THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Author Believes Israel's Internal
Problems Have Been Neglected
Alon Ben-Meir is primar-
ily the realist in his analysis
of the current Middle East
situation. In his newest
book, "Israel — a Challenge
of the Fourth Decade"
(Cyrco Press) he contends
that Israel must solve her
internal social and eco-
nomic problems before an-
ticipating success in the
peace negotiations.
Ben-Meir, director of the
Jewish National Fund in St.
Lr-ais, a well-known author
lecturer, lived for a
number of years in Israel
and his comments on the
situation tliere is based on
many years of studies of
Arab-Israeli developments.
Ben-Meir, who is to be one
of the speakers at the
Jewish Book Fair here next
month, says, "It is my view
that today's Mideast situa-
tion is far more critical than
it has been in the past 30
years because the danger is
now more subtle and covert.
Because of this, Jewish
communities around the
world and especially in the
United States should be
awakened to this new
reality."
Ben-Mein sees political
fragmentation within the
nation as a serious prob-
lem and presses for polit-
ical reforms or a national
government in which
most of the Israeli parties
participate. He believes
that the Israeli leader-
ship in the past has failed
to admit that the coun-
try's social and ethnic
struggle is bad enough to
warrant serious debate.
Only the common outside
danger from the Arab
states may have pre-
vented an explosion be-
tween the highly diverse
communities within.
Furthermore, he views
with alarm the current
trend of Israeli demog-
raphics. Emigration from
Israel is currently un-
checked while immigration
is limited. There is also a
reduced birth rate among
Jews 'n general, greater
conversion and intermar-
riage avid misconceived
governmental policies
toward occupied territories.
This situation is aggravated
by the complacent attitude
of many Israeli officials
toward these demographics.
In what will be a highly
controversial point of view,
the new book recommends
some sort of Palestinian
entity based on Prime
Minister Menahem Begin's
formula of self-rule on part
or all of the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip. Without
some such solution, real
peace seems unlikely.
The author analyzes Is-
rael's public relations fail-
ure. He finds that the na-
tion's intensified efforts to
explain its policies and posi-
tions — especially since the
October 1973 war, have
made little headway, while
the Arab states, supported
by the Soviet bloc, have
been able to wage a prop-
aganda campaign which
has rendered Israel a seri-
ous setback in its own
explanatory and persuasive
efforts.
Ben-Meir also states that
Israel's position vis-a-vis
the United States and
Jewish nations around the
CAN YOUR KLUNKER
GET THRU •
THE WINTER?
world must be reviewed and
re-defined. He believes that,
for the 30-year-old nation to
maintain a viable partner-
ship with world Jewry, it
must accept that restrictive
element in any partnership
that allows either partner to
question the actions of the
other. Israel cannot expect
to maintain a one-sided
partnership in which it can
always dictate the rules and
then change them when it
chooses, he says.
Nuclear Threat
LONDON (ZIVS) —
Documents just published
in London show that Soviet
leader Leonid Brzhnev
feared that Arab intransi-
gence following the 1967
Six-Day War would lead to
an East-West nuclear war.
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