For Arabs:

The leaders of the two largest and most visible Arab American organizations have lashed out at the new cooperative measures between the U.S. and Israel that were recently agreed to by President Reagan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.

Robert Joseph, president of the National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA), said that the U.S. "has vital national interests in the Middle East beyond Israel. Those interests were severely damaged, not strengthened, by these agreements which are extremely unfair to our important Arab allies." He argued that the U.S. "got absolutely nothing" under the agreements, whereas Israel was promised increased aid and other benefits.

James Abourezk, chairman of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), was also sharply critical of the agreements and of President Reagan. He said that Mr. Reagan "didn't make these agreements because the U.S. needed them. He did it because of the coming elections in 1984." Mr. Abourezk, a former U.S. Senator from South Dakota, made the charges in a speech November 29 before an estimated 275 people who met in Washington to commemorate the international day of solidarity with the Palestinians, proclaimed by the United Nations in 1977. It was on that day in 1947 that the U.N. voted to establish a Jewish state by partitioning Palestine.

The commemoration was co-sponsored by ADC and the Association of Arab-American University Graduates. Other speakers included Clovis Maksoud, the Arab League's chief representative to the U.S. and its observer at the U.N. and Hassan Abdul Rahman, the director of the Palestine Information Office in Washington. In his remarks, Mr. Abdul Rahman defended Yasser Arafat's leadership of the Palestinian nationalist movement, saying that "only the Palestinians can decide the future of the PLO and Yasser Arafat, not President Hafez al-Assad of Syria or Muammar Qadhafi of Libya." ADC officials also read statements by several Congressmen and by Democratic presidential candidates Jesse Jackson and George McGovern, both of whom spoke of the Palestinians' right to "self-determination."

Meanwhile, three Congressmen recently concluded a visit to Jordan and the Israeli occupied West Bank that was arranged by the NAAA and financed by the World Affairs Council of Amman. Participants were John Erlenborn (R-Ill.), Howard Nielson (R-Utah) and Nick J. Rahall (D-W.Va.). The group met with King Hussein and Crown Prince Hassan, among others. NAAA spokesman Ronald Cathell said that similar trips were being planned for early next year.

For Israel:

A report advocating stepped-up military medical cooperation between the U.S. and Israel was released by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) at the same time that Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir was in Washington in late November seeking U.S. cooperation on a broad range of political and military matters. Some of the report's recommendations—such as the pre-positioning of U.S. supplies in Israel—matched provisions that were contained in the final agreement between President Reagan and Prime Minister Shamir for enhancing strategic cooperation between their two countries.

The thrust of the 19-page report, titled "Israeli Medical Support for the U.S. Armed Forces," was that the U.S. could not provide adequate medical care for its forces if they became involved in a major war in the Middle East. Author Stephen P. Glick, identified as a military analyst and author on defense issues, argued that the U.S., even with help from NATO allies, would face a shortage of medical facilities and personnel, as well as evacuation aircraft. His proposed solution included advance contingency planning between the U.S. and Israel and storing American medical supplies in Israel.

The report's release came at a time of continuing accusations by some pro-Israel groups and Congressmen that political considerations may have led the U.S. to decline Israel's offer of medical assistance during the bombing of the marine compound in Lebanon October 23. A House Armed Services subcommittee is investigating charges by four Democratic Congressmen that "grotesque political considerations" may have prompted the U.S. decision not to accept Israeli help. Speculation over motives was touched off just two days after the bombing, when a Pentagon official was quoted as saying that the U.S. did not accept the offer because doing so would have "infuriated the Arabs."

Congressman Robert J. Mrazek (D-N.Y.) has requested a "full explanation" into the matter in a letter to Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger that was signed by 113 other House members. By early December Mr. Mrazek had not received a reply to the letter, dated November 11.

An ironic twist to the whole affair is that although Jewish Americans and some Congressmen continue to suspect political motivations, senior Israeli officials, as early as one week after the bombing, were telling reporters that they were "fully satisfied" that the U.S. decision was not taken "at the political level."