Rabbi ISRAEL GOLDSTEIN,
Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, 270 West 89th Street, New York, New York.
DEAR RABBI GOLDSTEIN: Thank you very much for your
recent letter and its kind reference to my address to the luncheon tendered
me by the State policy committee of the Liberal Party. In this address
I briefly commented on important questions involved in our country's domestic
and foreign policies. Time did not permit a detailed exposition of my views
on many aspects of these matters. I hope to have the opportunity during
the course of the campaign to elaborate on
important policy questions.
I am glad that your letter gives me the immediate
opportunity to state in somewhat greater detail my views on American policy
with regard to Israel and the Middle East.
The section on the Middle East of the platform just
adopted at the national convention of the Democratic Party sets out a just
and reasonable course for American - and indeed world - policy in this
important area. The platform is one I am proud to advocate and will do
all within my power to implement. The section on the Middle East reads:
In the Middle East we will work for guarantees to insure independence for all states. We will encourage direct Arab- Israel peace negotiations, the resettlement of Arab refugees, in lands where there is room and opportunity for them, an end to boycotts and blockades, and unrestricted use of the Suez Canal by all nations.While all phases of the platform on Middle East problems are important, it seems to me that the central, overriding problem in the Middle East is the problem of achieving peace in the area. The persistence of the Arab states in maintaining a "state of war" against Israel is clearly the root cause of the discriminations you cite. The starting point, therefore, for an effective, realistic American policy designed to preserve peace and extend the free way of life in the Middle East is to come to grips with this threshold obstacle. American diplomacy must be directed to ending the "state of war" in the Middle East, and this undertaking should have a very high priority in a Democratic administration.
We urge continued economic assistance to Israel and the Arab peoples to help them raise their living standards. We pledge our best efforts for peace in the Middle East by seeking to prevent an arms race while guarding against the dangers of a military imbalance resulting from Soviet arms shipment.
Protection of the rights of American citizens to travel, to pursue lawful trade and to engage in other lawful activities abroad without distinction as to race or religion is a cardinal function of the national sovereignty. We will oppose any international agreement or treaty which by its terms or practices differentiates among citizens on grounds of race or religion.