Connally and Israel

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1979 Page 14 In Our Opinion... portant to our future as a nation. Last week John Connally made Israel's stubborn attitude is an obthe most important speech of the stacle to a peace settlement.

Many campaign to date. presidential people have felt this way, including Important, not only for what he said, but few President Jimmy Carter, but for what he implied about our fuhave expressed it so bluntly. ture course in the Middle East.

It is ironic that, three days after Connally was the first presidenConnally's speech, the Israeli cabitial candidate to flatly link our policy net voted unanimously to expand toward Israel with our need for oil seven Jewish settlements on the ocWithout actually saying so, he indicupied West Bank.

It is this sort of cated that oil comes first, Israel secfolly that makes some people wonder ond.

In order to protect Israel and whether the Israeli government unour own national security, he said derstands its precarious situation in that we must force Israel to accept regard to American public opinion. the sort of settlement that the IsThe danger in the Connally raelis have stubbornly resisted. speech is that it will lead to an overThus: "Israel must withdraw from reaction.

The Andrew Young episode the West Bank, Gaza and Golan, all already has shown what can happen of which will be demilitarized... when pent-up emotions explode. "All Israeli civilian settlements, A strong and secure Israel is still including the so-called paramilitary a key part of our Middle East strateones, must be withdrawn from the gy.

No other nation offers us the poWest Bank, Gaza and Golan. .. tential support and facilities that "The Palestinian people should might be needed in case of an emerdecide for themselves whether they gency in the Persian Gulf.

Second, it is as much in our interprefer the West Bank and Gaza to be est as it is in Israel's interest to pregoverned as an entirely independent entity or to be an autonomous area vent a Soviet-dominated Palestinian within the Kingdom of Jordan." state from being established in the area.

We still have no reason to beFinally, Connally proposed a setlieve that the PLO can be trusted. tlement for Jerusalem that will give But the Israelis themselves agree the Arabs more say than the Israeli with Connally that "any Palestinian government has ever been willing to concede. leader who is willing to put aside violence, sit down and work construcThat speech is bound to raise a storm of protest in Israel and among tively on the details of a compromise peace settlement should be American supporters of Israel.

Conwelcomed." nally, a shrewd politician, has obviJohn Connally has opened up a ously considered the possibilities hornet's nest with this speech. But and concluded that it is no longer poit's better to have these things out in litical suicide to criticize the Jewish state. the open and frankly debated, than As he noted: "It is only candid to festering beneath the surface.

Because of its oil and its capacity say that support for this level of aid to produce instability, the Middle (to Israel), in the absence of greater East has become enormously imwillingness by Israeli leadership to portant to the whole industrialized compromise with their neighbors, is world.

John Connally thinks he has eroding." come up with the formula to solve Although some may not think so, Connally has done a service in posthe problem. He is taking a big political risk. So would the United States, ing the issue in such a candid fashNif it decided to go the Connally route. ion. Middle East oil is extremely im-

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"Connally and Israel," Telegram and Gazette, 16 October 1979. Covering Palestine archive, CP-1979-019. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-1979-019