Memorandum Warning of Backlash Following Israel Aircraft
Sale
(April 29, 1966)
This memo updates President Johnson on the aircraft
sales to Israel, particularly focusing on the need to "contain
the Arab street" and prevent a strong Arab backlash against this
sale to Israel.
Memorandum From the President's Special Assistant
(Rostow) to President Johnson/1/
Washington, April 29, 1966, 5:45 p.m.
We will soon announce our aircraft sale to Israel./2/
We have made every effort to stave off an explosive Arab reaction like
the row over the German tank sales to Israel in 1964-65. But I want
to forewarn you that, at worst, Arab reaction could endanger some of
our embassies.
We told Nasser through one of his advisers/3/ in hopes
that a little warning might keep him from exploding in public. This
tactic worked well when we sold Israel their Hawk missiles in 1962.
However, he will make his annual May Day speech Sunday. If he sounds
off on the sale, State will issue a low-key confirmation. If we get
over that hurdle, we will press the Israelis to delay announcement until
about 13 May--after the Arab Defense Ministers' meeting in Cairo. Before
that announcement, we will brief other Arab leaders.
Eshkol wants as early an announcement as possible,
but will probably accept our timing. He has so far managed to contain
his opposition reaction to the Jordan sale and can probably hang on
a little longer.
This announcement will win loud plaudits from Israelis and from their
friends here. I am working on other new things you might do for Israel
as you asked./4/ However, the $52 million in economic and food aid just
announced, this sale of about $70 million worth of aircraft (though
we will not publish the figure) and this year's slice of last year's
tank sale ($21.2 million) are handsome evidence of your current support
for Israel.
Walt
/1/Source: Johnson Library, National
Security File, Country File, Israel, Vol. V. Secret. A copy was sent
to Bill Moyers.
/2/It was announced on May 20. For
text of replies made by Director of the Office of News Robert J. McCloskey
to questions asked at a news conference that day, see American Foreign
Policy: Current Documents, 1966, p. 540.
/3/Telegram 2701 from Cairo, April
20, reported that Battle had informed Presidential adviser Hassan Sabry
al-Kholy of the pending aircraft sale. (National Archives and Records
Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964-66, DEF 12-5 ISR)
/4/An April 23 memorandum from Rostow
to Rusk, recording decisions made by the President in the course of
a review of foreign policy problems, noted that the President wanted
development of new ideas in several areas, including, "Ideas for
working constructively with Israelis and Arabs." (Johnson Library,
National Security File, Files of Walt Rostow, Non Vietnam, April-July
1966) A May 21 memorandum from Rostow to the President stated that he
had been canvassing "new things we might do in Israel." It
noted that because Israel's economic performance raised it far above
the level where AID normally pulled out, any new programs "should
capitalize more on imagination than on large sums of AID money."
It listed a number of possibilities. (Ibid., Memos to the President,
Walt W. Rostow, Vol. 3) .
Sources: Foreign
Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, V. 20, Arab-Israeli Dispute
1967-1968. DC: GPO,
2001. |