2 Dit•mber 19,, • 1975 • THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Purely Commentary The. Crumb That Was Allotted for Israel . . . Reality of an Already Existing Palestinian State . . . Hu- tzpa of Lebanon's Maronite President Franjieh The Facts for the Blinded and the Deafened Regarding Israel Despite the hopelessness of gaining an ear among the prejudiced against Israel;the truth must be narrated. Unfortunately, the blinded will not see and the deaf- ened refuse to listen. Nevertheless, the truth must be told. That is why, on the right on this page, basic facts are pre- sented about the Arabs in Israel. Bigots are spreading the lie about oppression of the Ar- abs who live, when contrasted with the people in Arab coun- tries — with the exception of exceedingly rich Kuwait — in comparative luxury. Israel's Minister of Defense Shimon Peres outlined pre- vailing conditions, as they affect the administered Arabs, in an address at the Knesset. His factual statement appears on the right. Its presentation is a must in the interest of truth. A Continuing Arab Threat and Franjieh's Hutzpa They gloat and they threaten. They appear at the UN, the origin of diplomatic assent to Israel's right to historic territorial legacies, and they demand the destruction of a neighbor. An example is the hatemongering of Farouk al- Kaddoumi, head of the PLO's UN delegation, who said, ". . . This Zionist ghetto of Israel must be destroyed." There is also the hutzpa of a man who himself is in great trouble. Jews everywhere are pleading for the secu- rity of the Maronite Catholics in Lebanon. The Maronites are traditional friends of Israel and they know that a secure Israel also will contribute safety for Christians in Lebanon. Nevertheless, President Suleiman Franjieh of Lebanon, the Maronite Catholic, chose to link Zionists with the enemies of his country. . A New York Times report Dec. 11 on the continuing civil war in Lebanon concluded with the following: "The Left and World Zionism are plotting against Lebanon," Mr. Franjieh said at a Cabinet meeting, according to the radio. "They may not be working together, but they have the same objective — to undermine the country." That's why there is compulsion to wonder whether there is a sense of honor in some political ranks. Franjieh knows better, yet he seems to feel that for public consump- tion he must abide by hatred for Israel. Whatever the fate of Lebanon, there is danger for Israel even from that quarter. KKK Regains a Platform to Repeat Old Hatreds a kozack — go and seek justice from a barbarian." This being the case, let there be a lessening of panic about the KKK or anyone in the lunatic fringe. They reappear and the natural rejection of their hatreds by the American sense of fair play will take its course. Why worry about the KKK - when an erstwhile friend. Joseph Alsop, the one-time pal — in Washington — of Yit- zhak Rabin, can palm off a missive filled with so many invi- tations to hatred of Israel and American Jewry that other anti-Semites may envy him his magicianship. What could have caused a man who studied the American Israel rela- tions for so many years, on the ground floor, in the nation's capital, to have been so misled as to believe and to base his severe criticisms, upon a charge that Israelis were intruding into America's political life? HaSn't it been established that a people has a right to affirm its sovereignty, that to protect it there is the naturalness of asking friends for their assist- ance? Isn't the Alsop outburst, whatever motivated it, an indictment of the honesty of the American legislators who have come to Israel's aid out of deep convictions of the jus- tice of Israel's position ? Alsop's Letter to Amos, the very long tirade featured in the Sunday New York Times Magazine, is the most distress- ing and most humiliating piece printed in a long time. It goes so far as to threaten Israel of antagonistic reactions toward this country, it accuses Israelis of plotting the elec- tion of a Democratic President, it warns that many Jews will stop supporting Israel because of his contention that Israelis are intruding into American internal affairs, and he keeps repeating this charge. Will those who have read that unfortunate Letter to Amos be tackled properly by the certain-to-come replies? How is a nation to be protected against such friends? Every expression of hatred unfortunately results in the spread of poison among people. Regrettably, a KKK spokesman was given a platform on the popular NBC Today show. The hatemongering was rebutted. The reply to the Ku Klux Klan anti-black and anti-Jewish as well as anti-Catho- lic venom was effective. Regardless of the concerns that were created, these fac- tors must be considered in all seriousness. If KKK is gaining ground, it is well that its propaganda should not be viewed as secretive. Let it be aired. This is the democratic way of challenging the lunatic fringe and the bigoted. Regrettably, it is not always certain that those who are subjected to the poisons of hatreds will hear the refuta- tions. This is a gamble, also as a factor in the democratic sphere of speculating with hopes that sensible people will be able to separate the untruthful from the factual. The anger and the horror that arose from the KKK ad- vocate's anti-Jewish libels and exaggerations is understand- able. When they were repeated by the elder Ford, by Father Coughlin, by the Winrods and the Deatherages, the false- hoods were a known quantity. Their repetition in an age without secrets is stupid, yet they require Teplies. The major accusation by the KKK man. was that Jews control the media. Do we? Have we done well in that capac- ity? Has America been enriched by good newspapers, splen- did radio and TV programs, fine movies? And if there are shortcomings in the media, don't Jews suffer from them -as much as non-Jews? And is there any sense in expecting justice from a KKK man in passing judgment on such merits? There is an old Yiddish saying, "Geht zukht yeisher by The Menace at the Border and the Security Compulsion Recapitulation of historic data compels a reminder that the United Nations voted for Israel's re-nationalization as the Jewish state, that when that decision was made the area then known as Palestine was divided between the Jews and the Arabs, the Zionist dream being partially fulfilled by al- locating- about 27 per cent of the area to what was soon to become the state of Israel and the overwhelming three- fourths to what is now Jordan. This has been forgotten in the consideration of the conflict in which the territory— and population's — destruction is sought by wealthy Ar- abs seeking to crush the little bit of what had become by international decision the state of Israel. Actually, by the UN decision of 1947 there already ex- ists a state for the Palestinians: in Jordan. But the pressure for another Arab state in addition to the 20 already possess- ing most of the wealth of the world has inveigled many peo- ple, including some Jews. Therefore it becomes necessary to respect the viewpoint of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Ra- bin who, in an interview with Newsweek, spoke frankly of existing dangers from expanded Arab possessions and pow- ers, and stated inter alia: When you agree to political negotiations with a Palestinian element, it means you begin to accept a third state between Israel and Jordan. Such a state would be a cancer in the heart of the Mideast. It would be a weak state, run by extremists whose dream would remain the annihilation of Israel, and the first foreigners to come there would be the Soviets. Such a state would also be 10 miles from Tel Aviv. Even their short-range rockets could reach all our populated centers. And if the Soviets put SAM missiles there, they could interdict all our civilian and military flights. Terrorism would spread all over Israel, This is something no Israeli could tolerate. And no doubt the whole Arab world would be dragged into a struggle for the fulfillment of Mr. Ar- afat's dream. Therefore, Israel cannot accept at a matter of principle — unless Israel decides to com- mit suicide — the creation of an independent Pales- tinian state between us and Jordan. We will never negotiate with the so-called PLO. Admittedly, we are quite isolated. But . . . we must stick to what we believe, regardless of what others might think. The purpose of our enemies is our de- struction and we have to conduct a policy knowing that we are still at war after 27 years and that this war might last another 27 years. The impatience of many political leaders out- side the area — and of the media — betrays illusions about shortcuts. There aren't any. As long as the leaders of the three Arab confrontation states don't sit down to negotiate peace treaties with Israel, the state of war will continue, as it has for the last generation. It would be sheer folly to overlook the dangerous pro- posals from Israel's enemies. The situation is grave and un- til a Solomon comes to judgment the tensions will gnaw at all friends of Israel.- But in the process one must not yield to the unreasonable and the menacing. Would that there were a sense of justice more widespread, that a semblance of decency could be sensed in diplomacy outside the United States, that the conscience of the Arab potentates might be awakened to the territorial greed and inherited hatreds which cause them to seek Israel's demise. By Philip . Slomovitz Truth About Arabs in Israel From an address to the Israel Knesset, Nov. 3, 1975, by Minister of Defense Shimon Peres Ever since the Six-Day War, Israeli policy in the ad- ministered areas has been based on a minimum of interven- tion and presence by the government and on maximum self-administration in civilian affairs. The government has taken all necessary measures to maintain law and order and to guarantee security, while allowing freedom of move- ment, freedom of expression and freedom of religion and "ritual; it has assisted in developing the economy,' in expand- ing the educational system and in raising the_ standard of living, Arab society in the areas has benefited from unp dented economic development and social advancement. i GNP in real terms has increased by an average of 18 percent annually, i.e., a growth of 124 percent in the last_ eight years. Average private consumption has grown by 11 per- cent annually during this period. Disposable private in- come, at fixed prices, has risen from IL 830 to IL 1,365 per capita in Judea and Samaria, and from IL 533 to IL 1,158 per capita in the Gaza Strip, i.e. a two to three-fold in- crease. The number of employed rose from 135,000 in 1968 to 210,000 in 1975. Average daily wages rose from IL 7 in 1969 to IL 26 in 1974; unemployment dropped to zero. The num- ber of welfare recipients decreased from 312,000 in 1968 to 55,000 in 1974. Private building starts rose from 55,000 square meters in 1968 to 443,000 in 1973, an increase of over 800 percent. _ Agriculture has developed and production has diversi- fied and the number of tractors has grown tenfold, from 130 to 1,300; the cultivated area of protected winter crops has increased from 300 to 7,500 dunams. New crop species have been introduced. Mechaniied, sophisticated processing plants and packing houses have - been established. Agricul- tural production and revenue has grown while the number of employed has decreased due to an increase in productiv- ity per worker. _ About 30 percent of the population are students; the educational system encompasses almost all of the young. Approximately half of the expenditure on social services is directed to education. Of those employed in government service the percen- tage of local inhabitants has increased. Only 500 Israelis are among the 16,000 government staff. For the first time in the history of Judea and Samaria, free, democratic elections have been held for scores of vil- lage councils.- The results of these elections provide ample evidence of the significant social changes that have taken place. Three-quarters of those elected ran for the firSt time; 13 percent were under the age of 30; among those elected were teachers, workers, drivers, artisans and,_ of course, farmers, both large-scale and small. The government has suggested that the residents of the areas increase the,. extent of their self-administration; that they appoint local citizens to key positions in the ad- ministration of civil affairs, allow the transfer of additional responsibility and authority to the municipal councils, ap- point general managers, set up advisory committees and so forth. This is not a command, nor is it coercion. If they accept this suggestion — which is intended to serve their own in- terest and only their interest — so much the better. The government is not seeking quislings or puppets or substi- tutes. We can continue to administer the areas as we have until now, and this administration can be substantially im- proved, depending on the readiness and willingness of the residents themselves. There is not necessarily any connec- tion between the permanent solution of the conflict and the expansion of self-administration. The status quo will not increase the chances of a solution, nor will any increase in self-administration harm these chances in the future. More than 1,000,000 people live in the areas, hay their own desires, needs, traditions, and language. We do not pretend to understand their desires and needs better than they do themselves. But we are convinced that the sug- gested changes will enable a more precise, fuller and more positive expression of their own inclinations. Life involves perpetual change, in all areas: generations change, professions change, education improves and, conse- quently, the entire socio-political structure. Things have changed much during the past eight years. And despite the voices heard from the past, changes have already occurred in the positions of many of the residents of the areas. These changes are also being expressed by those who have reached positions of leadership for the first time; those who gener- ally tend toward liberalization, toward an exchange of ideas, toward real coexistence in a society which enjoys both freedom of expression and self-expression, at one and the same time.