U.S. policy in the Middle East is based on myth, a leading member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee charged here yesterday.
Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, the second ranking Democrat on the committee, said the “three myths” which “propel U.S. policy in the Middle East” are “the belief that Saudi Arabia can be a broker for peace, the belief that King Hussein (of Jordan) is ready to negotiate peace, and the belief that the Palestine Liberation Organization can deliver a consensus for peace.”
Biden addressed the 59th anniversary convention of the Herut Zionists of America at the Hotel Pierre. The two-day gathering closed last night. The Senator, who was re-elected to a third six-year term last week, told the convention delegates, “My first order of business in the new Senate will be to educate my colleagues on the financial sacrifices Israel has made as a result of Camp David.”
Other speakers at the convention were Ariel Sharon, Minister of Trade and Industry in Israel’s unity coalition government; Meir Rosenne, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S.; Likud MK Roni Milo; and former Israeli Minister of Economics, Yaacov Meridor. Another speaker was Benjamin Begin, son of former Premier Menachem Begin.
SHARON URGES ALIYA
Sharon, in the U.S. to testify in his $50 million libel suit against Time magazine which opens in Federal Court here tomorrow, urged increased aliya, stronger Jewish education and a deepened commitment to Jewish settlement in “all of Eretz Israel.”
“Move to Israel,” Sharon, a former Defense Minister, said. “If not you, then send your children to run the Israeli businesses you started.” He urged American Jews to forget about charity to Israel and start investing there.
Meridor told the delegates of the need to promote Israel’s high technology industries in the United States. He said he planned to develop a major infrastructure for the marketing of Israeli products and joint ventures between Israeli and American business leaders.
Rosenne observed that it was appropriate for the Herut Zionists to hold their convention on the ninth anniversary of the UN General Assembly resolution equating Zionism with racism. He urged renewed dedication to Zionist principles and called on the Herut leadership to intensify its promotion of aliya, education and Jewish values.
The convention heard a message of greeting from President Reagan, read by his special assistant for Jewish liaison, Marshall Breger. Hart Hasten, an Indianapolis businessman and philanthropist, was elected to a two-year term as president of Herut Zionists of America.
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