Submitted by the Board of Trustees, May 1976, New York
Background
The quality and conditions of Israel's survival continue to be a source of deep concern. Faced by continued terrorism across her borders, craven political attacks within the United Nations, and serious internal problems, Israel survives and the people of Israel live! We salute that nation's tenacity, her courage, and the forbearance of her people, and we reaffirm our abiding commitment to Israel's destiny.
Similarly, we commend the governments of the United States and Canada for their continuing efforts to bring peace to the Middle East. We are not unmindful of those governments' continuing support of Israel's economic, military, and diplomatic requirements. They are tangible and dramatic demonstrations of the United States' and Canada's commitment to a democratic ally in the world.
In the spirit of democracy and the freedoms that it envelops, we:
- Urge the United States and Canada to continue to resist the pressures and the demands of the iniquitous boycott against Israel being carried on by Arab nations. This discrimination, coming as the direct result of racial and religious "qualifiers" imposed by Arab nations contracting American assistance, is both illegal and reprehensible. We urge that the governments of the United States and Canada identify and prosecute to the letter and spirit of the law those firms, agencies, and individuals that have violated this most essential principle of American society;
- Recommend that these governments keep an ever-watchful eye on the investment of Arab petrodollars in the United States and Canada. We fully support the right of capital investment in this country by any nation. However, recognizing the discriminatory practices of Arab nations within their own boundaries, we urge that any attempts to import those practices to our soil be thwarted;
- Reaffirm our commitment to the preservation of the principle of democracy in Israel. We believe that this spirit is enhanced by the free and open exploration of alternative ways to peace now occurring in Israel. We call upon the American and Canadian Jewish communities to recognize the wide diversity of attitudes and positions on political and social problems now current in Israeli society. We encourage full discussion of these viewpoints within our own community, including the sponsorship of open forums in which Israeli spokesmen of views that may differ from the established governmental policy can be heard. No viewpoints, either on the left or the right, should be excluded. Also, no subjects, including responsible options for the solution of the Palestinian issue, should be ignored. In this way, the two largest Jewish communities in the free world can live in better harmony and more creative rapport;
- Propose the following as an amendment to substitute for Paragraph 4. Now, as for the past twenty-eight years, the one insurmountable obstacle to peace in the Middle East is the continuing Arab refusal to accept the very fact of Israel's existence. Until this attitude is reversed-a change that can be motivated only from within the Arab world-peaceful relations among all the inhabitants of the region remain an impossibility.
Pending this, it is essential that all responsible parties to the conflict pursue policies that will maximize the chances for fruitful negotiations at such time as negotiations become possible. Thus we call upon all parties to maintain positions of flexibility with regard to all issues and to eschew acts that may be construed as being needlessly provocative.