Young Democratic Radicals Fight
for Truth About Israel on Campus
By CHARLOTTE DUBIN
Israel doesn't have an easy
time of it on campus.
Arab propagandists find
fertile fields to sow their
doctored version of the Mid-
dle East conflict. A handful
of Jewish students often are
Israel's most vociferous an-
tagonists because of their
New Left leanings. Even
those who support the Jew-
ish state are ill-equipped
to speak knowledgeably on
her behalf.
As for the remainder of
the students — probably the
majority — they couldn't
care less about what goes
on in the Middle East.
That is why it's all the
more surprising to find in a
small group of young people,
only a third of them Jewish,
some of Israel's staunchest
supporters at Wayne State
University. They are aware,
politically active and dedi-
cated to Israel's survival as
the only real democracy in
the Middle East.
Kathy McComsey, a 23-
year-old political science ma-
jor at Wayne, is local chair-
man of the Youth Committee
for Peace and Democracy
in the Middle East. What the
group lacks in finances and
manpower (they have 10-12
members in the Detroit
area), they compensate for
in involvement.
When the South End edi-
tors printed a series of anti-
Israel articles, superimposed
with a swastika on a Magen
David, Miss McComsey urged
Jewish groups to bombard
the campus newspaper with
letters of complaint. On Tues-
day, she called a mass meet-
ing of individuals and or-
ganizations who wish to corn.
bat the South End's undem-
ocratic policies.
Miss McComsey said the
national organization w a s
founded in 1968 by 26 youth
groups — mostly Gentile —
to encourage a democratic
foreign policy outlook and,
in so doing, support a strong
Israel.
It arose at a time when the
Jewish state was sorely in
need of such backing, her
former "friends" having
turned into her accusers at
having won the war.
Particularly heatening is
the listing of sponsors of the
Youth Committee, which is
headed nationally by Carl
Gershman and Penn Kemble,
co-chairmen, and Josh Mur-
avchik, director.
Among the sponsors are
the Rev. James Black, vice
president of the NAACP;
David Borden of the New
Democratic Coalition; Joe
Burke, civic action director
of the Catholic Youth Or-
ganization; C. Keith Payne of
the Young Men's Christian
Association; and Steve Kel-
man, president of the Young.
People's Socialist League.
The latter—the democratic
socialists — offer a tenor to
the organization that makes
its credentials all the more
important on campus. It
stands for the kind of radical
activism that puts the New
Left rhetoric to shame.
Miss McComsey, once ac-
tive in the antiwar move-
ment, said she became dis-
illusioned with the Student
Mobilization Committee. "I'm
against war," she explained,
"but I couldn't see advocat-
ing a victory for Hanoi. That
10 — Friday, Jan. 26, 1973
group had nutty politics."
Miss McComsey turned her
energy to the Detroit voter
registration drive, Frontlash,
which resulted in the regis-
tration of 150,000 under her
coordination. She is active
in the Democratic Party in
Troy, where she lives.
Detroit is one of six cities
with fulltime Youth Commit-
tee organizers. Others are in
Boston, Chicago, Washington,
Los Angeles and New York.
But Miss McComsey fears
that the Detroit operation
will fold in six weeks unless
she can come up with a
funding source. She works
out of an office donated by
the Jewish Labor Committee
in the Butzel Building, and
gets clerical help from the
Jewish Community Council.
With a national member-
ship dues of only $2, the
group will never get rich.
For that $2, a member may
attend educational meetings,
forums and debates. He re-
ceives a national monthly
bulletin, "Crossroads," and
a weekly local leaflet, fea-
turing articles on the Arab-
Israeli conflict. This week,
at its table in State Hall,
the committee distributed an
article on the various Arab
terrorist organizations.
Besides the effort at WSU
and at the University of
Michigan, there are contacts
at Macomb County Commun-
ity College, and Miss Mc-
Comsey hopes to. expand to
the University of Detroit.
"But till I'm able to recruit
young people, it will be im-
posssible to do more," she
said.
She hopes to start a small
library with literature on the
Middle East and Soviet Jew-
ry and said she would try
to arrange speakers on re-
quest. She can be reached at
home, 643-9574, or at the But-
zel Building, 163 Madison.
Miss McComsey is con,
vinced that the need to edu-
cate the public is greater
than ever. "The leaders of
the antiwar movement now
are trying to turn youth
against Israel," she stated.
"Some of the literature was
saying 'No guns to Vietnam
and no guns to Israel.'
"With the settlement in
Vietnam, the attention of po-
litically-minded people will
turn to the Middle East,"
she said. "We must encour-
age a favorable attitude to
Israel."
Miss McComsey added that
in terms of organization, the
New Left is all but dead,
"but the New Left attitude
remains."
That attitude is found, not
surprisingly, among some
young Jews of middle-class
and upper middle-class back-
grounds. Miss McComsey did
not rule out self-hatred, but
she also suggested another
reason. "The New Left rep-
resents a lot of authoritarian
leanings. These kids have
no respect for democracy
but rather have distorted
values of equality. They're a
lot of spoiled kids who don't
understand a government
that protects the people.
"When they talk about
'freeing the people in the
Third World,' they refer to
a distorted world. They're
not supporting the freedom
of the Arabs because all the
Arab countries are authori-
tarian. These people aren't
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
liberated, they're starving.
There's no freedom of ex-
pression • no free labor move.
ment. There's no social re-
form, Only Israel leads in
these areas. And the Arab
propaganda about 'Palestine
belonging to the Palestinians'
just isn't true. The Jews were
there for ages." She would
favor, however, a separate
Palestine state, "as long as
it isn't at Israel's expense."
In November, on the first
official democratic socialist
youth tour to Israel through
the U.S. Youth Council, Miss
McComsey and her 15 com-
panions found some aspects
of Israeli life to criticize.
She was dismayedsthat the
refugee question persists. At
the same time, she observed
the gains being made by
Arabs. The Detroiter was
particularly impressed with
Histadrut, Israel's labor fed-
eration, and its integration
of Arabs into the labor
force. She also praised the
work • of Histadrut's Afro-
Asian Institute, which has
helped many African nations
achieve some technological
expertise.
Contributions such as these
cause Miss McComsey, who
herself comes from a labor
background, to wonder at
the failure of Israel to win
the friendship of black acti-
vists. Those she has met in
the labor movement, of
course, are pro-Israel, but
young black militants on
campus disalsink an "irration-
al anti-Israel" attitude. "For
some reason, they link the
dark-skinned Palestinians to
themselves."
Repeating the distortions in
Palestinian propaganda hand-
outs, the black activists re-
fuse to listen to fact, Miss
McComsey said. They ignore,
for example, reports of atroc-
ities against the black South-
ern Sudanese by the Moslem
government.
Thus, the Youth Commit.
tee for Peace and Democracy
in the Middle East has a
tough job ahead. Miss Mc-
Comsey doesn't criticize Jew-
ish organizations on campus,
but she points out that they
look upon Israel from a dif-
ferent perspective, dealing
with it as a religious rather
than a political issue.
"I remember when Carl
Gershman and Peter Ruch (a
radical anti - Zionist) were
here for a debate. Some Jews
got into an argument with a
group of Arabs, and their
arguments literally got slaugh-
tered because they didn't
have the facts at hand."
The Youth Committee hopes
it can reach such well-mean•
ing young people with its
strong commitment to Israel
as a democratic movement
for national liberation.
"Israel is one of the best
examples of a country under-
going radical change with
a progressive social outlook,"
said Miss McComsey. "The
nature of Israel and the so-
ciety it is building are such
that no democratic radical
can help but support her."
Six Black American Civic Leaders Take on Tour of Israel
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A foreign and education minis- places, the Lachish region
six-man delegation of black tries and with Histadrut lead- and the Arab villages of Tire
American civic leaders was ers.
and Taib.
They also toured the coun-
here on a week-long visit to
The visitors are guests of
meet with officials of the try, visiting among other the foreign ministry.
salel
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• • •
Josh Muravchik
to Speak in Detroit
Josh Muravchik, director
of the Youth Committee for
Peace and Democracy in the
Middle East, will appear in
Detroit at the Laymen's In-
stitute on the Middle East
7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Jew-
ish Center.
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