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May 17, 1974 - Image 48

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1974-05-17

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

U. S. Senate, White House, Pope Paul Condemn Outrages

(Continued from Page 1)
Prime Minister Golda Meir
warned that the hands of
those murdering children
must be "severed."
The U. S. Senate, appalled
by the terror, urged Presi-
dent Nixon and Secretary of
State Kissinger to call upon
all governments to condemn
"the inhuman acts of vio-
lence against innocent vic-
tims" and strongly urged the
countries where these groups
and individuals are found "to
take • appropriate action to
rid their countries of those
who subvert the peace
through terrorism and sense-
less violence."
Senator Hubert Humphrey
presented the resolution ex-
pressing the sense of the
Senate and it was supported
immediately by both parties
a n d unanimously adopted
without a word of dissent.
In a development apparent-
ly unrelated to the Ma'alot
outrage, an attempted terror-
ist bloodbath in the heart of
Jerusalem was averted Wed-
nesday morning when police
found and disarmed three
Katyusha rocket launchers.
Two of the launchers were
aimed at densely populated
areas of the city, the third re-
portedly was aimed at the
King David Hotel where Sec-
retary of State Kissinger and
his party are staying. The
weapons were reportedly
spotted by a local Arab who
immediately called the police.
Israeli security authorities,
anticipating a new wave of
terrorist activities on the in-
dependence anniversary, had
warned the public to be es-
pecially alert. Police Chief
Shaul Rosolio said in a broad-
cast Tuesday night that the
public must be extremely
cautious and report every
suspicious act, even trifles.
Security authorities report-
edly had knowledge that a
terrorist gang entered Israel
some time on Sunday but
lost track of them.
It was reported Tuesday
that security forces arrested
nearly 100 West Bank Arabs
in recent days on suspicion
of planned terrorist activities.
Kissinger reacted with un-
concealed anger Wednesday
at the terrorist outrage at
Ma'alot and demanded that
"all responsible governments
. . make clear that what-
ever their political differ-
ences, such inhuman acts
must be condemned and those
who carry them out dealt
with severely.
"I was shocked and out-
raged to learn of the attack
by fedayeen terrorists
against a teen-age campsite
in Ma'alot early this morning
and against other innocent
civilians in the same area.
Our hearts go out to the fam-
ilies and all of Israel," Dr.
Kissinger said.
His statement was read to
newsmen by U. S. Ambassa-
dor at Large Robert J. Mc-
Closkey, a member of Kis-
singer's entourage currently
attempting to effect the Is-
raeli - Syrian disengagement
agreement.
"The U. S. government
strongly condemns this mind-
less and irrational action and
appeals to those holding in-
nocent hostages to release
them," the Kissinger state-
ment continued. "Violence

48 Friday, May 17, 1974



such as this will serve no
cause but to undermine the
prospects for peace in this
area. We further believe that
it is time for all responsible
governments to make clear
that whatever their political
differences, such inhuman
acts must be severely con-
demned and those who carry
them out dealt with severe-
ly," the statement concluded.
In Rome, Wednesday, Pope
Paul VI condemned the ter-
rorists attack in Ma'alot.
A cable sent by the Vatican
secretary of state Jean Car-
dinal Villot to the papal dele-
gate in Jerusalem, Msgr. Pio
Laghi, said the Pontiff was
"saddened by the very grave
act of violence in Ma'alot to-
day which he profoundly de-
plores as repugnant to the
conscience of humanity."
The Pope's message added
that the Pontiff was "partic-
ularly concerned" about the
fate of the hostages and
called on Msgr. Laghi to in-
form the Israeli authorities
and, through them, the fami-
lies of the children, of his
"participation in their an-
guish and the assurance of
his prayers to the Most
High."
Pope Paul appealed for the
avoidance of further blood-
shed "so that the young hos-
tages can be restored without
delay, unharmed, to their
homes."
McCloskey was asked by
newsmen if Wednesday's
events caused second
thoughts about U. S. support
'for a Security Council reso-
lution condemning Israel's
April 12 commando raid into
Lebanon after the Kiryat
Shemona massacre of April
11. McCloskey replied: "It is
always the intention and de-
sire of the United States to
vote on the merits and no one
incident may be the same as
the other."
He added that he would
"not want to anticipate a
vote." He said: "I think the
sense of outrage is reflected
in the secretary's statement."
The Israel government at
first agreed to free 20 im-
prisoned terrorists in ex-
change for the safety of 90
Israeli school children held
hostage 'by the armed Arab
terrorists since early Wed-
nesday morning in the school
building in Ma'alot about 10
kilometers from the Lebanese
border. The terrorists, who
invaded the town before
dawn, murdered three mem-
bers of one family before
they seized the school build-
ing. Earlier, they shot up a
truck carrying workers,
mostly Arabs, killing one wo-
man.
The three terrorists were
heavily armed, wearing Is-
rael army uniforms.
An official announcement
broadcast at 2 p.m. local
time said: "In order to se-
cure the release of the pupils
at Ma'alot, the cabinet has
decided to release the terror-
ists as demanded." A foreign
office spokesman refused to
say how the exchange would
be effected. According to an
unconfirmed report some of
the terrorists already been
released from a prison in the
Gaza Strip and were flown
blindfolded to Ma'alot. The
French ambassador to Israel,
Jean Herly, flew there Wed-

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

nesday morning to negotiate
with the terrorists who had
demanded to speak to the
French or Romanian ambas-
sadors.
In related developments
Wednesday morning, U. S.
Secretary of State - Henry A.
Kissinger rescheduled h i s
trip to Damascus for Thurs-
day for continued disengage-
ment negotiations with Syrian
President Hafez Assad: A
statement released here in
Kissinger's name expressed
"shock and outrage" at the
terrorist acts and said "our
hearts go out to the families
(of the hostages) and to all
of Israel."
The Popular Democratic
Front for the Liberation of
Palestine, a terrorist group
headed by Naif Hawatmeh,
claimed credit for the latest
terrorist outrage in a state-
ment issued in Beirut Wed-
nesday. The attack on Ma'a-
lot coincided with the 26th
anniversary of Israel's Inde-
pendence (May 14-15, 1948).
It occurred little more than
one month after the terrorist
massacre in Kiryat Shemona
which claimed 18 lives.
Ma'alot, which lies midway
between Safad. and the Medi-
terranean coast, was de-
scribed as an armed camp
Wednesday. Buildings near
the occupied school were
evacuated. Most residents of
the town went to shelters.. De-
fense Minister Moshe Dayan
hurriedly left a cabinet
meeting to fly to Ma'alot
Wednesday morning. Police
Minister Shlomo Hillel also
flew to the scene. The cabi-
net, which had convened in
special session Wednesday
morning to consider disen-
gagement terms with Syria,
suspended that discussion
when news of the Ma'alot
events was received and
turned its attention to the ter-
rorists demands.
The hostages in Ma'alot
were identified as teen-age
high school students from
Safad. They were on a three-
day camping trip and were
spending the night in the
Netiv Meir school in Ma'alot.
About 10 students and two
teachers escaped from the
building by jumping out of
windows when the terrorists
broke in spraying the school
with machine gun fire.
A woman officer of the Is-
raeli army who was accom-
panying the campers was re-
leased by the terrorists to
carry their demands to Is-
raeli authorities. According
to another report, two stu-
dents were released. One of
them, Rachel Lagziel, 16, re-
portedly delivered a note con-
taining terrorist demands to
Defense Minister Dayan. The
terrorists claimed that the
area around the school build-
ing was mined and warned it
would be blown up if Israeli
soldiers and troops surround-
ing the area tried to close in.
The terrorists communi-
cated through a loudspeaker.
They fired at anyone ap-
proaching the building, ac-
cording to one report. The
Lagziel girl reportedly told
newsmen that the children
were aged 14-16. She said the
terrorists forced them to sit
or lie down, that two of the
terrorists seemed nervous
but the third, who spoke He-
brew, was fairly calm. She
said the terrorists listened to
every newscast on the radio.

They demanded the release
of 20 imprisoned terrorists,
including Kozo Okamoto, the
hired Japanese gunman who
participated in the Lod Air-
port massacre on May 30,
1972. Two Israeli Jews im-
prisoned for spying were also
reportedly on the list.
A chronology of events
pieced together from reports
so far indicate that the terror-
ist gang infiltrated Israeli
territory late Tuesday night.
At about midnight they at-
tacked a truck carrying work ,
ers home .from the ATA fac-
tory at Kiryat Atta. They
were mostly residents of the
Christian Arab village at Fa-
suta. One woman was killed.
The terrorists entered Ma'-
alot some time after 3 a.m.
local time. According to re-
ports from residents, they
knocked on the doors of sev-
eral houses, announcing
themselves as Israeli police-
men searching for terrorists.
Only one householder, Yosef
Cohen, opened the door. He
was shot to death by the ter-
rorists, who also murdered
his wife, Tartuna, and his
4-year-old son, Eli. A year=
old son, Yitzhak, was saved
and is being taken care of by
neighbors. It was reported
that the child, who is deaf,
was asleep and unaware of
the carnage taking place.
The terrorists apparently
knew the Netiv Meir School
was housing the student
campers for the night. They
approached the school at
about 3:50 a.m. local time,
just as a monitor was taking
out garbage cans. He testi-
fied later that the terrorists
greeted him in Hebrew and
then he was shot and wound-
ed. The terrorists entered
the building, firing their ma-
chineguns. They separated
the boys and girls and then
gave the list of their de-
mands to the girl soldier.
The Netiv Meir School con-
sists of two adjoining build-
ings, one containing a dining
room and the other class-
rooms. The children were
sleeping in the latter.
Nixon Condemns
`Mindless' Violence
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The
White House Wednesday is-
sued a condemnation, in the
President's name, of the ter-
rorist outrage in Ma'alot
which it called "mindless
and irrational" violence that
"will serve no cause but un-
dermine peace."
The President's reaction
was given to newsmen by the
White House deputy press
secretary, Gerald Warren,
before news reached here
that the terrorists were slain
and their hostages freed.
Warren declined to com-
ment on whether Secretary of
State Kissinger ,would end his
activity in the Middle East
aimed at achieving an Israeli-
Syrian disengagement accord
or whether the President
would instruct him not to re-
turn to Damascus until the
Syrian government appre-
hends the terrorists and takes
action against them. A White
House official told the JTA
privately afterwards that the
President would not do any-
thing at present that "might
exacerbate the .situation."
Warren told reporters that
the U. S. position on terror-
ism "is well known" and that
the U. S. is "working actively
with other countries" on the

problem." Replying to ques-
tions by the JTA which op-
ened the subject at the White
House news briefing, Warren
said the President was in-
formed of the circumstances
and was following Kissinger's
cables with "special inter-
est."
After reporting the Presi-
dent's condemnation, Warren
said that as far as Kissin-
ger's itinerary is concerned,
"that's up to the party,"
meaning the secretary and
his aides. He said the Presi-
dent was in communication
with the secretary of state
and was sending him guid-
ance and instructions.
Asked why the president
should not ask Syrian presi-
dent Assad directly to take a
position against the terrorists,
Warren replied, "I don't be-
lieve it is useful to go beyond
what I said."
One reporter observed that
in less than two years, 41
Americans have been killed
by Arab terrorists, that the
U. S. recognized Sudan al-
though the killers of the
American ambassador there
have not yet gone to trial,
and that the U. S. approved a
Security Council resolution
last month condemning Is-
rael from which the massacre
of 18 Israelis at Kiryat She-
mona was deleted. "What has
the President done besides
deplore" those killings, War-
ren was asked. The press sec-
retary limited his reply to
noting that the resolution
"equally condemned all acts

of violence" and reiterated
U. S. efforts against terror-
ism.

*

*

Terrorists Get
Six-Year Terms

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Ten
Arab terrorists captured dur-
ing an Israeli commando
raid into Lebanon more than
two years ago, were each sen-
tenced to six years imprison-
ment by a military tribunal
in Lod.
The terrorists, who are of
various nationalities, were
convicted under a contro-
sia.1 1972 law which allow
raeli courts to try terrorists
who have committed no
crime within Israeli territory.
The law was a response to
the pardon or expulsion of
Arab terrorists from Euro-
pean countries where they
had committed crimes includ-
ing murder and hijacking.
The court-appointed law-
yers for the 10 argued that
persons brought to Israel by
force could not be tried there
and should be treated as
prisoners of war. They also
noted that the Israeli law
had not been published offi-
cially in the Arab countries
from which the terrorists
came.
The tribunal rejected
these claims after long de-
liberation. The 10 terrorists
were given six-year prison
terms for membership in a
hostile organization, bearing
arms and training with arms.

every on the Ar

This Week's Radio and Television Programs

ETERNAL LIGHT
Time: 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
Station: WWJ.
Feature. Rabbi Ben Zion
Bokser, rabbi of the Forest
Hills Jewish Center, will dis-
cuss his new book, "Jews,
Judaism and the State of
Israel."
* *
HIGHLIGHTS
Time: 9:45 a.m. Sunday.
Station: Channel 2.
Feature: Yael Dayan, au-
thor and daughter of Israel
Defense Minister Moshe Da-
yan, will be interviewed.
* *
"IF NOT NOW . . ."
Time: 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Station: WDET - FM (101.9).
Feature: A discussion on
ethnicity and mental health.

REFLECTIONS IN SOUND
Time: 9 p.m. Sunday.
Station: WCAR (1130).
Feature: Jewish themes
present in today's popular
music.
* * *
LUBAVITCH
JEWISH HOUR
Time: 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
Station: WNIC-FM ,1300(.
and
Time: 1 a.m. Monday.
Station: WNIC-FM (100).
and
Time. 10:45 a.m. Sunday.
Station: WPON (1450).
Feature: Rabbi Yitschak,
M. Kagan and Rabbi Pin-
chas Braunstein speak; Jew-
ish music is presented.

Time: 11:30 p.m. Sunday.
Station: Channel 9.
Feature: News in the Jew-
ish community.
* *
ROZHINKES
MIT MANDLEN
Time: 9 a.m. Monday.
Wednesday and Thursday.
Station: WIID (1090).
Feature: Israeli and Yid-
dish music, news, recipes
and other features.

BNAI SHALOM
Time. 10 a.m. Sunday.
Station: WBRB - FM (102.1).
Feature: Jewish humor,
music, culture and literature.

Continued OEO
Funding Urged
by JCCouncil

The Jewish Community
Council has joined with other
civic, faith and community
groups in urging the exten-
sion of funding for the Office
of Economic Opportunity.
Michigan's congre-;:
contingent was asked foi ,,s-
sistance in the passage of
House Bill 14449, which
would provide $330,000,000 for
the continuance of commun-
ity action programs."
The Council stated, "The
bleakness of the economic
horizon in the metropolitan
Detroit area and the inherent
implications to the commun-
ity intensify the imperative
nature of our request."
*
The Jewish Community
RELIGION IN THE. NEWS Council supported the OEO
Time: 9:05 a.m. Sunday.
concept by publication of po-
Station: CKWW.
sition statements for affili-
and
ates and in testimony offered
RELIGIOUS SCOPE
at legislative hearings.

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