THE JEWISH NEWS (USPS 275-5201 Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with the issue of July 20, 1951 Copyright © The Jewish News Publishing Co. //The hmviest load /have to bear is the load of fie UN. /1 Member of American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers, National Editorial Association and National Newspaper Association and its Capital Club. Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. 48075 Postmaster: Send address changes to The Jewish News, 17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Midi. 48075 Second-Class Postage Paid at Southfield, Michigan and Additional Mailing Offices. Subscription $15 a year. CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ Business Manager PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher ALAN HITSKY News Editor HEIDI PRESS Associate News Editor DREW LIEBERWITZ Advertising Manager Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath, the 16th day of Tammuz, 5741, the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion, Numbers 25:10-30:1. Prophetical portion, I Kings 18:46-19:21. Sunday, Fast of the 17th of Tammuz Pentateuchal portion, Exodus 32:11-14, 34:1-10. Prophetical portion, Isaiah 55:6-56:8 (afternoon only). Candle lighting, Friday, July 17, 8:47 p.m. VOL. LXXIX, No. 20 Page Four Friday, July 17, 1981 TIME TABLE FOR PEACE In his remarkable chronicle of Israel's 30 years of struggles for amity with her neighbors, in the Stein and Day volume "Destination Peace," Gideon Rafael, the pioneer in his coun- try's foreign service, relates that when, in 1953, his appointment to an important post for negotiations with the Arabs was announced, his fellow delegate at the United Nations, the then Lebanese leader Charles Malik, said to hini: "My heartiest congratulations on your new appointment. You are a lucky man to have landed so early in your career a nice and quiet lifetime job." It was a cynical sort of sense of humor and until the Camp David decision it functioned as a reality. Then came the Egyptian-Israel accord. Did it shorten the time table for peace for very long? What causes the "lifetime" status for peace? An escapee from Arab persecutions, Heskel M. Haddad, president of the World Organization for Jews from Arab Countries, now a New York resident, disputed an antagonistic reference to Israel by Prof. Edward Said of Columbia Uni- versity, who has written several books and many letters and consistently leads the attac- kers of Israel. In a refutation of a statement by Dr. Said in the New York Times, Haddad de- clared: "Israel has proven itself not only amen- able but rather willing to compromise for peace, if the peace is true and just and if Israel is treated as a sovereign state and as an equal partner in the Middle East." "Here is how Haddad clarified his viewpoint, emphasizing the possibility of attaining a just peace: Now that the Arabs have acquired sophisti- cated military hardware and advanced in wealth, social reform and scientific develop- ments, it is about time that men like Prof. Said looked at the realities of the situation, as President Sadat of Egypt did. "Israel is not the enemy of the Arabs. There are many reasons for Arab failures, but two major ones could be immediately remedied, thereby stabilizing the situation in the Middle East and promoting better welfare for the Arabs: "The refugee problem, both Jewish and Arab, should be solved immediately. There is no rea- son why the Arab countries should not contrib- ute their share to the solution of that problem, as Israel did in absorbing the bulk of the Jewish refugees from Arab countries. The state of war in the Middle East does not solely depend on Israel. If Arab leaders wish, they could, establish peace in the area over- night. It should be quite obvious to them that in spite of all the rough bargaining of Israel, it did relinquish the Sinai, its wealth and oil, for the peace treaty with Egypt. "Israel has proven itself not only amenable but rather willing to compromise for peace, if the peace is true and just and if Israel is treated as a sovereign state and as an equal partner in the Middle East." Is there a time table for peace? Is the assign- ment for peacemakers a lifetime job? It is a lifetime when Iraq and Libya are in- volved under the present leadership. Not so with the other nations. Even Jordan under the recalcitrant rulership of King Hussein might be drawn into a peace pact. That's the hope of people who follow the political lines of Shimon Peres. Perhaps even the Saudis might deviate from saber rattling, especially if the majority in the U.S. Congress will continue to say "No! No!' to its demand for weapons that could destroy Israel. Regrettably, there are not many Charles Maliks in the UN or in Arab ranks. Malik advo- cates peace even though he thought war was a lifetime addiction. The man in power in Israel uses harsh terms when dealing with enemies. Menahem Begin is the tough man who attained peace with the leader in the Arab world, Anwar Sadat of Egypt. Therefore, the assumption of confidence that the timetable for peace is shor- tening. The "destination" is "peace" and Israel won't abandon that self-imposed assignment. MENACED WORSHIPER S Conservative and Reform Jewish spokesman in this country appear to be throwing the gauntlet to the dominant groups among the religious factions in Israel, with a demand for just treatment and the same fairness accorded to the non-Jews in Israel. The impending battle is much more serious than it appears on the surface. Refusal to grant basic rights to the non- Orthodox in Israel has been a continuing dis- pute since the rebirth of Israel as a sovereign state. Many Conservative and Reform synagogues have been established in Israel in recent years and they function with great dig- nity and with an acceptance that is highly cre- ditable to the thousands seeking a reduction in what they view as extremism. In the process of demanding recognition of their right to perform marriages to issue divorce certifications and in numerous other matters involving rabbinic law, the Conservatives and Reform congregational affiliates, while protest- ing prejudices, have nevertheless remained firm in their devotions to Israel's needs, The apparent resumption of control by the ultra- Orthodox is causing grave concern for the Con- servative and Reform leaders and they are now warning Israel and the Begin government that a loss in American Jewish support could result from a continuing prejudice practiced against them. What has emerged is not a matter of dispute over religious regulations. It is a case involving both fair play and common sense. The fair play angle is with regard to state regulations that grant just rights to all religious sects but not to the Jewish non-Orthodox. The horse sense angle is in regard to the threat to Jewish unity globally threatened by the practice bias. It is time to put an end to it. Houghton-Mifflin Volume Azbel 'The Refusenik': Dissident's Autobiography Mark Ya. Azbel is a symbol of the resistance to persecution that has created a revolution in Jewish ranks in Russia. He is the master physicist who made great contributions to his native land, and in the interest of human rights, for himself and his fellow Jews, he became a leader among the forces that would not bend to oppression. Therefore, the realism of the title of his book, "The Refusenik" (Houghton-Mifflin), subtitled "Trapped in the Soviet Union."'' It is autobiographical and it reveals the oppressive methods used against him and his fellow refusniks, resulting in an inspired and courageous resistance that finally gave Azbel his right to emigrate. Having attained world fame as a theoretical physicist, he now divides his time between Israel and the United States where his family makes its home. Until he was 40, Azbel did not know a single Hebrew letter, and his self-education, Bible study, acquisition of acquaintance with He- brew commenced with his rebellion against the prejudices in the USSR. Azbel experienced the anti-Semitism that eventually made him the refusnik in the university. He earned his doctoral degree in science at the age of 25 after a presentation at Moscow's Institute for Problems in Physics. He was confronted by antagonism and was aided by Nobel Laureate Pyotr Leonidovitch Kapitza, the head of the Moscow Physics Institute. Kapitza later came to the aid of other notable Jewish scientists who were faced with bias from their fellow Russians. At 32, Azbel was the first Jew in 12 years to be accepted into the Moscow Physical Technical Institute. Then he became scientific counselor at the Landau Institute and was nominated for the Lenin Prize. The drama of his five-year leadership of the group of Jewish dissidents in Moscow" is acclaimed in a foreword to "The Refusenik" by Freeman J. Dyson, who relates having first met Azbel in 1956, when he recognized his genius as a physicist. Dyson makes reference to the duel in the secret chambers of the KGB when the agents of the USSR tried to break down Azbel's resistance. Comparing this duel with Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon," Dyson calls the Azbel role one of true heroism. It was in 1972 that Azbel applied for a visa to go to Israel. He discharged from his scientific posts, was arrested by the KGB. He was an outcast in his homeland for five years while conducting the battle for human rights and for the right to practice the Jewish religion and adhere to Jewish cultural teachings. In the process of describing his struggles, Azbel reveals the work- ings of the Soviet Academy of Science. The most prominent members are portrayed and the oppressive regulations are exposed. Dyson defines Azbel's success in attaining the right to emigrate as "superhuman courage." Azbel's autobiography relates his association with the leaders among the dissidents, the courageous refusniks, those who fought for the right to emigrate and for freedom against the KGB oppressions "The Refusenik" is one of the greatest works describing the suc- cess of the famous dissidents in the battle against oppression.