Kahane Says American Jews Must Oppose Kissinger Policy

The head of the Jewish Defense League yesterday called on American Jews to oppose any Israeli territorial concessions to Arab countries and to "struggle against" American Middle East policy which, he said, will require Israel to return to its 1967 borders.

Rabbi Meir Kahane told a 300-member audience at MIT that American Jews should apply immediate political pressure on the Administration to change its foreign policy, which, he said is "forcing Israel into concessions which it dares not rationally make."

"If you can't say no Kissinger today, you can't say no to him tomorrow, and he'll be back tomorrow," Kahane told the enthusiastic crowd. "If you're going to say no to him, say no now while Israel is still 70 miles from Cairo," he said.

"The choice is not giving up land and having a war 70 miles from Cairo, or giving up land and having a war 70 miles from Tel Aviv," Kahane said, "because the Arabs have always wanted to destroy a Jewish state of any size, form, or shape."

Kahane also encouraged Jews to "rally behind the best candidate for Jewish interests," Senator Henry Jackson, since he said peaceful measures "have potential" when individuals have leverage with their target.

The Jewish Defense League has engaged in acts of violence to protest the treatment of Jews in the Soviet Union. Kahane, who is now an Israeli citizen, is in the United States to begin serving a prison sentence next week.

Kahane's speech was sponsored by the Israel Aliyah Center, the Zionist Organization of America, and MIT Hillel as part of an effort to encourage American Jewish immigration to Israel.