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