Purely Commentary

Palestinians: a Definition and a Hope for

Peace

HOW serious N the issue revolving around demands relating to
Arabs referred to as - Pa lestimans"^ Who are the Palestinians? The
American ten ish Committee's Israel office has issued an explanatory
report on the Palestinian problem which confuses some. which has
been either distorted or magnified .
It is pointed out that 'any observer. on the West Bank or else-
where. is struck by the enormous gap between the Palestinians and
other Ara!, -a gap mit only in political. economic or educational level,
but in life style. temperament and emotions. The Palestinians them-
set , : es say they are hated in most Arab countries and subjected to
su..-eillance, discrimination, even bloodletting."
The Palestinians are described as "Arabs who once lived or whosn
parents lived) in Palestine under the British mandate. More than
370.000 are citizens of Israel Others are natives of what are now the
occupied territories, the rest originally lived in what is now Israel and
fled when the Jewish state was established in 1948 Today, the Pales-
tinians arc mostly concentrated on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
with the rest in Jordan or scattered in other Arab countries."

The Israeli reporter for the American Jewish Committee then
proceeds to indicate that "their isolation is well illustrated in a short
story, 'Palestinian', by Samira 'Azzam, a gifted Arab writer who
originally came from Jaffa, lived in Iraq and Lebanon after 1948
and died in 1967. 'Palestinian' was published in a Beirut literary
magazine in 1964. In the story, a refugee from Galilee saves his money
and becomes a fairly successful grocer in Beirut, but is never per-
mitted to forget his refugee status. No one even addresses him by
his name (the reader never learns it he is simply called 'Pales-
tinian'. Desperate to prove himself a person, he decides to become a
Lebanese citizen with a Lebanese identity card. When an opportunity
arises to buy such a card, he pays for it with all his savings—only to
find that it is forged."

If there is ',Amon it certainly is not traceable in Jew ish accounts
of the Palestinians' roles. The AJComrtuttee statement asserts that
"many Palestinians live with an identity not chosen by them but imposed
by other Arabs and reinforced by the resulting frustrations. In Beirut
or Baghdad, Damascus or Cairo. Nablus or Hebron. a Palestinian can-
not he anything but a Palestinian."
The definitive statement adds that "to understand this situation.
we must reme , rber that Arabs are desperate in many ways. True.
they all speak Arabic. but in dozens of dialects, often unintelligible to
one another. There are Christian Arabs and Moslem Arabs. They share
a cultural tradition, but there are wide local and historical differences_
In this welter of peculiarities, the Palestinians are especially peculiar;
they alone have no na,ional state.
Thus, the Jewish definition of these Arabs is realistic, factual.
does not hide or distort truths. It recognizes that "there is no end
in sight for the vicious circle of ill treatment and distrust. though King
Hussein's recent proposals for a semi-autonomous state must be seen
at least in part as an effort to placate the Palestinians " Fully to under-
stand the "Palestinian status. the 1.1Committee report adds the follow-

in: to its analysis

'Sot surprisingly, the Palestinian dined, while their rhetoric esca-
refugees harbor mutually contra- fat ed.
(In one hand.
dictory attitudes.
As the Arab states began to re-
lacking a separate national iden-
cover from the trauma of defeat,
tity, they have become highly vocal with Egypt embarking on a "war
pan-Arab nationalists, in the hope
of attrition" against Israel, the
that a unified Arab nation will guerrillas' stock began to slide. As
bring them acceptance as equals early as ,1969, Egypt barred them
and invasion of Israel. On the from using her broadcasting equip-
other hand. being, at best, tolerated ment. In September 1970, Jordan
guests in %rab nations, and deni- clamped down and proceeded to
grated for "deserting the battle wipe them out. Then Lebanon and
field," they have come to think Syria decided to watch and curb
in terms of a separate Palestin- them (though the renewed clashes'
ian identity. And this separatist this February show that this effort
viewpoint is shared by many who has not been kept up).
remained in their homes, espe• the various tentative approaches
daily on the Nest Bank and in to a peaceful settlement with Is-
the Gaza Strip.
rael, including the Jarring Mission
Of these two ideologies, sep. and the Rogers Plan, have under-
aratism steadily gained ground cut the guerrillas' hopes, which
among the Palestinians between hinge on renewed war.
1948 and 1967—the very years
Today. Palestinians speak and
when other Arabs. who did have write freely of other Arabs' per-
a national identity, were turning to sonal and political hostility. But
pan-Arabism. The 1967 defeat Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have
deepened the estrangement. The never lost much love on their
Arab man in the street knew per- Egyptian "protectors"; the rela-
fectly well that the Palestine prob- tively educated urban dwellers on
lem with its ramifications underlay the West Bank bitterly resented
the Six-Day War, and that guer- the tyranny of King Hussein and
rilla attacks on Israel had set off what they call his army of "primi-
the chain of events that ended in tive Bedouins"; in many
Arab

.
Palestinians Defined .
Official Religious Events
Defile Separation Ideals

By Philip

StOMOViti

1

he viewed as hopeless Arabs who live side by - side with Israelis may
already have learned the necessity for cooperative living. They also
must assist in every possible peace plan for all conc'erned. Palestinians
more than all others already are on speaking terms with Israelis.
Perhaps this is the beginning of an endless face-to-face confrontatibn
that w ill lead to an end to wars.

Hertz Pentateuch in Reform Service

Revolutionary changes have taken place in synagogue worship.
Conservative, and even some Orthodox, synagogues have introduced
responsive readings in English: Reform temples are using more Mid
more
Hebrew.
j
An especially interesting trend in Reform leanings toward the
that
announcement
traditional is indicated in Detroit Temple Beth El's
the Hertz Pentateuch will henceforth be used "to make the Torah
service more meaningful to worshipers by enabling them to follow

both the Hebrew and English of the Bible portions being read from

pulpit."

the

1

The Hertz Pentateuch contains the Five Books of Moses and the
Haftorot read during the entire year. It is the Bible used in nearly till
Conservative synagogues and by many Orthodox congregations—the
editor of this immense work having been the late British Chief Rabbi
Dr. Joseph H. Hertz. The Hertz Pentateuch is replete with commen-
taries and contains the Jewish Publication Society translation of the
Five Books of Moses—the most acceptable text that was used when
Dr. Hertz published his Pentateuch commentaries and the complete
Bible and Haftorot in 1937.
The new trend toward traditionalism is especially interesting
because it has become difficult to imbue youth with Torah knowledge.
In a survey that was conducted in suburban Detroit schools recently,
during planning for introduction of Hebrew and Judaic studies, the
researchers reported that there was almost unanimous rejection pf
any proposal for Bible studies. If youth can be induced to take an
occasional look into the large Hertz Pentateuch volume, the attitudes
of negation might change. The Beth El move toward use of the He0.z
texts, which appears to us to be revolutionary, may contribute poSi-
lively toward a more receptive sentiment from youth toward their
people's great scriptural treasures. 1

Separation Idea and Official Prayer Sessions

Separation of church and state is a very serious matter and the
established American principle must be protected. Yet, it is often
abused. There are religious practices in many schools. Sectarianism
is in evidence all too often. and the procedure of holding prayer break-
fasts that was introduced by Governor George Romney and is con-
tinued by Governor William Milliken add to the abuse of the separa-
tion idea
If breakfasts of this sort, which bring together people of all faitlis..
cannot be conducted on a nonsectarian basis, they should not be
held at all
The fact is that such sessions are inevitably Christian in charactLr
and they therefore prevent fullest Jewish participation. Seldom do tie
sponsors of such events limit the programs to the Old Testame t
(Torah , texts which are common in usage by all religious faiths
In the best interests of the Separation idea and the basic Americ n
principles, it would he better not to sponsor official religious functio is
at all. under any circumstances.
,
•
II

Kahane Gets What He Wants: Notoriety

Another pack of nonsense has emanated from the proceedings pf
a national organization. There is so much to do, yet major attenti in
at the American Jewish Congress sessions in Cleveland was given to
the dispute over granting Meir Kahane an opportunity to speak. Su'h
a dispute gave Rabbi Kahane just what he wants: notoriety. And if tie
e
does not get a platform at the convention itself, he certainly gets it in
the press and in publicity releases from the AJCongress.
The fact is the Kahane has one story: we face a Holocaust in thit
country and we'd better pack up and go. Some are frightened by t;
most of us retain greater confidence in the American people.
The facts are Kahane was given a platform at the convention of
the Zionist Organization of America in Pittsburgh, last September and
no one was hurt He was denied a platform at the World Zionist Coin-
press in Jerusalem, and that was proper because a world congrePs
could not he expected to break discipline and permit an interloper 'to
inject himself into the proceedings of the world Zionist movement. irstri
.,
.,
.

the American scene, it wouldn't have mattered a damn if Kahale
had spoken in Cleveland and had repeated his panic-infested ideiss

Israel Publisher
Told U.S. Favored
Itomania Initiative

NEW YORK (JTA)—Joseph J.
Sisco, the U.S. assistant secretary

of state for near Eastern affairs,
told an Israeli publisher in a Wash-

ington interview that he welcomed
"The Romanian initiative as a
move that could help promote
negotiations" between Israel and
Egypt.
Sisco was referring to Premier
Golda Meir's visit to Romania
when he made that remark to
Noah Mozes, publisher of the
afternoon daily, Yediot Aharonot.
Sisco also told .Mozes that in
his judgement, despite harsh
Egyptian statments, Egypt has
still not closed the door to the
American mediation effort.

During his 10-day visit to the
U.S., Moses also had a private
conversation with Dr. Kurt
Waldheim, secretary general of
the United Nations.
Sisco emphasized to Mozes that
the U.S. had no prior knowledge

of the Romanian initiative and in-
sisted that he did not see the Ro-
manian move as "cutting across"
any American role.
As for the American role, Sis-

co indicated that regardless of
what has been said publicly by
Egyptian leaders. "the doors have

not been closed privately." But
he conceded that "very little is
happening now" in Cairo in terms
of discussions between U.S. rep-
resentative Joseph Greene and
Egyptian officals on the Ameri-
can suggestion for close proxi-
mity talks toward an interim
settlement.
Sisco also reiterated that the
American
middle-man role "is
largely in suspension" at least
until after President Nixon's trip
to Moscow.
Sisen's relaxed mood appeared
to reflect his inability to take
action now, at least until after
tl.e Moscow summit, Mozes said.

Sisco reportedly commented
that he did .not know' what the
Russians would bring up there.

Waldheim said that he would
welcome help that any country
could give to find a total or par-
tial solution of the Arab-Israeli
conflict. Ile specifically said that
he would welcome an interim so-
lution as was initiated by the U.S.
but that so far nothing_ came of

it.

—as long as we know how to
tackle them. And if he was to be
denied it as he was, why the con-
stantly repeated speeches of con-
demnation that create more divi-
siveness than Kahane himself
might have produced?
We build our own exaggerations,
and sometimes we create a Frank-

enstein who is no more than flesh

and blood.

The Maryland Assassination Outrage

The Laurel, Md., outrage serves as a warning. The i sanity that caused a 21-year-old
idiot to commit a senseless crime justifies the renewed concern over the spread of violence.
It more than justified President Nixon's assertion that this country has suffered too much
already from violent incidents.
Will the stupid assault on George Wallace lead to a renewal of efforts to prevent the sale
humiliation. Ile also knew that the countries, while individual Pales-
Palestinians had been unsuccess- tinians have achieved wealth or of firearms which are now becoming so freely available? I
One does not have to agree with an adversary on anything he advocates in order to grant
ful in battle. True, they single- prominence, most have felt as
handedly took up arms in 1967. d esp i sed an d i sol a t ed as •Azzane s him the same right to speak that is enjoyed by the oppositiOn. If we did not have differences
but their effectiveness soon de- unfortunate grocer.
of opinion we would have no idea of what is right or wrong. But resort to assassination that
often ends in murder is so outrageous, so definitely inhuman and insane, that public opinion
In the search for peace and the anxiety to exercise justice, it is
important that the facts should he kept accurately. No one gains from can not condone it nor can it step adhering to a policy of freedom of speech.
Fright has been injected into the American public assembly, the home, the street, the
hate-mongering and from suppression of truth. The analysis of the
Palestinians' status presented from a Jewish point of view - states the schools.
facts There is no doubt that it calls for solution. Recognizing the state-
Perhaps the newest act of madness will lead to a r versal in violent tactics and will
lessnes j of the Palestinians. there is every reason to believe that in an encourage - the sort of law enforcement that will both r duce crimes while retaining the
atmosphere of peace Israel will contribute toward assuring as com-
liberties that are so sacred to all of us.
plete independence as possible for the Arabs under its administration.
,
*
.

We have no doubt that those who reside within Israel's -borders
already enjoy greater benefits than have been granted to Arabs any-
where in the last century This is the type of cooperation and neigh-
borliness Israel offers. It is to he hoped that the kinsmen of the Arabs
who isolate them and make them pawns in an endless war instead of
transforming them into fellow humans will recognize the injustice of
the present status into which Palestinians have been thrown. Arabs
are guiltiest for such a state of affairs. But the situation must never

2 — Friday, May 19, 1972

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Cause for Another Protest Against Red Cross

There have been occasions to protest against the Internationa Red Cross. It had been duped during
the era of Nazism when the Iiitlerites used it as a means to hide th guilt against humanity and especially
the Jews. Red Cross actions were believed on occasions to have been unfriendly to Israel. The IRC protest
against Israel's courageous steps to prevent the murder of 100 passengers on a Sabena jet airliner hardly

denotes cooperation. Instead of commending Israel, IRC now claimit to have been duped. If saving lives
and preventing hijacking is an act of duping, then let there be more of it! The IRC protest should be occasion
to renew' the condemnation of bias, the failure of Red Cross to recognize its Israel counterpart—Magen
David Adom—and the unfriendliness marked by alleged IRC partisanship toward Arab terrorists.

I