The Rafah Issue: The Map Tells Story of Vital Need for Jewish Defense Commentary, Page 2 VOL. LXXII, No 26 THE JEWISH NEWS A WeekIN Review of Jewish Events 17515 W. Nine Mile. Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. 48075 424-8833 $12.00 Per Year: This Issue 30` World Jewry's Parliament Tackles Major Issues Affecting Jews Everywhere Editorial, Page 4 March 3, 1978 vlayan Blames Reticent Egypt for - Lack of Peace Progress - claration of principles. The new draft, submitted to JERUSALEM (JTA) — Foreign Minister Moshe with Israel," Dayan said. At the moment, he told U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Alfred L. Atherton the Congress delegates, negotiations are con- Dayan blamed Egypt Monday night for the current centrated on the Palestinian issue and the future by Begin and Moshe Dayan, was said to contain new impasse in peace talks with Israel and said his coun- - elements. try preferred direct negotiations and practical dis- of the West Bank and there is no discussion of Atherton, who declined to say what progress, if bilateral matters between the two countries. cussions of mutual proposals with the Egyptians to Dayan said Israel did not object to President Car- any, has been made in the course of his shuttle diplo- the present contacts through an American inter- ter's Jan. 4 Aswan formula that called for Palestinian macy so far, did observe that there are "each time mediary. Addressing the 29th World Zionist Congress, Arab participation in determining their own future. some new ideas that provide some new basis for prog- Dayan claimed there are no direct negotiations with "Israel is willing to sit with them and to discuss with ress." He said the U.S. would submit its own ideas if Egypt now because the Egyptians do not want or them their future," Dayan said. He claimed, however, necessary. Begin spoke to newsmen after emerging from cannot conduct such negotiations without the par- that "it is quite obvious that when they speak of their a meeting with visiting British Foreign Secret- ticipation of Jordan and other Arab countries. He also future they mean that they will determine our fu- accused Cairo of toughening its stand and backing ture." He said Israel would never allow the Palesti- ary David Owen. He said there was "reason to nian Arabs to determine the future of Israel's settle- assume" that the negotiating process would con- away from original positions. tinue, and Owen concurred. ments in the occupied Arab territories. He said the current negotiations through Ameri- (Continued on Page 6) _ proposals for a joint de- Israel sent Egypt revise_ d can mediation was contrary to the understanding reached by Premier Menahem Begin and President Anwar Sadat at their Christmas day meeting in Is- mailia. According to Dayan, the Egyptians promised TEL AVIV (JTA) — Yiddish journalists at the 29th World Zionist Congress offered a gloomy prognosis for the future of the Yiddish press. Yaacob Tzippel, of Paris, Marc Turkow of Buenos Aires, and others attending a meeting of the World then to present counter-proposals to Israel's peace plan for Sinai and the West Bank, but so far they have Federation of Jewish Journalists, spoke of lack of funds, the lack of Yiddish linotypists and a prevalent feeling that the Yiddish press is ignored by Israeli institutions, including Israeli embassies abroad. not done so. Israeli journalists attending the meeting proposed changes in the image of Yiddish newspapers, not only their content "It is hard to tell whether the Egyptians be- but their appearance. The federation resolved to ask the proper authorities here to consider advertisements in the Yiddish lieved at the beginning of negotiations that they press by such institutions as the Israel Government Tourist Office and the government-owned El Al Airline. would eventually reach a separate agreement Outlook Gloomy for the Yiddish Press Euphoria, Anxiety Intermingled at World Zionist Congress _ By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ JERUSALEM - All the imaginable Jewish euphoria inherent in national sovereignty intermingles with anxiety that is similarly the lot of the Jewish people. All the hopes that enhance Jewish experience, are similarly affected by obstacles that create concerns. If Jewish problems are to be judged globally, Jews certainly emerge as an Am Ehad, as One People. An American spokesman, speaking to the gathered from all corners of the.globe, at the 29th World Zionist Congress, can, with the utmost certainty, expect a comment from every other segment of world Jewry echoing a "what else is there" because that which affects Jews in the largest Jewish community in the world is similarly the challenge to the smallest among the nations of the world. If it is intermarriage, it is the universal problem. If it is a lack of expert teaching staffs, it is applicable even to Israel where the demand for the best teaching staffs is equally pressing. If it is the small percentage of Jewish children receiving even a minimum of Jewish training, it is globally distressing. Because, understandably, there is such a vital need for aliya, for newcomers to Israel, for a renewal of halutziut — pioneering — aliya is placed first on the agenda of this great gathering of spokesmen for world Jewry. There is the admission that a "near stagnation of aliya" predominates. The quote is ascriba- })le to the spokesmen with responsibility and it is, therefore, one of the very .rgent of the needs confronting the Zionists, regardless of the countries they .epresent. Interestingly, the Israeli portion of world Jewry — the second largest numerically to the American — looks across the seas and the continent with anxiety at the largest -Jewish community in the world and asks in puzzlement what sort of future confronts more than five million Jews, only about 10 percent of whose children receive any sort of Jewish education, while their marriages reportedly already are 40 percent mixed. And the Israeli Jew wonders at the same time how much influence the American kinsman possesses to assure that the friendship of America for Israel remains firm and un- obstructed. Politically, this is the chief concern of the 520 delegates and an equal number of deputy delegates from all parts of the globe at the World Zionist Congress. Yet the Jewish spokesmen keep saying, "We are on the verge of peace." The chief hope continues to hinge upon the attitude of the U.S. and President Jimmy Carter's pledge for a secure Israel. It is all based upon such statements as the one made by President Carter on Nov. 2, 1977, to the World Jewish Congress: ""I doubt that anyone in the history of our country has traveled more than I have in my campaign for President, nor talked to more groups, nor listened to more questions nor heard more comments. And when I say we will always stand with Israel. I speak not only for myself as President, not only for our government and all three of' its branches, not just tbr American Jews, but for all Americans. "This is one of our deepest-felt commitments and I have no doubt I speak accurately for the overwhelming portion of the American people now and forever." Recognition of the "settlements" problem as vital to the issue is an apparent note of realism. But "settlements" as such, while there now will be a cessation of such expansions, are not abandoned as an urgency for security. Yamit provides a typical example. There are 14 settlements there and they represent security. Less than four percent of the Sinai is included in the security belt, but this small area is viewed as the very basis for the safety of Israel. Moshe Rivlin, world president of the Xeren Kayemet, the Jewish National Fund, explained the vitality of the security belts. He told a gathering of Jewish journalists from the United States that many millions of cubic feet of sand had to be removed by the JNF in order to introduce a new life in the desert. "Do you want us to restore the sand, to revive the desert, after we have turned the area into a garden spot?" he asked. It is much more than that, of course. It is the experience with threats that makes a security belt vital. On this score, and on Jerusalem, there can be no concessions. "-- Prime Minister Begin, President Ephraim Katzir, many on the sidelines like Philip Klutznick, the new president of the World Jewish Congress, are hopeful. It all revolves around the attituda.of the U.S. The so-called even-handedness of military aid for Israel on a par with the Arab states is a matter of great concern. Begin is distressed by the new threats, like the poisoning of a few Israeli oranges that for a while is threatening the entire Israel citrus industry, and the terrorism that thus stems from the murderous PLO. Yet hope is not abandoned. Indeed, Israel looks to Washington for help, while expressing distress over the future of the world's largest Jewish community where assimilation is a threat. If problems and concerns are interchangeable, they are in evidence here. It is Am Ehad with anxieties: how to assure Israel's security and world Jewxy's dignity. For Israelis it is more than a matter of survival: it is the eternal hope that Jews will emerge strong and culturally-spiritually triumphant, while Israel re- tains an unhindered security. Out of Jerusalem now come many new messages. Once again it is a call for a combat- ting of assimilation. Prime Minister Begin made his plea for Hebrew as the second language for every .1pw in the world, saying that the language of the land remains the chief means communication. , tit pleading that Hebrew have - its equality. But the plea tor action Is global. If survival is the theme, its emphasis is as striking from Argentina as it is from the U.S. and Uruguay. It is an alphabetical roll call of nations whence stem the representative delegations in attendance at this important parliamentary gathering olJewsfrom every land whence Jewish spokesmen are permit- ted to come without restrictions as participants in efforts to solve the immense problems affecting world Jewry. Are these emissaries able to provide solutions for world Jewry's needs? The Zionist ideal once again serves as the central theme for Jewish unity as well as survival. If "Out of Zion shall come forth the Law,7_then perhaps out of a reunited Jerusalem will emerge a cure, no matter how perilous the illness.