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Service. 398-9477 • Efficient • Transportation • For Home or Office 51 — MISCELLANEOUS PAINTING MOSHE FUCHS Residential — Free Estimates — Exterior-Interior Custom Work Specializing in Staining & Refinishing 398-8322 or 559-5860 Wet, damp, leaky basements made dry. Guaranteed 18 years. Experienced — lowest price; FRANK'S WATERPROOFING 559-7398 To: The Jewish News 17515 W. 9 Mile Rd. Suite 865 Southfield, Mich. 48075 WEI AST 8 HP tractor 38" ct. transaxel drive with snow blade. Cost over $900, Sacrifice $450. Also Yardman riding mower $150. 535-0643 America's Greatness The essence of America's greatness lies in the great- ness of her ideals, her pas- sionate belief in the equality of all men, the sacredness of each man. America's greatness lies in her extraordinary capac- ity to share her extravagant bounty with the hungry of the earth, the poor, the naked, the homeless. America's greatness lies in her ability to champion the cause of morality and justice both at home and abroad without considering the cost, because in its fin- est moments America has known the truth of our Bi- ble: "Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people." — Sidney Greenberg Weizmann Quote "We who are anxious for the revival of the scattered Jewish people treat with respect and reverence any similar effort among other peoples. We are the last, and we should be the last, to oppose or discourage such aspirations in others. We re- member that the Arabs were at one time the torch- bearers and the preservers of civilization, that they pre- pared the way for the great Renaissance. Recognizing and respecting these aspira- tions, we regret that there should have developed be- tween these two people, which have cooperated once before to the advantage of the whole world, an undeni- able estrangement." —Chaim Weizmann From Paste in old label NAME L Please Allow Two Weeks J As long as the world lasts, all who want to make prog- ress in righteousness will come to Israel for inspira- tion as the people who have the sense for righteousness most glowing and strongest. — Matthew Arnold Friday, August 1, 1975 53 Holding Passes Is Advantageous BY EYTAN HABER Editor's Note: Eytan Haber is the military com- mentator for Yediot Ahar- onot, Israel's evening newspaper. In the follow- ing, Eytan discusses his viewpoint on whether or not Israel should surren- der the controversial Mitle and Gidi passes. * * * Apart from Israeli sol- diers who fought in the War of Attrition and in the Yom Kippur War, few people have ever visited the places in Sinai that have gained such wide publicity throughout the world — the Mitle and Gidi passes facing the Suez Canal. In order to understand the subject of the bitter dis- pute between Israel on the one hand and the United States and Egypt on the other, it is well to know sev- eral basic facts about the matter and about which there can he no differences of opinion. The present Israeli de- fense lines in the Sinai Pen- insula extend over a length of some 180 kilometers — from Baluzza on the shores of the Mediterranean in the north down to Ras Sudar on the shoies of the Bay of Suez. This defense line is based, in the northern sec- tion, on impediments erected by Israeli engineer- ing units, because the area is sandy but passable by military vehicles, while in the south it crosses the crests of the passes that begin at Urn Mahza and Urn Hasiba and extend south- ward up to a short distance from the Suez Bay. There are at least four passes through these heights. Two of them, the Gidi and the Mitle, have become world famous; the less well-known passes are Wadi Sudar and Wadi Randal. Further south there is possibly another pass at Wadi Firan. These passes, especially the Gidi and the Mitle, may be re- garded as "corridors" into the Sinai Peninsula and so may be likened to bottle- necks which grow wider as they extend deeper into the peninsula. The Gidi Pass, though only five kilometers in length, extends over some 30 kilometers. North of the Gidi is the Urn Hasiba crest which rises to a height of 640 meters above sea level. From this crest one gets an undisturbed view of wide expanses. According to reports at- tributed to foreign sources, Israel has erected an elec- tronic warning device at its summit. The Mitle Pass which is also about five kilo- meters in length, extends over an area of 10 kilome- ters. Traffic along this pass must move along a road that is under observation from the nearby crests and is within firing range from them. The Mitle Pass proved to he a trap for the Israeli par- atropper units in the Sinai War of 1956 when Egyptian military units fortified themselves in the crevices and opened fire on the Jew- ish soldiers. Eleven years later, in the Six-Day War of 1967, the same place became a cemetery for the retreat- ing EgyptianArmy when an Israeli armour unit cut off the pass to the movement of military vehicles and wreaked havoc on the Egyp- tian tanks as they retreated to the Suez Canal and into Egypt. The Israeli Air Force was thus able to wipe out an appreciable part of the Egyptian forces. From these passes roads extend eastwards into the heart of the peninsula. A breakthrough from these passes into Sinai would mean not only a loss of vi- tal areas but also the pos- sibility of an extensive de- ployment of Egyptian armor. These are the basic facts about the area. But one should mention several changes that have taken place on Israel's southern front since the Yom Kippur War. The Egyptians have set up posts and fortifications along the Suez Canal. In these fortifications on the eastern banks of the canal they are in a position today to concentrate all their in- fantry divisions, each con- sisting of some 10,000 men. According to various reports, the Egyptians have on several occasions held canal-crossing ma- neuvres and are capable of completing the operation within six-12 hours. In other words, the Egyp- tians are in a position to cross the canal in great force during one single night. On the western banks of the canal the Egyptian armor divisions are located in a position to cross the water by means of scores of bridges and rafts undisturbed by the free shipping in the canal. The present Israeli de- fense lines in Sinai have sev- eral advantages: • Due to the passes, the lines are relatively short; • Owing to the hillcrests and the narrowness of the passes, the lines can be de- fended with relatively small forces; • Because of the swampy area north of this line, Egyptian maneuvering pos- sibilities are limited, al- though they can infiltrate small units, particularly commando units into the region; and • The present line brings the Suez Canal area within Israeli firing range. The fact that the Israeli forces are stationed along the Gidi and Mitle passes in no way implies that Israel will go to war, even if the Egyptians should decide to transfer scores of thousands of solidiers to their fortified positions on the eastern banks of the canal. Israel might mobilize small forces and wait and see how things develop. The picture of the situa- tion is therefore clear. In or- der to defend these passes, one does not require a lot of armor, for infantry and an- ti-tank weapons would suff- ice. That is exactly what the Egyptians keep there today — considerable infantry and commando forces as well as anti-tank missiles. If these passes were to be handed over to Egypt they could, in the event of war, force Israel to fight under difficult conditions and ex- act a very heavy price in lives. Another aggravating dis- advantage from the Israeli point of view is the fact that the hillcrests, if they should he surrendered to Etypt, would enable them through electronic devices to monitor extensive areas in Israel, not to speak of the whole Sinai Peninsula. Israel. on the other hand, would lose its electronic control. The surrender of the passes to the Egyptian Army would prolong the Israeli defense line to 400 kilometers and deprive it of favorable topographic positions. Consequently, there would be need to maintain a very large number of military units and keep large reserve forces mobilized. Another advantage to the Egyptians, if they should take over the passes and the hillcrests, is the fact that the whole of the region west of the hills, is flat terrain so that all movements are ob- servable from the hillcrests. From the summit of Jebel Raha, one of these crests, for example, it is possible to see the clouds of dust raised by Israeli tanks as far as 80 kilometers away.