 to introduce to you the President of the United States. Thank you. The American women have the vision, the talent, and the determination to make great come along with women. 35 years ago, only a third of the adult women held jobs outside of the home. Today, Manchester reach for the stars and go as far as their God-given talents can take them. Women in the 80s are a diverse majority with varied interests and futures. Some seek these things. No role has ever seemed to have been closely guarded secrets up till now. Once after making a speech, a minister signed a historic Patrick, who was Ambassador to the United Nations, plays a crucial role to aid its enterprise. This committee is composed of high-level federal officials representing the various departments of agencies of federal government. I've charged that committee with making certain that in dealing about sex and example for private enterprise, a series of conferences like this one is the final part of our initiative for women business owners. In addition to this New York Conference, conferences for women in business or cases charging sex discrimination and employment, then did the last administration during a comfortable time. Let there be no doubt, this administration considers discrimination. Mr. President, the speaker has said this morning that you were responsible for the deaths of those Marines and that you were just looking for a speedboat when you blamed Congress last night. Everything in here is making more sense than that. I'll stay with that. Thank you very much. I know that you've been briefed here by some of our people. Do I know it? I wish I had heard them. It's always awful when you go on last. You think everything might have been said. I'm glad that Jim Sanders of our Small Business Administration can be here with us. I'm sure that many of you must come in the framework of those that he does business with. But I'm delighted to have a chance to spend these few minutes with you. And I'm so glad to see New York getting back to normal. Looks like the Michugan of political activity ended Tuesday. But back in the fall of 1980, I attended a rally that was held in the shadow of liberty, the Statue of Liberty. There were many ethnic groups there, all reminding us that were descendants from immigrants who came here looking for freedom and opportunity. And while our country has its flaws, and we still have some of them, the American dream was and is real. The first Jewish immigrants came to America nearly 330 years ago. 23 Jews sailed from Brazil, and after a harrowing journey, arrived in New Amsterdam in September of 1654. From that humble beginning, New York has been the port of entry, reaching out with open hands and an open heart to millions of Jewish immigrants. From the 1850s until the early 1890s, Jewish immigrants spent their first hours in America at Castle Garden, an immigration center on a small island that's close to the west side of the battery. Then in 1892, Ellis Island became synonymous with freedom to peoples all over the world. And then it was on to New York City, on Hester Street, Delancey, Houston, East Broadway, and then Williamsburg, Harlem, Prospect Park, and Brownsville in a short time. New York had the largest Jewish population of any city in the world. Fleeing the persecution and pogroms of antisemitism and totalitarian ideologies, Jewish immigrants came to America to make a new life. It has to be, or it was to be a voluntary compact among good and decent people living together in freedom, respecting the rights of others, and expecting that their rights would be respected in return. And here in New York, we see the America that is America. Yesterday's immigrants are today scholars, shopkeepers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and doctors. Through perseverance and hard work, New York's Jewish community has made the greater New York area a religious and cultural center of Jewish life. There's no place like New York, and this great city owes much of its success to its talented Jewish community. New York's neighborhoods are full of life and vitality, and that neighborhood spirit is what makes cities worth living in, what keeps faith with the fine traditions of the past while enabling us to build the future with confidence. The strength of New York depends on the strength of Flatbush, Borough Park, New Garden Hills, Regal Park, and a hundred other neighborhoods. It's up to all of us to make sure that our neighborhoods offer a healthy family environment, excellence in education, and safety on the streets with drugs and crime off the streets. From the earliest days, New York's Jewish community invested its heart and soul in an extensive network of community organizations, Jewish hospitals, family services and community relations councils, charity organizations, and cultural centers like the 92nd Street Y reflect your commitment to your fellow citizens. This tradition continues with voluntary programs like Project Dorot, Generations Helping Generations, where young volunteers visit and provide care for the elderly. To promote this spirit, a HUD grant will be used by the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies to help make New York's neighborhoods an even better place to live. The American dream was real because American Jews helped build that dream by giving life to the bedrock values that make us a good and a worthy people. I'm talking about principles that begin with the sacred worth of human life, religious faith, community spirit, family, and the responsibility of parents and schools to be teachers of tolerance, hard work, cooperation, and love. The values you cherish are the key to a prosperous and stable environment for your family and your children. But for too many years, crime and the fear of crime have stalked many of our neighborhoods, robbing them of their strength and security. Well, common sense is beginning to pay off. People are banding together and working with law enforcement officers in your neighborhoods, and we've seen the rate of violent crime in New York falling for some time now. But we still face great challenges. The scales of criminal justice are still tilted toward protecting the rights of criminals. I think it's high time we restore a proper balance by doing more to protect our law-abiding citizens but criminals behind bars. You know, lenient judges are only lenient on criminals. They're very hard on society. We're cracking down on habitual criminals, organized crime, and the drug pushers. Federal task forces are stepping up the pressure. And our administration is working hard to get congressional passage of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act, the most important anti-crime legislation in more than a decade. It's passed the Senate. It's still bottled up in the House. If you'd like to write your congressman, I wouldn't be at all offended. When it comes to keeping our people safe in their homes and in their neighborhoods, there should be no Republicans or Democrats, only Americans, working for the common good. Later this month, we will reaffirm our belief in the most meaningful truths of our Judeo-Christian heritage through the celebration of Passover and Easter. The celebration of Passover commemorates the freeing of the Jewish people from the yoke of bondage and their exodus to freedom. But even as we celebrate liberty, we continue to bear witness to the lingering darkness of persecution and anti-Semitism. We must and we will support Jews in their struggle for human dignity and religious freedom. Too many of you were doing something that we all of us did for some persecuted prisoners of war in a faraway Asian country, not too many years ago. And I think until justice is done, we should keep on now wearing these same kind of bracelets for those who are being persecuted. And let's not kid ourselves about something else. The so-called anti-Zionism that we hear in the United Nations is just another mask in some quarters for vicious anti-Semitism. And that's something the United States will not tolerate. Wherever it is and no matter how subtle it may be, Ambassador Jean Kirkpatrick has my explicit instructions. If Israel is ever forced to walk out of the United Nations, the United States and Israel will walk out together. Israel and the United States are bound together by the ties of family, friendship, shared ideals and mutual interests. And I'm very proud that since we took office, the U.S.-Israeli relationship has grown much closer. For the first time in history, our strategic relationship has been elevated and formalized. But that's why I must warn you, if we follow those who would cripple America's defense rebuilding program, we will undermine our own security and the security of our closest friends like Israel. And I'm not prepared to let that happen. On another front, we're now working to establish a free trade area between the United States and Israel. And this will usher in a new era of closer economic relations. Finally, the United States will now be giving Israel military aid on a grant, not a loan basis. And this will ensure that Israel maintains its qualitative edge. The friendship between Israel and the United States is closer and stronger today than ever before. And I intend to keep it that way. I want to add one more thing. Let no one tell you that your support for Israel and your efforts on behalf of Soviet Jews are special interest politics. All Americans have the right and obligation to speak out on issues that are important to them. And in closing, I wish that I were more of a linguist than I am, because I want to wish everyone a kosher and a freelic paycheck. Excuse me, Mr. President. I just asked the President if he would agree to take a few questions and he has agreed. Mr. Morris Abrams? Yes. Mr. Israel, but I think we are also deeply interested, as you are, in the civic unity in the United States in the absence of intolerance. It is in that vein. Operation the Free Trade Zone, which was the result of your meetings last November with the Prime Minister of Israel, we understand that the strategic cooperation talks are going along as are the Free Trade Zone. Since Free Trade Zone will require the passage through the Congress, will this be made a priority item of the administration and pushed through properly? Oh yes, yes. We are very serious about this. And I am very optimistic about it going through. All right. Mr. Schumfeld, I watched your last slide of the press conference and your comments about, you know, saying, interestingly, there is simply some hope that you have that it still might come around. Is that a pious hope, or is it based on some real belief that it will come around to the negotiations? That the King will... We have to continue to hope for that. It is the only answer. So for example, all of them needed, but Israel cannot go on living as an armed camp, which it is. The proportion of their military defenses out of all proportion to their size. And the answer is for more Arab nations to follow the lead of Sadat of Egypt when he brought peace between them. And what we are trying to do, and sometimes we have to be a little persuasive with our Israeli friends and convince them that such things as AWACS for Saudi Arabia and so forth, that if we are to be able to persuade and act as an intermediary, we have no intention of ever trying to dictate what the settlement will be. That is to be negotiated out between them. But we have to be seen as fair and even-handed to get them to trust us enough to come in and forsake that statement that while none of them have stated it recently, they still have never recanted their statement of denial that Israel has a right to exist as a nation. And I just have to believe that there is enough desire for peace among the people of the Middle East that we can hope for this. Some of the rhetoric that we've heard I think is a little exaggerated. I still have confidence that King Hussein, he's greatly concerned about the neighbor to his north, Syria, and all of them have reason to be concerned about Syria because Syria is their bent on becoming the top force in the whole of the Middle East. And as you know, there have been five wars between Israel and Syria, and the great fount of hatred for Israel seems to be in Syria. Well, there and then... Sir, at a recent meeting of the trilateral commission of Secretary of State Schultz, spoke of more forceful action against terrorism, and also made some remarks about state-supported terrorism. Yes, what he was talking about is something we've been meeting and talking about very seriously. Terrorism is a different form of warfare, and it's a very vicious form of warfare, and it's almost impossible to guard against. But now we're seeing evidence that from several sources this is state-inspired. This isn't a little band of radicals out there on their own defying their own country's laws. These are governments supported and practicing a strategic plan on behalf of some governments. What we're all trying to deal with and with our allies is, first of all, how can we guard against? How can we, if possible, learn in advance and be prepared and forewarned of some of these attacks, but also, then, to have the intelligence capability, since it is state-supported, to be able to retaliate and so that they cannot get away with it. Now, I will give away one thing here. When our Marines were so tragically slaughtered in Beirut, we set out to try and determine it isn't good to just retaliate against someone, then you're as bad as the terrorists. We set out to see if we could locate the source, where they came from, and then retaliate directly there. You might be interested to know that just about the time that we were getting sure that we'd located it, Israel took it out with its planes, and we didn't get a chance to retaliate. It was done for us. Their intelligence worked evidently a little faster than ours. Yes, and then I'll come over there to you. I think we have a misunderstanding. We're very grateful for where your heart is, your constant support of Israel. All of us are. But I think there's a problem in the Middle East, as you said, about the Arab leaders going the way of Sadat. I think they're a little scared to go the way of Sadat, not unfoundedly with Dr. Sartawi and Sadat and the whole mess of people. The threat to them doesn't come from Israel. We know that. It comes from each other. I think all the AWACS and stingers and so on that we give them or sell them isn't going to prevent them from being afraid of being rubbed out by their Arab neighbors' gangline style. And I'm a little nervous, also, because when we have had faith in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, the weapons that they get from us that they're supposed to use against the Soviets aren't anywhere near the Soviet invading area. They're right in Saudi Arabia, near the Israeli border. It's not a very good situation. And since King Hussein begged us, please not to meddle, why do we insist on putting him in a seat that he doesn't want to be in? Well, no. We've had, he and I have had talks on this. And he was, he believed and knew that he was in a position to take the lead in this negotiating. Now, on the other hand, what you're saying and the threats, there's no question that Syria threatens the more moderate states. I think that, I think there is a genuine desire in the part of the moderate Arab states to join in this peace operation. This is a place where maybe we are going to have to see how far we can go in reassuring them. But the type of threat they get from Syria is not only direct from Syria. Every one of those moderate Arab states has large segments of its population that are radicalized, that are fundamentalists and sympathetic to the things that the Homeini is saying about an Islamic holy war. And all of them are looking over their shoulder because the threat would not so much be of a state like Syria taking the action itself, but of stirring up and causing the internal dissension within each one of their own countries. And we just have to keep working until together we can find some unity in which they will recognize that we're strong enough together to hold out against that. But that is one of their great problems, fear, not a lack of desire for peace. They hesitate to be the first. Egypt was big enough, Egypt was big enough to say we're going to do it. But we just, we have to keep working on this until we can bring them together in a coalition. In his remarks, Mr. McFarland said that with the withdrawal of our Marines we encouraged terrorism. And yet when we speak about the possibility of moving our embassy to Jerusalem, the answer we get is that this would perhaps incite a wave of terrorism against our embassies, wherever they exist. So I'm wondering whether the first attitude is the correct one or the second. That is, are we going to bow to terrorism or are we going to show that we intend to do what we think is right that we should do it? Well, I think Mr. McFarland was right in saying that this could be a result of that. But I think there is another consideration with regard to the embassy. We may, maybe I let you ask one question too many, we may not be in agreement on this answer. I have to say that I think that if we are to have a chance for legitimate peace negotiations, that this is one of the issues deeply felt on both sides that must be subject to the negotiation. And I think it would be self-defeating for us to take an action that made it appear as if we were attempting to affect the negotiations in advance. We must be an intermediary standing by to help in the negotiations, such as started in the Camp David process. That's what we're trying to continue. But for us to take an action that would look as if we were kind of taking size in the matters that have to be negotiated, I think that could render us pretty helpless to be an intermediary. I'll take it, what? You have to go, Mr. President, you're far more important. Thank you very much. Thank you. Let me, I didn't, it's a good thing, oh wait a minute, I want to tell you something. I just want to end leaving now. I just want to tell you this whole world of diplomacy just recently in Washington, the state dining room, I participated in what could have been a diplomatic crisis. President met around to France and his wife were there and as we followed everyone else into the state dining room, everyone standing around at the tables and Nancy and the president turned to go over here to where they would be at their table and Mrs. Mete around ahead of me to go through all the tables to the other side of the room and she suddenly stopped and the butler ahead of it was motioning to come on and she said something very quietly over her shoulder to me in French which I did not understand and so I said no we go on and I was motioning past her and she stood there very calmly and repeated over her shoulder in French something. The interpreter hadn't caught up with us and about that time the interpreter caught up. She was telling me I was standing on her gown. Mrs. Reagan, accompanied by Archbishop O'Connor. We place ourselves in the pressure order to make your presence among us, your children, this gift of life to a new generation. They call their children by our state federation of Catholic school parents. For 10 years we have been in baptism. Heavenly Father, make him faithful, courageous, and holy. We ask your blessing on our nation and the spirit in the name of your son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. I've lived in a company with protocol diverse. But then my group, so you sort it out in the name of the right title, and most of all, Reverend parents. According to the survey we took about 600 of 1100 Catholic elementary and secondary schools, Catholic Home School Association. Now, 10 years later. Describe some of those opportunities we may live in the United States. Our city of New York State symbolizes America. It's togetherness, it's openness, it's opportunity, it's hope. I think we're aware that he does the thousands and thousands of children who are in this coalition within the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania. But our Bishop will soon be preserved. Mayor James Barrett McNulty, who's no amateur himself, called the Archbishop the best politician I've ever seen. So I intend to warn the mayor to be careful. Finally, however, the day came he passed on with better life. Wasn't him in very long before St. Peter had told him that newcomers there were expected to sort of bring the others there up to date. On the 26th of 1981, he had far from solving anything. All this government only had a problem with my changing man's material environment we could. So they favored gigantic government programs and social engineering. In their view, the solutions to America's problems were no longer in their homes, for churches, for schools. My strongest efforts on its behalf. I quoted from a Scottish ballot when we were defeated on that. The ballot goes, I am wounded, but I am not slain. I will rest a bit and fight again. One of your children. So you can see that in the very time that the cost of raising the price of the state of the alive concern for our fellow man, extraordinary acts of charity and mercy, this is our heritage as Americans. The stronger efforts to combat child abduction and child exploitation. Only the Justice Department will sign a $3.3 million grant to create a national center for missing and exploited children. And give technical assistance to local law enforcement by reading this inscription. government could inspire his countrymen with his dedication to his church, devotion to his swamp, and service to his country. As a military man, he preached the love of country and championed the cause of human freedom. He will live in the memory of his country. As a man, he will be most above all of New York, the husband. We thank you for the gift of children while the future of society, honesty, and integrity, this gift of life, this gift of life. In our cells we have a grateful prayer, loving Father, through Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.