2 Friday, July 25, 1980
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Purely Commentary
The Political Battle Commences
With the Electorate Divided
on Issues and Personalities
THEODORE MANN
JIMMY CARTER
HOWARD SQUADRON
RONALD REAGAN
GOP party maneuvering was not devoid of humor. The
deliberations in Detroit had their elements of irony and
pathos, hilarity and anxiety, cynicism as well as the claim
to realism.
In the latter sphere, in its collective judgment, there
were commentators who, in reference to the confidence that
the Republicans will capture both the White House and
Congress, punned: This is the party that elected Dewey in
1948."
With more than the ordinary amount of talk about a
"Jewish vote" having its effect on one of the most contested
elections in decades, the news note on the bottom of this
page invites special attention.
It is easy to generalize and to say that Jimmy Carter
has lost all favor in the eyes of Jewish constituents. It is
true that Rabbi Alexander Schindler, a former president of
the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish
Organizations, had some harsh words for the present oc-
cupant of the White House and declared himself for Ronald
Reagan. What about the immediate past president of the
President's Conference, Theodore Mann, who is quoted at
the bottom of the page?
Max Fisher has assembled an impressive list of bac-
kers for the Reagan ticket. Are Ted Mann and his associ-
•
In the Political Arena .. .
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Theodore Mann, immediate
past chairman of the Conference on Presidents of Major
American Jewish Organizations, has come out publicly in
support of President Carter's re-election. Speaking at a
public debate here organized by the American Jewish Con-
gress, Mann said: "We are not trying to choose the perfect
President, but only the best one. With all his weaknesses
and mistakes, Jimmy Carter comes out first — as the best
candidate by far — as I weigh all factors in the balance."
Howard Squardon, Mann's successor at the Presidents
Conference, predicted that Jews would play a crucial role in
determining hte outcome of the American Presidential
election because of their heavy representation in New York
state which Carter "must win" to gain re-election.
No Democrat in this century had been elected
without winning either New York or California, he
noted, and it was to be assumed that Ronald Reagan, a
local man and a former governor, would top Carter in
California.
Squadron warned that unless there were progress soon
in the autonomy talks, the pressure on Israel "will be so
strong that it may not matter who is elected President of
the U.S."
Richard Cohen, a New York City public relations con-
sultant, spoke in the debate in support of John Anderson's
candidacy. He has "the keenest intelligence, the richest
power of articulation, and surest qualities of leadership and
an unsurpassed pro-Israel record," Cohen said of Anderson.
The Actors in Political Follies and Sour Betting
That Merits Caution . . . Exposing Another Grouping of
Follies, the Damaging Action of Israel Peackniks
ates, and the names will soon crop up — the Democrats are
yet to meet! — a match for the distinguished Mister Detroit,
Max Fisher?
What the comment, "the party that elected Dewey,"
implies is: Don't be too hasty in betting; don't write off
Jimmy Carter; remember John Anderson.
On the latter score, since some noteworthy Jewish
names soon will assemble for the "Third Party" candidate
it is well to ask, in advance, how the Illinoisian can explain
having as his chief foreign affairs adviser a man who has
taken a harsh line on Israel. George Ball couldn't possibly
be listed in the ranks of Israel's comforters. Therefore, if
there are challenges, they affect all candidates.
One more serious question: If the Republicans seek
to capture the White House and Congress, are they also
aspiring to control the State Department? And since the
State Department dominates under, most circumstances,
what hope for comfort for Jewish hopes is there from any
candidate as long as there is State Department control over
foreign policy?
Stick to eternal vigilance, ye defenders of Israel!
In This Age of Speculation
Will It Be President O'Neill?
Third Party Presidential candidate John Anderson
gained the limelight for a few days during his visits to
Israel and Egypt.
Even prior to that, he overshadowed his opponents on
at least one issue: His commitment to assure recognition of
Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the transfer of the
U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
In the process, Congressman Anderson lends status to
the recognition of a Third Party.
There have'always been more than two parties in this
widely acclaimed Two-Party System. But the other parties
were always comparatively insignificant because they had
so little chance ever to gain a majority in a single state. But
the Third Party idea did flourish in the periods of Theodore
Roosevelt and Robert LaFpllette.
As already indicated, this Commentator's vote, when
he first voted for a President, was in 1924 for Robert LaFol-
, lette the Progressive.
Now the country faces a possible stalemate. The elec-
tion, because of the impending close vote and the divisions
in many states, may go to the House of Representatives for
the Presidency and to the Senate for the Vice President. In
that case, the next President, to start 1981, could be the
Boston Congressman Thomas "Tip" O'Neill, the Speaker of
the House of Representatives.
Will it be President "Tip"
O'Neill in 1981?
That's jumping ahead of
the political scale. What if
the prediction of a heavy
Republican vote also affects
the Congress and the next
Speaker of the House is a
Republican? What if Repub-
lican majority takes to An-
derson? And if the Demo-
cratic majority is retained,
what if Fritz Mondale sud-
denly emerges as the pre-
ferred candidate?
`TIP' O'NEILL
If Gerald Ford, the former
President is correct in the prediction of the election going to
the House, the media will be in their glory — speculating no
end, loaded with topics, having an opportunity to act the
psychiatrists in analyzing candidates an& those who con-
trol decisions of the 50 states, when the votes of 26 of them
will be needed to place on the Americn diplomatic throne
the most powerful person in the family of nations.
It can be a long drawn out affair, this business of
choosing a President. The aim and the hope is that it will
negate unhappiness for Americans and this great nation.
Deluded Pacifism Exposed:
Jewish Dissidents Who Harm Israel
Even the most offensive blunders often inspire coun-
terreaction to compensate injured.
There is no doubt that the misleading peace moves by
Jewish spokesmen have contributed to a bad image for
Israel. There is injustice and lack of realism in many of the
attacks on Israel's leadership.
They haven't fared well, the latest manifestors of
protestations. Their acts brought forth the necessary and
more definitive proclamations in defense of Israel and in
support of her leaders.
Thus, in a letter published in the New York Times
(July 13), two of Jewry's most vocal defenders, the leaders
in movements to defy and condemn anti-Semites, Prof.
Mice Eckardt awl Rev. A. Roy Eckardt, both members of
the faculty of Lehigh University, wrote:
The criticism by some 50 American Jewish
leaders of policies of "extremism" and "violence"
in Israel reflects a fundamental misapprehension
By Philip
Slomovitz
of the reality of opposition to Israel. These leaders
have fallen prey to a viewpoint that, regrettably,
has become more and more blatant within Israel
itself.
According to that view, anti-Israelism rises or
falls as a function of Israeli and Jewish behavior.
In point of truth, there is absolutely no evidence
for this assumption. not excluding Egypt's deci-
sion to make peace with Israel. The history of the
Middle East conflict demonstrates that anti-
Israelism (together with various other forms of
anti-Semitism) has nothing to do with specific
Jewish acts. These hostile drives have their origin
solely within the minds and hearts of the detrac-
tors of Jews.
When Israel appears "hawkish," it is rejec,
for its intransigence and imperialism. But when it
appears "dovish" (as in its readiness to surrender
the entire Sinai peninsula), it is rejected as juilty
of dissimulation and ulterior motives, and for
having tricked President Sadat into becoming an
agent in the "Zionist conspiracy." In a word,
anti-Semites "know" that whatever Jews do, they
simply cannot be trusted.
It is, accordingly, errant nonsense to argue, as
the American Jewish leaders do, that Israel
policies havensolated" Israel. On the contrary,
the isolation of Israel has resulted from a care-
fully conceived program to that end within Soviet,
Arab and United Nations circles. Long before
there could have been Jewish settlements in the
West Bank, the existence of Israel was totally re-
jected by the Arab world. Were Israel to withdraw
tomorrow from all the "occupied" territories, it
would remain the same "evil intruder" upon "sac-
red" Arab soil.
The American leaders have not only acted to
undermine Israel's cause by strengthening the
hand of its would-be destroyers; they are helping
to subvert whatever possibility of Middle Eastern
peace the future may hold.
These are courageous comments in Israel's defense in a
time of crisis. The panicked Jews are exposed by the Ec-
kardts in a fashion meriting resentment when Jews ap-
proach the ranks of those who would destroy Israel.
The realistic approach to the issue created by ttie
negators of Israeli policies is expressed in this definitive
statement by the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish
Organizations:
Israel is the only functioning democracy in the
Middle East. The settlements policy is vigorously
debated by its own citizens. Why, then a public
argument on the subject among prominent
American Jews?
The reason is that many Americans have ac-
cepted the notion asserted by our State Depart-
ment and our Western allies that if only Israel
were more reasonable — particularly with regard
to settlements and talking with the PLO — all
Middle East problems would be solved.
But that is a false notion. If Israel withdrew all
its settlements and there were a PLO-dominated
West Bank state tomorrow, the Soviets would re-
main in Afghanistan, Americans would still be
held hostage in Iran and oil blackmail would con-
tinue.
But Israel would be more vulnerable than ever.
That Arafat and Co. have succeeded in painting
themselves as peace-lovers while continuing their
terrorist acts and renewing their oath to bring an
entl to the Jewish state is not merely a feat of
public relations legerdemain.
It is a melancholy commentary on the ability of
the free nations of Europe to repeat the same kind
of self-deception by which they were able to per-
suade themselves that Hitler only wanted s(
determination for the Sudeten Germans.
The Palestinian Arabs have a standing invita-
tion to join the peace talks. That will, of course.
require them to accept Israel's rightful plat(
the Middle East.
President Sadat of Egypt signed a pact with _
Israel and is getting back all his country's ter-
ritories, including oil wells Israel discovered and
developed. The risk in terms of Israel's security
was enormous and the financial cost huge — but
Israel took the risk and met the cost. The blessings
of peace are worth the price.
Well-intentioned Americans should refrain
from divisive debate on secondary matters and
insist that the Arab world commit itself to the sine
qua non of any Arab-Israel settlement recogni-
tion of Israel's fundmental right to exist.
The issues that have been clouded and caused confu-
sion in Jewish as well as non-Jewish ranks needed clarifi-
cation. The facts are presented here. They merit all the
space that can be accorded to defenders of Israel.