THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 2 Friday, December 28, 1979 Purely Commentary `The Russian Equation': The Menace to Mankind It was never a secret. Now it is sprouting forth in full force. The threatened Russian encirclement is menacing many areas of the globe. This continent is as insecure as the rest of the universe. The USSR was involved in every assault on Israel and only the developing opposition to the Russian involvements in Egypt helped call a temporary halt to the Kremlin intru- sions in the Middle East. It was that Russian threat that contributed to Anwar Sadat's determination to encourage the peace negotiations with Israel. Russian arms were and still are being used by Israel's enemies, and USSR allies iralude Qaddafi and Arafat. PLO incursions into Israel for terrorist outrages have always been with the use of Russian arms. Now there are warnings against the Russian invasions from many quarters. Red China is on the alert. The Chinese state bluntly that they must stay on guard against the Kremlin's encirclement threats. Much more menacing are the Russian tactics in the Middle East. Perhaps the Iranian outrages will help expose the danger spelled USSR. There is an analysis of developing factors affecting East-West relations by Arnaud deBor- chgrave whose "Soviet Equation" in the Dec. 24 Newsweek asserts: The KGB, according to several Western intelli- gence chiefs, has been exploiting the Iranian revolution. These sources say that they have more than circumstantial evidence that Moscow de- cided last year to try to harness the Muslim revolt to Soviet strategy in the Persian Gulf region. The American embassy take-over in Teheran, they • have told me, was a well-prepared operation to move the Iranian revolution into a final Marxist phase. Intelligence generated by friendly agents in Teheran has indicated that there were some Mar- xist cadres inside the embassy, posing as Islamic militants. At least one — identified as a Marxist Fedayeen guerrilla operating in Iran before Khomeini's return — was known to have regular contacts with a KGB agent in the'Soviet Embassy. While Khomeini was in France, European agents kept his entourage under close surveil- lance. Two KGB operatives and two Libyan agents were said to be part of the group. They posed as hard-line anti-Communists By June 1978, Israeli and European services compiled detailed reports on a Soviet Destabiliza- tion plan for Iran. When the PLO sent two security specialists to help reorganize Iran's secret police earlier this year, they were immediately identified as Palestinian intelligence operatives with close ties to the KGB in Beirut. The Kremlin schemes are apparent. It is possible that only the approaching Olympics are temporarily delaying more massive Russian involvements. Surely, the dissidents who have shown courage in their resistance to all of the Russian oppressive measures are helpful in the exposures of the nefarious Soviet tactics. It is also believable that the demands by tens of Rus- sian Jews for exit visas contribute towards revealing the Russian political as well as social aims. By Philip Slomovitz Threat of Russian Encirclement Revealed in Newsweek Story Which Demands Interest as a Warning Against the Rising Tide of Soviet Power in the Middle East The SALT II debate will surely aid in the revelations of the Russian programs which are at the root of many of the world's ills. It will take a lot of courage to overcome the dangers. Most important is the need to make the facts known. Perhaps exposure to world public opinion will do more to aid the political struggle against Russian encirclement than anything else. Rabbi Adler's Legacy: His Role in Civil Rights Movement Whoever distorts the black-Jewish friendships at- tempts to erase historical truth. It can never succeed. Those who have introduced suspicion bordering on dis- cord and hatred are rendering a great disservice. It is necessary occasionally to revive memories. One such recollection re- lates to the late Rabbi Mor- ris Adler. In all his years of ecumen- ical services he rose to great heights as a champion of the rights of the oppressed, and the Negroes knew him for what he was worth: a great champion of justice. This is a good time to re- call one of his major accom- plishments and his notable contributions to the civil rights movement. His able wife Goldie shared in his dedicated labors, and it is evidenced in the book, "May I Have a Word With You?" in which she compiled with the coop- eration of Lilly Edelman, some of his notable essays. A section of "May I RABBI MORRIS ADLER Have a Word With You?" is entitled "Negro and White." Each of the articles in this section of the book is a repudiation of prejudice, a call for fairness and justice. Here is an exemplary essay from this book: I am in this fight with you because my tradition teaches that none can deny the brotherhood of his neighbor without first rejecting the Fatherhood of God. It thus becomes a religious imperative for me to resist every condition or group which re- duces my neighbor to a status less than brother. I am in this fight with you because as a Jew I am familiar through long experience with the evils of oppression and bigotry. Throughout our entire tradition and in our daily prayers there is re- peated emphasis on the liberation of my ancestors from Egypt. No other event in the millennial his- tory of my people is as frequently evoked. On one of the major festivals in our calendar (Pesach), we are bidden to proclaim that we are descended from slaves. We place a bitter herb on our tongue so that our body as well as our spirit may never forget the bitterness of enslavement. We still bear upon our flesh scars inflicted by hate-driven tor- me to make my fight the fight of all who are rejected, the harassed, the downtrodden impels me to make my fight the fight of all who are denied equality and justice. I am in this fight with you because I know that since freedom is indivisible, its curtailment any- where curtails and threatens my freedom. A democracy that supports the suppression of one group of its citizenry is weakened at its very foun- dations and renders all others insecure in their liberty. Where a class or race is subjected to second-class citizenship, the first-class citizen- ship of the rest is impaired, uncertain, and incom- plete. A new Pharaoh may arise who will extend the existent pattern of oppression and denial to all. I am in this fight with you because I want to liberate men from the dark passions of bigotry and hostility. I want to heal the sickness of those who are obsessed with a hate which drives them to bear down evilly upon others. If these are be- yond healing and therapy, I want their children to grow up in a climate of freedom in which men of differing faiths and color live in equality and dig- nity. Thus will the atmosphere about them not infect them with the moral and psychic sickness of their parents. I am in this fight with you because my tradition and my experience as a Jew have sensitized me to the deprivations imposed upon you. I am in this fight because I cannot be fully free until all are free. Let it be remembered that this book was published more than a decade ago, that the late Rabbi Adler's courageous stand for justice was a good part of his spiritual services. They were shared by his wife. They were shared by his community, the Jewish people. Who dares to intro- duce prejudice in the ranks of our libertarian people? The Message of Brotherhood Often Falls on Deaf Ears The appeal for common decency and justice that was part of the late Rabbi Morris Adler's code of American and Jewish principles symbolized a basic Jewish approach to the movement for the erasing of race hatreds. Are the echoes of these voices still heard in the land, or do they now fall on deaf eras? , There was an ill omen in a poll of blacks that was taken in New York to ascertain which American groups had ex- pressed the most dominant interest in blacks attaining equality. Jews ranked among the lowest. Topping the list were TV, the U.S. Army, universities, the federal government and the Supreme Court. Jews ranked closest to the bottom, with the police and real estate companies. -Lowest were the white protestant churches. This is one of the saddest annotations imaginable for the record of Jewish involvements in the civil rights move- ment. Because it expresses the feelings of blacks it is de- plorable. While the Jewish response to such a poll must be with a sense of resentment, it is clear that the repudiations should come from the ranks of the blacks. In the main, Jewish attitudes are those embodied in the sentiments of Morris Adler. There is need for an emula- tion of his leadership and spokesmanship. Peace-Shalom' Dove Portrayal Featured in Pictorial Volume In a single word — Peace — appended to its Hebrew equivalent — Shalom — SBS Publishers of Englewood, N.J., have created a title for a volume that combines history with magnificent photographic art. It is a product so timely that it provides the most noteworthy in documentary compilations depicting the experiences of three nations who shared in peace- making and the generation blessed with being witness to it. "Peace-Shalom" could well be called the total re- cord of the negotiations that led to an agreement justify- ing the title for a book dedi- cated to this idea. It is a text as well as pic- torial account of the his- tory under review, and in both instances the objec- tives are fulfilled with professional skills. An elaborate text, by An- thony S. Pitch, merits at- tention as a valuable addi- tion to the records accumu- lated defining the decisions reached by Israel and Egypt under the tutelage of President Carter and the events that preceded the Camp David and White House conferences. The totality of the cover- age of the news events, the occurrences in the Middle East preceding the visit of Anwar Sadat in Jerusalem, the pageantry and the dramatic occurrences com- bine to make the Pitch ac- counts significant in all their details. As historian, he did not omit the factual occurrences and did not overlook treat- ing the negatives with equal emphasis given the positive and constructive details. Thus, the economically depressing gets as much attention as the militarily successful trends. Be- sides, even the several fraudulent experiences in Israel are not over- looked. It is part of the overall story that ex- plains Israel's role in the turbulent years, while crediting the accom- plishments where praise is due. Therefore, the panorama of the two years of negotia- tions, the cast of characters appearing in the process of peace negotiations, are part of the history-making events included in the Pitch text. While all of the partici- pants in this dramatic occurrence are fully cre- dited with their roles in the peace planning, with President Carter and Israel Prime Minister Menahem Begin in major roles, this "Peace-Shalom" volume serves especially as a tes- tament to the Egyptian leader. President Sadat once again emerges as a cooperating member of a great team and if any one will cherish possessing this volume, he certainly will. It is as a pictorial classic that this volume earns spe- cial praise. So fascinating are the drawings that they per- form an extra service in elevating this volume to a high degree of illustrat- ive accomplishment. Yigael Tumarkin por- trayed the spirit of peace, giving it special em- phasis. Symbolizing the book's thesis is the Dove of Peace carrying an olive branch. Each chapter commences with the dove and peace keeps predominating. The ideal for peace also is emphasized in a preface by former Israel Ambassador to the United Nations Chaim Herzog. An historic factor in this volume is that Israel's dramatic experiences are traced to Kilometer 101 where the many negotia- tions were held after the Yom Kippur War. Then the story proceeds until the Camp David conferences. Among the valuable documentary reprod- uctions in this volume is the facsimile of the speech by Menahem Begin at the White House peace signing. It was hand-written and it ap- pears in that form here. The photographers who provided the photos have an share in inerasable "Peace-Shalom." They are: Moshe Milner, Yaakov Saar, Hananya Hennan, Micha Bar-Am, Menucha Brafman, Werner Braun, Igal Havilio, Elliot Faye, Peter Larsen, Aliza Orbach, Yael Rosen, David Rubinger, Yehoshua Zamir and Su en lee (Butch). Production is by Arye Ben David, design by Doreet Scharfstein. — P.S.