ABSTRACT
In his nationwide television address on the Middle East, Ronald Reagan called for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in exchange for Arab recognition of the right of the Jewish state to exist within secure and recognized borders, consistent with Resolutions 242 and 338. The Reagan Plan represented a substantial contribution to the peace process. The plan represents the first and only outline of a comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East ever publicly proposed by any President. With Israel no longer able to take American support for granted, the Jewish state was unlikely to undertake military operations of questionable validity, such as its invasion of Lebanon, which risked further destabilizing the Middle East. Support for the Reagan Plan within the American Jewish community would provide the President the critical backing he needed to persuade Israel to make the political and territorial concessions required for peace.
