Friday, August 28, 1981 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Cabinet Surprise: Haig as Israel Defender By DAVID FRIEDMAN (Copyright 1981, JTA, Inc.) One of the most unusual developments in the first six months of the Reagan Ad- ministration has been the perception that Secretary of State Alexander Haig is the strongest supporter of Israel within the Administration, except for President Reagan himself. The belief has always been in Washington that e State Department is )-Arab or at least wants an "even-handed" ap- proach. This has been true not only since the creation of the Jewish state but goes back to Britain's enuncia- tion of the Balfour Declara- tion when State Depart- ment officials sought to keep President Wilson from giving his support to a Jewish homeland. Secretaries of state up to now have echoed the views of their department. The professional foreign service officers at the State De- partment still share these views. But Haig and some of the people he has appointed around him do not. What makes suppor- ters of Israel look toward Haig as an ally is the view that the anti-Israeli pol- icy in this Administration is being pressed by the Pentagon, particularly Defense Secretary Cas- par Weinberger, Haig's chief rival in the Ad- ministration for control- ling the shaping of foreign policy. Writing in the New Re- public recently, Morton Kondrake, the weekly's White House reporter, said that some see Weinberger as part of the "Bechtel oil group" which they consider "further to the Arabist side than the traditional State Department Arabists." Wei'Merger was vice president of Bechtel, the California-based firm which is building billions of dollars worth of projects in Saudi Arabia. During the presidential campaign last year, some supporters of Israel ex- pressed concern about the presence in Reagan's inner circle of such people as Weinberger and George Shultz, Bechtel's vice chairman. When this question was raised before a Jewish audi- ence in New York, Edwin Meese, now the President's CASPAR WEINBERGER counsellor, said that Re- agan had supported Israel when still an actor and be- fore he entered politics and the people he appointed would have to support his policies. Shultz was not named secretary of state, as expected. But Weinberger, a close California friend of the new President, did get a Cabinet post. A third Administration official who should be mentioned is Richard Al- len, the President's na- tional security adviser. Allen, who entered office as a strong supporter of Israel, reportedly has lit- Torah Education Available to Women at Israeli School JERUSALEM — "Ba'al Teshuva Yeshivot," Jewish academies designed for young people seeking reli- Institute Seeks to Close Industry on Saturdays JERUSALEM (JNI) — Many industrial plants in Israel which presently op- erate on Saturdays and Jewish holidays with spe- cial permits could easily pend operation on those Sys without incurring fi- nancial loss, according to Menahem Hartman, chief engineer at the Institute for Science and Halakha. Hartman maintains that his research organization, named in the recent gov- ernment coalition agree- ment as official adviser "to aid in minimizing Sabbath desecration in the nation's industrial sector," has suggested technological solutions to prevent Sab- bath desecration without af- fecting revenue in all but a few isolated cases. gion, began springing up in Israel following the Six-Day War. Today, the schools are part of a full-fledged move- ment in which English- speaking olim (emigres to Israel) search for their Jewish roots. Rabbi Haim Brovender, who believes that the spiritual dimensions of Torah study must be open to both men and women, a view that is unique in the Orthodox yeshiva world, is the founder and dean of two such schools, Yeshivat Hamitvar for men and Michlelet Bruria for women. Rabbi Brovender ex- presses views that are not often heard in the yeshiva world. He derides the reli- gious life of Jews in America, ridiculing the lack of Jewish authenticity, even among the Orthodox. "If you want the Jewish people to live, you have to come to Israel," he says. "Why shouldn't we give these kids a Zionist option." tie influence. He no longer briefs the President daily, but pro- vides a written briefing and waits at the door of the Oval Office for five minutes in case Reagan has any ques- tions. Consider how far this is from his predecessors, Henry Kissinger and Zbig- niew Brzezinski, who spent time alone with the President each morning. As for the President him- self, one doesn't have to be a supporter of Reagan to admit that he is pro-Israel. At his press conference after Israel's raid on the Iraqi nu- clear reactor, Reagan all but endorsed the Israeli ac- tion, even though he admit- ted his Administration had condemned it. When Weinberger and Deputy Secretary of State William Clark criticized Is- raeli Premier Begin in harsh terms for the raid on the Palestinian terrorist headquarters in Beirut, the White House repudiated them the next day. But Reagan does not have the grasp of foreign policy that he has demonstrated on domes- tic issues. And Haig does not have the ability to see the President at will, but must make an appoint- ment as do other Cabinet members. The only ones who can see the President unannounced are Meese, Chief of Staff James Baker, Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver. None of them is familiar with foreign policy and yet these three are the people who will have the final talk with the President before he makes a decision. So far in all arguments between Haig and Wein- berger, Weinberger has won, including the decision last April to go ahead with the sale of AWACS recon- naissance planes to Saudi Arabia. Despite newspaper specu- lation that Meese, for example, favors Reagan's old California friend, Wein- berger, over Haig, the out- side although experienced foreign policy hand, no one really knows how the White House triumvirate stands as a Middle East policy is being developed. Reagan stressed that his recent meeting with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was basi- cally a learning experi- ence for him. The same will hold true when he hosts Israeli Premier Begin at the White House after Labor Day. His three chief advisers are also learning. Both Is- rael and Egypt want the U.S. to begin pressing for- ward with the autonomy negotiations. The Reagan Administration has not yet shown that it has a policy on this beyond a general sup- port of the Camp David agreements. So far it has just come up with hasty solutions to crises. But the Administration must develop a policy before the end of the year. It may The miracle, or the power, that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, ap- 13 plication, and perseverance under the promptings of a brave, determined spirit. KNIT KNIT KNIT KNIT • ANGORA • MOHAIR • WOOL SILK • RIBBON • COTTON • LINEN • IMPORTED YARNS FROM FAMOUS MANUFACTURERS • INSTRUCTIONS • PATTERNS • FINISHING WORK • READY-MADE SWEATERS & COATS ALEXANDER HAIG make a difference whether the President and his three chief White House aides de- cide that in developing such a policy they will lean more closely on Haig or on Wein- berger. 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FUND RAISING COMMITTEE: Sheila Ordin, Chairperson Sharon Alterman Gerald Berlin Nettie Deutch Michael Feldman Beverly Frank David Frank Jean Frankel Trudy Gilmore Irving L. Goldman Joan Goldrath Cheryl Guyer Margot Halperin Claire Kay Sally Krugel Ida Levine Dorothy Mahlin Adele Megdall Doris Miller Helen Rothenberg Sylvia Schane Barbara Stollman Ronald Stone Sheila Stone Shelby Tauber Barbara Wachler Norman Wachler Please check the number of tickets you'll need. _ _Tickets at $25 each. Patron Tickets at $100 each. Please register me as a Sponsor and accept my donation of $1,000. I would also like to provide the opportunity for a retarded citizen to attend the film. Please accept my donation of tickets at $25 each. Name Address City Phone State Zip Make all checks payable to JARC and mall to 24525 Southfield Road, Suite 107, Southfield, MI 48075. Cancelled check will serve as your receipt. Contributions are tax deductible. For further Information call 557-7650.