Dear Editor
Dear Editor Kissinger There is much to be said for Waller R. Gordon's comparison of Henry A. Kissinger to Otto von Bismarck ("The Politics of Foreign Policy," NL, March 3). Like the German...
...There was nothing strange about that...
...Similarly, I would suggest that the assassination of Saudi Arabia's King Faisal by his nephew Faisal ibn Musad Abdel Aziz may have more to it than meets the eye...
...And now, when the possibility and practicality of an oil war with the Arabs is being discussed in the press and by our leaders in Washington, one must ask whether it has become less "dangerous for American unity, for the future of the American Jewish Community and for Israel itself to talk about such things...
...Flattered by supporters of the PLO while in America, he may have been drawn into the Palestinians' clandestine activities back home, and, as he became more radicalized, developed a perfect frame of mind for assassination...
...he does not further intelligent debate of the issues one iota...
...In any projected "give and take," Israel is expected to give—and give and give—while the Egyptians are required to say little more than "thank you" (but quietly, lest their own people hear...
...The KGB could very well be disseminating this misinformation to cover its tracks...
...Many times during this period, my good Jewish friends would deplore my activities in the labor movement, contending that it might in some way whip up an anti-Semitic backlash...
...Nevertheless, an effort was made at the Conference itself to block passage of the Commonwealth Resolution because the White House might not like it...
...For him to threaten American Jews with a renascence of anti-Semitism is the worst kind of demagoguery...
...2. The PLO: Although King Faisal was "paying off" the Palestinians, he did not really represent a stable source of support for Yasir Arafat and his radical followers...
...I was a founder of local number 1, served as a local and an international officer, and negotiated the first major guild contract in Cleveland...
...Oxford, Ohio Edgar M. Branch...
...He may, with Russian support, move to fill the leadership vacuum created by Faisal's death...
...Prince Faisal was a natural cat's-paw...
...Stone The key to I. F. Stone's attitudes is, as Walter Goodman so aptly summed up ("Jews, Israel and I. F. Stone," NL, March 17), that "he has a position of his own on the Middle East," and woe betide those who do not rally to his banner...
...I should point out that before I entered this area, I was active in the American Newspaper Guild...
...The story broke, and there were strong reactions in a number of liberal magazines, notably, the New Republic...
...Perhaps some bumper stickers appeared seeking to whip up anti-Semitism, but I never saw any...
...In "Playing for the PLO" (NL, February 3), Joseph Shattan examines some of the Byzantine complications that inevitably arise in an area as unpredictable and multifaceted as the Middle East...
...I question seriously whether the United States could mount an offensive of this character without inviting terrorist reprisals against American installations all around the world...
...that Kissinger seems not fully to have grasped the problem may well indicate the time is right for him to go...
...3. Iraq and Syria: Radical and hostile to King Faisal, they back the PLO and wish to increase their influence in conservative, oil-rich Arabia...
...But most Jews have more respect for the prophets than I. F. Stone, who manages to imply that they would support his particular solution: At the very least, the prophets of Israel were for Israel, preaching and warning out of the context of a Jewish commonwealth and with great concern for its continued existence...
...But in trying to understand events like King Faisal's murder, one should always ask cui bono, who benefits...
...Fear of Arab reaction has always inhibited American policy-makers in the Middle East, and many in Washington felt the Arabs would swing to the Nazi cause unless the Zionists muted their voices and mutilated their dreams...
...He induced President Anwar el-Sadat to expel the Russians from Egypt...
...Kenen Chairman, American Israel Public Affairs Committee Assassination Plot...
...Yet based on 25 years in Washington, I believe the American people have a sense of fair play...
...He attended San Francisco State College in the mid-'60s, when radical activity was the "in" thing...
...Emanuel A. Winston James T. Farrell I am writing a life of James T. Farrell and would appreciate receiving biographical information of any kind about him...
...Finally, I have no interest at all in a 19th-century military expedition for oil...
...We made it clear to all who would listen that we did not intend to go underground with the hopes of the Jewish people...
...Indeed, the Kremlin's statement reinforces my suspicion that the Russians maneuvered the PLO, who, in turn, maneuvered Prince Faisal into the assassination...
...I have worked in this area since 1940, and know how often those opposed to Israel have tried to silence the Jewish leadership out of an exaggerated, if not pretended, concern for the reaction of others...
...A case can be made, it seems to me, that Prince Faisal was encouraged to murder his uncle by parties with political interests, perhaps by the Palestine Liberation Organization with the connivance of the USSR...
...Later, FDR's negative views were freely circulated by the anti-Zionists at San Francisco...
...Who does not remember the bitter exchange between Charles Lindbergh and Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver when Lindbergh denounced Jews as warmongers seeking to get the U.S...
...Fortunately, the American people and the Congress of the United States have a clearer understanding of Israel's position and needs, and will not be deterred from expressing their support for Israel's right to exist as a viable state...
...I believe most Americans who have any opinions on the matter are sympathetic to Israel, and in 1973, when some of our defense agencies began predicting the oil embargo would feed anti-Semitism, I insisted that the American people would have enough wisdom to recognize there was no connection between Israel's struggle for peace and the energy crisis, that few U.S...
...Highland Park, Ill...
...Almost every day, Jews must make decisions on fast-moving developments in the vast area of U.S.-Israel-Arab relations...
...Israel is being blamed for Egyptian intransigence in the breakdown of the latest round of talks with Secretary Kissinger...
...Boston Oliver R. Pennington Israel and I.F...
...In that first week, we heard that President Franklin D. Roosevelt was about to send a communication to Jewish leaders expressing the hope that we not take a maximum position on this issue lest it interfere with the prosecution of the War...
...While alive, King Faisal posed an almost insurmountable obstacle to Soviet influence in the Middle East...
...Nine years ago, the shooting death of his brother by Saudi Arabian police alienated him from King Faisal, whom he held responsible...
...4. Libya: Strongman Muammar el-Qaddafi, another PLO supporter, is well known for attempting to export assassination for the Palestinians...
...And I find it almost incomprehensible that Stone, who has never hesitated to express his opinions, should challenge those who speak frankly on these issues because he fears we might incite our foes...
...Sensing this, the press has lately been speculating about possible successors...
...According to a March 28 radio report, the Russians claim King Faisal was assassinated by elements in the United States because he reduced the flow of oil by 25 per cent...
...We try to be rational, but we tend always to consult our hopes rather than our fears...
...into a war with Germany...
...When I arrived in New York in 1943 to begin my duties as Secretary of the American Jewish Conference, the Jewish community here was faced with a major decision: Should it unite in support of the Jewish commonwealth...
...Please address any correspondence to: Edgar M. Branch, 4810 Bonham Road, Oxford, Ohio 45056...
...Public opinion polls have confirmed these optimistic assessments...
...in addition, a divided country is more vulnerable to Communist influence than one under focused rule...
...Because of his religious beliefs, he was a confirmed enemy of "godless Communism" throughout the Arab world...
...The basic failing reflected by I. F. Stone and others like him may have been pinpointed in your editorial comment in the same issue: "Where once it [Israel] was too often believed to be incapable of any wrongdoing, even by its enemies, now it was too rarely thought to be doing anything right, even by its friends...
...Letters, or copies of letters, to and from Farrell will be promptly acknowledged and returned...
...Goodman is certainly correct in stating that "Jews in America do not make corporate decisions, even on matters affecting their peoplehood...
...There are peaceful ways to solve the energy crisis, based largely on independent conservation, the search for alternative resources and a refusal to collaborate with oil-producing countries to the prejudice of our citizens and our economy...
...Washington, D.C...
...Unquestionably, this situation constitutes a danger both to the United States and to its allies...
...Like the German chancellor, the American Secretary of State is painting himself into a comer, becoming ever more isolated from any possible constituency and relying increasingly on the lonely backing of a weak national leader to pursue his controversial policies...
...There are many differences on how to resolve the problems facing Israel and the Middle East...
...New York City Charlotte Jacobson Chairman, World Zionist Organization, American Section While I have long admired I. F. Stone-we traveled together on his first visit to Israel-I strongly disagree with his views on Arab-Israeli relations...
...citizens would cast Israel as the scapegoat...
...perhaps a rereading of his own dispatches from the Middle East in those hectic days would remind him of how and why that area reached its present critical state, and why his own position today is not only unacceptable in theory but also realistically impossible...
...Stone has forgotten much since Israel's War of Independence...
...This, of course, is speculation...
...But my one question is: Would a replacement be able to act any differently...
...a new sovereign less secure than Faisal might put himself fully behind the PLO cause...
...Roosevelt never sent the contemplated letter (which had been recommended by his subordinates in the State Department...
...I should like, in conclusion, to commend The New Leader on its excellent handling of the issue...
...All of the following could have expected to gain from the Saudi monarch's death: 1. The Soviet Union: New leadership in Saudi Arabia could produce a lessening of anti-Soviet feelings...
Vol. 58 • April 1975 • No. 8
