54 Friday, March 11, 1978
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Declaration of Principles Needed for Egypt-Israel Talks
JERUSALEM (JTA) —
Senior sources in Jerusalem
said they believe that Egypt
might be ready to negotiate
a bilateral agreement with
Israel if the two countries
can reach an accord on a de-
claration of principles. They
also expect President Car-
ter to present American
proposals for a Middle East
settlement when he meets
with Israel Premier
Menahem Begin in
Washington next week that
will contain aspects of Is-
rael's own peace plan.
They said the U.S. would
be prepared to apply Israel's
self-rule plan on the West
Bank and Gaza Strip as a
transitional arrangement
leading ultimately to a gre-
ater measure of autonomy
for those territories.
The sources said they
believe that Egypt has
changed its position
since January and no
longer requires Jordan's
physical presence at the
peace talks, apparently
because Jordan has
proven more reluctant to
participate than Cairo
had anticipated.
The Egyptians, however,
have now hardened their
demands on the declaration
of principles, but despite
guarded optimism over pos-
sible bilateral negotiations
with Egypt, the sources
stressed that this did not
mean necessarily that Cairo
was ready to sign a bilateral
peace pact but rather was
prepared to continue the
negotiating process.
(Meanwhile, it was
learned that Crown Prince
Fand of Saudi Arabia has
said that his country would
consider recognizing Israel
in the event of a comprehen-
sive Middle East peace set-
tlement that provided for an
independent Palestinian
state. The move was re-
garded as significant, de-
spite the harsh restrictions
involved, since the very
name of Israel has long been
anathema in the conserva-
tive kingdom. Fand called
for a Palestinian state and
an end to Jewish
Jerusalem.)
With regard to a declara-
tion of principles, the
sources said they feel that
on President Carter's
Aswan formula which en-
visages some Palestinian
participation in determin-
ing their future, Israel and
the U.S. are not far apart.
Their widest differences are
over the question of with-
drawal from the occupied
territories.
In that connection, the
sources said, Israel fully ac-
cepts Security Council Re-
solution 242 as applying to
the West Bank. However,
Israel insists that there are
various interpretations of
242 and it does not believe
its peace plan contradicts
the resolution. The sources
noted that Israel's plan
would end the military gov-
ernment on the West Bank
and this would be a step in
the direction of"withdrawal
of military forces" required
by Resolution 242. The
problem of sovereignty on
the West Bank is left open
and Israel, for its part,
FirSt Irish Visit
LONDON (JTA) — The
first official visit by an Is-
raeli Minister to the Irish
Republic took place last
week when Yosef Burg, Is-
rael's Interior Minister,
held talks in Dublin with
Premier Jack Lynch,
Foreign Minister Michael
O'Kennedy and other politi-
cal leaders.
The two countries estab-
lished diplomatic relations
two years. ago.
would not implement Is-
raeli sovereignty there, the
sources said.
With respect to settle-
ments in the occupied ter-
ritories, the sources ob-
served that there were dif-
ferent degrees of impor-
tance in dealing with set-
tlements in Sinai and those
on the West Bank.
The sources stressed that
Israel insists on its security
demands in Sinai, meaning
a continued presence at
Sharm el-Sheikh, the Rafah
salient and the airfields, but
the government has decided
to freeze new settlements in
Sinai, including those plan-
ned and approved by the
previous government. The
only activity permitted is
the strengthening of exist-
ing settlements.
A more complicated
situation exists on the
West Bank where the
government decided not
to freeze settlement activ-
ity. However, the sources
said, the present system
of settlements within
army camps, tacitly ap-
proved by the Americans
until now, is probably
nearing its end. It is as-
sumed in Jerusalem that
the U.S. will probably not
continue to accept this
mode of settlement.
The sources explained
that the debate in the
Cabinet was over doing no-
thing with regard to settle-
ments or doing a minimum.
It was clear, the sources
said, that massive settle-
ment is simply not feasible
at this time. Although all
ministers support settle-
ments in principle, they
realize that widespread set-
tlement activity is impossi-
ble in the present political
climate.
The Scribes of Qumran
By BERNARD S. MIKOFSKY
Brooding presence of God,
Barren reaches of rock,
Sun baking the gnarled hills
Under endless, searing skies.
PURIM
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FOR:
God-intoxicated scribes,
They covered the leather scrolls
With the hallowed record
Of God's word to man
Through His chosen ones.
They also wrote about events
Of an apocalyptic war
In which the Sons of Light
Would at last prevail
And the Sons of Darkness
Would rule no more.
But Vespasian's legions
(Jerusalem destroyed and Masada crushed)
Were already marching south . . .
ADDRESS
-C1TY
At desks of stone
In a dry and dustry plain
Between mountains of the moon
And the Dead Sea heavy with salt
They sat, forming each letter
With loving, reverent care,
Working against time
In a timeless desert.
STATE
stole occasion
FROM
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ZIP
The scribes wrote on,
Then, before their last hour,
Hurriedly hid the sacred scrolls
In dark, cool caves
High in the hillsides of wrinkled stone
Where they would wait
For the faithful
To return.
Solarz Sees Sinai Precedent
in Sudan-Egypt Border Land
WASHINGTON (JTA) —
Egypt and the Sudan have
had bi-national arrange-
ments over large areas of
land with each other's
sovereign territories for the
past 83 years that Israel is
now asking Egypt to grant
in Sinai, a Congressional
hearing disclosed.
In a fresh development
regarding Israeli security
and Egyptian sovereignty, a
map was introduced by Rep.
Stephen Solarz (D — NY)
that shows what he said is
"precisely the same ar-
rangement" Israel is seek-
ing for the Rafah salient
that adjoins the Gaza Strip.
The Library of Congress,
Solarz said, is completing a
study at his request on the
Egyptian-Sudanese agree-
ments that have been func-
tioning smoothly since
1895.
Solarz unrolled this
geographic development
at a hearing by the House
International Relations
subcommittee on the
Middle East at which the
State Department pre-
sented a security sup-
porting assistance prog-
ram of $750 million for
Egypt for the coming fis-
cal year beginning Oct. 1.
The map Solarz presented
for Congressional scrutiny
is along the 22nd degree
parallel that separates
Egypt and Sunda. The
Sudanese government exer-
cises authority over the
large triangular area
within Egypt in which
Sudanese people live.
The area is washed by the
Red Sea and runs about 400
kilometers along the
Egyptian-Sudanese border.
On the same basis, Egypt
controls a smaller area that
is within Sudan and extends
about 50 kilometers along
their common border. In
both cases, these areas are
far larger than the Rafah
salient which is only six-
tenths of one percent of
Sinai.
Israel has conceded
Egyptian sovereignty
over Sinai but wants Is-
raeli civilian police to
control the Rafah area
and three airfields in
Sinai.
"If Egypt is able to live
with this program for more
than 80 years," Solarz said,
"it can live with it in the
Rafah area with Israel for
the next eight years. If it's
good enough for the Sudan,
it's good enough for Israel."
Begin Chides Protestors
JERUSALEM (JTA) —
Premier Menahem Begin
advised some 300 reserve
soldiers and airmen who
had questioned his govern-
ment's policies, to let the
government run the peace
negotiations as it sees fit
and stop interfering.
Begin delivered a stern
lecture in response to a peti-
tion signed by the reservists
asking him to choose "peace
over territories."
He chided the signatories
for making their petition
public before he received it.
He told them, "It is the
privilege of the petitioners
to express their views." But
"do they believe they can
impose these views on the
nation's representatives
who were elected to run the
country's affairs?" he asked.
He also asked the sol-
diers to tell him person-
ally if they accepted the
claims by Egypt, Jordan
and other Arab countries
for Israel's a priori com-
mitment to withdraw to
its 1967 borders and
grant the West Bank and
Gaza Strip residents the
right of self-
determination.
He said he hoped their
answers would be negative.
He assured the reservists
that his government is
doing its utmost to end war
and bring peace.
Nazis Ordered Out of Store
The operators of the Nazi
bookstore on Vernor Hwy.
in Detroit were ordered
Wednesday to vacate the
building within 10 days by
Detroit Common Pleas
Court.
William Russell, spokes-
man for the Nazis, offered
no defense after questioning
witnesses brought by land.-
lord Edward Bullock in the
jury trial. The Nazis had re-
nted the storefront in De-
cember, claiming they were
starting a printing busi-
ness.
One of Bullock's wit-
nesses was a printer who
did some plumbing work
in the store. He testified
that there was no print-
ing equipment in the
store, and Russell admit-
ted that the group had
only three printing
"jobs," for which they did
not charge.
Russell represented him-
self during the proceedings,
claiming no Detroit lawyer
would defend a Nazi.
Redgrave Lashes 'Zionists'
LONDON — Actress
Vanessa Redgrave has ac-
cused "British Zionists and
capitalists, particularly
Jews" of trying to destroy
her career.
The London Jewish
Chronicle reported that
Miss Redgrave gave a
speech in Malta in which
she said the Palestinians
and Maltese have much in
common since "they both
are fighting imperialism."
The paper said Miss Red-
grave's speech appeared to
be promoting the prop-
aganda film The Palesti-
nians"•which she made last
year for the Palestine Lib-
eration Organization.