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2 Friday, February 4, 1983
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Purely Commentary
Is There an Aim to Create
Divisiveness Among Jews?
Now it is becoming clearer that there is an antagonism
toward Israel not only in the State Department but also in
the White House. Else, why would the State Department he
so anxious to "make it clear" that the Menahem Begin visit
to this country must be postponed until the Lebanese issues
are resolved?
Why the yielding to the State Department by the
President at a time when Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak was stepping on a welcoming carpet into the
White House and the sacred domain of the U.S. govern-
ment?
It is useless at this point to indicate that when de-
mands are made upon Israel to withdraw her forces from
Lebanon, the Syrians have a chance to remain there as long
as the emphasis is on Israel and Syria is merely gestured at.
Nor would it accomplish anything to point out again that
Israel's Lebanese operation has as a major achievement the
restoration of honor to Lebanon, and that nation's return to
normalcy with the end there, at least for the present, of
PLO murderous domination. Hopefully, there will be a
Lebanese-Israel accord that will guarantee such a state of
sovereignty for the Lebanese and that even one-sidedness
from Washington, if it is truly developing, will not mate-
rialize.
The concern now, more than ever, is that any effort to
create split ranks in Jewry will be resisted. That such
efforts exist is indicated in this quote, from Newsweek's
Periscope:
With the Reagan Administration preparing
for a showdown with Israeli Prime Minister
Menahem Begin over Israeli settlement policy in
the occupied West Bank, relations between Secre-
tary of State George Shultz and the American
Jewish community are deteriorating.
A group of prominent Jews who met with
Shultz in his State Department office earlier this
month came away "keenly disappointed," ac-
cording to one participant. Some of the Jewish
leaders got the feeling that Shultz was trying to
uncover divisions in their ranks and was frus-
trated by the Jews' unity — and support for Begin
— on key questions involving aid to Israel, the
involvement of Jordan's King Hussein in the
peace procegs and negotiations to get foreign
troops out of Lebanon.
If such is the policy under the administrative
power of Secretary of State Shultz, then there is a new
danger in efforts to create Jewish divisiveness. The State
Department could be acting only for the Secretary of State,
with a possibility of a nod for it from the White House. The
hint to Begin not to come now to this country was "made
clear" in the highest quarters of this government. This
hardly spells an aim for peace in the spirit of the Camp
David agreements. And since the latter are constantly em-
phasized as being adhered to by the State Department and
the White House, there is now the duty to demand that it
should not be abused. In the process, if the Newsweek
report is true, concerned citizens must act to condemn divi-
sive tactics.
Is There a Shortage of
Brainpower That 'Henry' Must
Be Called Back to the Ramparts?
In an analytical editorial (Jan. 26) "Waiting for
Henry," the New York Times reviewed the situation affect-
ing Israel. It pointed to the need for effective leadership,
and it made this suggestion:
This complex
agenda can fail at
many points. With so
many pulling against
it, the effort requires
a new field comman-
der who can make
shrewd and muscu-
lar use of American
influence in the
region. Secretary of
State Shultz has to
manage arms con-
trol; Philip Habib,
the Administration's
sturdy man for all
HENRY KISSINGER
Lebanon seasons, is
trapped in the downdraft. If Mr. Reagan will not
turn to the high-flying Henry Kissinger for a task
he is richly prepared to perform the President
had better find a facsimile.
While this editorial advocated "Henry" as a choice to
clear up a muddied issue and nominated Henry Kissinger
for such a serious job, it failed to state that "Henry" also
must be acceptable to his fellow Jews in Israel, and perhaps
also in the United States. "Henry" proved his genius. It
must yet be ascertained whether he would now be accept-
By Philip
Slomovitz
The State Department 'Made It Clear' That There Is an
Implied Antagonism to Israel's Prime Minister, and the
Tactics to Create Je*sh Divisiveness Must Be Condemned
able for the Middle East "cleanup." The troublesomeness
lies in the apparent shortage of proper statesmanship in the
State Department to tackle the problems. That's most re-
grettable.
.
Egypt Under Mubarak, With PLO
Acquitting Anti-Israel Platform
Anwar Sadat was frequently mistrusted by Jews and
Israelis for his frequent condemnations of Israel and a
charge of weakening of the Camp David processes. Now
there is a growing suspicion of the attitudes of Hosni
Mubarak and the reported spreading anti-Israeli prop-
aganda in Egypt.
HOSNI MUBARAK
ANWAR SADAT
Very little has been accomplished by the Egyptian
authorities to encourage good relations between the two
countries. Tourism became one-sided, Israelis and Jews
traveling to Egypt, Egyptians shunning opportunities
thereby to assure good relations. Anti-Israel slogans are
heard in Cairo and elsewhere. The Egyptian press is vol-
atile in its references to Israel and Israelis and especially in
the treatment of Prime Minister Menahem Begin.
Newly-developing Arab threats to Israel become ap-
parent in a report about a combination of forces bent upon
undermining whatever planning there may be in the offing
for possible peace negotiations. Writing from Beirut for the
Wall Street Journal, Tewfik Mishlawi reports:
Yasir Arafat is facing the most serious chal-
lenge yet to his Palestinian leadership, and
President Reagan's Mideast plan could be un-
dermined as a result.
The threat is being mounted by five of the
eight members of Mr. Arafat's Palestine Libera-
tion Organization. The five radical groups, follow-
ing a week-long meeting in Tripoli, Libya, issued a
communique this week that rejects all Arab and
non-Arab proposals for a peaceful solution to the
Arab-Israeli conflict.
The group's host, Libyan leader Muammar
Qaddafi, declared after the meeting that "a politi-
cal and military action program" had been laid
down in partnership with Libya. He didn't elabo-
rate, but it was clear that, with Libyan help, the
five radical PLO members plan to embark on a
militant course of action to thwart what the com-
munique called "the American-Zionist offensive"
in the Middle East.
Faced with this challenge, Mr. Arafat for the
first time has appealed to Egypt's president,
Hosni Mubarak, for cooperation and help. In an
interview published in Cairo, Egypt, this week,
Mr. Arafat is quoted as saying: "I want Egypt to
protect my back against Zionist wolves and Arab
dcgs."
Whatever the "fate" of Arafat at the hands of his Arab
associates, the fact remains that there are few signs of
amity, of desire to come to terms with Israel. The slogans
embracing Zionism as the stigma in the disputes continues
and there is little hope that Mubarak will do other than
appease Israel's enemies.
Therefore, the continuing tenseness which is rooted in
hatreds that have a supporting press in Arab ranks, Cairo
journalists retaining leadership in poison-spreading.
Palestine at Its Roots
So much confusion accompanies every reference to
"Palestinians" that it is amazing so few go to the root of a
problem aggravated by antagonism to Israel.
There is the constant reminder that in the term "Pales-
tinian" Jews are as much so as Arabs. What needs to be
repeated for emphasis is that they are even more so.
Jews never left the Holy Land. They never left
Jerusalem. If the numbers who held fast to the sacred
heritage had been minimal, the Arabs also were few in
number since they had begun to settle there.
What, then, is the. background of Palestine itself?
Whence its name?
In an editorial note in the New Republic, its editor-in-
chief, Dr. Martin Peretz, provided a definition:
I was in Jerusalem recently to participate in a
colloquium on war and the media, marking the
50th anniversary of The Jerusalem Post. One of
the visitors from Europe was surprised to hear
that until 1950 the paper was called The Palestine
Post. "Why would a Zionist institution," he asked,
"link its name with Palestine?" The answer is il-
luminating.
The Arabs of Palestine couldn't decide
whether their allegiances belonged to Greater
Syria, or to the whole Arab nation, _or, as most
often was the case, primarily to family, clan, vil-
lage and religious sect. So, in opposition first to
the Turks and then to the British, it was the Jews
(both those long resident in Palestine and those
who arrived as Zionists) who were then the only
Palestinian nationalists. They called themselves
Palestinians and established the Jewish Agency
, for Palestine, the Palestine Office, the Palestine
Economic Corporation, the Palestine Land De-
velopment Company, the Palestine Bank, the
Palestine Endowment Fund, "Palestine," "New
Palestine," the Palestine Electric Cooperative,
the Palestine Salt Works Co-op, the Palestine
Workers' Party, Palestine Foundation Funds,
Palestine Breweries, the Palestine Economic
Board, the Joint Palestine Appeal, the United
Palestine Appeal, the American Palestine Libera-
tion Committee and dozens, perhaps hundreds, of
other such associations.
Their original ambitions extended across the
Jordan River to the inheritance of Manasse, Gad
and Reuben. That territory; 80 percent of Pales-
tine severed by the British from the Mandate, is
now one Arab state, making two states in Pales-
tine. If Hussein's country were not called Jordan
but Palestine — which it is, really — everyone
would realize how silly is the proposal for yet a
third state.
So much of truth is ignored but there is an entertain-
ment of hope that the quotation from the New Republic will
sink in.
Husband Jailed for g2 Years •
for Refusing to Divorce Wife
prison David Peri says
that the other prisoners
do not like Abraham. He
is not friendly, does not
like to work or care for
cleanliness, talks for
hours with God, keeps si-
lent for long periods and
is afraid of infectious dis-
eases.
His first trial took place
in 1960. From 21 days in
prison for not paying
alimony to his wife he "pro-
ceeded" to 22 years in
prison. He has been exam-
ined by several; medical
commissions and found
physically and mentally
normal.
By MOSHE RON
The Jewish News Special
Israel Correspondent
TEL AVIV -- A Jew has
been in prison for 22 years
because he refuses to di-
vorce his wife.
"As long as I live I shall
not give you a divorce; only
death can separate us," said
Jehia Abraham to his wife
22 years ago. Since then he
has been in prison.
He is only 50 years old,
but with his long sidelocks
and beard he looks like an
old man. He dedicates his
whole time to studying the
Bible. Once only his chil-
dren used to visit him.
Today his grandchildren
also come to see him.
His case has nothing to do
with love and romance. He
only wishes to take revenge
on his wife because she de-
mands her freedom.
Jehia Abraham was
born in Yemen. When he
was 18 he married 14-
year-old Nadra. She had
no choice. Her parents
were poor and she was
sold like a goat.
She tried several times to
escape from her husband.
Emissaries of her husband
always brought her back.
She did not like him.
In 1955 she finally left
him and started to work in
the Beilinson Hospital. She
has a small apartment near
Petah Tikva.
She told us that her hus-
band used to beat her.
Sometimes she was badly
hurt. "I have two daughters.
I did for them all I could.
Today I have six grandchil-
dren. They visit me and also
their grandfather in
prison."
The director of the
,
.
•
In 1964 a district court
proposed to set him free, but
the Supreme Court did not
confirm this decision. It
stated that a woman is not a
piece of furniture or a house
pet which can be held on a
string and that in Israel
freedom is a natural situa-
tion for each citizen.
The director of the prison
says that Abraham never
tries to break prison disci-
pline, but he refuses to give
his wife a divorce. His case
is rare in the criminal his-
tory of Israel. It led to a new
controversy between the
religious and non-religious
factions.
Liberal circles accuse the
rabbinate of not being lib-
eral enough in such cases
because Abraham's wife
cannot re-marry.
In the meantime, Jehia
Abraham is in prison and is
prepared to end his life
there. And in a small
apartment in the Shaaria
Quarter his wife is living a
lonesome life.