22
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, January 16, 1981
Christian Indifference Is Allowing Syrian Takeover in Lebanon
By REV. FRANKLIN H.
LITTELL
National Institute
of the. Holocaust
PHILADELPHIA
With world attention oscil-
lating between the Iraqi-
Iranian war and Iranian-
American negotiations over
the kidnapped diplomats,
Syria is beginning to move
to complete its incorpora-
tion of Lebanon into
Greater Syria.
For many centuries
Lebanon was simply a dis-
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trict of the province of Syria.
Then, in the breakup of the
Ottoman Empire at the end
of World War II, in 1946,
French troops withdrew and
the Lebanese republic was
fully independent. Its con-
stitution provided a careful
balance between Sunni and
Shiite Muslims, Maronite
and Orthodox Christians.
Unfortunately, each minor-
ity had a private army.
After Lebanon joined the
Arab League, the Muslim
forces became more aggres-
sive toward the Christian
minorities and more de-
manding of military action
against Israel. The Syrian
dictatorship sponsored an
attempted putsch in 1958,
which was forestalled when
President Eisenhower sent
in the U.S. Marines.
In 1975, Syria tried
again, sending in
thousands of troops in al-
liance with two of the
major Lebanese factions
and their private armies.
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By then the situation was
further complicated by
the presence of tens of
thousands of PLO ter
rorists who had been dri-
ven out of Jordan when
their attempt to assassi-
nate King Hussein and
overthrow his govern-
ment failed.
After a savage civil war,
in which over 100,000
Lebanese Christians went
into exile and tens of
thousands were killed, a
stalemate developed be-
tween different sections
held by different private
armies. Around Beirut,
once a national capital, a
"national" army has con-
trol.
The "national" govern-
ment has conceded to Syria;
the last diplomat at the UN,
who pleaded in tears for in-
ternational help in saving
his country, has been re-
placed by a Syrian puppet.
The Christian enclave in
north Lebanon has accom-
modated to Syria. A section
to the south is under control
of United Nations troops.
Another section is under
control of the PLO.
Along the border to Is-
rael, a narrow strip is held
by the Christian forces of
south Lebanon under Major
Haddad. The Muslim - Sy-
rian - PLO thrust to destroy
them has so far been
thwarted.
But the campaign is
warming up again. The
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UN forces have again
been fired upon from the
Syrian concentrations:
the UN forces have been
attempting to erect a buf-
fer. And Zahle, a Chris-
tian city of some 100,000
population, has come
under heavy attack by
artillery fire and troops
in tanks and helicopters.
Christian forces along
the Israeli border have
also come under renewed
attack.
Meanwhile, there is no
chance of effective outside
intervention. Under the
Carter Administration the
U.S. made clear that it
would not intervene any-
where, regardless of how
barbarous the provocations.
Kurt Waldheim's United
Nations, which has ample
time to display two terrorist
mayors from towns under
Israeli military govern-
ment, has no time for mat-
ters such as the Chinese
conquest of Tibet, the Rus-
sian conquest of Afghanis-
tan or the Syrian conquest
of Lebanon.
And the Christian estab-
lishment is just as indiffer-
ent. In part, of course, the
Lebanese Christians pre-
pared the way for their own
destruction. For years they
parroted the bellicose anti-
Semitic and anti-Israel slo-
gans of the Arab League:
after a millenium as fos-
silized minorities in the
world of Islam they feared to
take a position different
from that of the world of Is-
lam.
The so-called "Near East
Christian Council," based
in Beirut, has been for de-
cades a simple pipeline of
Arab League propaganda.
And now, when some of the
Christian leaders have
awakened to the fact that
the Syrians and their co-
believers intend the total
destruction of the Christian
communities, they find that
no one listens.
No one except the Is-
raelis, that is, who have
their own good reasons for
trying to prevent an
Anschluss of Lebanon to
"Greater" Syria.
As I pointed out in 1974,
the Lebanese Christians'
doom was sealed when
they refused to join the
1973 Yom Kippur attack
on Israel. What happened
then was that the
Lebanese army, its offi-
cer corps chiefly Maro-
nite Christian, refused
the Arab League demand
that they attack Israel
from the north. Although
they had mouthed the
anti-Semitic and anti-
Israel slogans for years,
they refused to join the
attack on Israel. • It was
clear to me then that this
would never be forgiven.
In recent months some of
the Christian politicians
have awakened to the de-
struction and genocide
planned for them and their
people. Take Charles Malik,
a distinguished Christian
Lebanese once prominent in
the United Nations and in
the World Council of
Churches. At the 1954
CHARLES MALIK
Evanston Assembly of the
World Council of Churches,
Charles Malik was one of
two churchmen who pre-
vented a sound resolution
on Israel and the Jewish
people from passing.
In the last two years, fi-
nally realizing that the Is-
raelis for their own good
reasons are the only force
willing to give his people
any help whatever, Dr.
Malik has been writing old
friends all over Chris-
tendom calling for help for
the Lebanese Christians.
But it is too little and too
late. A UN General Assem-
.
bly that cheers an Arafat
and an Idi Amin is not going
to worry about another
genocide. And Christian
councils, like the Near East
Christian Council of Beirut
or the National Council of
Churches' Near East Panel,
are too programmed for
anti-Semitism and anti-
Israel positions to change
now.
The Near East Panel's
intellectual and spiritual
dishonesty was demon-
strated by this fact,
among others: members
of the team sent to judgt
Israel talked with
Charles Malik, but they
suppressed his informa-
tion because he did not
say what they wanted to
hear. He had changed his
mind and his views of
earlier years, and they
didn't want to listen.
Lebanon is down the
drain as an independent re-
public — another monu-
ment to Muslim aggression
and to United Nations inef-
fectuality. Not to mention
the hyprocrisy of the
churches' establishment.
Mexico to Buy Israeli Jets?
TEL AVIV (JTA)
Mexico's Defense Minister,
Gen. Felix Lopez, arrived in
Israel Sunday at the head of
a 16-member delegation in-
cluding the depty chief of
staff and senior 'army offi-
cers, as guests of Premier
Menahem Begin. Lopez was
to discuss with Defense
Ministry officials the possi-
ble purchase of Israeli-
designed and produced Kfir
fighter planes.
Israel has for some years
been seeking foreign buyers
for the Kfir, already in serv-
ice with the Israel Air Force
for several years. But sales
have long been blocked by
American refusal to grant
licenses for the use of the
U.S.-made jet engines
which power the aircraft.
Agreement to allow their
sale as part of the Kfir to
Mexico and other countries
was granted some months
ago. -
Australia was at one time
interested in the Kfir but
withdrew, reportedly under
Arab pressure and the urg-
ing of the U.S. aircraft
manufacturers.
Hints at a possible pur-
chase by Mexico were
seen in welcoming re-
marks by Deputy De-
fense Minister Mor-
dechai Zipori and Lopez.
Zipori hailed Mexico as a
"great, free, democratic
and independent coun-
try, free from pressures
by oil states and the great
powers." Lopez replied
that his visit had the full
blessing of the Mexican
President and should re-
sult in measures to the
benefit of both countries.
Mexico has reportedly
been interested in the
Israeli-made plane for some
time, as part of its program
for re-equipping its air
force. The Kfir is said to be
competing with the
American-made F-15E
plane for an order of 24 air-
craft.
Mexico already has a
number of Israeli-made air-
craft and equipment, in-
cluding the Arava and
Westwind planes and elec-
tronic equipment.
Lopez inspected the •Kfir
production line at the Israel
Aircraft Industries factory
Wednesday. His visit to Is-
rael comes less than two
weeks after that of Colom-
bian Defense Minister Luis
Carlos Camacho Levya,
who also headed a delega-
tion which came to inspect
the Kfir fighter and discuss
possible purchases.
Bumper Year at
Stock Exchange
TEL AVIV (JTA) — The
Israel Stock Exchange had a
bumper year in 1980 but
failed to meet Likud gov-
ernment hopes that local
industry would raise big
capital through share is-
sues.
According to data re-
leased by Exchange board
chairman Dr. Meir Heth, of
the 1.4 billion Shekels (ab-
out $186 million) raised by
new issues last year only 3.3
percent was by industrial
concerns (down from 15.4
percent in 1979) while the
commercial banks raised
70.9 percent (up from 63.1
percent). Of the 39 issues
floated in 1980 only fou
were industrial firms which
apparently found it easier.to
raise capital outside the
stock exchange.
Total exchange turnover
was 16.9 billion Shekels,
compared to 4.3 billion
Shekels in 1979 — an in-
crease of 67 percent when
adjusted to allow for some
130 percent devalutaion
during the year.
•
Who knows himself a
braggart, let him fear this;
for it will come to pass that
every braggart shall be
found an ass.
—Shakespeare
,7;