Reagan to See Jewish Leaders, Push Saudi Sale

President Reagan is planning to meet with Jewish leaders next week in an attempt to defuse their opposition to his proposed $354-million arms sale to Saudi Arabia, White House officials said Thursday.

While officials hold out little hope of winning Jewish support for the sale, they believe that Reagan can make the case that progress toward peace in the Middle East is dependent upon his ability to deal with moderate Arab countries. And they would like a chance to persuade Jewish leaders that senators who favor the arms shipment do not have less of a commitment to Israel.

“It might be helpful if it were made more public that this is an issue that honest friends of Israel can differ on--and not a political firing-squad issue,” said Mitchell E. Daniels, assistant to the President for political and intergovernmental affairs.

Needs 9 GOP Votes

Reagan must switch nine Republican votes to reverse last week’s Senate action blocking the sale. In two separate lobbying sessions Tuesday, a number of senators told Reagan that they fear political reprisal from powerful Jewish groups if they change their position and support him.

“They’re afraid if they cast their votes for the sale, they’re marked men,” a White House aide said.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State George P. Shultz, speaking to the American Jewish Committee Thursday night, said, “Let me inject something at this point that some of you may not want to hear.” He affirmed “America’s need to support--under carefully limited conditions--Saudi Arabia’s effort to defend the Persian Gulf. The danger there is real.

“If Khomeinism advances into that area, America’s strategic interests will be harmed--and, needless to say, so will Israel’s,” Shultz added. “But, if America cannot demonstrate that we are a constant, effective, strong and responsive presence in the Middle East, those with the best of inclinations inevitably will make their accommodations with those who bear the worst intentions toward us.”

Haven’t Lobbied Hard

Although Jewish groups have not lobbied aggressively against the arms sale, their opposition is well known and is regarded as a major stumbling block in Reagan’s effort to win passage of the arms package.

Invitations to meet with Reagan were going out late Thursday and today. An official involved in the process said he expected that those invited would be “a little uneasy” but that they would accept “out of respect for the President.”

A White House official said that Reagan has made modest progress as a result of his lobbying but that victory is not in sight. “We’ve picked up some, but we’re still short of the goal line,” he said.

A sampling of opinion in the Jewish community indicated no change of heart. Rabbi Marc Tannenbaum, director of international relations for the American Jewish Committee, said that unless Reagan makes “some startling revelations, one ought not expect a turnaround by the Jewish community.”

Support Not Expected

A spokesman for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee predicted that while Jewish leaders might accept Reagan’s invitation to the White House, they would not support his request to sell arms to the Saudis.

If Reagan should fail to win Senate acceptance for the sale, officials predicted dire consequences for the Administration’s credibility among moderate Arab nations. “Clearly, countries in the Middle East would wonder whether the President of the United States was able to deliver on commitments he makes,” one said. “You have to have a relationship with Arabs as well as Israelis if you want to get something done over there.”

Times staff writers Norman Kempster and Don Shannon contributed to this story.