Office of the Historian

176. Telegram From Secretary of State Kissinger to the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft)1

Paris, May 27, 1975, 2155Z.

Hakto 2. Ref: Tel Aviv 3195.2

1. Please show reftel to the President at the earliest opportunity but before his departure. Please draw his attention particularly to paragraphs 5, 6, and 7. This provides concrete evidence of Rabin’s willingness to treat us as an antagonist and to use the senatorial letter3 to support his intransigence.

2. You should then call Dinitz to express our extreme outrage over this latest violation of confidence. First of all, he knows that it is simply not true that Allon brought written proposals to Washington.4 Secondly, we regard it as a matter of great concern that Rabin would reveal what we regard as confidential communications prior to the Sadat meeting. Additionally, you should point out that the tone of Rabin’s remarks sounded as if he were not even talking about a friendly government. The final point you should make is that the Israelis should not necessarily count on a realization of the relaxation of tensions which Rabin claims is emerging of the weakness of the administration vis-à-vis the Congress.

3. You should make this a very, very strong protest.

4. Warm regards.

  1. Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, CL 158, Geopolitical File, Israel, May 1975. Confidential; Black Patch.↩
  2. In telegram 3195 from Tel Aviv, May 27, the Embassy reported a local American journalist’s May 26 interview with Rabin, which was described as “off the record.” Rabin claimed that Allon had brought Israeli proposals “in writing” to Washington in April. He also expressed pleasure with the letter sent by 76 Senators to Ford declaring their “stern” support for Israel. Rabin acknowledged the letter served as a “concrete example of real limitations on administration potential to ‛pressure’ Israel,” and claimed it supported his policy of holding fast in the “face of administration pressure.” (Ibid.)↩
  3. See Document 175.↩
  4. Allon visited Washington and met with Kissinger on April 21 from 11:45 a.m. until 2:40 p.m. in the Secretary’s office and then in the Madison Room at the Department of State. (Memorandum of conversation, April 21; Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, CL 157, Geopolitical File, Israel, April 21–30, 1975)↩