THE JEWISH NEWS (USPS 25-520) CUISI N E 4AMIIT E K.WI D Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with the issue of July 20,1951 Copyright L7 The Jewish News Publishing Co. 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, Mich. 48075 Second-Class Postage Paid at Southfield, Michigan and Additional Mailing Offices. Subscription $15 a year. PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher ALAN HITSKY News Editor CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ Business Manager HEIDI PRESS DREW LIEBERWITZ Associate News Editor Advertising Manager Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath, the third day of Nisan, 5742, the following -scriptural selec'tions will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion, Levitidus 1:1-5:26. Prophetical portion, Isaiah 43:21-44:24.. Candlelighting, Friday, March 26, 6:33 p.m. VOL. LXXXI, No. 4 Page Four Friday, March 26, 1982 JITTERS OVER MUBARAK With the approach of the crucial April 25 date set for Israel's withdrawal from Sinai, as a chief concession to Egypt in the interest of peace, there are jitters.,The doubtful ask whether the price is not too steep. Will Egypt adhere to the basic agreements or will its desire to resume friendships with its presently antagonistic fellow-Arabs lead to the disruption of the best laid plans for amity? Posing these questions, there remain the doubts over Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's intentions for future relations with Israel. Dan Pattir, who, as Israel Prime Minister Menahem Begin's closest adviser, is among the best informed Israeli officials on the is S . ues in- volved in the Israel - Egypt deliberations, had occasion to confront the Egyptian president with the problems at hand. He asked President Mubarak the very questions that agonize people as to the after-effects of the April 25 projected final Sinai action. Newsweek published the in- terview and its significance drew widest circu- lation. Here are the Mubarak views in his re- plies to Pattir's questions: PATTIR: "Some Israelis are worried that it's incompatible for Egypt to resume its traditional ties with the Arab world while continuing the peace process with us." MUBARAK: "You are a very strange people: You want us-to have peace with you and to have no relations with anybody else? We are a part of the Arab world, and for hundreds and hundreds of years we've had good relations with it. "There is no conflict between the (Egypt - 'Israeli) peace process and our relations with the Arabs. I have said many times that if our rela- tions with the Israelis are good, we can ease any tensions that might arise between you and the Arabs. That's a fact. But your people are always suspicious and they have an imagination. As (Israel's Foreign Minister Yitzhak) Shamir told me: 'We are afraid that the Arabs are pressur- ing you not to visit Jerusalem.' I told him I never accept pressure from any foreign power at all. You (Israelis) are suspicious by nature . . ." PATTIR: "People say that (after Israel with- draws from the Sinai) Egypt will'go back on its word and become neutral." MUBARAK: "You're talking about, our nonaligned status? Look at the nonaligned countries: Cuba, Iraq, Syria, India, Angola, Mozambique. They're all leaning toward the (Soviet) bloc. Now, we are one, of the founding members of the nonaligned bloc. But we have good relations with the U.S. Do you want all of the nonaligned countries to belong to the Soviet camp?" PATTIR: "What do you expect from Israel and Mr. Begin after (the completion of the Sinai withdrawal on) April 25?" MUBARAK: "I'd like to ask you to forget this term 'April 25.' Forget it. It has no value. We should continue negotiations under the Camp David accords to reach a declaration of princi- ples on (Palestinian) autonomy, and 'then we can take another step toward the comprehen- sive solution of the (Arab-Israeli) problem move the whole game forward so that we can , , live in peace and withstand any foreign inter- vention .. . "Israel should be very flexible so that we can reach a declaration of principles, preferably by the end of this year. A reasonable agreement like that would be a good invitation to other Arabs to join in the (subsequent) negotiations on (the permanent settlement for) the Palesti- nians . . . We can't make any concessions be- cause we're not negotiating (matters) that be- long to Egypt." Even a mere month away from the Israeli evacuation of the Sinai territory, it is too early to prejudge the future. Any series of actions, innumerable schemes emanating from Arab quarters, possible Israeli military movements to restrain the PLO's expansions, could trigger either a war or a negation of the Camp David decisions on the basis of which the Sinai with- drawal was generated. Therefore the caution with which Israel must act, and the patience that must be applied to judgments Of the issues that have caused so many heartaches in the peace process. The inner Israeli experiences are, of course, especially distressing. The protesting elements who are refusing to abandon settlements that have been erected with sweat - and blood remain the cause for deeprooted hurt. Much is done to attain peace. The fact is that in the few years since Anwar Sadat came to Jerusalem to speak of amity face-to-face with Jews, there have been no casualties on the Is- rael - Egyptian, border. Had the other Arab states learned the lesson of benefits to be de- rived from genuine peace aims, there would be an end to doubts. What is left, for the coming month at least, is the duty to be patient. Dan Pattir, bringing his nation's message to the Allied Jewish Campaigners here this week, did not cover up the issues. He did, however, emphasize the major responsibilities — and those of American Jewry are apparent. Hopefully, the dreaded April 25' date will prove a continuity toward peace and not a re- version to destruction and annihilation of human values. The duty of Diaspora Jewry is to uphold the hands of those struggling for free- dom and striving for a lasting peace. This duty was well defined by Dan Pattir and the reply will no doubt be in the spirit of cooperation with the builders of Zion., always upholding the hands of those battling for freedom, for peace and justice. The road is strewn with obstacles, and they are less from the Israeli actions than tho8esof the Arab elemental influences. Mubarak's planned visit to Jerusalem was originally postponed by the fears that generate from opposition to the entire Camp David document from all of the Arab states. Therefore, Mubarak is less adam- ant in his partnership than was his predecessor. The entire peace move began with the Anwar Sadat courage of visiting Jerusalem. Mubarak may be unable to fulfill the same aim. Israel's restrictions on Mubarak represent a consis- tency that cannot be obviated and must be re- spected. " Isaac Bashevis Singer Picks 47 of His Best Stories- When a Nobel Prize winner selects the best of his published stories for an anthology, it is an occasion for special interest in the literary sphere. This is what Isaac Bashevis Singer did. "The Collected Stories" bearing his name (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) represent this pheno- menal occurrence. - With Nobelist Singer himself doing the chosirig, the anthology becomes not only a self-study by the author but .1so a lesson in literary judgment. Singer is a specialist in characteriz- ing the occupants of the shtetl, the people whose activities, whose mis- eries and joys were the echoes of an old and nearly=forgotten world. He makes the characters live and reconstructs their ways of living under stress and duress. What he produced is sociology, sexuality, the religious influences. Having chosen from more than 100 stories — he is the author of perhaps twice as many and of a score of books — the literary students will be in- terested in his preferences. It is not surprising that he com- menced with `"impel the Fool." Then there is "The Spinoza of Market Street," "Taibele and the De- I.B. SINGER mon" and mote like them who are in the preferred. "Yentl the Yeshiva Boy" merits special mention, now having been given special status as a movie starring Barbra Streisand. Thus, down the line, the short stories emerge anew as literary creations, some gaining added importance in their excellence as translations from the Yiddish. The list of translators also emphasizes prominence. They include Saul Bellow, Isaac Rosenfeld, Elaine Gottlieb,' Norbert Guterman, Mirra Ginsburg, Marion Magid, Elizabeth Pollet, Joel Blocker, Joseph Singer and a number of others Singer himself collaborated with Dorothea Straus, Elizabc Shub, Roseanna Gerber, Herbert R. Lottman, Laurie Colvin and Ruti. Schachner Finkel in translating a number of the stories in this collec- tion Singer's introductory note merits attention. In it he asserts in part: "Although the short story is not in vogue nowadays, I still believe that it constitutes the utmost challenge to the creative writer. Unlike the novel, which can absorb and even forgive lengthy digressions, flashbacks, and loose construction, the short story must aim directly at its climax. It must possess uninterrupted tension and suspense. Also, brevity is its very essence. The short story must have a definite plan; it cannot be what in literary jargon is called 'a slice of life.' " Commendable in the selection of Singer stories are the narrativeS- relating to his life in America and the interpretative about the New World which became his home. Also indicative of the perceptive about Jewish life everywhere are his stories relating to life in Israel, thus making the anthological work a totally Jewish account of a Nobel Prize winner experiences.