
against other minorities and
religious groups.
He said that in his short
visit to France, he found the
“French Jews are deeply
concerned that the New
Nazis who seek to destroy
Jewish lives have been
encouraged by official laxity
and inattention to the
violent nature of the anti-
Semitic movement in
France.”
Concluding the meeting,
Squadron said the Jewish
communities’ response all
over the world to the latest
anti-Semitic outbreak is
going to be firm and united
to show the world that
today’s world “is not the
same” as in the past and
Jews “are not going to be
victimized that easily.”
ril, Voinovich was in Israel
where he planted a forest in
memory of his daughter who
was killed in an automobile
accident a year earlier. He
added four trees to the
forest in memory of the four
who died in the Paris
bombing.
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Wisch, J. A. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 23, 1980, newspaper, October 23, 1980; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth753172/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .