2 Friday, February 23, 1919 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Purely Commentary Condoning of Distortions About Tortures in Israel Not to State Department's Credit - Renewal of libelous propaganda about tortures in Is- rael of Arabs in Israeli prisons created the shock of witness- ing the U.S. State Department being party to such an outrage. State Department spokesmen tried to play down the charges, but they failed utterly in making it known that a prejudiced, perhaps also disgruntled, retiree from the De- partment's services was responsible for a concoction that deserved the strongest condemnations. 'Like the London Times more than a year ago, the Washington Post also became party to the spreading of the libel, and it gained unprecedented space in the American press. The libel must be exposed in the best interest of truth about Israel and her penal system. The Jewish state has diffiCulty enough overcoming news distortions stemming from quarters occupied by those seeking Israel's destruc- tion. It is urgent, therefore, that the facts be known and the libels refuted. An important statement elaborating on the latest anti-Israel libel was issued by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. There is no need apologizing for the use of such an official American Jewish memorandum and it is offered here in its totality: "Clumsy public relations." This was the New York Times' editorial comment last week on what it called the State Department's "tortured view of Israel's conduct." By "selectively quoting" from the section on Israel in its annual report on human rights, the Times said, the State Depart- ment "managed to attract unfair attention to some alleged lapses." The basis for that rtart of the State Department report which spoke of "instantes of mistikeat- ment" by Israel was a series, of cables from one Alexandra U. Johnson, a junior Foreign Service officer serving as a consul in Jerusalem, who be- came romantically involved with a Palestinian who came to her for a visa. Ms. Johnson, who was separated last month from the Foreign Service when she failed to pass her probation period, ca- bled the State Department that the "use of brutal- ity" in interrogating prisoners was a "systematic practice" of Israeli authorities. There are powerful reasons to challenge the re- liability of the information provided to Ms. Johnson by ex-prisoners (including her fiance) who were seeking visas. Convicted terrorists are ineligible for U.S. visas. It is inevitable that they will insist their confessions were coerced. Moreover, Israel makes detainees available to the International Red Cross for interview and exam- ination within 14 days of arrest — and Red Cross officials have never brought torture charges to international attention. Last year a team of distinguished French jurists representing the International League for Human Rights and the International Association of Catholic Lawyers (Pax Romana) investigated charges of Israeli mistreatment of prisoners. They found: (a) "Israel's reactions to the activities which pose a threat to her security can be de- scribed as very moderate" and (b) "The frequent use of torture and ill treatment -is normally im- possible without the existence of secret centers of interrogation and detention. It would also entail the disappearance of prisoners. Nothing of the sort has ever been reported as happening in Israel or in the occupied territories." • Despite its awareness of the origin of the charges against Israel, the State Department re- leased excerpts from its report declaring that the "accumulation of reports, _some from "credible sources," had made it appear that "instances of mistreatment" had occurred. Given their origin, there would appear nothing "credible" about the sources. Nor does the "accumulation" of such re- ports enhance their accuracy. The repetition of a falsehood does not turn it into truth. Indeed, this was part of the "big lie" technique perfected by Nazi propaganda. It comes as no surprise that the same method is employed by Arab propagandists today in their assault on the legitimacy of Israel. But it is a grave disappointment that the State Department should fall prey to it. • Knowing as it does that no nation in the Mid- dle East and few countries anywhere have a higher regard for human rights than Israel, the State Department might have said so in plain words when the Washington Post frontpaged its gory account of Ms. Johnson's cables. That it did not can hardly build confidence in American in- The Shock of Irresponsible Permissiveness in the Spread of Libels About Tortures in Israel Prisons ... Iranian Crisis and Yielding to Panic tentions among the leaders of the Israeli govern- ment. As the Times editorial put it: "Is it really so hard for American officials to understand that the Camp David accords and a great deal else in the Middle East vitally depend on Israel's trust in the friendship and fairness of the United States?" There is always the regret that such analytical state- ments seldom if ever reach the vast audience of newspaper readers whose minds have already been poisoned by the distortions about torture spread by and in the media. But the Jewish ranks must not be misled. If the few who seek the truth will be alerted to it, perhaps the community at large will learn to strive for the facts and refuse to be misled by outrageous libels. Israel, the Oasis Amidst a World of Terror There is terror all around her, yet Israel remains the most civilized oasis in an area of turmoil and uncertainty. Assassinations are common among her neighbors, yet Israel, always in danger, ever-threatened, is at peace domestically. Ask any traveler to Israel, whatever the ideology of the visiting tourist, and the impression is that when in Israel there is little if any evidence of a warlike atmosphere. When government officials are questioned they'll express their views on relationships with the outside world, espe- cially with the United States. It is always in a framework of hopes and striving for peace. That is why Israel is the only wholesome factor in the area, with unshakable dedication to democratic ideals. That is why Israel is the best friend for the States, because she is dependable as an ally. Iran and Lebanon typically portray the troubled region, in marked contrasts with Israel. But when the need _arises to Plead for security for Israel even the best of friends nee* to be convinced that in Israel there; is a semblance of humanism and democracy. - — Perhaps the world, and especially the American lead- ers, will labor with greater conviction in Israel's behalf out of the experiences in Iran and the horrors in Lebanon. American Jewry Equally Tested in These Periods of Crises American Jewry also is put to the test at every erup- tion of inhumanism in the Middle East. There are the frightened who ask unnecessary questions. Because Menahem Begin differs with Moshe Dayan does not mean that Israel is on the verge of a crisis or that her government might collapse. On the contrary, at every eruption of dis- pute there is evidence that the disruptants represent the basics of democratic thinking and normal statesmanship and diplomatic skill in the confrontations with the West and more notable with the United States. Is Israel to blame in making appeals for her security and for the state's survival because Jimmy Carter or the State Department dislike the demands for what is justice for Israel and therefore for world Jewry? American Jews are put to the test when they yield to panic in time of crisis. When there is a philanthropic cam- paign, as in the current Allied Jewish Campaign, there may arise, as happens often, an element that needs con- vincing and being, led to self-confidence that one doesn't trifle with a just cause. Magazines, general as well as Jewish, and numerous new books now deal with the status of American Jewry. It could be imagined from the approaches that a people of some five-and-a-half million are nearing extinction. True: youth is largely estranged, there is a growing assimilation, a rise in mixed marriages. The historic lesson of recurrence of such experiences should encourage greater effort to counteract the negatives. They do - not teach despair. The current world situation, the horrors that domi many areas of the world, the dangers affecting Je communities, all must be combatted by creating a new spirit of confidence. . In this sick world, Israel and Jewry could well be judged as being among the healthiest. That's the way to judge the civilized who are like an oasis among -the un- civilized. Put to the test, Israel and world 'Jewry must emerge in strength. To make it a certainty, it is the chief duty of American Jewry. The Iranian Marranos: Tragic Echo of the Past Diaspora Jews of the free world continue to have much to contend with. There may be a need to rescue Jews from lands hitherto unaffected by the anti-Israel elements of the Third World and the Communist bloc. Iranian, Turkish and other Jews are in danger. Will they, too, need Israel as a refuge? Meanwhile, in Iran, there is an echo of the past in Jewry's reactions to the crisis of horror. Young Jews repor- tedly paraded in the Khomeini ranks. Now Jews in Iran are quoted as saying, "We are Iranians first, Jews second." Where was that heard before? Shades of the Spanish experience and of the Marranos! They.are rpt hiding their Jewishness: how can they when Jews are mar ked for recognition? Yet under insecure cir- cumstances, dews often shout their loyalty for fear of being challenged and condemned. Who is to judge these "I am Iranian first" Jews? How does any one know how he'd react unless placed in the shoes of the endangered? Yet, there is a lesson here for those who do not have to shout their patriotism, who live in a land like the U.S. where Jews can say with pride: "We are Americans and Jews on an equal basis, Americans who will match our loyalties with anyone, and Jewish with the right'of human beings to care for our kin, to protect them, to have a loyalty to them as human beings and even to challenge the America of our love and our devotion when in the name of America there is injustice by some who cannot understand the right to strive for fellow beings as free as we are and to differ with those who would deprive us of that humanitarian principle." Meanwhile, there is oppression and Jews in lands of t yranny live in utter fright lest even a word spelling free- dom is uttered. The messianic day of redemption will arrive only when such fears are muted. Until thatday,th e kinfolk of the frightened will themselves be panicked by the condi- t ions and may have to view with toleration the desperation 0 f the less fortunate in world Jewry's ranks. Jerusalem and I Was I meant to be myself or the one that was supposed to be and yet never was? If I am who I am and not who I could be then where am I? and where should I be? With you, Jerusalem, I am who I was meant to be. Without you, I am nothing. When I hear the music of peace I hear the melodies of Jerusalem. And when beauty saturates my soul I know it is the unique beauty of Jerusalem. When grief and desolation engulf me, Jerusalem is there to console me. When I teach or preach, I pursue the knowledge of Jerusalem. And when I reach for God I reach for the God of Jerusalem. Usurp or divide Jerusalem again, and you might as well kill my soul, dismember my body, cut off my arms, behead me; for I will be nothing, I will sense nothing, I will decay anc4die, for Jerusalem is I. By Philip Slomovitz Copyright 1979 —By ALON BEN-MEIR Remove your bloody masks, you hypocritical creatures. What do you know about Jerusalem and me? I lived there a millenium before you arose and I will survive millenia after you fall. I am the victim. Suffering, pain and agony, misery, fear and tyranny, torture, persecution and death. But Jerusalem lives, has lived through the ugly pages and infamous chapters of history that you have written and played. Remove your dirty disguise, for Jerusalem and I have a bond, unshakeable, unstained, never to be broken; a bond stronger tir;In your most ominous arsenals, mightier than your deadliest weapons; a bond profound, pervading and pure. And thus never again would I capitulate or desert, neveragain would I abandon or surrender. For I am Jerusalem and. Jerusalem is I.