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March 21, 1980 - Image 19

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1980-03-21

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

Dr. Jakobovits Defends Views on Israel
in Speech Here at Cong. Shaarey Zedek

British Jewry's Chief
Rabbi Immanuel
Jakobovits, the stormy pet-
rel in a dispute over his
views on Israel and the
Palestinians, defended his
position and clarified it in a
statement at Cong. Shaarey
Zedek Sunday evening.
Here to speak on Jewish
ethical teachings in medical
practices, Dr. Jakobovits
and his audience of some
300 were greeted on arrival
the synagogue by repre-
_ _ntatives of the Conference
of Jewish Activists dis-
tributing pamphlets which
assailed Dr. Jakobovits.

After remarks by Dr.
Peter Martin, chairman of
the Shaarey Zedek Cultural
Commission, sponsor of the
lecture, and Rabbi Irwin
Groner, who introduced the
guest speaker, Dr.
Jakobovits said he wished
in advance to remove sus-
pense." He then read a long
statement replying to alle-
gations in the dispute and
replying to the charges in
the distributed leaflets.

In the assigned topic
for his address Sunday
evening, "Who Shall Live
and Who Shall Die —
Bio-Medical Ethics and
the Jewish Tradition,"

Dr. Jakobovits touched
upon the many Jewish
concepts in medicine,
birth control, abortions,
capital punishment, re-
jection of euthanasia.
In his policy statement
defining his position on Is-
rael, Dr. Jakobovits said:
"In the light of my
categorical statements, if
not my public record in sup-
port of Israel, I need
scarcely deny the prepos-
terous allegations that in
my remarks I had 'advo-
cated' a Palestinian state, or
the dissolution of Israel
(perish the thought!) or the
re-division of Jerusalem.
Nor did I comment on the
current autonomy talks or
the settlement politics.
"What I did say was that I
was alarmed by the prospect
of Jewish religious fun-
damentalism being seen
(rightly or wrongly) as an
impediment to peace, with
incalculable damage to
Judaism itself, especially in
a world threatened with re-
versal to the Middle Ages by
religious fanaticism
elsewhere. I therefore
wanted Jewish religious
voices of moderation to be
heard, though I conceded
that contrary views may be
equally authentic.

"Convinced that Is-
rael's viability in the long
run requires us to nur-
ture hope and confidence
in some future accom-
modation, however dis-
tant, I challenged the
widely proclaimed view
that there could never be
a settlement with the
Arabs. This is the counsel
of despair which already
drives 30,000 Israelis a
year to Yerida .. .
`"ro counter the increas-
ingly embittered polariza-
tion in Israel between
"hawks" and "doves," possi-
bly risking civil unrest, I
endorsed a formula de-

signed to provide some mid-
dle ground which might
lead to a consensus: Neither
to give up any territory
until convincing evidence of
peace is at hand, nor to
foreclose any options for a
future settlement compati-
ble with Israel's security.
"Asked if this could even-
tually include Jerusalem as
the capital of whatever
Palestinian entity might
emerge after 10 years, I re-
plied that so long as
Jerusalem remained Is-
rael's undivided capital, I
could envisage a Vatican.
type enclave based on the
Moslem holy places. . ."

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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Friday, March 21, 1980 19

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Germany Wants Testimony
of Nazi Residing in Canada

TORONTO (JTA) — West
Germany wants the Ontario
Supreme Court to order a
North York man, who was a
Latvian police officer dur-
ing the Nazi occupation, to
tell what he knows of two
mass executions of civilians
in Latvia in the early 1940s.
The testimony of Harold
Puntulis, a builder, would
be part of the prosecution's
case in the trial against Al-
bert Eichelis, a Latvian
police chief who was Pun-
tulis' superior officer.
Eichelis is charged with
murder and conspiracy in
the mass execution of 270
men, women and children
near the Latvian town of
Rositten, now Rezekne,
about 140 miles southeast of
Riga. This includes the
execution of 170 imprisoned
residents of the village of
Odrini in January 1942 and
the execution of 100 Jews in
September or October 1941.
Eichelis was the dis-
trict police chief for
Rositten and Puntulis
Tas in charge of one of
the police stations. West
Germany wants the
North York man to testify
bout what happened to
,e 270 persons. Accord-
ing to documents filed
with the court, Puntulis
will be asked whether he
knows if Eichelis shot
those who weren't killed
immediately in the execu-
tion.
West Germany says Pun-
tulis' testimony is "essen-
tial," but that Puntulis re-
fused to give any evidence
seven years ago, even in a
proposed hearing before the
West German Consul Gen-

eral in Toronto. Puntulis,
who has been in Canada
since the late 1940s, is a
Canadian citizen and can't G,
be forced to give evidence
outside Canada. But he can
be ordered to give testimony
under oath before a special
examiner in Toronto. A'-'
transcript of this testimony
could be used in the West
German trial.
Lawyers for both the
West German government
and Puntulis have agreed to
ask the Ontario Supreme
Court to keep the hearing
secret.
Eichelis was tried in ab-
sentia by a Latvian court in
1965 and was sentenced to
death for war crimes during
the Nazi occupation of Lat-
via. Puntulis was also tried
and sentenced to death by
the Soviet Latvian court, a
fact not mentioned in the
news reports here.
Puntulis' name has been
widely mentioned in the
last 15 years as a man
charged with serious war
crimes but he has not been
charged in Canada or ex-
tradited.

`Radio Judaica'

BRUSSELS (JTA) —
"Radio Judaica," Europe's
first Jewish radio station,
started broadcasting last
week from Belgium. The
radio station, which is sup-
ported by the local commu-
nity, will broadcast daily
news, feature programs and
community reports. It is not
accepting advertising and
has no political links.

A quiet conscience makes
one so serene.

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