Friday, Illevembar 6, 1470-33

Israeli Describes Life in Territories

THE DETROIT JEWISH NM

Military Govt. Seeking to Bridge a Gap

Take it Take it' 1" she said our existence. We aren't blood-
knowing that a Jordanian *flier thirsty; we try to behave like hu-
would have taken it. But I waittett man beings toward human beings."
to pay her, and I Insisted on pay-
ing her.
"We're playing the role of an
Jaine Roman
occupying army, but It is a hu-
Folk Singer & Guitarist
mane and liberal occupation. As
Weddings, Bar Mitzva's
intellectuals, we should ask our-
all Happy Occasions
selves, what is the reason for
this occupation and what kind is
BE 7-14U
it? We were forced to fight for

"Whoa Israelis discuss it,
they think el a Palestine formed
out of the territories. Of course,
the initiative for such a state
should came from the Arabs
themselves. The bask thing is
to keep the Jewish identity of
IsraeL We need two states—
Israel and a Palestine famed
out of Jordan and Tranidardan.
It's no good to have a third
state between Jordan and Is-
rael."
Shashar views the Jordan River
as theide
"security border,"
t *.
but he
that "political and
securi
titularies needn't be
identicaL
'The fact that we have a few
settlements \ in the administered
territories doesn't mean we will
annex those territories," he said,
referring to such Jewish enclaves
as that in Hebron, on the West
Bank.
"Let's assume," he continued,
"that Hussein—or Arafat (the
guerrilla leader)—'wanted to sign
a peace treaty tomorrow. Must
Hebron be a part of Israel? I
don't think so. The Jordan River
will be our security border so
Jerusalem will be protected.
But should Hebron belong one
day to a Palestine state, "why can't
there be a Jewish community
there? Why can't there be a situa-
tion for Jews in Arab countries
like the Israeli Arabs have as
equal citizens in the state of
Israel?"
Shashar saw no comparison with
the situation in the Golan Heights
"because there are hardly any
Arabs remaining there."
A journalist (formerly with
Haaretz) and author, Shashar is
keeping a diary on his experiences
since the war, with the intention
of writing a book.
He views the Israeli poliey on
censorship as liberal, limited
solely to the area of security.
'nip policy also applies to the
Arab daily El Hutt, published
by former Jordanian Arabs in
East Jerusalem. "The editor is
politically freer to express his
The Quiet Tourist:
views than he was as an editor
under the Arabs," Shashar con-
tends. "He can't encourage
Arab citizens to join El Fatah,
Hy a Special Correspondent NePre- I 16,000 visitors crossed the bridges.
but he can insist on Israel's
Jerusalem Institute
milting
alem
ule
for
later.
They
came
from
Jordan,
Egypt,
withdrawal." With a readership
national
Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Ku-
In the past three years, a new wait and Europe. In 1969, the num- of 15,000, El Huts has wide
opportunity has provided an added ber had risen to 26,000 and by 1970 circulation in the territories.
The other Arab paper, El Anba,
dimension to the relations between the figure jumped 100 per cent to
Arabs and Israelis—the promotion over 52,000 visitors. It became ob- published for Arabs by Oriental
Jews,
doesn't present a problem,
of personal contacts and the de- vious that the security risks were
velopment of new awareness on minimal, and plans are now in and, in fact, "sometimes there
are
more
anti-government articles
the part of both peoples, who for
in the Hebrew papers."
20 years have lived in their own progress for the 1971 season.
Shashar can list many successes
The human benefits of this un-
separate worlds nurturing mis-
guided conceptions regarding each usual program are heartening. in the administered areas (he is
other. Known as the "Open Bridge Separated families are reunited. careful to avoid the word "oc-
Policy," Israel decided in the sum- There are economic gains as well. cupied"), notably the resumption
mer of 1967 to enable Arabs to Above all, the visiting Arabs travel of a normal daily life. He listed
renew the contact between those extensively in Israeli cities and the increase in agricultural out-
living in Israeli administered ter- villages. They flock to the Natanya put—three times higher than it
ritories and those in the neighbor- and Nahariya beaches, to the Tel was before the war; the open
Aviv Zoo. Student groups are borders, which allow some 30,000
ing Arab states.
Fruits and vegetables went first shown the Israeli Parliament in Arab laborers to cross daily into
across the River Jordan bridges, Jerusalem It has now become a Israel—and get the same pay for
individuals crossed next and finally regular sight in Israel to see Arab the same work.
Shashar acknowledged that
a "Visit the West Bank" program buses carrying visitors on the roads
was inaugurated to enable Arabs from Hebron and Bethlehem, Jeri- some Israelis may be violating the
rules
and hiring Arab workers at
to travel to the West Bank and cho and Gaza to Haifa, Beersheba
Gaza. In 1968 it was decided- to and N'arareth. They mingle freely lower wages, but he said such
permit relatives and friends - of .with Israelis and overseas tourists. cases are "marginal." Although
West Bank and Gaza residents to
They see how Israel permits the the Arabs are not Israel citizens
visit them for a period of one to over 1,000,000 Arabs under its and thus cannot join Iiistadrut,
three months in the summer. This rule to maintain their own identity the Israel Labor Federation keeps
was also done to permit students and retain contact with their breth- a dose watch against infractions,
enrolled in Arab, European and ren across the lines. Slowly it he said.
Shashar also takes pride in the
even American universities to dawns on them that Israelis re-
spend their summer vacation at spect the Arab way of life and hope fact that some 50,000 tourists from
home if they hailed from the terri- that their own will be seen, under- Arab lands visited families and
tories and for other relatives sim- stood and respected by the Arabs friends in the territories this sum-
mer. (See story at left.)
ply to be reunited with their faini- too.
For Shashar, this is hardly an
lies.
The experience of three years office job. He gets into all the
The procedure was made simple of summer visits has been a highly
areas—from
the West Bank to
and red tape all but eliminated. An rewarding one. Unconsciously, re-
application filed with the authori- turning Arabs tell their families the Gaza Strip—and has daily
contact
with
the
local populations.
ties was quickly Processed and and friends what they have seen
"One day after the war " he
approved. Word was sent across at home and of their travels in
said,
"I
was
tithing
toward He-
the river to waiting relatives and IsraeL
bron, when I saw a group of
friends. When they arrived at the
Arab
women
selling
fruits and
bridge, a stamp was affixed to The very >fact that they were
vegetables on the side of the
their passports and they soon pro- able to come, to see and to return
ceeded by taxi or bus to Jericho, speaks for . itself. UnithowinglY. road. I jumped out' of and car
Jerusalem,. Ratnallah, Nablus and they become good will ambassa- and asked to buy a kilo . at
other towns and villages. dors for Middle East understanding tomatoes.
"The woman was frightened.
During „tyro ...summer of 1968, and peace.

By CHARLOTTE DUBIN
Propagandists have depicted in
most unflattering terms—includ-
ing charges of torture—the , army
that watches over some 900,000
Arabs in territories controlled by
Israel since the Six-Day War.
Yet this "huge" military ad-
ministration staff consists of no
more than 500 Israelis, it permits
a free-wheeling Arab newspaper
to print criticism of the govern-
ment (including advocating its
withdrawal from the, territories),
it imposes no travel restrictions
or curfews, and its spokesman is
trying to get the Arabs to change
their attitudes—not by force but
by extending a hand in friendship.
Michael Shashar, who has been
that Spokesman since the Six-Day
War, isn't kid diiig himself, much
less anyone else, Into thinking that
Arabs within the territories are
getting used to Israeli controL
"They'll admit in private
chats that things are better,"
he said in an interview here,
"but they aren't at all "happy
with the political situation.
There's a dear distinction be-
tween the political aspect and
the practical aspect of daily life.
A mayor can be anti-Israel, but
he can still ask for a govern-
ment loan. We don't expect pro-
Israel statements from them."
As for the charges of torture
of Arab prisoners in Israeli jails:
"The Red Cross can visit and talk
to anyone. We wish the Arabs
would treat their own prisoners as
well as we treat Fatah prisoners."
Shashar said there are 2,000
Arabs in Israeli jails—all of them
convicted of crimes of violence,
none of them political prisoners.
"Actually, as a result of Arab
terrorism," Shashar added, "there
are many more Arab victims than
Israelis." So far, however, ter-
rorists have not succeeded in dis-
rupting civic life. "From the mili-
tary point of view, their achieve-
ments have been marginal, and
there is no efficient underground,

although there are occasional inci-
dents."
Although Israel permits capital
Punishment, the sentence has not
been implemented, and -the maxi-
mum to date is life imprisonment.
There are two legal frameworks—
the civil, Arab, courts, whose
judges remained after the war,
and the military courts, whose
Israeli judges deal solely with
security crimes. Like the Arab
judges, policemen are from the
native population.
Shashar admitted that be
cannot aearuat for what may
be taught la the schools, despite
the reprinting of textbooks aid
deletion of anti-Israel, mil-
Jewish passages. The curriculum
- - and the teachers—remain. He
shrugged. "Of course,' there is
still hatred, but we mast be
realistic."
Shashar was in Detroit for
three days on a month-long tour
of American cities. On Tuesday, he
discussed ' coexistence between
Arab and Israeli before a group
of students at Wayne State Uni-
versity.
'The Arab students' main con-
cern seemed to be the argument
for substituting a 'democratic, se-
cular state' for the state of Israel.
My answer to them was, we know
what sort of 'democracies' the
Arabs have. And I told them we
cannot accept their offer to let
us live as a minority in a secular
state. It must remain a Jewish
state."
With The Jewish News, Shashar
explored the mounting controversy
over the issue of a Palestinian
state. "What does it mean? Many
Arabs talk of it, and many Israelis
talk of it. But when Arabs raise
the issue, they speak of a Pales-
tine that includes Tel Aviv and
Haifa. They want only the disap-
pearance of Israel. So far, I
haven't talked to any Arabs who
think of the West Bank (of Jor-
dan) as a possible Palestinian
state.

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