318. Letter From the Israeli Ambassador to the United States (Evron) to President Carter1

My dear Mr. President:

I have been asked by Prime Minister Begin to transmit to you the following message:

“Dear Mr. President,

I thank you for your letter of December 6, delivered to me by Ambassador Sol Linowitz.2 Your generous words of appreciation are very dear to me.

In the course of his visit, Ambassador Linowitz had the opportunity to meet with my colleagues3 and received detailed information on the various aspects of the negotiations relating to the autonomy for the Arab inhabitants of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza District. These negotiations continue apace and we are all hopeful that we shall succeed in overcoming the difficulties and reaching agreement.

On January 7, 1980, I am scheduled to travel to Aswan at the invitation of President Sadat for a direct personal exchange of views between us. Meanwhile, here in Jerusalem, Ambassador Linowitz and I held a lengthy private talk which we both concluded was immensely useful and enjoyable.

Permit me now, Mr. President, to turn to you with an urgent personal request.

As you are aware, Israel has, over the years, been confronted with objective difficulties in the economic domain emanating mainly from [Page 1039] the fact that we are compelled to expend some thirty percent of our GNP on defence. This year our problem has increased substantially.

In your letter to me you were kind enough to make reference to the significance of the transfer of the Alma oilfields to Egypt which is, indeed, one of the greatest sacrifices we have made in the cause of peace. With this, we must buy every drop of oil from abroad at rising prices, having now to expend an annual outlay of hundreds of millions of extra dollars for the supplies from the Suez gulf. Simultaneously, we have been compelled to undertake stringent measures to curb a very high rate of domestic inflation. In so doing we have abolished subsidies of the most basic commodities and have sharply reduced public expenditure across the board. These measures, in their totality, naturally create additional burdens in the daily life of our people.

It is in this context that the Government of Israel submitted its request for additional aid from the United States. Given the objective facts, which I have described only in part, our submission for increased aid is most urgent and objectively unavoidable.

I therefore respectfully ask of you, Mr. President, to give your personal attention and support to this request, the fulfillment of which will help Israel through an exceptional period of economic strain arising, inter-alia, from the sacrifices we have made—and which we do not regret—for the sake of peace.

May I thank you in advance for addressing yourself to this, my appeal, on a matter so crucial and urgent. I venture the belief, Mr. President, that you will give it your sympathetic and positive consideration based upon your deep understanding of our problem and your friendship for Israel.

I cannot conclude this letter without reiterating the sentiment I expressed to you in my previous message of our profound feelings of identity, support and admiration for your steadfast courage and leadership in this time of trial as you work unsparingly for the speedy and safe return home of the American hostages in Iran.

Yours respectfully and sincerely,

Menachem Begin

Sincerely yours,

Ephraim Evron
Ambassador
  1. Source: Carter Library, Plains File, President’s Personal Foreign Affairs File, Box 2, Israel, 4/79–11/81. No classification marking. In the upper right-hand corner of the letter, Carter initialed “C,” indicating that he saw the document.
  2. Reference is to a short letter from Carter to Begin, dated December 6, and presented to the Prime Minister by Linowitz on December 11. Linowitz, Carter wrote, “has my complete confidence and will speak to you on my behalf and with full authority. “Now that we are halfway through the period for negotiating full autonomy for the West Bank and Gaza,” Carter continued, “I believe we should look forward, with our Egyptian partners, to demonstrable progress that can be made in the near future. We have set a difficult task for ourselves, but one that is vitally important for the security and future of your nation and for the prospects of a just and lasting peace throughout the region. I am fully committed to support this effort.” Carter concluded: “Your courage and determination to move the peace process forward is a source of inspiration to me. You again demonstrated your commitment in turning back the oil fields on schedule—an act of statesmanship that has not been adequately recognized.” A similar letter was prepared by Carter for Sadat. Both letters are in the Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, President’s Correspondence with Foreign Leaders File, Box 5, Egypt: President Anwar al-Sadat, 1–12/79)
  3. See Document 316.