Friday, July ]2, 1974—THE BULLETIN—3
I
a.
i
American denies impeding Yom Kippur War airlift
BY RICHARD VAFFE
NEW YORK - James Schles-singer, U.S. Defence Secretary, has denied allegations that his department dragged its feet over instituting America's airlift of military aid to Israel at the beginning of the October War and moved only after President Nixon curtly and angrily ordered it to do so.
"There is a difference between dragging your heels and having your shoes nailed to the floor by national policy," Mr. Schles-inger said.
But for America's Military Airlift Command, "there is some question whether Israel would have survived," he added.
The allegations were contained in a book called Kissinger by two American journalist brothers, Marvin and Bernard Kalb. The book is due to be published late next month, but extracts have already appeared in the press here.
The book says that soon after the Egyptians and Syrians attacked Israel last October, Israel requested a massive airlift of aircraft, tanks, missiles and other equipment to replace losses and build strength, but Dr. Henry Kissinger, the U.S. Secretary of State, "did not feel that it would be necessary to open a massive emergency pipeline of supplies to israel.
He did not want to be provocative. He did not want to antagonize the Russians or the Arabs."
According to the authors of the book, quoting "reliable sources," Mr. Schlesinger refused a request on October 8, two days after the Arab attack, for Israeli aircraft to be allowed to land in America to pick up ammunition and spare parts.
Later, after the Israeli Am-bassadoe in Washington, Simcha Dinitz, had spoken to Dr. Kissinger, who in turn spoke to the Pentagon, permission was given for a limited number of Israeli aircraft to pick up supplies, provided their markings were painted out.
By dawn on Wedneday, October 10, American and Israeli intelligence began to pick up the first clear signals of a massive Soviet airlift to Cairo and Dam-
ascus. Dr. Kissinger then telephoned Mr. Schlesinger and asked him to organize charters of civilian aircraft to carry American aid to Israel as quickly as possible.
The following morning. Dr. Kissinger again urged Schlesinger to charter civilian aircraft but, according to the book, Schlesinger resisted, warning a possible Arab oil embargo.
President Nixon then ordered the Defence Secretary to charter the aircraft. By the end of the day, Mr. Dinitz had heard nothing about the charters, so he asked for a meeting with Mr. Schlesinger, who told him that "political considerations" had slowed down the charters.
That night, Mr. Dinitz saw Dr. Kissinger and told him that if "a massive airlift" did not start immediately, he would know that the United States was "reneging" on its promises and Israel would
JAMES SCHLESINGER
Venezuela Arqbs repudiate terrorism
NEW YORK — Spokesmen for Arabs living in Venezuela and the Libyan ambassador to Venezuela were rep^orted to be publicly at odds over Arab terrorism, according to the Latin American Affairs Department of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith.
One of the spokesmen, Ali Abu Shetaia said that Arabs in Venezuela "repudiate terroristactions
which leave many innocent victims of both factions," according to an interview in the Venezuelan magazine, "Momento."
The magazine also interviewed Ali Munstasser. Libya's ambassador, who said his government and the people of Libya gave total support to the Palestinian giaerrillas.
Asked what type of support, he said, "moral, with money, arms, everything."
"have to draw very serious conclusions fron all this."
After this meeting, the book continues. Dr. Kissinger asked to see President Nixon and told him of the situation. The President immediately orderd Mr. Schlesinger to send 10 transport aircraft loaded with military supplies to the Azores where the supplies would be loaded onto Israeli aircraft and a further 20 directly to Israel.
The following day. President Nixon called a meeting of his top security aides, including Mr. Schlesinger and demanded to know why his previous orders had not been implemented.
Mr. Schlesinger told him about the difficulties with charters. At this. President Nixon exploded, according to one eye-witness quoted the book. "Get supplies there with American military planes! 1 want no further delays," he ordered.
Only then was Mr. Dinitz able to cable Jerusalem that "a massive American airlift" had begun.
CHIDE WALDHEIM FOR MEETING TERRORISTS
UNITED NATIONS — Yo-
sef Tekoah, Israel's United Nations representative, called on Dr. Kurt Waldheim, the UN Secretary-General, to express "surprise and dismay' that Dr. Waldheim had thought it necessary to meet Arab terrorists in Africe on his recent Middle-East tour. One of the two men the UN official met was a leader of the Syrian - controlled Saiqa terrorist group and the other an El Fatah spokesman who had been active in Black September, Tekoah said. He pointed out to Dr. Waldheim that people like the two men he had met represented only about 2,000 people, while there were more than two million Palestinians. JCNS.
YITZHAK RABIN, Israel's Prime Minister, outside Number Ten Downing Street with British Prime Minister Harold Wilson (right), after a 90-mlaute talk. Mr. Rabin returned home "greatly encouraged" that his meetings with Mr. Wilson and Foreign Secretary James Callaghan, had finally dispelled any past misunder. standings in the relations between their respective countries. He told a crowded press conference at the Churchill hotel that the "past differences on certain issues, such as the embargo on arms (imposed by the previous British government during the Tom Kippur War), were now a thing of the past and tliat the talks had marked a further Improvement in Anglo-Israeli relations.
Six Jews elected to Soviet Parliament
BEAT UP WOMAN
LONDON — As in the two previous elections to the Supreme Soviet (Pariament) in 1966 and 1970, six Jewish deputies were returned in the recent elections.
The two Houses making up the Supreme Soviet are the Soviet of the Union, with 767 deputies, and the Soviet of Nationalities with 750 deputies.
The two Jews in the Soviet of the Union were both re-elected for a fourth four-year term. They are Benyamin E. Dymshitz, a Deputy Prime Minister of the Soviet Union, and academician Yuli B. Khariton.
Dymshitz represents Khabarovsk, the administrative centre of the province of that name.
Birobidjan, the so-called Jewish Autonomous Region, is part of Khabarovsk Province.
Birobidjan has five deputies in the Soviet of Nationalities, but only two of them are Jews: Lev B. Shapiro, first secretary of the Birobidjan regional committee of the Soviet Communist Party, and Lubov Israelevna Groysman, a dressmaker. Both were newly elected.
A third new deputy is Henrik O. Zimanas, who was elected for the Lithuanian township of Keidany.
The fourth Jew in the Soviet of Nationalities is Alexander B. Chakovsky, editor of Literaturn-aya Gazeta (Literary Gazette).
JCNS.
KGB prevent seminar
ROME JEWS demonstrate in front on behalf of Syrian Jewry.
Constantino JCNS
LONDON^The KGB (Soviet sec -urity police) prevented the projected scientific seminar organized by Jewish scientists from taking place last week. It hadbeen due to be held at the flat of Professor Alexander Voronel in Moscow.
Prof. Voronel was arrested the week before and his wife was prevented from entering their flat, which was cordoned off by large numbers of police.
On Saturday evening, Mrs. Yelona Polsky, the wife of Victor Polsky, a well-known Jewish activist, was beaten up in the street by plain-clothes men as she was returning home from the theatre.
The plain-clothes men beat Mrs. Polsky so severely that passers-by attempted to intervene, but. were brushed aside by the policemen, who then took Mrs. Polsky away.
Mrs. Polsky has not been heard of since. Her daughter, who was with her at the time, was reported urJiarmed.
Her husband was arrested after KGB men had broken into the Polsky's flat. Three other scientists connected with the seminar were also arrested at the weekend:
JNF deYeltps Jtrdai Volley
JERUSALEM — The Jewish National Fund is carrying out extensive developments in the Jordan Valley providing drainage and preparing land for cultivation.
One project atMoshavArgaman also includes the beginning of work on 40 housing units and a four-kilometer road around the settlement.
Dmitri Ram, Mikhail Agursky, and Dr. Vitaly Rubin.
Dr. Polsky is how under arrest and facing trial in Moscow for allegedly running down a woman with his automobile.
Three Jewish scientists who defied the official ban on the seminar were also arrested at the seminar and arrived at Prof. Vor-onel's flat were taken away by the police, who had surrounded the flat, according to Western correspondents in Moscow.
Academician Andrei Sakharov, who originally intended to participate in the seminar, said that he was too ill to go to Prof. Voronel's flat
He began a fast the previous Friday in protest against "the brutal and illegal" treatment of political prisoners in the Soviet Union.
Jews in Moscow, Odessa and Minsk, which President Nixon visited last week, also began a
fast in protest against the treatment of Jewish prisoners of conscience and the refusal of the authorities to allow them to emigrate to Israel. ■
Prof. Benjamin Levich, a corresponding member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, was given a promise that he would be allowed to emigrate to Israel in 1975.
His two sons, Yevgeny, 26, who was called up for military service and served a year in a military labor camp beyond the Arctic Circle, and Alexander, were promised exit permits by the end of this year.
El Al £hows profit
NEW YORK — El Al Israel airlines has shown a profit in the fiscal year ending March 31, 1974 despite the rise in the cost of fuel, the Yom Kippur War and general industry wide losses, according to company president Mordechai Ben-Ari.
S. Africa text terms Hitler 'agent of fate'
JOHANNESBURG — The Transvaal Teacher's Association has con^plained to the province's director of education about a new history textbook intended for 15-year-old pupils in Transvaal schools. The teacher's main pomplaint is that the book suggests that Hitler was "merely an agent of fate" in bringing about the Second World War and does not mention the Nazi concentration camps or the extermination of millions of people by the Hitler regime. The publisher of the book is a firm called Perskor Publications Ltd. After the director of education, Dr. A. L. Kotzee, had received a teachers' deputation, it was announced that their comments on the textbook would be passed on to Perskor Publications for possible inclusion in a second edition. JCNS,