Friday, November 13, 19111 25 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Habib Feels Language of M.E. Diplomacy Not Just in Words By DAVID FRIEDMAN (Copyright 1981, ..1TA. Inc.) When Philip Habib, President Reagan's special envoy for the Middle East, was asked at a recent Wash- ington conference on the Mideast to list the reasons for his success in calming the tensions over Lebanon, most of his answer was routine. He spoke of the desire by all parties in the region to avoid a war, he praised Re- agan for giving him a free hand and he stressed his re- fusal to talk to reporters PHILIP HABIB after each meeting with a Mideast leader. brings to the conversation. But then the 61-year-old The same words, the same retired diplomat gave an phrases, may be interpreted even more down-to-earth differently by people from explanation. Habib said different countries. And that at one of his meetings this is true even when both in Israeli Premier persons understand the Menahem Begin's office he same dictionary meaning looked at his American col- for the word, let alone when leagues and told Begin:"We there are such differences as are surrounded by between British and Ameri- "WASPs". There is no one can English. here who talks with their apparently Habib hands." When the appreciative laughter died down, Habib went on to say that knowing how to talk with your hands can be impor- tant for an American dip- lomat, not only in Jerusalem, but also in all of the Arab capitals. The Brooklyn-born son of Lebanese immigrants may have only been pointing out that he feels at home in the Middle East. But more im- portantly, he was stressing the importance of a common language in diplomacy, the need to understand not only the words being used but the meaning behind the words. This is more than speak- ing the same language. Any American Jew who has spo- ken with an Israeli, even those fluent in English, knows how precise you have to be, perhaps because He- brew is such a precise lan- guage. Israelis are quick to pounce on what they con- sider misuse of English words. But it is not just the words themselves. There is also the body language, includ- ing speaking with the hands, and the cultural background each person acter. Rather those who wish to deal with them, even as ad- versaries, should begin to understand first something about them. Mideast diplo- macy does need more people who can talk with their hands. All that movement may at least clear some of the verbal fog away. CT have both contributed to and absorbed from the di- verse cultures through which they have passed dur- ing four millennia. Host, commentator and chief consultant for the series is Abba Eban, former Israeli foreign minister and ambassador to the United Nations. Eban will be joined by actor Judd Hirsch and actress Colleen Dewhurst on the series. an FACIAL HAIR PERMANENTLY REMOVED Eyebrows. Neckline. Arms Recommended byy,hys■crans FREE CONSULTATION SHIRLEY PERSIN Registered Electrologist ADVANCE BUILDING 23077 GREENFIELD. Room 260 Near Northland & Providence Hospital PHONE 557-1108 Over 20 Years Expenence 5. Empire It is also true of many journalists who report or comment on the Mideast. Either because of lack of knowledge or for partisan reasons many take every- thing at face value without delving behind the words. This is one of the reasons the Arabs frequently come across better in the press. The Arabs are more likely to tell a listener, sometimes just out of politeness, what he wants to hear. Israelis are more blunt and are known for giving you what they consider the facts. This frequently makes the Is- raelis appear intransigent which they are not. This is why there is so much endless discussion about the need for Israel to improve its public relations. Granted the Israelis some- times could be more tactful. But neither the Israelis nor the Arabs nor Americans nor anyone else are going to change their national char- A Rock Cornish Broiler Chickens Offer PLUS Ends After DEC. 31st 1981 IF YOU ACT NOW! SAVE TEN CENTS! WITH THE COUPON BELOW 100 Pasternak's funeral in 1960, where mourners were widely photographed by KBG informers, the secret police began hunting for any remaining scraps of Pasternak's writings. They seized a copy of a manu- script he had left with his mistress, Olga Ivinskaya and she and her daughter were subsequently arrested and sentenced to terms in Siberia. The corruptions of the country are closely allied to those of the town, with no difference but what is made by another mode of thought and living. NEW YORK—Full scale production is under way on the first four episodes of "Civilization and the Jews," the $6-million, 11-part documentary series for na- tional presentation over the Public Broadcasting Serv- ice (PBS) in 1983. The series of one-hour programs, produced by WNET (New York), exam- ines the roots of civilization to determine how the Jews 6y- bleat ourOuadz, understands this, and that is why he appears to have the trust of both Is- raelis and Arabs. Unfor- tunately, the same cannot be said of many others in the government, includ- ing the so-called Arabists. New Pasternak Biography NEW YORK — Boris Pasternak, the Soviet author who refused to ac- cept the Nobel Prize for Lit- erature in 1958 for fear of being expelled from his homeland, is the subject of a new biography by Guy de Mallac. "Boris Pasternak: His Life and Art" (University of Oklahoma Press) is the sec- ond Pasternak biography by Mallac. 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