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December 17, 1982 - Image 2

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1982-12-17

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

2 Friday, December 11, 1982

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Purely Commentary

Evidence of Authoritative
Journalist Refutes the Lies,
Serves as Defense of Israel

Columbia (University) Journalism Review carried a
defense of the media, refuting the charges of prejudices
against Israel, primarily the "J'Accuse" by Norman
Podhoretz.
Meg Greenfield, who has charge of the Washington
Post editorial page, defended her newspaper in a special
article in which she rejected the accusation that it is anti-
Israel and treats the Lebanese crisis with bias toward the
Jewish state.
Jewish critics have gone to extremes in their attacks
on the Menahem Begin administration in Israel.
Some of the attacks have assumed such proportions of
venom against Begin and his associates that views like
those of Jacobo Timerman, Yitzhak Shahak and others
have been labeled "Jewish anti-Semitism."
There is another side to _the story. While it is not as
sensationally notorious as the series of attacks on Israel in
and around the media, the exceptions, those on the positive
side of Israel's defensiveness, introduce facts which will not
be ignored.
Thus, Edward Rasen, writing in Gallery magazine,
presents results of a study he has conducted which proves
the extent of the PLO danger that justified Israel's Peace
for Galilee operation, and exposes the Russian role as well
as the weaknesses in the Reagan policies. First, the conclu-
sion and the suggestions for action outlined by Rasen:
It is well and good for Reagan to declare that
he wants a united Lebanon with a strong central
government. However, after almost eight years of
war, Lebanon needs military supplies, not dip-
lomatic pats on the back.
Syria should be plainly told to depart Leba-
non and the U.S.-created Saudi regime should be
reminded about its obligations. Portly Prince
Fand obviously has forgotten that he has no allies
in the Arab world, as evidenced last year by his
disastrous attempt to convene an Arab summit
meeting in Morocco.
Unfortunately, it appears that neither
President Reagan nor his Western political coun-
terparts have a defined strategy regarding Leba-
non and the Middle East. They have shown them-
selves unable to recognize their friends and un-
able to act quickly and forcefully with clear, firm
objectives. They tend to react to Middle Eastern
events and pressures rather than to pursue a firm
and steady course.
For the United States or any Western power to
be sure of its position compounds the endemic
uncertainties it already faces in the region. The
Western powers must unequivocally and strongly
endorse a free and democratic Lebanon. The guns
of Syria, the PLO, and even Israel must be re-
moved from Lebanon.
We should remain mindful of the assaults
perpetrated by the PLO and the Syrians against
Lebanon's innocent citizens. Israel did what the
Western powers were afraid to suggest. Despite
the diplomatic efforts of U.S. Presidential envoy
Philip Habib, Syria's Soviet-made SAM-6 missile
batteries remained in Lebanon until Israel re-
taliated on June 6, 1982. Military pressure, not
restraint, reduced the PLO and Syrian military
presence in Lebanon.
Paper tiger heads-of-state talking with fat
Arab princes did.not solve the problem. It is in-
consistent and hypocritical for Western leaders to
share the strategic fruit — namely, peace and a
democratic government in Lebanon — without
tolerating Israeli tactics, harsh as they may be.
Lebanon for the Lebanese can be the founda-
tion for peace in the Middle East and a vigorous
new diplomatic policy regarding the future of the
Palestinians. That policy will owe much to Israel's
military actions in Lebanon.
There cannot be peace in the Middle East
without peace in Lebanon. Until now, the United
States has shown itself incapable of negotiating
such a lasting peace. Henry Kissinger and Philip
Habib's "shuttle diplomacy" only rearranged,
rather than solved, the problems. What is re-
quired is a pattern of sustained actions that ad-
dresses the interests and fears of the subjects.
Only actions, not empty words or meaning-
less agreements with terrorists, can be effective.
If the Western powers do not act now, they, along
with Lebanon, will surely suffer in the future.
Lebanon must be saved.
What gives authority to Edward Rasen, and why is he
to be credited with being an authority on the subject
covered under the title "Battling the Soviet War Machine"
in his Gallery article? His record as an important member
of the media and of the journalistic fraternity is presented
in this editorial note to hi& article;

.

.

Testimony of Authoritative Student of Middle East and
Current Developments Serves as Indictment of Israel's
Enemies and as an Admonition to Reagan Administration

Edward Rasen, a former producer for ABC
News, spent approximately two months in Leba-
non during the summer of covering the war.
He was previously in Lebanon as a journalist dur-
ing November and December 1981 and during
1976, 1979 and 1980.
He entered Lebanon through Syria and
traveled throughout Lebanon with Syrian, PLO,
Lebanese Christian, Lebanese Muslim, and left-
wing guerrilla groups; Israeli Defense Forces;
and the Lebanese Army. He has also covered the
conflicts in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Cambodia and
Iraq.
Now for the Rasen expose which is based on the studies
he conducted during the current Lebanese crisis as well as
in his earlier experiences as an inquirer into the status of
the Middle East, with emphasis on Lebanon. In his Gallery
article, Rasen shows the extent of the military arsenal
gathered by the PLO and Israel's enemies, the massiveness
of Russian provisions for these accumulative weapons, the
support given the PLO by Saudi Arabia. In his presenta-
tion, Rasen states:
The statements by various Western govern-
ments denouncing Israel's military actions in
Lebanon should be ignored. Their hypocrisy is
understandable, as they attempt to curry favor
with oil-producing Arab nations. More unfortu-
nate is Saudi Arabia, which is being used by the
PLO to promote Soviet expansion in the Middle
East.
For example, some of the arms and ammuni-
tion captured from the PLO in south Lebanon by
the IDF during June 1982 were found to have been
manufactured by a U.S. Army munitions plant in
Missouri and then sold to Saudi Arabia. Cap-
tured documents revealed that during the latter
half of 1981, Saudi Arabia transferred $20 million,
plus a large consignment of small arms and
ammunition, to the PLO in Lebanon. U.S. State
and Defense Department spokesmen said that
any intentional transfer of U.S.-made ammunition
to the PLO was a violation of arms agreements
between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
The IDF also captured documents in Lebanon
during June 1982, which revealed that in March
1982, Yasir Arafat asked Crown Prince Fand of
Saudi Arabia to finance arms deals with Bulgaria,
Hungary and East Germany for various items,
including SA-7 and SA-9 antiaircraft missiles,
Soviet katyusha rockets, sophisticated antiair-
craft radar, and 122-mm and 130-mm heavy artil-
lery guns.
In April 1982, Saudi Arabia consented to pro-
vide the PLO with $250 million for those arms
purchases.
Western governments have been outwitted
and duped by Yasir Arafat. The PLO has never
done anything to merit sympathy or support from
democratic governments; yet President Reagan
reportedly told aides, "This fellow Begin makes it
awfully hard for us to help."
Officially, the White House was much more
diplomatic, suggesting that Menahem Begin,
prime minister of Israel, was too single-minded in
pursuit of his own interests, without any regard
for America's. State Department officials were
more critical, stating that Begin was trying to
drive' a wedge between America and its Arab al-
lies.
The self-serving bureaucrats at the State De-
partment would have us believe that the United
States could make peace in the Middle East if we
joined with the Soviet Union and Saudi Arabia in
their support for the PLO and tempered our sup-
port for Israel. It is difficult to believe that Reagan
will permit U.S. policy to go so far awry, but he has
unfortunately been misled by some of his advisers
and the media.
As a presidential candidate in 1980, Reagan
correctly labeled the PLO as a terrorist organiza-
tion. There is no reason he should change his
view. Neither crudely commercial motives nor a
profound ignorance of military affairs
adequately explains criticism of Israeli actions
against the PLO and Syria in Lebanon. The same
voices that condemn Israel remained silent as
Lebanon was occupied and raped by the PLO and
Syria, which also initiated a so-called civil war
which, by 1980, had left 98,000 dead and 225,000
wounded.
Western political leaders and the press have
also remained silent about the illegal buildup of
Soviet-supplied troops and weapons in Lebanon:
While the media and politicians criticized Israel's
military actions in Lebanon, no outrage was ex-
pressed about the gigantic arsenal illegally
stockpiled by the PLO.
During the first six weeks of Israel's opera-

By Philip
Slomovitz

tion in Lebanon, Israeli Defense Forces captured
more than 760 tanks and combat vehicles, 425
heavy artillery guns and rocket launchers, 27,000
light weapons, and 5,000 tons of ammunition.
Most of the weapons and ammunition were from
the Soviet Union or Soviet-controlled countries
such as East Germany.
Soviet-made rockets were shipped from
North Korea to Libya and then, under the guise of -
tractor parts, to the PLO in Lebanon.
Since entering Lebanon on June 6, 1982, Is-
raeli Defense Forces have captured or destroyed
over $3 billion worth of Soviet- and Eastern-bloc
manufactured arms and military equipment.
Numerous Soviet-made surface-to-air missiles
and other long-range ground-to-ground missiles
have been destroyed. Some of these were capable
of hitting targets in the Mediterranean Sea.
The presence of the PLO and the Syrian Army
in Lebanon has upset the delicate communal bal-
ance, destroyed the once flourishing economy,
made it impossible for the legal government to
rule, and provided a base for training and plan-
ning international terrorist operations. Yet the
international community looked upon the
tragedy with apathy.
Many of the points advanced here have been argued in
Israel's defense. Hopefully, they do not fall on deaf ears.
Israel's defenders, like the non-Jewish friends who include
Dr. Franklin Littell and Sister Carol Rittner, keep re-
emphasizing the appeals for justice, while Shahak, Timer-
man, Noam Chomsky continue to relish the spreading
poisons.
Now come the added vituperations, the renewed
Chinese attacks on Israel inspired by the visits of Arab
delegations headed by Jordan's King Hussein. They go so
far as to charge that Israel murdered Christians and Mus-
lims in Lebanon, refusing to take into account the basic
roots of what is termed "massacre" that caused the forma-
tion of an Israel commission of inquiry: the fact that Chris-
tians most recently massacred Muslims because for a de-
cade Muslims murdered Christians.
Edward Rasen's expose, of Russian guilt as well as the
Arab fratricide, should clarify the issue and induce a policy
of justice for Israel. Will the conscience of mankind be
awakened by truth? Edward Rasen in Gallery magazine
contributes toward raising that question and makes the
appeal for fair play.

Strange Bedfellows: Kahane
Lends Glory to the ACLU

When the American Civil Liberties Union adhered to a
policy of defending the right to freedom of assembly in the
Skokie, Ill., case, thus backing an American Nazi effort to
parade with their venom, public opinion was divided. Many
canceled membership in the ACLU.
Now comes the head of a movement that is often
ridiculed, even despised in ranks like ACLU, but benefits
from the very p inciple he may have opposed as a protest
against liberties for Nazis. Rabbi Meir Kahane is pre-
claimed a victor in the right to have a meeting with his
Jewish Defense League adherents in a public hall in South-
field, Mich., thanks to the ACLU consistency which seeks
support for a basic libertarian policy, even if the views of
those the ACLU defends are despised.
The ACLU consistency won many supporters in the
Kahane battle not to be denied the right to First Amend-
ment privileges. In the long run, this is a triumph to be
applauded.
Kahane's JDL movement, nevertheless, remains a de-
batable subject. Elie Wiesel, the distinguished author, in
an interview printed in People magazine, was confronted
with questions about the JDL. Here are the replies to the
interviewer by Wiesel:
How do you feel about the militant way the
Jewish Defense League responds to anti-
Semitism?
I really do not believe in violence. I still believe
that words should resolve problems. Should there come
a day when I realize maybe they are right, it will be a
very sad day for the Jewish people.
What should be done?
I believe in tolerance, but here I am not tolerant at
all. I would ostracize an anti-Semite. I would say to
him, "Listen, we live in a democracy, so if, you want to
believe these things it's your privilege. But you should
do it openly. That way everyone knows you choose
sides, the side of Eichmann and Hitler and Himmler."
If all of us were to say that, I think we could manage to
control anti-Semitism and perhaps even eradicate it
for a while.
Wiesel's quandary is undoubtedly repeated a
thousand-fold by those who may even admire Kahane's
courage but cannot approve of the tactics of the movement
he has created. When he is denied the right to speak, he
gains notoriety that frequently grows into popularity.

ti

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