Foreign Assistance Appropriations to Israel
(November 18, 1970)
Excerpt from Foreign Assistance Appropriations
Israel has demonstrated a strong will to survive in
freedom. We had hoped that recent agreements and arrangements in the
Middle East would lead toward peace and make it unnecessary to provide
large amounts of military assistance to any of the belligerents in the
area. This hope has not yet been realized.
Continued large scale shipments of military equipment
by the Soviet Union are a fact that cannot be denied. The buildup of
the surface-m-air missile complex in the cease-fire zone west of the
Suez Canal, in disregard of the cease-fire-standstill agreement, requires
us to redress the imbalance it has caused.
As authorized by the Defense Procurement Act, I request
that the Congress appropriate 8500 million to provide Israel with the
credits that will assist her in the financing of purchases of equipment
that have been necessary to maintain her defense capability, and to
ease the economic strain caused by her expanded military requirements.
Sources: Public Papers of the President |