U.S. Jewish, Arab Groups React to Move

Representatives of Jewish organizations Wednesday greeted word that the United States would enter direct talks with the Palestine Liberation Organization with reactions ranging from cautious skepticism to outright condemnation.

Arab-Americans, however, enthusiastically welcomed the news, saying the move is a positive development.

Morris B. Abram, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said that Robert H. Pelletreau Jr., the U.S. ambassador to Tunisia who was named to open the dialogue process, must “demand that the PLO repeal the Palestine national covenant, which calls for the destruction of Israel.”

‘Merely Words’

“As long as that covenant serves as the basic political document of the PLO, there can be no progress toward peace,” Abram said in an interview in New York. “No matter how many commas Arafat inserts or semicolons he removes, his statement is merely words. Peace requires deeds. And the first deed is to repeal the covenant.”

Abram added that he is confident Secretary of State George P. Shultz “will continue to act as a close friend of Israel and that he will do nothing to weaken the bonds of friendship and strategic cooperation that exist between Israel and the United States.”

Attorney David Habib, a past president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s Los Angeles chapter, said he was “surprised, shocked and pleased” by the announcement.

“I think it is a signal that we are, hopefully, finally prepared to address the substance of the problem--the root of the problem,” he said. “The decision is in the highest tradition of American history in terms of encouraging self-determination and preserving the dignity and human rights of all people.”

Similarly, radio personality Casey Kasem, an activist in a coalition of Arabs and Jews promoting peace in the Middle East, said the decision is “coming in the right season. Credit is due the American people, who polls revealed prefer by 58% that the PLO and Israel negotiate. Over 50% feel the U.S. should recognize the PLO. I think this is a mandate of the people.”

Rabbi Marvin Gross, director of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles’ Middle East Commission, noted that although Shultz indicated the United States is prepared to enter a dialogue, “he also made it clear that dialogue with the PLO does not mean that the U.S. recognizes an independent Palestinian state.”

Gross, who said he was making remarks based on limited reports and had not seen the actual statements, said the decision will be a step forward only “if the PLO is wholly sincere” in its recognition of Israel, renunciation of terror and acceptance of the pertinent U.N. resolutions.

In New York, Burton S. Levinson, national chairman of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, called the decision “a first step. Now we must watch to see whether the PLO will match words with deeds.”

‘The Uprising Continues’

“We also understand Israel’s distrust,” he said. “The uprising continues, the PLO has not renounced the national covenant and Arafat talks about an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital as a precondition for negotiations. This is not the way to reach true peace. It does not reassure an Israel that has had too many years of experience with PLO terrorism.”

The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles issued an unsigned statement asserting that direct talks with the PLO “may be sending the wrong message to the world: that terrorism does pay.”

While President Reagan and Shultz “have proven themselves to be the staunchest friends of the State of Israel, the road they have chosen to embark upon is fraught with danger,” the statement added.

Boyer reported from Los Angeles and Goldman from New York.