2
FP0ayr. February 14095
Tisk impogi JEYOltitiEW
Purely Commentary
Speculations on Anwar el Sadat's Role, Drawing Upon
Robert St. John's 'The Boss' for Background Material to
Judge the Egyptian's Past and Present Status
By Philip
Slomovitz
When Anwar el Sadat appeared in an hour-length television program recently, he gave the im-
pression of sainthood. He was full of smiles. He has a good laugh. He shrugged off with a laugh a
Robert St. John has just completed another of his many visits in Israel. Then he went to Cairo
question about his early role, as an associate of Abdul Gamal Nasser in activities that involved
again.
terrorism against the British,
A keen observer, a good followup to his original story is anticipated.
Now that Robert St. John has left Cairo, after another of his frequent visits to the Middle East,
- Meanwhile, Sadat plays the role of a peace lover. For public consumption he is the saint; when he
the revelations of Sadat's activities, which appeared in the St. John biography of Nasser under the
confers with his fellow Arabs he endorses the extreme exterminate-Israel policy.
title "The Boss," can be retold.
St. John's descriptions of Sadat as the understudy of "The Boss" remains perhaps the best
When Sadat came to power, after Nasser's death, this commentator drew upon St. John's re-
available portrait. Perhaps time again will be a healer for all and in its course those who deny Israel
search on the subject of both Egyptian dictators and secured additional data regarding Sadat from
the right to live will mend their ways.
St. John. In that column (Nov. 6, 1970), St. John's personal notes to the commentator and excerpts
Having taken into consideration all the threats from Cairo, Damascus and Baghdad, viewing the
from "The Boss" were utilized. To clarify the Sadat mysteries which may have emerged from the TV
situation in search for confidence in Dr. Henry Kissinger and President Gerald Ford, there may be
program, the following from that column retain their value at this time:
justified ground for rejecting ultra-pessimism and war fears.
In his message to us, Robert St. John recalls
Sadat has too much at stake at home, socially and economically, to risk another losing war. V ,
the experiences of a decade ago, the interest Nas-
villain," was soon completely out of the lime-
knows that Israel was not a total loser in the Yom Kippur War. He recognizes that a much smai.
ser always showed in Sadat, the roles of the two
light. He remained under house arrest and it
nation, fighting for existence back to the wall will not give up sovereignty. Therefore, his very use
men, the nihilism of Nasser's successor. If we
would be well for history if it were known what
of the word "peace" is an encouraging factor. His comrades in arms, the rulers of the other Arab
are to believe our eyes as we re-read with St.
had actually happened to-him-since.
states had even hesitated to call Israel by name. They only spoke of "enemy Zionists."
John his own story of the terrorist attitude of
Thus St. John gives a full account of a chap-
There may now be an approach to better human relations. What a blessing it will be for the
the present head of the United Arab Republic we
entire Middle East!
ter in history that preceded the current
could be thrown into a chill in anticipation of
threatening conditions. He throws light on the
the Armchair Philosopher RuminCites AboUt Current Experiences While Old Bias Recurs
what we may expect from the man who now
Nazi influences in Egypt, of Hitlerites who
Nostalgia is overcoming! How pleasant it would be if the complainants of today could be reborn
dominates in an important area and who may be
were brought to Egypt by King Farouk, and
into one-time armchair philosophers? Then one could sit back and say:
an even more responsive tool of the Kremlin than the author of "The Boss" comments on the Na-
"If I were Rothschild . . . I could buy up the oil wells, give employment to the impoverished . . .
his predecessor. To quote from St. John:_
zis who were hosted by Farouk that "they
perhaps erect a synagogue in Riadh? And I could be a guest to King Faisal because he might even
"Now that Anwar el-Sadat has been con-
were not unpopular with Free Officers like
be my partner! What couldn't I do if I had Rothschild's money?"
firmed as Nasser's successor, it should be of
Anwar el Sadat who had seen nothing wrong
That was in the days of the shtetl, when people imagined that Rothschild had all the money and
interest to your readers — what is this new
with Hitler except that he lost."
could lolly up railroads. If railroads then, why not oil wells today?
man really like?
Thus we begin to learn who Sadat really was
Or if the armchair philosopher is in a log cabin in Illinois or Kentucky, he might say, conditioned
"While I was doing the Nasser biography,
and what we can expect from him now.
on his remembering Theodore Roosevelt:
Nasser himself several times suggested that I
Sadat was the emissary who delivered the ulti-
"If I were Teddy, I'd go into Iran and Venezuela and Iraq and Kuwait and I'd say to them and to
interview the eleven other Free Officers who
matum to King Farouk in the name of Naguib
the Saudis:
planned the revolution against Farouk with
demanding abdication. Thus, in earlier years
"Cut out the monkeybusiness!
him. Once, when he repeated this suggestion
Sadat had been associated with Naguib. But
"Cut out the monkeybusiness! We built the oil wells, we want them! Don't give us that stuff of
and I replied that I had seen them all, he said:
Nasser's alliance with Sadat preceded even that
nationalization !!"
-
`Why don't you see Sadat again?' And so I had
one, and at one point Nasser's message to Sadat
Perhaps the armchair philosopher would have a miniature Big Stick, he'd wave it, at a ghost-like
three long interviews with Sadat. It now
was treated with suspicion by Mrs. Sadat. It re-
fez-wearing desertman and would say:
seems very significant that Nasser himself
lated to underground activities that did not lack
"You think you'll come to my country and menace us by buying into our banks and newspa-
was so eager to have me see so much of Sadat.
terrorist aims. The entire story as related by St:
pers and auto plants? Nothin' doin'! That's not how you'll use the gold you acquired from the.oil
Remember that that was 14 years ago!
John traces the Sadat role from the very begin-
we dug up for you!"
"These passages in 'The Boss' tell of Sad-
ning. When the Egyptians sought to destroy
The armchair philosopher is a creature of the past. Now -there are international considerations.
at's great hatred for the British, how this
communication lines in the early days of revolu-
Everybody needs oil and the sheikh is the new philosopher. His product is needed urgently by all
hatred developed, of his plan to blow up the
tionary efforts, Abdel Hakim-Amer commented
lands, therefore Western Europe might sell Israel down the river, and Japan has joined the Arab
British Embassy when it was full of people, of
that "Anwar el-Sadat is the man for that."
boycott of Israel.
his desire to hang Farouk and a few hundred
Another incident in "The Boss" must be
There is much more to relegate the armchair philosopher to an ancient role: The democratic
other people, of his various imprisonments, of
quoted. St. John reputed: "In May 1948, .
principles that have taken root in this land grant equality and justice to all, and a sheikh is as free to
his scheme to help the Nazis win the war, of
when Great Britain announced the decision to
do business in this country as a peddler from the shtetl.
how he wasn't even present the night Nasser
give up her Palestine mandate, she declared
The tragedy about the glorious American way of life is that there is so much freedom for all,
made the revolution because he had taken his
she would not permit any United Nations
to speak and to write as they please, that there are the frequent embarrassments to those who would
wife to a late film, and of his fight with Nasser
force in the country to keep order until the
perpetuate the basic liberties of this land.
the day after the revolution over the matter of
withdrawal of her own troops had been com-
This realism becomes apparent in debates that involve Israel and the Jewish people. The banking
executions.
pleted. 'This,' Sadat said to Nasser, 'amounts
community was challenged here when a Saudi Arabian apparently assumed control of a local bank.
St. John is overly-modest in his evaluation of
to an invitation to both Arabs and Jews to set-
Immediately extremes came into view. The old prejudices were heard again.-One chap, for example,
his revelations of both Nasser anti Sadat. "The
tle the. d _ ispute by bloodshed.' "
in his elation over the possible flow of oil dollars back into this country —It is incontrovertible that
Boss" now emerges of even greater worth in stu-
These facts should serve as a guide in under-
non-Arabs are the providers of oil dollars — took occasion to create a bit of hatred for Jews. Why
dying the history of our time. It is clear that
standing Sadat's aims and his unscrupulous
he asked, don't Jews realize that while they are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into Israel,
Sadat was among Nasser's most favored friends.
tendencies. There are stories of assassinations
Arabs are the providers of investment money to this country?
St. John shows, for example, how in an election
he had planned and of his hatred for the British,
One shouldn't equate the half billion dollars that are so urgently needed for philanthropic pur-
in 1957 which "was little more than a popularity
the failures of- some such attempts and his suc-
poses with the tens and hundreds of billions that may be used to assume a measure of power in
contest," Nasser eliminated opposition to 35 of
cesses in being in the center of plotting revolu-
America's economic structures. Do the facts call for repetitive emphasis? Can't the critics of Israel
his friends, including Sadat.
tionary tactics and anti-Israel objectives.
understand that most of the philanthropic dollars that to to Israel also are returned to this country in
There is true value in tracing the Sadat role as
St. John's "The Boss" should be studied care-
the form of food and machinery — and also munitions — purchases?
St. John exposed it. We learn the details about
fully because it presents in the earliest portions
It should not have been necessary to mention such trivialities, except that the bias repeats itself
Sadat's having been named by Nasser as minis-
of the book — Pages 46-48 — the political ideas
and misconceptions must be relegated to the gutter whence they often stem.
ter of state in a 10-man cabinet.
of the man who now rules Egypt as Nasser's suc-
The philanthropic dollar is the human instrument to assist the oppressed. The United Jewish
There are reminders of the role of the moder-
cessor. It reveals Sadat's relationships to and at-
Appeal dollar goes to help oppressed, and among them are many who come from Arab countries. The
ate Mohamed Naguib, and it brings back recol-
titude towards the Moslem Brotherhood and the
escapees from Arab oppressions need help as much as the famished in India, and food for the hungry
lections of the report George F. Pierrot brought
Nazi ideologies that infested Egyptian political
is recognized as an obligation of the more affiuent, wherever they may be.
us, in 1954, after his visit in Egypt and with Na-
activities.
And the Arab billions? Aren't they the extorted sums acquired from the provisions made for
guib, that Naguib was ready to make peace with
In the aspiration for peace in the Middle East
them by American oil magnates?
Israel.
and for an end to warfare, the world powers
Only Jews, as far as can be judged, protested against the acquisition of banking power in this
But others were rising up to destroy Naguib
should feel indebted to Robert St. John for his
state by a Saudi Arabian. It is needless to review again the misrepresentations that accompanied his
and his moderation and in "The Boss" St. John
expose of the Egyptian leadership and of Anwar
appearance here. He was even shameless enough to claim there was no prejudice in his country
told about the young men who rebelled against
el Sadat. In 1970 the new Egyptian ruler said
against Jews.
the Egyptian ruler of the time — Naguib and his
"we shall not surrender or yield even a handful
Non-Jews, Americans of all faiths, should be on guard lest they learn the lesson repreiented in
government. About these young revolutionaries
of dust from Arab soil," and he again vowed an
the Jewish protests too late. The protest is an American concern. Ignoring it is blindness to reality.
St. John wrote 14 years ago:
endless war against Israel. To be able to confront
The accompanying resurgence of old bias against Jews might have been expected. It is this, too that
"It was difficult for these hot-tempered
him we should know and understand his tactics.
needs vigilance.
young men to be patient with the easy-going
We learn about them in Robert St. John's "The
Meanwhile, Sadat plays the role of a peace lover. For public consumption he is the saint; when
Naguib. There was little in common between
Boss."
confers with his fellow Arabs he endorses the extreme, exterminate-Israel policy.
him and a man like Anwar el Sadat, whose
specialty had always been violent action.
There was not evenmuch in common between
U.S. Foreign Service Officer Retains His Jewish Identity
Naguib, who believed in conventional, demo-
cratic methods, and Nasser, who had once en-
gaged in an assassination attempt himself and
though unofficial, ties to the
committee's post. In his last
By JOSEPH POLAKOFF
In the summer of 1945, while
(Copyright 1975, JTA, Inc.)
only a few days before the revolution had seri-
State Department. Its leaders
overseas assignment he was
studying Chinese at Cornell, he
ously considered the murder of a long list of
U.S. Foreign Service Officer
are mainly academicians and
counselor at the embassy in
met at a Hillel Sabbath service
opponents as a legitimate way to power. . ."
Arthur Rosen is an old China
its president is Charles Yost,
Canberra for political affairs
the girl who was to become his
The dispute as recorded here is a fascinating
hand whose Far Eastern experi-
former U.S. Ambassador to the
in Australia.
wife.
UN.
account, raised in the brilliant style of Robert St.
ences began 31 years ago when
Since entering the Foreign
John. Many important names are linked with
he was a war-time soldier in
Its function in general is to
Service in 1946, he also served
While serving in Brisbane,
the revolt that ousted Naguib and brought to
Shanghai. Now at age fifty-one,
advance U.S. cultural relations
in Shanghai, Hanoi, Bris-
Australia, which has a Jewish
his vast expertise and warm
power Gamal Nasser, who assumed the position
with China, including the- per-
community of some_ 1.500. Ro-
bane, Hong Kong, Bangkok
personality have brought him
of prime minister, with the office of president
forming arts and athletics, and
sen was honorary vice presi-
and Singapore.
remaining vacant temporarily. That was to be
the appointment of executive
participates in the exchanges of
For all his associations in the
dent of the Maghain Aboth
director of the National Corn-
assumed by Nasser some time later. "When Na-
visits by prominent Chinese and
upper strata of world affairs
Synagogue and was active in
mittee on U.S.-China Relations
guib tried to telephone" — St. John writes of the
Americans. The visit to China
and his engrossment in some of
the city's Bnai Brith. While on
with offices opposite the United
ouster of the Egyptian leader — "he discovered
of a distinguished group of
the most complex international
duty in Washington, he was a
Nations headquarters in New
the wires had been cut." His house was sur-
American university presidents
problems of the age, Rosen
member of the board of Cong.
York.
rounded by police, a radio communique an-
was one of its projects.
fully retains the Jewish ident-
Beth El of Montgomery County
This committee is of consid-
nounced "he had not been arrested, he was
Rosen was director of the
ity which he discusses with the
in nearby Bethesda, Md., and
erable importance to the devel-
merely being asked to stay in his house for a
State Department's office of
directness. At all his posts
president of its men's club
opment of Sino-American af-
month or two." His servants could not secure
East Asian public affairs
abroad and in Washington he
which frequently hears a prom-
fairs. It is a private
kerosene to make his breakfast. Naguib, who
when he went on a leave of
has participated in Jewish com-
inent Jewish correspondent dis-
organization but has close, al-
"had been pictured universally as a hero, not a
absence Jana 20 to assume the
munal affairs.
cuss foreign affairs.