Rabin, Clinton To Meet Today
The Jerusalem Post - November 21, 1994
Implementation of the accord with the PLO and progress toward an agreement with Syria are expected to dominate the agenda at today's White House meeting between Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and President Bill Clinton.
US officials said last week that the two were unable to discuss these matters adequately during the president's brief visit to Jerusalem last month.
Reports also say the two will discuss the case of Jonathan Pollard, who was arrested on charges of spying for Israel nine years ago today. He was convicted in 1987.
Amnon Dror, of the Public Committee for Pollard, said yesterday in Tel Aviv that Pollard had appealed to Rabin before his trip to raise the possibility of clemency during his meeting with Clinton.
The National Students Union in Israel, youth groups, and several MKs had also sent telegrams to Rabin on the matter, Itim reported. Dozens of similar messages were reportedly received by the White House and the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
Rabin's visit comes just two weeks following the Republican election victories that will give them control of both houses of Congress in January.
Rabin will meet here tomorrow with soon-to-be Senate majority leader Robert Dole (R-Kansas), as well as Sen. Ted Stevens (R- Alaska) and Rep. Robert Livingston (R-Louisiana), who will head key committees dealing with foreign aid. He is also scheduled to speak with Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC), the new head of the Foreign Relations Committee.
Israel Radio reported yesterday that Dole came out against Rabin's proposal to station US troops on the Golan Heights as part of an overall settlement between Israel and Syria.
Rabin is also scheduled to meet separately with Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Defense Secretary William Perry, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvilli and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros.
Sarah Honig adds:
Dole spoke by phone yesterday with Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu, who is currently in the US. During the conversation, Netanyahu noted that Dole had objected to the notion of American soldiers on the Golan as far back as six months ago, and that this was not a new stance resulting from any Likud lobbying in the US.
Netanyahu also told Dole that while Israelis do not agree about American soldiers on the Golan and while he himself does not want Americans to be risking their lives here, there is no dispute among Israelis regarding American foreign aid. Both the opposition and the government want to see it continued, he said.
See Also: