80 Friday, April 10, 1981
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Rise in Terrorism Brings Once Ignored Subject Out in the Open
By FRANKLIN LITTELL
For years some of us have
been issuing warnings on
the dangers of terrorism.
From 1966 to 1976 an edu-
cational organization, the
Institute for American
Democracy, issued a reg-
ular newsletter. and occa-
sional press stories on left-
and rightwing extremism
and its overt expressions.
Now that the theme has be-
come popular, and both
politicians and journalists
are churning out material
on the subject, it might be
timely to make a few fun-
damental observations
about what terrorism is —
and what it is not.
Those of us who love Is-
rael have been pointing to
the human costs of terrorist
activity for some time. The
PLO attacks on school chil-
--ciren, religious pilgrims,
women shoppers, Olympic
athletes — not to mention
American diplomats —
have not been treated with
sufficient seriousness to
date. TerroriSt leaders have
been welcomed and cheered
in the Assembly of the
United Nations — with the
blood of their victims, so to
speak, still on their hands.
The General Board of the
National Conncil of
Churches has recently, to
the scandal and shame of
the pious Christians, joined
the stampede to recognize
the PLO.
Yet is has been obvious
for some time that the "de-
stabilization" of western re-
publics and parliamentary
governments was a primary
target of Russian im-
perialism, and that the PLO
and Red Brigades and
Baader-Meinhof gang were
trained, equipped, and to a
considerable degree fi-
nanced by Russia and her
satellites (including Cuba).
And ithas also been obvious
— although PLO sym-
pathizers have tried to con-
fuse the issue — that ter-
rorists are a different genre
from guerilla fighters.
To illustrate: careless
journalists frequently
refer to Menahem Begin
as a "former terrorist."
The implication is that
Yasir Arafat, once he
gained the seat of gov-
ernment, would also set-
tle down to the sober
business of responsible
rule. The implication is
also made that terrorism
and freedom-fighting
(military action by pat-
riots not in uniform) are
the same thing. -
The distinction between
"terrorists" and "freedom
fighters" must be made in-
sistently and often. Ter-
rorists are tools in ideologi-
cal total war, commonly
striking at civilians and
civilian targets. Freedom
fighters are patriots not in
uniform, irregulars, who
are seeking to establish a
government that respects
both basic liberties and re-
publican principles. Ter-
rorist movements, if they
can, set up terrorist goy-
ernments. Freedom fighters
set up legitimate govern-
ments, replacing de-
spotisms.
Old-fashioned despotisms
respect neither individual
liberties nor structures of
self-government: in most
cases they have never even
heard of liberty or popular
sovereignty. Yet, 20th Cen-
tury dictatorships have
Handwriting Analysis Is Popular in Israel
By CARL ALPERT
ment but also in promotion,
HAIFA — Graphology is and in suitability for posi-
the science (or art of fraud) tions of trust. Very often the
which claims to ascertain a graphologists render their
person's character from a judgments without ever
study of his handwriting. meeting their "victims" face
But whatever its status, to face.
Not long ago a sturdy
graphology is today very
much the "in" thing in Is- young farmer with all the
obvious qualifications
rael.
Whereas the yellow pages sought to join an agricul-
in the New York classified tural moshay. He was
telephone directory list only turned down on the basis
six Handwriting Analysts, of his handwriting. In-
the yellow pages of the Tel dignant, he submitted his
Aviv directory list 16. script to another
More and more of the "Help graphologist, who ren-
Wanted" ads in the Israel dered a verdict com-
press clearly stipulate that pletely opposite to the
candidates should submit one that had blackballed
their applications in their him.
Admittedly, handwriting
own handwriting, for obvi-
may reveal whether the
ous reasons.
Large industrial plants, writer is a child, or perhaps
banks, and public institu- suffers from palsy. It may
tions employ the services of indicate haste, tensions,
graphologists to advise not precision or other char-
only in matters of employ- acteristics, but in Israel
today the fate and destiny of
many people, their careers,
their futures and of course
their personal happiness in
life are being determined by
men and women who call
themselves graphologists.
There is no law, no licens-
ing, no requirements, no
registration of qualified
graphologists. Anyone who
wishes can hang out a
shingle, set himself up as a
professional, and if he has a
glib manner and a good
sense of salesmanship, can
make a comfortable living
at the expense of the gulli-
ble public, no matter how
much of a charlatan he may
be.
, A small number of prac-
titioners have set up the Is-
rael Association of Scien-
tific Graphology, to protect
themselves against quacks,
they say.
in a popular radio pro-
gram, one well known
graphologist delineates
the character of persons
who, unknown to her,
may be leading politi-
cians, artists, criminals
or others. It makes for
good entertainment, and
sometimes humor as
When she hesitatingly
identified the occupation
of one writer as one who
molds shapes, perhaps a
sculptor? He turned out
to be a mohel!
self-styled
Another
graphologist in Jerusalem
has come up with a new
angle. He claims that he can
detect physical ailments
from handwriting. He is
careful to avoid prescribing
cures, but he does diagnose.
Thus far he has to his credit
two cases of cancer and
three cases of pregnancy.
heard of such things, but re-
jected them both in theory
and practice. Against ab-
solutist governments,
whether old-fashioned or
modern, freedom fighters
mobilize what champions of
human liberty and dignity
they can recruit. Candor
compels the admission,
however, that' whereas old-
fashioned despotisms have
been overthrown and re-
placed by representative
governments, modern fas-
cist and communist dic-
tatorships have never been
overthrown without outside
intervention.
Arafat as saying in an
interview by an Italian
newspaper that "George
Washington was a terrorist
for the English . . . your
Pertini was a terrorist for
the Nazis and the same goes
for DeGaulle." The state-
ment is false, which — com-
ing from a professional ter-
rorist -- is no cause for sur-
prise. There is no record
that Washington ever killed
school children. DeGaulle
headed a governmeia
exile.
'
"Terrorists" and "freedom
fighters" are two different
breeds, and under no cir-
cumstances should their ac-
tions and intentions be con-
fused with each other. In
sum, terrorism against
legitimate governments
should be crushed, and even
terrorism against dictator-
ships has often been ineffec-
tive or counter-productive.
But we do not weigh ter-
rorism against legitimate
governments and terrorism
against dictatorships in the
same balance.
One of the basic lessons
of the Holocaust is the
fact that a terrorist
movement, unchallenged
and unchecked, may by
assassination and "de-
stabilization" become a
criminal government.
And a criminal govern-
ment, like the Nazi Third
Reich, is prone to
genocide. It should not be
necessary for a Hitler or
Idi Amin or Arafat to
gain power before think-
ing people understand
the implications of their
theory and practice.
Recent newspaper snip-
pets have reported Yasir
In traditional political
theory, the ability to main-
tain order leaitimates a
government. d'ut even cen-
turies ago there were
standards for appraising
terrorist bands and crimi-
nal regimes. With the
emergence of representa-
tive government and con-
stitutionally defined rights
of citizens, in the modern
period, we have come to set
higher standards of legiti-
macy for government.
It is not enough that a re-
gime be powerful enough to
keep order and crush the
unruly. Even King George
III's arbitrary rule was re-
jected by American patriots,
and it was certainly far
more benevolent than con-
temporary regimes in Rus-
sia; Saudi Arabia, Chile or
Afghanistan. With the rise
of republican standards of
government, no regime is
truly legitimate unless it
respects and protects the
basic liberties of individual
citizens and minority com-
munities, and is based on
the principles and practices
of popular sovereignty.
.
Terrorist movements do
not found legitimate gov-
ernments: when they gai-n
power they found terrorist
regimes.
Home for Aged in Israel Fosters Its Elderly Residents' Pride
ACRE — Jacques is 82
and his health is failing. His
legs are weak and he can no
longer stand without assis-
tance. Sometimes he lacks
the strength to move his
wheelchair by himself. But
Jacques' mind is still sharp
and with a little
encouragement he is happy
to tell stories about the "old
days."
Jacques came to Israel in
1952, a refugee from Tu-
nisia, bringing his wife,
two teen-age sons and a
grown daughter. His only
possessions were a sack of
clothing and a few books. At
age 54, Jacques was start-
ing over again.
He loves to talk about
those days, about how he
and his family lived in a
tent on the outskirts of
Haifa, and his years of hard
work to make a new life. He
can talk for hours about the
small house he finally
bought on a moshav near
Natanya and the decent life
he was able to help build
working together with his
family.
"We never had much," he
says, "but we had enough
and we had pride."
His pride in his home,
country and in his sons
who served in the army is
obvious, and Jacques is
still a proud man. To
maintain that pride, de-
spite the fact that age and
illness have left his body
weak and dependent
upon others, is very im-
portant to him.
Jacques is a resident of
the Acre Regional Home for
the Aged, part of a new and
growing concept in care for
the elderly in Israel.
Opened in March 1979, the
140-bed home is the first in
a series of new facilities de-
veloped by ESHEL, the
Association for the Plan-
ning and Development of
Services for the Aged in Is-
rael, an organization
founded by the American
Jewish Joint Distribution
Committee and supported
in part by JDC-Israel
through funds raised in the
UJAJFederation campaign,
including Detroit's Allied
Jewish Campaign.
The first thing that
strikes a visitor to the Acre
home is the location. The
facility is on the beach and a
special paved path provides
access to a stunning view of
the Mediterranean to even
those in wheelchairs. Di-
rectly across, the street is a
large, noisy elementary ing all in one place. The facility. Each cluster of
residents have a lot of sleeping rooms has its own
school.
"The home was placed spirit." •
dining hall. The patients
here intentionally," says
The physical structure it- live two to a room, and are
Moshe Dobzimski, the di-
self seems to be designed carefully matched so that
rector. "It's important that
with the spirit of the those who share living
the elderly remain involved
patients as a prime consid- space also share a common
with the community. We
eration. The corridors and culture and language.
The bedrooms are
use the young people as vol-
the rooms are bright,
unteers in recreation and
painted in cheerful, non- large and the residents
other programs. The sound
institutional colors. Huge are encouraged to per-
of children playing in the
windows allow sunlight and sonalize them with their
schoolyard and the sight of
fresh sea breezes to fill the own decor.
The home is also equipped
young people in our build-
rooms.
ing is good for the morale of
Recreation, activity and with a synagogue, a barber
the residents."
other areas for common use shop, a library and a sub-
Community involve- . are spaced all around the sidized store.
ment extends beyond the
school children. Volun-
teers and visitors come to
the facility from every
part of the region. They
take the residents for
walks, play chess and
checkers, or come simply
to sit and talk.
"I believe it is even more
important for the commu-
nity that they are involved
than it is for those who live
here," Dobzimski says. "We
appreciate the volunteers.
But the fact is that the
young people are getting
the best of the bargain.
Where else could they be
A resident of the Acre Regional Home for the
exposed to so much experi- Aged receives help with a weaving project from a staff
ence, to so many years of liv-
member.