64
Friday, October 19, 1919
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
AJCommittee Leader Defines Falashas' Status
American Jewish Corn- wracked the entire country.
mittee Executive Vice In point of fact, although it
President Bertram H. Gold, refuses to permit emigra-
in a statement to The De- tion, the present Ethiopian
troit Jewish News, ex- government is seen by the
plained the current status of Falashas as one that has
the Falasha Jews in been good to them in other
respects, e.g. it gave them
Ethiopia.
His statement serves to land whereas before they
clarify many of the ques- were but tenant farmers.
"There is no doubt that
tions posed regarding the
Falashas. His statement fol- the two or three years of the
greatest fighting in and
lows:
"The Falasha problem is around Ethiopia, and with
one that merits deep Jewish raids by all kinds of groups
concern. I believe it fair to — some simply making in-
say, however, that Israel cursions into the country,
and Jewish organizations others seeking to attain a
are extending all possible more permanent dominance
aid, they can in what is a — there were Jews who
were killed and others who
very difficult situation.
"Basically, we are dealing were kidnapped. Insofar as
with a situation of a nation one can ascertain, inside
that is fighting two external this mountainous land
wars while it completes an (where communications are
internal revolution that has miserable in the best of cir-
half, ORT and the JDC have
managed to establish what
witnesses like the Ameri-
can ambassador to Ethiopia
and David Kessler, editor of
the Jewish Chronicle in
London, condiser a truly
first-rate program of aid,
better than has existed be-
fore. This is done inside the
frame of an international
program supported by -sev-
eral governments on behalf
of the Gondar region in
which most of the Falashas
presently live.
"We know that there have
BERTRAM GOLD
been various charges
would be the last to say that leveled against this pro-
no new incidents are taking gram. We also know that
place although inquiries by representatives of the
two Jews who recently vis- different supporting gov-
ited Ethiopia and the Sudan ernments who have gone in
brought responses that they to examine it following such
charges have been univer-
knew of no recent cases.
"In the past year and a sal in their praise.
cumstances, not to mention
the population movement of
recent years) the numbres
are far below those often put
out by people who are cam-
paigning on behalf of the
Falashas.
"Such information as we
have available indicate that
about two score Falasha
Jews were killed and about
a score kidnapped. This oc-
curred about two years ago
in Ethiopia's Worgera dis-
trict around the town called
Dabat. At that time, the
present government's writ
did not extend very far from
Gondar, and various rebel
factions were quite active.
It is, of course, no com-
fort to know that Moslem,
Christian and other minor-
ity members in Ethiopia as
well as Falshas were taken
into slavery or killed. We
"Two last subjects:
"First, Falasha emigra-
tion. This government, like
the Haile Selassie govern-
ment, does notpermit emig-
ration and we have little
leverage with which to ap-
proach it. I could tell you
that we are convinced that
the present Begin govern-
ment has been more active
than its predecessors in try-
ing to do something about
this situation; it is doing.
believe, all that is possibi
under the circumstances.
"Second, there have been
rather exaggerated reports
about the number of
Falasha refugees in the Su-
dan. This has been quietly
investigated now by at least,
two parties and, confiden-
tially, some tens of Jews of
the less than 100 found have
been moved to Israel."
Blame for Andrew Young Incident Defined by William Safire
Blame for the Andrew
Young incident is placed
upon President Carter and
Secretary of State Cyrus
Vance in an essay, "Of
Blacks and Jews," by
William Safire in the Sept.
27 New York Times. Safire
wrote:
When Ambassador An-
drew Young was forced to
resign, the question that
swept through the black
leadership was: Who got
Andy? Was he fired because
he offended the Israelis by
meeting with the PLO, or
was he fired because he lied
to the State Department
and made a fool out of the
Secretary of State?
If that question had been
answered truthfully and
promptly, much of the
animosity that has de-
veloped between black
leaders and Jews since that
time would have been nip-
ped in the bud.
• The central facts are not
in dispute. Mr. young as-
serted he did not tell "the
whole truth" to his
superiors about his planned
contravention of an Ameri-
can commitment. Shortly
after that admission, Mr.
Vance spoke to President
Carter, with a State De-
partment notetaker on an
extension. Then Mr.
Young's resignation was ac-
cepted.
The simple truth: Mr.
Vance coolly pointed out
that our government had
been placed in an im-
possible situation, put-
ting out an untrue story
supplied to it by an am-
bassador operating on
his own; unless Mr.
Young did the proper
thing," Mr. Vance could
never again be trusted to
, speak for the United
States.
continued silence on the
real reason for the Young
resignation encouraged
black distrust of Israel.
That left it to Secretary
Vance. On Sept. 5, he was
asked twice, in the most
precise terms, "was the
Young resignation brought
about in fact by the Ameri-
can Jewish community, or
the Israelis, or was it
brought about as a result of
his own actions?"
Exercising great
lawyerly care, he absolved
Jews in America but not
Jews in Israel: "It was not
the result of actions by the
Jewish community." By
selection, he seemed to be
blaming both the Israelis
and Mr. Young.
That stunned the Israelis,
who had not sought the
Young resignation; worse,
it did not deter any black
leader from believing that
the Israelis "got" their
Andy, which in turn
encouraged the pilgrimages
to Yasir Arafat.
.
ANDREW YOUNG
When asked about this,
the departmental spokes-
man denied that there had
been any "him or me ul-
timatum," adding that "the
Secretary behaved in a'
gentlemanly fashion." That
was surely fabtual — Mr.
Vance is not the sort to bang
his shoe on the table — but
surely misleading.
What really happened is
that with great dignity and
deference, Mr. Vance let the
President know that he
could not continue to serve
along with Mr. Young.
That's why Mr. Young, who
did not want to leave, had to
leave.
The subsequent outbreak
of black anti-Semitism, and
the impassioned embrace of
the PLO by some black
leaders, could have been
muted by a simple assertion
of the truth: It was a bet-
rayed Secretary of State,
and not the Israelis, who
"got" Young.
When a few White
House aides realized the
damage being done to
American society, they
urged Mr. Carter to set
the record straight. The
President could not bear
to do that: in his Aug. 30
speech in Atlanta, his
Mr. Vance probably
thinks to this day that he
was merely being a good
soldier, backing up the
President who did not
want to offend his black
support. But a half-truth
can be as bad as a lie. Mr.
Young's half-truth de-
liberately misled the Sec-
retary of State, and Mr.
Vance's later half-truths
— that he didn't actually
issue a "me or him" ul-
timatum and that he
could not absolve the Is-
raelis — deliberately mis-
WILLIAM SAFIRE
led the American people.
The whole truth will come private import-export busi-
out in memoirs years from ness. It set up the media
now. In the meantime, Mr. events of Jesse Jackson in
Young's half-truths — on Jerusalem, and of Mr.
top of President Carter's Young's meeting with an ill
craven evasion of responsi- and seriously debilitated Is-
_ bility — are fomenting raeli Foreign Minister.
bigotry and backlash.
Sometimes, "for reasons
Mr. Vance's refusal to
speak the whole truth of state," a U.S. official must
means that an ambassador, button his lip. But when the
fired for lying has been reason for misleading
treated to a free tour of Af- Americans is purely politi-
rica to help establish his cal, and when the conse-
quence of silence causes
lasting harm, a good man
will tell the whole truth.
Mr: Vance — long known
as "the man who leaves no
footprints" — has decided to
let the racial hatred spread.
Long after the "Georgia-
Texas gang" joins the Hard-
ing ,"Ohio gang" in the
pages of perfidy, the deci-
sion of this good man to do
nothing will be remem-
bered.
(Speaking in Detroit on
Sunday, at a Cobo Hall ban-
quet of the Coalition of
Black' Trade Unionists, •
Young stated: "Nobody
forced me to resign. No Jews
forced my resignation."
(Young also told the audi-
ence of 1,000 persons that
Jews within the Carter
' Administration fought the
hardest in behalf for him to
remain in his ambassador's
post and Israel was not to
blame.)
two parties.
Queries for Black Who Legitimatizes PLO
Jesse Jackson, the black offer, we have votes to of-
leader who has given credi- fer" and "we tend to sup-
bility to the PLO, is deliver- port people who support
ing many speeches and is us," while decrying the
expected to be in Detroit for amount of American aid
to Israel, were you calling
a public meeting soon.
Morton Yarmon, a for cuts in American gov-
member of the staff of the ernmental aid to Israel?
American Jewish Commit-
3. When you visited the
tee, has prepared the follow- memorial and museum
ing questions to be ad- dedicated to the victims of
dressed to Jackson:
the Nazi Holocaust, you
1. Why did you join with said it made you understand
Yasir Arafat in singing We better the Jewish quest for a
Shall Overcome" even homeland and what you
though he has not agreed to termed "the persecution
stop PLO terrorism in Israel complex of many Jewish
and around the world, or to people that almost invari-
recognize the right of Israel ably makes them overreact
to exist?
to their own suffering." How
2. In saying that black can you "overreact" to
votes "have tax money to genocide, which is what
Arafat of the PLO still offers
to Israel and Jews there?
4. Why did you change
your itinerary and refuse to
meet in Israel with mem-
bers of the World Associa-
tion of Jews from Arab Na-
tions, who could have told
you of the persecution they
had suffered in those coun-
tries?
5. You said on your flight
to Tel • Aviv that "I'm sick
and tired of hearing about
the Holdcaust and having
America being put in the
position of a guilt trip. We
have to get on with the is-
sues of today and not talk
about the Holocaust." Does
that not exhibit a lack of
moral sensitivity on your
part?
6. The Christian Sci-
ence Monitor of Sept. 25,
197.9, quotes you as say-
ing to Arab businessmen
and gOvernment leaders
in Chicago that By Oc-
tober 1st, there will be no
black leader left" willing
to come to the aid of the
Palestinian cause if there
is not an immediate infu-
sion of funds into the
black community from
Arab states. "We will all
learn to recite the al-
phabet without three let-
ters, P-L-O," you told
them. Is your so-called
peace offensive basically
a hustle for Arab Money
for PUSH?
7. You argue that the
U.S. should begin talking
with the PLO because of
American dependence on
Arab oil. Is that not suc-
cumbing to Arab oil
blackmail?
8. You called for a "clear
document" from the PLO
executive committee that
you attended in Lebarp -
Did you get it, and, if
does it recognize the right of
the state of Israel to exist
and repudiate the use of ter-
rorism in Israel and
elsewhere throughout the
world?
9. Did you attempt to
get Arafat and the PLO to
discontinue their use of
assassination and terror
against other Arabs who
want to make peace with
Israel? If not, why not??
10. You say that Arafat
is "flexible" and does not
seek to "exterminate Jews."
What specific steps can you
cite to prove that? Why does
. Arafat refuse to support
Resolution 242 of the
United Nations?