Jewish Leaders Back Shultz Mission

President Reagan met with a group of Republican Jewish leaders at the White House on Tuesday, and a spokesman for the group later expressed support for Secretary of State George P. Shultz’s Middle East peace mission.

The Reagan meeting, which lasted about 10 minutes, was described by one of the group as “a photo opportunity” that steered clear of any specific discussion about the Middle East.

Later, however, Richard Fox, chairman of the National Jewish Coalition, said the group supported Shultz’s peace mission last week. When asked whether Israel should exchange some of the territory it holds for peace, he replied only that “Israel should do what it has to do to achieve peace and maintain security.”

He declined to either endorse or criticize Israeli efforts to quell the violence in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, saying, “I’m not on the ground” there. But, he said, “I think the Israeli government has the responsibility to maintain law and order.”