THE SHOFAR ALEPH ZADIK ALEPH (AZA) B'NAI B'RITH GIRLS (BBG) NOVEMBER, 1971 B'nai B'rith Youth Organization ISRAELI AMBASSADOR RABIN an exclusive shofar interview Terry Korth, Godol of Greater Washington Council AZA, Lynn Light, Council N'siah, and Steve Snider, Council Mazkir, interviewed Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Yitzhak Rabin, for the SHOFAR. We present here excerpts from the interview. Should you wish to hear the complete interview, the recording (on either cassettes or 5-ingh reels) is available from the International BBYO Office. ON THE INSIDE- Steve Snider: Mr. Ambassador, could you elaborate on the Israeli need for Phantom jets? Ambassador Rabin: One of the most sensitive issues when it comes to Israel and to the Israelis is our ability to defend ourselves. The limiting factor in Israel's military strength is not the lack of trained men, it is the lack of weapons. Israel's defensive strength can be more than doubled by B'nai B'rith Triennial having more and better weapons. As you know, the most decisive element in the military strength of Israel and in any possible war in the future, is the strength of the air force. The side that will master the skies will be the side that will have the advantage. In gaining air supremacy the most important element, from our point of view, is the supersonic Voter Registration plane. Therefore, Israel has to have enough supersonic planes to make sure that in any circum- stances we will be in a position to gain air supremacy. The only country in the world from which there's any hope for Israel to get planes is the United - ISF-Where Does It Go? States. At the present only four countries produce the supersonic plane: Russia, which supplies supersonic aircraft to the Arab countries; France, that used to supply to Israel, placed an embargo on the supply, and began supplying the supersonic planes-the Mirages-to Libya. The third coun- try, Great Britain, doesn't want to supply even a bullet to Israel. Under the name of neutrality, Canadian Conference Britain has refused to sell arms to Israel. The fourth country is the United States. The United States has supplied Phantoms to Israel in the past and it is the only address to which we can turn with any hope of getting these planes. B'nai B'rith's President Nixon has declared and carried out a policy of maintenance of the balance of power. He is the President who came out with the declaration, the public statement, that he would main- 4 Presidents tain the balance of power and that if the U.S. government would come to the conclusion that a change in the balance of power had occurred, and if the United States has the materiel to make a change in the balance, this materiel-i.e., the weapons-would be supplied to Israel. Unfortunately, in the last few months we believe that this policy, the President's policy, has not been implemented and as a result we are at present in a state of disagreement with the United States Government. We don't want this to lead to a total disagreement. What we do want is a change of mind on the part of the United States Government. The purpose of the argument that is (Continued on page 2)