Purely Commentary Russia's Role in Middle East: Only One to Gain? Only the military men shook hands and acted neigh- borly in the Egyptian-Israel negotiations. The rest, it is anticipated, is yet to come. Perhaps, as on the Island of Rhodes in 1918, Arabs and Jews will stop negotiations in enemy-fashion and will talk to each other as neighbors do over the fence; perhaps it will one day be even without a United Nations supervisory force between them. With so many Arabs still screaming for Israel's total destruction, this is as yet but a dream. Yet, it is mingled with hopes. All are to gain from amity, first from an as- sured end to warfare, then to peace which can approach realism only when the contending forces have diplomatic and economic exchanges. The disturbing factor lies in warnings made repeatedly, especially by Joseph Alsop, that the Soviet Union alone stands to gain from the Middle East fracas. At one point, Alsop wrote that: "An adjusted cease fire, rather than a settlement, suits the Kremlin perfectly. It will in fact leave the Mid- east cauldron still bubbling with danger and hatred, with many an opportunity for the Kremlin to go on making trouble in the most strategically vital most ill defended part of the world. The adjusted cease fire will give the Kremlin what the Soviet military planners want most of all With the Israelis withdrawn to the Mitla Pass, the Suez Canal would soon be reopened. After that the Soviets could supply and reinforce their fleet of warships in the Red Sea-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf through the canal in- stead of from Vladivostok. "With the supply line shortened from 11,000 miles to 2,000 miles, the Soviets could further multiply their naval power in the waters around the Arabian Peninsula by a factor of no less than four." In another column, Alsop also made this prediction as a warning of the escalating dangers from USSR hegemony: "Through huge investments, the Soviets have been able to build up their naval strength in the Red Sea-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf area. Consequently, the Soviets al- ready enjoy decisive naval superiority in those waters that almost entirely surround the Arabian Peninsula. And if the Suez Canal is reopened as a result of a Mideastern settlement, Soviet naval strength in those waters will surely be vastly increased. "It is flying straight in the face of the lessons of history to assume the resulting Soviet supremacy in naval power there will then have no effect on our oil jugular. One way or another, the Arab oil blackmail we are now experienc- ing will become Kremlin oil blackmail. And if the Kremlin is ever able to use the oil jugular for blackmailing, it is certain our national independence will be endangered." But the major threat foreseen by Alsop was contained in an analysis of the existing situation in which Alsop showed the emerging Russian power and the dwindling American influence. Are we really faced with the danger of American endurance? The following views expressed by Joseph Alsop must not be ignored in the present critical situation: "Suppose that Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger eventually gets the Arabian oil tap turned on again and also secures an Arab-Israeli settlement. Any such settle- ment will inevitably include reopening of the Suez Canal. To see what this can mean in the future, you need only examine the present peculiar pattern of Soviet behavior. "There are two seemingly contradictory elements in this pattern. On one hand, the Kremlin is exerting maxi- mum pressure to prevent the Saudi Arabians and other Arab oil owners from turning on the oil tap. Furthermore, the Kremlin is pressing the Arab oil owners to cripple the banking systems of the West by withdrawing their enor- mous deposits. In these ways, to put it mildly, the Kremlin Soviet Role and Manipulations . . . America's Endangered Position in Middle East ... Social and Religious Trends and Population Changes is quietly but importantly helping Kissinger in his drive for an Arab-Israeli settlement. So, how is this mysterious pattern of combined hurtfulness and helpfulness to be rationally explained? "The answer to the mystery lies in some rather simple facts. The Soviet planners long ago recognized the supreme strategic importance of the oil resources of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arab oil tap, the Soviet planners realized, was no less than the jugular of the entire Western world. So, the Soviet planners began to invest heavily to take advantage of the dangerously exposed position of this Western jugular. "They built air bases and naval bases and acquired naval facilities wherever they could manage to do so throughout the Red Sea-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf — in short, in the waters that almost wholly surround the Arabian Peninsula. From distant Vladivostok, they further organized a difficult sea supply line to sustain a naval presence in these same waters. That naval presence has now reached the total of 20 powerful vessels of the Soviet fleet. "These 20 vessels give the Soviets local naval superior- ity. This Soviet local superiority in turn makes it quite safe for the militarily, impotent Arab oil owners to use the powerful weapon of oil blackmail. The United States and the West can attempt no reprisals, with the Soviets sronger on the spot. But this present situation is no more than a foretaste of what will probably come, once the Suez Canal is reopened by an Arab-Israeli settlement. "Using the canal, the Soviets will cut their sea supply line to the Red Sea-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf from 11,000 miles to only 2,000 miles. By the best estimates of the U.S. Navy's experts, this will promptly enable the Soviet fleet to increase its naval presence in these waters by a factor of four. Instead of 20 vessels, there will be 80. Soviet naval superiority around the Arabian Peninsula will then become Soviet naval supremacy in this area. "This is the happy prospect that explains the Kremlin's undoubted desire for the same kind of Arab-Israeli settle- ment that Kissinger is working for. The prospect mainly means one thing: The United States and the West are likely to be living before long with the Soviet knife perm- anently close to their strategic jugular — the Arab oil tap. These are not nightmares. The are realistic future calculations directly rooted in well-known current realities. So, you can see why one may now ask, "Can the United States endure?" Is the danger really that serious? Has it gone as far as threatening American endurance? The struggle is not a recent one. It dates back many years, and detente may prove both questionable and menacing. The late Charles E. Bohlen, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, in his "Witness to History 1929-1969," wrote: "I do not think we can look forward to a tranquil world so long as the Soviet Union operates in its present form. The only hope, and this is a fairly thin one, is that at some point the Soviet Union will begin to act like a country instead of a cause." During the critical Suez crisis, in 1956, Nikita Khrush- chev approached Bohlen at a reception and said: "I want to talk to you about Suez." Bohlen responded: "And I want to talk to you about Hungary." - Once again there is revival of the realism that if it had not been for the Soviet Union's role as an arms pro- vider for the Arabs — "to destroy Israel" was the Arab aim"—the tragedy of the Yom Kippur War might have been averted. Is Russia now aiming only for her own advancement in that area? Will she be an obstacle to peace when the Geneva sessions resume? If Joseph Alsop's views prove correct — and they sound logical — we are due for By Philip Slomovitz a lot of trouble. If Kissinger's detente hopes overcome the USSR ideologies seeking domination there'll be hope for mankind — provided the power struggles in the Near, Far and Middle East are averted. Power! Power! The quest for power! That's where it all begins and ends. * * Social and Religious Trends, Revealing Population Studies New figures which show the world Jewish population now to exceed 14,000,000 are introductory to the studies to be pursued in the decade to come. Will our numbers increase? Is intermarriage injecting heavy losses, or are we gaining a bit from conversions that often go with mixed marriages? Do we have much to gain from the Russian experi- ence? The 1970 Russian census study shows that while the 1959 figures showed the Russian Jewish population to have numbered 2,268,000, it dropped to 2,151,000 in 1970; that of the 807,950 Jews in the Russian Federal Republic 213,379 — 26 per cent — are over 60 and only 90,357 — --- cent — are under 15. Intermarriage is given as one reasons for the drastic declines in Jewish ranks there. Let us not forget that two generations ago there were 7,000,000 Jews in Czarist Russia. There is another factor to be considered, in our own ranks. At the New Orleans General Assembly of the Coun- cil of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds held recently it was reported that 53 per cent of American Jews are not synagogue-affiliated (50 per cent are Conservative, 20 per cent Reform, 19 per cent Orthodox); that 28 per cent of American Jewish homes observe kashrut; that there are population shifts and large Jewish communities especially have stopped growing. Our social scientists will face many issues, and our communities will have much to solve in the process of time. Perhaps the greatest comfort to world Jewry will, indeed, come from a strong Israel. That strength must develop culturally-spiritually, (without the bias that stems from the Orthodox domination that is causing so much concern), with sufficient protection to assure the inter- relationships that assure the unity of kinship. Our own problems are immense. The generations who follow us may have far greater concerns — unless we help them acquire a normalcy that eliminates unnecessary tensions, concerns and religious conflicts. Shortcomings: Failure to List All Who Served in U.S. Cabinets When Dr. Henry A. Kissinger was named secretary of state there was a listing of those who had served in the cabinets both of the United States and in the Confederacy. It all started with Judah P. Benjamin, who was a major figure in the affairs of the Confederacy. U.S. Cabinet members included Oscar Straus, Abra- ham Ribicoff, Arthur Goldberg, Henry Morgenthau, Wilbur Cohen. We even listed Caspar H. Weinberger who is only of Jewish descent—his father alone was Jewish, therefore, according to Jewish law, he really is not a Jew. We overiuoked Lewis Straus, who passed away last week. He was secretary of commerce in the Eisenhower administration. Therefore this correction. Who knows how many more could be included in this list, if those descending from Jews were to be considered? For example, there now is a question about Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger who, we now learn, was born a Jew. In any event, as long as they all rendered good service to our country. we bless them—those who are alive and the memories of those who are gone. Latest from Weizmann Institute Novel Approach to Studying Brain Function Is Developed at IRehovot REHOVOT — New insight into the functioning of the brain has been provided by a series of experiments con- ducted at the Weizmann In- stitute by Prof. Leo Sachs, head of the department of genetics, working with Dr. Rabi Simantov, a student at the institute's Feinberg Grad- uate School. To determine how the prop- erties of the brain's nerve cells are regulated, Sachs and Simantov set out to sep- arate and study the biochem- ical makeup of such cells, using a novel method of sep- arating two of their key prop- erties. Taking cells grown in a culture from a mouse nerve cell tumor, which unlike nor- mal mature nerve cells con- tinue to divide and can be grown outside the body, the scientists separated two es- sential properties of the sur- face of normal nerve cells— the receptor which receives the molecule that transmits signals, and the enzyme which destroys the transmit- ter once it has functioned. This was accomplished by using an antibody which de- stroyed cells containing a great many enzyme mole- cules and allowed survival of cells with only a small amount of enzyme. Selection of cells with only 1 per cent of the normal enzyme did not decrease the number of receptor mole- cules. Conversely, when the receptor property was re- moved from the cell surface by chemical means, the amount of enzyme molecules did not decrease. It was suggested from these experiments that there are different genes for the receptor and the enzyme. But when nerve cell tumors were made to differentiate and behave like normal nerve cells by adding a chemical compound called cyclic AMP, there was an increase in both the enzyme and receptor. Thus, although they can be separated, the amount of en- zyme and receptor are regu- lated together. "By extension of these stu- dies it is now possible to sim- ilarly dissect the other prop- erties of the nerve cell and see whether they do not act together," said Prof. Sachs. "This should," he added, "foster our understanding of the function of nerve cells in the brain." Prof. Sachs holds the Otto Meyerhof Chair in Molecular Biology at the Weizmann In- stitute. * * Growing local interest in 2 Friday, February 1, 1974 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Weizmann Institute research, — much of which is supported by overseas grants was dem- onstrated by the announce- ment of the Makhteshim Co. of Beersheba that it had allo- cated IL 330,000 ($80,000) to finance four projects in the plastics research department under the direction of Prof. David Vofsi. This f oll ow s research grants of IL 800,000 ($190,000) from the firm between 1970 and 1973. Makhteshim, which is part of Koor Enterprises, is best known as a producer of pesti- cides and synthetic resins, some of them based on pro- cesses initially developed in the laboratories of the Weiz- mann Institute's plastics re- search department. IIC Publications for teachers in Israeli high schools have been issued by the Weizmann Institute's science teaching department, headed by Prof. Joseph Gillis. These publica- tions include: "Shevayim" (Bits and Pieces), the first volume of a quarterly for junior and senior high school mathematics teachers;"Hak- esher Ha'khimi" (The Chem- ical Bond) and "Gilionot" (Papers), a physics journal, both for senior high school teachers; and "Hashmal ye' Energia" (Electricity and Energy), a textbook distrib- oted on an experimental bas- • N, S e 10 junior high schools thr, mahout Israel. * * Weizmann Institute continues to play an active role in the absorption of im- migrants from the USSR. To date, there are some 50 at the institute, including five senior scientists, 20 graduate students, five engineers and 14 members of the technical and service staff. New staff members from the Soviet Union include Ben. jamin Bikson, 28, an engineer in the plastics department, who emigrated from Riga in 1971; Dr. Uri Bushkin, a PhD student in the gentics depart- ment, from Riga; Eva G , jek- man, 29, from Riga (19 the chemical immunolog:, partment; Naftali Kravitski from Moscow (1971), a doc- toral student in the pure mathematics department; Victor Yahut, from Moscow, in the chemical physics de- partment; and Tanya Zeltzer, of Kishinev, in the isotope research department. * * Responding to an appeal by the chief education offi- cer of the Israel Defense Forees, a number of senior institute researchers have been delivering scientific lecturers on the front lines. Senior institute scientists also have spoken to wounded sol- diers at convalescent homes and at the institute.