Ask the Scholar

{
    "localId": "4526358",
    "label": "American Israel Public Affairs Committee Luncheon, Washington, DC, April 29, 1971",
    "core": "doc",
    "dtoType": "document",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4526358"
}

{
    "id": "4526358",
    "sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4526358",
    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "American Israel Public Affairs Committee Luncheon, Washington, DC, April 29, 1971",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4526358",
    "collections": [
        "Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers",
        "Speeches"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Israel",
        "Soviet Union",
        "Jews",
        "Middle East conflicts"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0054/642080/4526358.pdf",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0054/642080/4526358.pdf",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0054/642080/4526358.pdf",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "hasImages": true,
    "source": "import",
    "hasTranscription": false
}

{
    "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4526358",
    "naId": 4526358,
    "coverageEndDate": {
        "logicalDate": "1971-04-30",
        "month": 4,
        "year": 1971
    },
    "coverageStartDate": {
        "logicalDate": "1971-04-01",
        "month": 4,
        "year": 1971
    },
    "levelOfDescription": "fileUnit",
    "recordType": "description",
    "ocrSource": "nara-archive"
}

{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "document",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0054/642080/4526358.pdf",
    "mediaId": "ef0090c7cb56790d",
    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box D31, folder \"American Israel Public Affairs\nCommittee Luncheon, Washington, DC, April 29, 1971\" of the Ford Congressional Papers:\nPress Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nAMERICAN- ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS\nCOMMITTEE LUNCHEON\nB-339 RAYBURNHO.B.B.\nTHURSDAY NOON, APRIL 29,1971\nTODAY I WANT TO SPEAK TO YOU OF\nPEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. WE ARE MEETING\nHERE TO REAFFIRM THE CLOSE TIES OF FRIEND-\nSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL\nAT A TIME WHEN OUR SECRETARY OF STATE IS\nON HIS WAY TO THAT PART OF THE WORLD.\nTHIS IS A HISTORIC MOMENT -- NOT ONLY\nBECAUSE WE COMMEMORATE ISRAEL'S 23RD BIRTHDAY\nBUT BECAUSE OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF\nDETERRING A RENEWAL OF HOSTILITIES AND\nPROMOTING A LASTING PEACE SETTLEMENT.\nIT OCCURRED TO ME DURING THE\nRECENT OBSERVANCE OF THE PASSOVER HOLIDAY\nTHAT THE JEWISH PEOPLE EVERY YEAR\nPARTICIPATE IN A FESTIVAL DENOTING\nDELIVERANCE AND FREEDOM ALTHOUGH THE JEWS\nHAVE HAD NO REAL PEACE SINCE ADOLF HITLER\nDECLARED WAR ON THE HEBREW FAITH IN THE\nDigitized from Box D31 of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\n-2-\nEARLY 1930'S. I CAN NOW UNDERSTAND THE\nDEPTH OF THE JEWISH COMMITMENT TO A GENUINE\nPEACE.\nTHE CAUSE OF PEACE IS SERVED BY\nAMERICAN-ISRAELI FRIENDSHIP AND OUR\nTRADITIONAL BI-PARTISAN FOREIGN POLICY.\nEVERY AMERICAN PRESIDENT OF THE 20TH\nCENTURY HAS SUPPORTED THE ZIONIST DREAM OF\nA JEWISH NATIONAL HOME. BOTH OF OUR\nMAJOR - POLITICAL PARTIES ARE COMMITTED TO\nISRAEL'S SURVIVAL AND SECURITY. WE SEE A\nDRAMATIC DEMONSTRATION OF THAT IN THIS ROOM\nTODAY, WITH GENTLEMEN FROM BOTH PARTIES\nASSEMBLED TO SHARE IN AN OCCASION THAT COULD\nBE INSPIRED BY NO OTHER EMBATTLED NATION\nOF TODAY'S WORLD. OUR MUTUAL COMMITMENT TO\nISRAEL IS UNIQUE.\nIT IS VITAL THAT WE RETAIN OUR UNITY\nIN SUPPORTING THE ISRAELI CAUSE. THE\nSOVIET UNION, COLLABORATING WITH THE ARABS,\n-3-\nIS TRYING TO IMPOSE A UNILATERAL PEACE THAT\nWOULD COMPROMISE ISRAEL'S FUTURE. THE ARABS\nWOULD ACHIEVE THROUGH DIPLOMACY WHAT THEY\nFAILED TO WIN ON THE FIELD OF BATTLE. THE\nRUSSIANS WOULD SERVE THEIR OWN AGGRESSIVE\nENDS.\nI FEEL THAT THE PARTIES TO THE\nCONFLICT ARE THE ONLY PARTIES THAT CAN\nNEGOTIATE, CONTRACT, AND KEEP A LASTING\nPEACE. THE BOUNDARIES ARE THEIRS. THEY\nMUST LIVE WITH THEM. THEY MUST MAKE\nMUTUAL ACCOMMODATION WITH EACH OTHER.\nISRAEL, THE VICTIM OF AGGRESSION,\nIS ENTITLED TO REASONABLE\nCLAIMS FOR NEW AND SECURE BOUNDARIES.\nISRAEL HAS EVERY RIGHT TO SEEK A\nDEFENSIBLE FRONTIER WHICH MAY NOT\nCORRESPOND IDENTICALLY WITH THE FRONTIERS\nOF 1967 WHEN THE FORCES OF AGGRESSION\n-4-\nIMPOSED AN UNWANTED WAR UPON ISRAEL. I WILL\nNOT TODAY DISCUSS THE VARIOUS PROPOSALS\nAND FORMULAS EXCEPT TO SAY THAT WE MUST\nEXERCISE GREAT CARE TO AVOID UNWITTING\nCOLLABORATION WITH MOSCOW AND IMPOSE A\nSETTLEMENT UPON ISRAEL.\nIN EXERCISING SUCH\nCAUTION IT\nIS VITAL THAT WE MAINTAIN THE GREAT BASTION\nOF BI-PARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT OF\nISRAEL. SUCH SUPPORT STRENGTHENS THE\nHAND OF OUR PRESIDENT WHO IS COMMITTED TO\nA JUST PEACE. BUT I AM TROUBLED THAT SOME\nVERY IMPORTANT MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES\nSENATE ARE ABANDONING BI-PARTISANSHIP ON\nTHE MIDDLE EAST AND ARE MAKING STATEMENTS\nTHAT FACILITATE THE SOVIET UNION'S ANTI-\nISRAEL PRESSURES.\nI AM THINKING OF ONE SENATOR WHO\nFORD\nIS SEEKING OUR HIGHEST NATIONAL OFFICE.\nGERALD\nLIBRARY\nEARLIER THIS YEAR HE WANT TO THE MIDDLE EAST\n5\nAND THEN CALLED ON SOVIET PREMIER KOSYGIN\nIN MOSCOW. HE TOLD KOSYGIN THAT \"THERE\nWAS A STRONG BODY OF OPINION IN THE UNITED\nSTATES\" OPPOSED TO U.S. DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS\nLINKED TO OUR FOREIGN COMMITMENTS INCLUDING\nTHE MIDDLE EAST.\nI AM DISMAYED THAT SUCH A\nWELL-INFORMED SENATOR COULD VISIT ISRAEL\nAND EGYPT WHERE HE ACTUALLY WITNESSED THE\nONGOING SOVIET MILITARY BUILD-UP AND STILL\nFIND IT POSSIBLE TO GO TO MOSCOW AND TELL\nKOSYGIN THAT THERE WAS A DISUNITY BETWEEN\nHIM AND PRESIDENT NIXON ON U.S. MILITARY\nSPENDING THAT RELATES TO ISRAEL'S SECURITY.\nTHIS WAS A DISSERVICE TO ISRAEL SECURITY.\nIT WAS A DISSERVICE TO THE BI-PARTISAN\nFOREIGN POLICY OBJECTIVES OF THE UNITED\nSTATES. IT TENDED TO UNDERMINE THE\nGERRER\nCREDIBILITY OF AMERICAN DETERRENCE OF THE\nGROWING SOVIET MILITARY INVOLVEMENT AGAINST\n6\nISRAEL. IT UNDERCUT THE IMPACT OF\nPRESIDENT NIXON'S VISIT TO THE U.S. SIXTH\nFLEET IN THE MEDITERRANEAN LAST AUTUMN WHEN\nTHE PRESIDENT SERVED NOTICE ON MOSCOW THAT\nWE WERE PREPARED TO DEFEND FREEDOM IN THE\nMEDITERRANEAN.\nI AM DISMAYED THAT THIS SENATOR\nCOULD IGNORE WHAT THE SOVIET UNION IS DOING\nNOT ONLY IN THE UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC BUT ALSO\nTHROUGH ITS INTERVENTION IN SUCH PLACES AS\nCEYLON, SUDAN, AND EAST PAKISTAN.\nRUSSIAN MIG'S AND RUSSIAN BOMBS ARE KILLING\nPEASANTS IN THOSE PLACES.\nBUT SOME ARE TOO\nBUSY DENOUNCING OUR OWN NATION TO NOTICE\nWHILE WE TALK OF PEACE, THE\nRUSSIANS BUILD NEW MISSILE SYSTEMS. WHILE\nOUR DEFENSE NEEDS ARE ATTACKED, A RUSSIAN\nLEADER IS TOLD THAT ELEMENTS OF OUR CONGRESS\nARE TRYING TO CUT BACK OUR MILITARY\nAPPROPRIATIONS BILLS.\n7\nI WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE ENCOURAGED\nTO HEAR THAT THIS DISTINGUISHED SENATOR\nVISITED MOSCOW AND TOLD KOSYGIN THAT\nIF RUSSIA IS SO CATEGORICAL IN DEMANDING\nISRAELI WITHDRAWAL FROM EVERY VESTIGE OF\nOCCUPIED TERRITORY, LET\nRUSSIA SET AN\nEXAMPLE BY WITHDRAWING FROM THE NATIONS OF\nLITHUANIA, ESTONIA, AND LATVIA WHICH HAVE\nBEEN FORCIBLY INCORPORATED INTO THE SOVIET\nUNION. MOSCOW IN THESE CASES USED THE\nPRETEXT OF SECURITY BUT DENIES ISRAEL THE\nRIGHT TO FRONTIER REVISIONS EVEN IN A VERY\nDIFFERENT CONTEXT, A CONTEXT IN WHICH\nISRAEL IS THE TARGET OF AGGRESSION AND IS\nTHREATENED BY THE FAR-RANGING ELEMENTS OF\nSOVIET MILITARY POWER.\nLET ME REFER TO AND THER SENATOR,\nTHE CHAIRMAN OF A PRESTIGIOUS COMMITTEE,\nWHO RECENTLY DENOUNCED THE STATE OF ISRAEL\nFOR ALLEGEDLY RESORTING TO \"COMMUNIST-\n8\nBAITING HUMBUGGERY,\" AND HE DESCRIBED IT,\nTO \"MAN IPULATE\" -- HIS WORD -- THE UNITED\nSTATES POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST. HE\nDEPICTED ISRAEL AS A MANIPULATIVE \"PUSHER\"\nOF NOXIOUS IDEOLOGICAL DRUGS BECAUSE\nISRAEL DARES TO OPPOSE COMMUNISM AND\nAGGRESSION.\nIT IS TRAGIC THAT SUCH A SELF-\nPROCLAIMED PEACE ADVOCATE HAS UNDERMINED\nPROSPECTS OF A REAL ARAB-ISRAELI SETTLEMENT\nBY TACITLY ENCOURAGING THE SOVIET UNION AND\nARAB EXTREMISTS TO DESIST FROM A GENUINE\nPEACE AND TO CONTINUE A GREAT MILITARY\nESCALATION IN THE HOPES OF FORCING THEIR\nWILL UPON ISRAEL. THIS SENATOR HAS\nWEAKENED THE BI-PARTISAN FOREIGN POLICY OF\nTHE UNITED STATES.\nIT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE\nLUNCHEON WE ARE NOW ATTENDING BECOME MORE\nTHAN A RITUALISTIC EXPRESSION OF PRO-ISRAEL\n9\nGENERALITIES. THOSE WHO TRULY CARE ABOUT\nISRAEL'S SURVIVAL MUST MAKE BI-PARTISAN\nSUPPORT AN ACTION INVOLVING DEEDS RATHER\nTHAN WORDS.\nI WAS VERY GRATIFIED TO BE PART\nOF AN ADMINISTRATION THAT RESPONDED TO THE\nREALITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST BY PROVIDING\nISRAEL WITH SOME OF THE FINEST U.S.\nWEAPONS. WE PRAY FOR A DAY WHEN WE CAN BEAT\nOUR SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES. BUT WE WITNESS\nTHE SOVIET SHIPMENTS OF THE LATEST RUSSIAN\nWEAPONRY AND AIRCRAFT -- INCLUDING THE MIG-23\nSUPERSONIC FIGHTER-BOMBERS -- WHICH ARE SO\nSOPHISTICATED THAT THEY MUST BE OPERATED\nBY RUSSIANS. WE WITNESS A DEEPENING SOVIET\nINFILTRATION OF THE MIDDLE EAST, AN\nEXPANDING INVOLVEMENT, A BUILD-UP OF\nAGGRESSIVE BASES. I AM NOW REASSURED TO KNOW\nTHAT MY COUNTRY AT LEAST HAS PROVIDED ISRAEL\nWITH THE ME ANS OF DETERRING AGGRESSION.\n10\nHOW BEAUTIFUL IT WOULD BE TO HEAR\nCERTAIN SENATORS QUESTION THE PRESENCE\nOF SOVIET TROOPS IN EGYPT.\nTHE ARAB NATIONS -- EGYPT, LIBYA,\nAND SYRIA -- AND THEIR 42 MILLION PEOPLE\nARE SEEKING A NEW UNION\nINVOLVING ONE\nPRESIDENT, ONE FLAG, ONE MILITARY COMMAND,\nAND, OBVIOUSLY, ONE ENEMY. THE STATE OF\nISRAEL. I FERVENTLY HOPE THAT OUR\nSECRETARY OF STATE ASSESSES THIS NEW\nDEVELOPMENT AND CAREFULLY EVALUATES THE\nLATEST SOVIET MILITARY MOVES AND OTHER\nDEVELOPMENTS. HE COULD APPROPRIATELY ADVISE\nTHE CONGRESS ON THE DEVEL OPING SECURITY\nSITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THE CRISIS\nGOES FAR BEYOND THE SUEZ CANAL.\nFORD is LIBRARY GERALD\nOUR BI-PARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL\nPOLICY ON THE MIDDLE EAST IS COMMITTED TO\nA PEACE THAT MUST EMERGE FROM THE PARTIES\nDIRECTLY INVOLVED. WE REJECT ANY\n11\nDIPLOMATIC CONCEPT THAT WOULD FORCE OUR\nFRIENDS, THE ISRAELIS, TO NEGOTIATE WITH\nTHE UNITED STATES RATHER THAN EGYPT ON THE\nTERRITORIAL QUESTION. MOSCOW WOULD RELISH\nA\nSPLIT BETWEEN AMERICA AND ISRAEL.\nIT IS APPARENT THAT SOVIET\nDIPLOMACY SEEKS TO AVOID A FORMAL PEACE\nWHILE FORCING ISRAEL OUT OF TERRITORIES NOW\nOCCUPIED. CONSIDER THE FULL CONTEXT OF\nDEVELOPMENTS. A NEW SITUATION IS\nDEVELOPING IN ASIA. ISRAEL IS, AFTER ALL,\nAN ASIAN NATION. SO IS THE SOVIET UNION.\nWE MAY NOW BE ENTERING A NEW AND FAR-REACHING\nRELATIONSHIP WITH COMMUNIST CHINA THAT COULD\nEVEN AFFECT THE MIDDLE EAST IN TERMS OF\nSOVIET POLICIES. IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN\nWHETHER CHINESE OVERTURES LEAD BEYOND\nPING-PONG. BUT THIS IS OBVIOUSLY NOT THE\nTIME TO ABANDON A TRUE FRIEND LIKE\nBERALD FORD LIBRARY\nISRAEL IN ONE CORNER OF ASIA WHILE A WHOLE\n12\nNEW CONSTELLATION OF FACTORS MAY BE\nEMERGING INVOLVING OUR VARIOUS RELATIONSHIPS\nAND POSSIBILITIES FOR A NEW PHASE ON THAT\nSIDE OF THE\nWORLD.\nIT IS POSSIBLE THAT A FIRM AND\nNON-HYSTERICAL POLICY WILL LEAD TO THE\nKIND OF ASIA WE ALL WANT -- AN ASIA AT PEACE\nWITH A LIVE-AND-LET-LIVE ATTITUDE TOWARD\nOTHER NATIONS AND OTHER PHILOSOPHIES OF\nGOVERNMENT. IN THIS CONTEXT IT IS\nCONCEIVABLE THAT EVEN THE ARABS AND ISRAELIS\nMAY FIND A WAY TO PLAY PING-PONG.\n13\nMeanwhile, the United States Government must continue to give\nIsrael the backing necessary to maintain the credibility of\nour friendship. This is in our own self-interest as a world\npower. We will not dip the Stars and STripes in retreat and\ndefeat in the Mediterranean. We are not ready to abandon Western\nFurope or NATO. Nor are we unconscious of the implications of a\nstrong and viable Israel to the free world.\nAnother important matter concerns both the United States\nand Israel. I refer to the fate of the Jewish community of the\nSoviet Union. This is not a religious or partisan matter but an\nissue completely consistent with our beliefs and commitments to\nhuman freedom and the dignity of the individual.\nAmerica and Israel are both concerned about the brotherhood\nof man under the Fatherhood of God. We cannot rest without doing\neverything within our power to alleviate the plight of Russian\nJewry and to communicate to the Soviet authorities that the\nAmerican people are watching Soviet racism and religious\ndiscrimination.\nI wish to salute the brave Jews, young and old, who stand\nup to the Soviet secret police. I wish to honor them within the\nhalls of the United States Congress. They are true demonstrators\nfor peace and freedom. They are putting their lives on the\n817\nline against totalitarianism and oppression. Their heroic deeds\n14\nin the face of Communism should be recorded in our history books\nso that American young people can know what it really means to\ndemonstrate against an oppressive regime.\nThis observance of Israel's anniversary coincides with the\nanniversary of the courageous Jewish uprising in the Warsaw\nGhetto against the Nazis during World War II. America and Israel\nare dedicated and rededicated to the proposition that the Jewish\nvictims of Nazism and Communism did not die in vain. We have\nfaith that their sacrifices will lead to a world in which our\nchildren and our children's children can cherish the Judeo-\nChristian values in a society that is flexible enough to change\nbut brave enough to retain its freedom.\nI thank you.\nDistribution: Full\nGalleries 9:30a 4/29/71\nmail am 4/29/71\nMaffice Copy\n100 to Comm. 4/28/71 F\nREMARKS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.\nREPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES\nAT A LUNCHEON OF THE\nAMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE\nROOM B-339, RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING\nWASHINGTON, D. C.\nTHURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1971\nFOR RELEASE AT 12 NOON\nToday I want to speak to you of peace in the Middle East. We are meeting\nhere to reaffirm the close ties of friendship between the United States and Israel\nat a time when our Secretary of State is on his way to that part of the world.\nThis is a historic moment--not only because we commemorate Israel's 23rd birthday\nbut because of the possibilities of deterring a renewal of hostilities and promoting\na lasting peace settlement.\nIt occurred to me during the recent observance of the Passover holiday that\nthe Jewish people every year participate in a festival denoting deliverance and\nfreedom although the Jews have had no real peace since Adolf Hitler declared war\non the Hebrew faith in the early 1930's. I can now understand the depth of the\nJewish commitment to a genuine peace.\nThe cause of peace is served by American-Israeli friendship and our\ntraditional bi-partisan foreign policy. Every American President of the 20th\ncentury has supported the Zionist dream of a Jewish national home. Both of our\nmajor political parties are committed to Israel's survival and security. We see a\ndramatic demonstration of that in this room today, with gentlemen from both parties\nassembled to share in an occasion that could be inspired by no other embattled\nnation of today's world. Our mutual commitment to Israel is unique.\nIt is vital that we retain our unity in supporting the Israeli cause. The\nSoviet Union, collaborating with the Arabs, is trying to impose a unilateral peace\nthat would compromise Israel's future. The Arabs would achieve through diplomacy\nwhat they failed to win on the field of battle. The Russians would serve their own\naggressive ends.\nI feel that the parties to the conflict are the only parties that can\nnegotiate, contract, and keep a lasting peace. The boundaries are theirs. They\nmust live with them. They must make mutual accommodation with each other.\nIsrael, the victim of aggression, is entitled to reasonable claims for new\nand secure boundaries. Israel has every right to seek a defensible frontier which FORD\n(more)\nGERALD LIBRARY\n-2-\nmay not correspond identically with the frontiers of 1967 when the forces of\naggression imposed an unwanted war upon Israel. I will not today discuss the\nvarious proposals and formulas except to say that we must exercise great care to\navoid unwitting collaboration with Mos cow and impose a settlement upon Israel.\nIn exercising such caution it is vital that we maintain the great bastion\nof bi-partisan Congressional support of Israel. Such support strengthens the hand\nof our President who is committed to a just peace. But I am troubled that some very\nimportant Members of the United States Senate are abandoning bi-partisanship on the\nMiddle East and are making statements that facilitate the Soviet Union's anti-Israel\npressures.\nI am thinking of one Senator who is seeking our highest national office.\nEarlier this year he went to the Middle East and then called on Soviet Premier\nKosygin in Moscow. He told Kosygin that \"there was a strong body of opinion in the\nUnited States\" opposed to U.S. defense appropriations linked to our foreign\ncommitments including the Middle East.\nI am dismayed that such a well-informed Senator could visit Israel and Egypt\nwhere he actually witnessed the ongoing Soviet military build-up and still find it\npossible to go to Moscow and tell Kosygin that there was disunity between him and\nPresident Nixon on U.S. military spending that relates to Israel's security. This\nwas a disservice to Israel's security. It was a disservice to the bi-partisan\nforeign policy objectives of the United States. It tended to undermine the\ncredibility of American deterrence of the growing Soviet military involvement\nagainst Israel. It undercut the impact of President Nixon's visit to the U.S.\nSixth Fleet in the Mediterranean last Autumn when the President served notice on\nMoscow that we were prepared to defend freedom in the Mediterranean.\nI am dismayed that this Senator could ignore what the Soviet Union is doing\nnot only in the United Arab Republic but also through its intervention in such\nplaces as Ceylon, Sudan, and East Pakistan. Russian MIG's and Russian bombs are\nkilling peasants in those places. But some are too busy denouncing our own nation\nto notice.\nWhile we talk of peace, the Russians build new missile systems. While our\ndefense needs are attacked, a Russian leader is told that elements of our Congress\nare trying to cut back our military appropriations bills.\nI would have been much more encouraged to hear that this distinguished Senator\nvisited Moscow and told Kosygin that if Russia is so categorical in demanding\nIsraeli withdrawal from every vestige of occupied territory, let Russia set an\n(more)\n-3-\nexample by withdrawing from the nations of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia which\nhave been forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union. Moscow in these cases used\nthe pretext of security but denies Israel the right to frontier revisions even in\na very different context, a context in which Israel is the target of aggression and\nis threatened by the far-ranging elements of Soviet military power.\nLet me refer to another Senator, the chairman of a prestigious Committee,\nwho recently denounced the State of Israel for allegedly resorting to \"Communist-\nbaiting humbuggery,\" as he described it, to \"manipulate\"--his word--the United\nStates policy in the Middle East. He depicted Israel as a manipulative \"pusher\" of\nnoxious ideological drugs because Israel dares to oppose Communism and aggression.\nIt is tragic that such a self-proclaimed peace advocate has undermined\nprospects of a real Arab-Israeli settlement by tacitly encouraging the Soviet Union\nand Arab extremists to desist from a genuine peace and to continue a great military\nescalation in the hopes of forcing their will upon Israel. This Senator has\nweakened the bi-partisan foreign policy of the United States.\nIt is very important that the luncheon we are now attending become more than\na ritualistic expression of pro-Israel generalities. Those who truly care about\nIsrael's survival must make bi-partisan support an action involving deeds rather\nthan words.\nI was very gratified to be part of an Administration that responded to the\nrealities in the Middle East by providing Israel with some of the finest U.S.\nweapons. We pray for a day when we can beat our swords into plowshares. But we\nwitness the Soviet shipments of the latest Russian weaponry and aircraft--including\nthe MIG-23 supersonic fighter-bombers--which are so sophisticated that they must\nbe operated by Russians. We witness a deepening Soviet infiltration of the Middle\nEast, an expanding involvement, a build-up of aggressive bases. I am now reassured\nto know that my country at least has provided Israel with the means of deterring\naggression.\nHow beautiful ti would be to hear certain Senators question the presence\nof Soviet troops in Egypt!\nThree Arab nations--Egypt, Libya, and Syria--and their 42 million people\nare seeking a new union involving one President, one flag, one military command, and,\nand, obviously, one enemy: The State of Israel. I fervently hope that our Secretary\nof State assesses this new development and carefully evaluates the latest Soviet\nmilitary moves and other developments. He could appropriately advise the Congress\n(more)\n-4-\non the developing security situation in the Middle East. The crisis goes far\nbeyond the Suez Canal.\nOur bi-partisan Congressional policy on the Middle East is committed to a\npeace that must emerge from the parties directly involved. We reject any diplomatic\nconcept that would force our friends, the Israelis, to negotiate with the United\nStates rather than Egypt on the territorial question. Moscow would relish a split\nbetween America and Israel.\nIt is apparent that Soviet diplomacy seeks to avoid a formal peace while\nforcing Israel out of territories now occupied. Consider the full context of\ndevelopments. A new situation is developing in Asia. Israel is, after all, an\nAsian nation. So is the Soviet Union. We may now be entering a new and far-\nreaching relationship with Communist China that could even affect the Middle East\nin terms of Soviet policies. It remains to be seen whether Chinese overtures lead\nbeyond Ping-Pong. But this is obviously not the time to abandon a true friend like\nIsrael in one corner of Asia while a whole new constellation of factors may be\nemerging involving our various relationships and possibilities for a new phase on\nthat side of the world.\nIt is possible that a firm and non-hysterical policy will lead to the kind\nof Asia we all want--an Asia at peace, with a live-and-let-live attitude toward\nother nations and other philosophies of government. In this context it is\nconceivable that even the Arabs and Israelis may find a way to play Ping-Pong.\nMeanwhile, the United States Government must continue to give Israel the\nbacking necessary to maintain the credibility of our friendship. This is in our\nown self-interest as a world power. We will not dip the Stars and Stripes in\nretreat and defeat in the Mediterranean. We are not ready to abandon Western\nEurope or NATO. Nor are we unconscious of the implications of a strong and viable\nIsrael to the free world.\nAnother important matter concerns both the United States and Israel. I\nrefer to the fate of the Jewish community of the Soviet Union. This is not a\nreligious or partisan matter but an issue completely consistent with our beliefs\nand commitments to human freedom and the dignity of the individual.\nAmerica and Israel are both concerned about the brotherhood of man under\nthe Fatherhood of God. We cannot rest without doing everything within our power\nto alleviate the plight of Russian Jewry and to communicate to the Soviet\nauthorities that the American people are watching Soviet racism and religious\ndiscrimination.\n(more)\n-5-\nI wish to salute the brave Jews, young and old, who stand up to the Soviet\nsecret police. I wish to honor them within the halls of the United States Congress.\nThey are true demonstrators for peace and freedom. They are putting their lives\non the line against totalitarianism and oppression. Their heroic deeds in the face\nof Communism should be recorded in our history books so that American young people\ncan know what it really means to demonstrate against an oppressive regime.\nThis observance of Israel's anniversary coincides with the anniversary of\nthe courageous Jewish uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto against the Nazis during\nWorld War II. America and Israel are dedicated and rededicated to the proposition\nthat the Jewish victims of Nazism and Communism did not die in vain. We have\nfaith that their sacrifices will lead to a world in which our children and our\nchildren's children can cherish the Judeo-Christian values in a society that is\nflexible enough to change but brave enough to retain its freedom.\nI thank you.\n# # #\nFull Distribution\nOffice Copy\nREMARKS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.\nREPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES\nAT A LUNCHEON OF THE\nAMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE\nROOM B-339, RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING\nWASHINGTON, D. C.\nTHURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1971\nFOR RELEASE AT 12 NOON\nToday I want to speak to you of peace in the Middle East. We are meeting\nhere to reaffirm the close ties of friendship between the United States and Israel\nat a time when our Secretary of State is on his way to that part of the world.\nThis is a historic moment--not only because we commemorate Israel's 23rd birthday\nbut because of the possibilities of deterring a renewal of hostilities and promoting\na lasting peace settlement.\nIt occurred to me during the recent observance of the Passover holiday that\nthe Jewish people every year participate in a festival denoting deliverance and\nfreedom although the Jews have had no real peace since Adolf Hitler declared war\non the Hebrew faith in the early 1930's. I can now understand the depth of the\nJewish commitment to a genuine peace.\nThe cause of peace is served by American-Israeli friendship and our\ntraditional bi-partisan foreign policy. Every American President of the 20th\ncentury has supported the Zionist dream of a Jewish national home. Both of our\nmajor political parties are committed to Israel's survival and security. We see a\ndramatic demonstration of that in this room today, with gentlemen from both parties\nassembled to share in an occasion that could be inspired by no other embattled\nnation of today's world. Our mutual commitment to Israel is unique.\nIt is vital that we retain our unity in supporting the Israeli cause. The\nSoviet Union, collaborating with the Arabs, is trying to impose a unilateral peace\nthat would compromise Israel's future. The Arabs would achieve through diplomacy\nwhat they failed to win on the field of battle. The Russians would serve their own\naggressive ends.\nI feel that the parties to the conflict are the only parties that can\nnegotiate, contract, and keep a lasting peace. The boundaries are theirs. They\nmust live with them. They must make mutual accommodation with each other.\nIsrael, the victim of aggression, is entitled to reasonable claims for new\nand secure boundaries. Israel has every right to seek a defensible frontier which FORD\n(more)\nGERALD LIBRARY\n-2-\nmay not correspond identically with the frontiers of 1967 when the forces of\naggression imposed an unwanted war upon Israel. I will not today discuss the\nvarious proposals and formulas except to say that we must exercise great care to\navoid unwitting collaboration with Mos cow and impose a settlement upon Israel.\nIn exercising such caution it is vital that we maintain the great bastion\nof bi-partisan Congressional support of Israel. Such support strengthens the hand\nof our President who is committed to a just peace. But I am troubled that some very\nimportant Members of the United States Senate are abandoning bi-partisanship on the\nMiddle East and are making statements that facilitate the Soviet Union's anti-Israel\npressures.\nI am thinking of one Senator who is seeking our highest national office.\nEarlier this year he went to the Middle East and then called on Soviet Premier\nKosygin in Moscow. He told Kosygin that \"there was a strong body of opinion in the\nUnited States\" opposed to U.S. defense appropriations linked to our foreign\ncommitments including the Middle East.\nI am dismayed that such a well-informed Senator could visit Israel and Egypt\nwhere he actually witnessed the ongoing Soviet military build-up and still find it\npossible to go to Moscow and tell Kosygin that there was disunity between him and\nPresident Nixon on U.S. military spending that relates to Israel's security. This\nwas a disservice to Israel's security. It was a disservice to the bi-partisan\nforeign policy objectives of the United States. It tended to undermine the\ncredibility of American deterrence of the growing Soviet military involvement\nagainst Israel. It undercut the impact of President Nixon's visit to the U.S.\nSixth Fleet in the Mediterranean last Autumn when the President served notice on\nMoscow that we were prepared to defend freedom in the Mediterranean.\nI am dismayed that this Senator could ignore what the Soviet Union is doing\nnot only in the United Arab Republic but also through its intervention in such\nplaces as Ceylon, Sudan, and East Pakistan. Russian MIG's and Russian bombs are\nkilling peasants in those places. But some are too busy denouncing our own nation\nto notice.\nWhile we talk of peace, the Russians build new missile systems. While our\ndefense needs are attacked, a Russian leader is told that elements of our Congress\nare trying to cut back our military appropriations bills.\nI would have been much more encouraged to hear that this distinguished Senator\nvisited Moscow and told Kosygin that if Russia is so categorical in demanding\nIsraeli withdrawal from every vestige of occupied territory, let Russia set an\n(more)\n-3-\nexample by withdrawing from the nations of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia which\nhave been forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union. Mos'cow in these cases used\nthe pretext of security but denies Israel the right to frontier revisions even in\na very different context, a context in which Israel is the target of aggression and\nis threatened by the far-ranging elements of Soviet military power.\nLet me refer to another Senator, the chairman of a prestigious Committee,\nwho recently denounced the State of Israel for allegedly resorting to \"Communist-\nbaiting humbuggery,' as he described it, to \"manipulate\"--his word--the United\nStates policy in the Middle East. He depicted Israel as a manipulative \"pusher\" of\nnoxious ideological drugs because Israel dares to oppose Communism and aggression.\nIt is tragic that such a self-proclaimed peace advocate has undermined\nprospects of a real Arab-Israeli settlement by tacitly encouraging the Soviet Union\nand Arab extremists to desist from a genuine peace and to continue a great military\nescalation in the hopes of forcing their will upon Israel. This Senator has\nweakened the bi-partisan foreign policy of the United States.\nIt is very important that the luncheon we are now attending become more than\na ritualistic expression of pro-Israel generalities. Those who truly care about\nIsrael's survival must make bi-partisan support an action involving deeds rather\nthan words.\nI was very gratified to be part of an Administration that responded to the\nrealities in the Middle East by providing Israel with some of the finest U.S.\nweapons. We pray for a day when we can beat our swords into plowshares. But we\nwitness the Soviet shipments of the latest Russian weaponry and aircraft--including\nthe MIG-23 supersonic fighter-bombers--which are so sophisticated that they must\nbe operated by Russians. We witness a deepening Soviet infiltration of the Middle\nEast, an expanding involvement, a build-up of aggressive bases. I am now reassured\nto know that my country at least has provided Israel with the means of deterring\naggression.\n- How beautiful ti would be to hear certain Senators question the presence\nof Soviet troops in Egypt!\nThree Arab nations Egypt, Libya, and Syria--and their 42 million people\nare seeking a new union involving one President, one flag, one military command, and,\nand, obviously, one enemy: The State of Israel. I fervently hope that our Secretary\nof State assesses this new development and carefully evaluates the latest Soviet\nmilitary moves and other developments. He could appropriately advise the Congress\n(more)\n-4-\non the developing security situation in the Middle East. The crisis goes far\nbeyond the Suez Canal.\nOur bi-partisan Congressional policy on the Middle East is committed to a\npeace that must emerge from the parties directly involved. We reject any diplomatic\nconcept that would force our friends, the Israelis, to negotiate with the United\nStates rather than Egypt on the territorial question. Moscow would relish a split\nbetween America and Israel.\nIt is apparent that Soviet diplomacy seeks to avoid a formal peace while\nforcing Israel out of territories now occupied. Consider the full context of\ndevelopments. A new situation is developing in Asia. Israel is, after all, an\nAsian nation. So is the Soviet Union. We may now be entering a new and far-\nreaching relationship with Communist China that could even affect the Middle East\nin terms of Soviet policies. It remains to be seen whether Chinese overtures lead\nbeyond Ping-Pong. But this is obviously not the time to abandon a true friend like\nIsrael in one corner of Asia while a whole new constellation of factors may be\nemerging involving our various relationships and possibilities for a new phase on\nthat side of the world.\nIt is possible that a firm and non-hysterical policy will lead to the kind\nof Asia we all want-an Asia at peace, with a live-and-let-live attitude toward\nother nations and other philosophies of government. In this context it is\nconceivable that even the Arabs and Israelis may find a way to play Ping-Pong.\nMeanwhile, the United States Government must continue to give Israel the\nbacking necessary to maintain the credibility of our friendship. This is in our\nown self-interest as a world power. We will not dip the Stars and Stripes in\nretreat and defeat in the Mediterranean. We are not ready to abandon Western\nEurope or NATO. Nor are we unconscious of the implications of a strong and viable\nIsrael to the free world.\nAnother important matter concerns both the United States and Israel. I\nrefer to the fate of the Jewish community of the Soviet Union. This is not a\nreligious or partisan matter but an issue completely consistent with our beliefs\nand commitments to human freedom and the dignity of the individual.\nAmerica and Israel are both concerned about the brotherhood of man under\nthe Fatherhood of God. We cannot rest without doing everything within our power\nto alleviate the plight of Russian Jewry and to communicate to the Soviet\nauthorities that the American people are watching Soviet racism and religious\ndiscrimination.\n(more)\nGERALD\nLIBRARY\n-5-\nI wish to salute the brave Jews, young and old, who stand up to the Soviet\nsecret police. I wish to honor them within the halls of the United States Congress.\nThey are true demonstrators for peace and freedom. They are putting their lives\non the line against totalitarianism and oppression. Their heroic deeds in the face\nof Communism should be recorded in our history books so that American young people\ncan know what it really means to demonstrate against an oppressive regime.\nThis observance of Israel's anniversary coincides with the anniversary of\nthe courageous Jewish uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto against the Nazis during\nWorld War II. America and Israel are dedicated and rededicated to the proposition\nthat the Jewish victims of Nazism and Communism did not die in vain. We have\nfaith that their sacrifices will lead to a world in which our children and our\nchildren's children can cherish the Judeo-Christian values in a society that is\nflexible enough to change but brave enough to retain its freedom.\nI thank you.\n# # #"
}