THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, June 25, 1982 21 Writer Links Anti-Semitism With Swings in U.S.-Israel Relations By VICTOR BIENSTOCK A new phase in the American foreign policy de- bate in which anti- ' Semitism plays an unmis- takeable role was opened in earnest by last year's debate on the sale of AWACS sur- veillance planes to Saudi Arabia. This debate, says Stephen S. Rosenfeld, is "quite possibly the har- binger of things to come." The Washington Post columnist and editorial writer expresses his concern over this development in an article in the current issue of Foreign Policy, the world irs quarterly published the Carnegie Endow- __ ment for International > Peace. He points out that while opinion polls show "increasing general tolerance of Jews among Americans, events have demonstrated a growing tolerance of specific ex- pressions of anti-Semitism" — a condition he attributes to the fact that "the texture of public life is becoming coarser.'! Between Americans and Jews, Rosenfeld finds, and within "those of us who are both American and Jewish, there exists a range of ten- sions and uncertainties that future events will surely stir." President Reagan him- self, probably unwit- tingly, the writer ; suggests, legitimized the anti-Semitic approach in the AWACS debate when he declared that "it is not the business of other na- tions to make American policy." Reagan, Rosen- feld asserts, "seemed al- together innocent of ul- terior intent and un-, aware of the mischief he was so casually spring- ing." Noting the role other countries and the represen- tatives have played here in seeking to influence Ameri- can policy, Rosenfeld warns that "a country such as the United States, composed of different ethnic and reli- gious groups, must be ex- ceedingly careful not to penalize collectively any one group if its members exercise, however vigor- ously, their democratic rights." But Reagan, he points out, "changed the rules to penalize one country (Is- ' rael) and its American sup- porters for a lobbying ac- tivity that otherwise goes on continuously without challenge." The Washington com- mentator took sharp issue with Sen. Charles Mathias, Maryland Republican, who, in an article in Foreign Af- fairs, scolded ethnic groups, •icularly American Jews members of the Ameri- can Greek community, "for taking advantage of the American political process." Mathias, Rosenfeld points out, excluded the Anglo - Saxons, number- ing less than a third of the population, who "played a large part in drawing the United States into two great wars in this century to rescue their ancestral communities" and whose influence helps keep more than 300,000 U.S. troops in Western Europe as a security commitment that costs us $100 billion a year. The core of the Mathias position is that "the prob- lems of the modern world and their solution have broken past the boundaries of ethnic group, race or na- tion" and, says Rosenfeld, "this view is now politically ascendant. It defines the framework in which ethnic groups with foreign con- cerns must operate." It may therefore be a serv- ice to the ethnic groups, he says, by reminding them that "their freedom of action is broad but not without limits" — an important fac- tor for American Jews who are now "easily the most demanding ethnic or racial group seeking the larger national community's sup- port for a foreign cause." Rosenfeld finds an "in- ternational dimension" to anti-Semitism here as well and stresses the importance of pointing out that "anti- Semitism still exists in the post-Holocaust world." He raises the questions that have long engaged obser- vers and participants: Why is the expansion of national territory through war in the Mid- dle East only regarded as inadmissible when Israel, does it when "for Jordan in 1949 and Iraq in 1980 it was not a major issue"? Why does shooting by Is- raeli soldiers of a handful of West Bank protesters stir a frenzy whereas "shooting by Syrian soldiers of thousands of their fellow citizens evokes a yawn"? Why do UN General As- sembly resolutions "so rarely and grudgingly ac- knowledge a legitimate Is- raeli security concern"? Rosenfeld answers by ex- pressing doubt that the in- ternational community's manner of objecting to Is- raeli policies is simply "hardball politics." "There is a gross ele- ment of anti-Semitism in it reflected by an interna- tional double standard that demands of Israel concessions asked of no other country — conces- sions that if granted could conceivably impair or even end Israel's exist- ence as a sovereign state. It is hard to look at the General Assembly's Zionism-is-racism resolu- tion of 1975 and the cur- rents flowing to and from it "without believing that anti-Semitism is near its core." Rosenfeld believes that former Assistant Secretary of State Harold Saunders is more right than wrong in his contention that there is "a rising tide of resentment in this country . . . that Is- rael seems to expect limit- less support from the United States regardless of what it does, without regard for the interests of the United States." The prevailing truth is, he says, as Henry Fairlie, the political commentator, has pointed out, that "an impatience with Israel, even when it is justifiable, is all too easily translated into anti-Jewishness . . . The most reasonable criticism of Israel brings in its train all the code words by which it is translated into anti- Zionism and then into anti-Semitism, with each step barely recognized." Anti-Semitism, Rosen- feld declares, is a "politi- cal poison that has pro- ven terribly persistent over the years." He warns that "although the United States has es- caped the worst of it, Americans cannot afford complacency as they enter the difficult domes- tic and international straits ahead. Jews and non-Jews alike have their separate respon- sibilities to dilute the poison." Anti-Semitic manifesta- tions in foreign policy de- bate, Rosenfeld says, follow the ups and downs in American - Israeli rela- tions. He points out that there was no anti-Semitic reaction during the 1973- 1974 Arab oil embargo be- cause the embargo came during a period of American - Israeli harmony. Its man- ifestation last year in the AWACS debate, however, was at a time when U.S. pol- icy was dominated by an ef- fort to reconcile our interest in Israel with our expand- ing interests in the Arab world, a task complicated by the Israeli - Palestinian dis- pute. That disagreement "pro- vided or at least rationalized a basis on which to choose sides on the issue." Such situations could be- come increasingly common in the future, -Rosenfeld says, and as a result, "Jews and other Americans who argue what is considered the Israeli side of close and complex questions such as the AWACS sale will have to confront the charge that they are in effect agents of a foreign power whose inter- ests are opposed to those of the United States." Harmony between the United States and Israel, he says, "will not always keep anti-Semitism from surfacing in the country but the damage is greater when the two countries are at odds, as during the AWACS controversy." 17546 CHESTER DETROIT, MI 48224 (313) 882-6078 The writer warns the Jews there is a latent form of anti-Semitism in this country "that certain forms of advocacy may stir" and that by "indiscriminate support" of the short-term goals of any Israeli govern- ment, American Jews may lose a certain credibility and "reinforce some of the uglier tendencies in U.S. society." Non-Jews, particularly political leaders, have their responsibilities too since their attitudes set the tone and define the bounds in which "respectable debate" proceeds. He faults President Carter for having waited too long before ex- plaining that he had fired Andrew Young, not to ap- pease the Jews, but because Young had violated ad- ministration policy. Similarly, he asserts, Re- agan waited too long before offering his denuniciation of the anti-Semitism that flourished in the aftermath of the AWACS debate. Diamonds Cost Less Here Period! REMEMBER, THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A NEW DIAMOND AND A USED DIAMOND IS THE PRICE: MICHIGAN'S FINEST DIAMOND PAWNBROKER SINCE 1914 FEDERAL COLLATERAL SOCIETY, INC Washington Blvd. at Michigan Ave 961-4361 Mon.-Fri. 9-5 Sat. 10-4 •••■••"- For deliciously cool summer- time refreshment, pour on the Sanka A Brand Decaffeinated Coffee. Place one rounded tea-. ,7 *N spoon Sanka p Instant or Freeze-Dried Decaffeinated .Coffee in a tall glass. Stir in one cup cold water. Add ice and serve with cream and sugar, if you want. Or ask for it at your favorite restaurant. You'll have a de- lightful summer cooler. Rich real coffee that's.97% coffein.free:::-i*::0)(4:kher, too. Sanko for . .summer is mechaieh—the rest , 111 , 1 11. - rs4Mtnef should only be so . ■ 11 , ∎111, GENERA L FOODS 1982 . Gerirol Fcfad, cGrp.)%teii , !) .