Threat Of Breach With Jews

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31169, 20 September 1966, Page 15

Threat Of Breach With Jews

(N.Z.PA. Reuter —Copyright)

WASHINGTON, September 19.

President Johnson has apparently removed for the moment the threat of a public breach in the Administration’s relations with Jewish leaders.

The controversy concerned his reported linking of Jewish criticism of the Vietnam war with United States support for Israel. Mr M. Tarlov, national commander of the Jewish War Veterans, said after a recent private meeting with the President that Mr Johnson could not understand why so many prominent Jews had opposed the Vietnam war. Last Monday, two other Jewish leaders visited the White House to obtain clarification of the President’s views.

Then Mr Arthur Goldberg, United States Ambassador to

the United Nations, met about 40 Jewish leaders.

It was reported that the Ambassador, himself a Jew, had strongly denied that the President was trying to silence Jewish critics by threatening withdrawal of support for Israel.

The President linked Vietnam and Israel only in the sense that the United States was interested in guaranteeing the security of small nations, Mr Goldberg said. The leaders were reported to be satisfied with the meeting, but a number of rabbis used the occasion of the Jewish New Year last week to criticise the singling out of the Jews for special mention by the President. In an editorial yesterday, the “New York Times” said that the outcome of the Goldberg meeting had been agreeable, but it should never have had to take place.