2 Friday, April 22, 1983 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Purely Commentary Reagan and King Hussein and the 1984 Election minister put it, "whether the PLO isn't more in- terested in preserving itself rather than part of Palestine." At any rate, PLO chairman Yasir A Reagan adviser on Jewish affairs reportedly quit the Arafat underscored his differences with Hussein Presidential staff. It is attributed to a statement quoted in last week by going to Kuwait to confer, then de- the Wall Street Journal two-part series of articles on King laying his scheduled return to Amman to com- Hussein of Jordan (April 14 and 15) in which the President plete his discussions with the King. said he was losing the Jewish vote. Usually, when discuss- After Saudi Arabia, the PLO is probably the ing "such a vote," a candidate — and Ronald Reagan is most overrated political actor in the Middle East. already viewed as in the race for re-election — usually The PLO's presence in Beirut for 13 years — leaves such matters to the media in whose ranks it is where it enjoyed a wide and often uncritical expo- 'always speculative_ sure to a large diplomatic community and an in- (On Monday the Wall Street Journal carried a White ternational press corps — helped it assume an House denial that the President had spoken about a loss of image that was often larger than life. This image- the Jewish vote. But this is immaterial when the major tended to obscure the PLO's own internal weak- experience is under consideration. It is the exaggeration nesses and the rather limited quality of its leader- itself that matters). ship. The Israeli invasion last summer dispelled The role of a Presidential staff member is always of the myth of the PLO as a guerrilla. power and interest. In the present instance it has more than one as- events since the summer have begun to raise pect. questions about it as a political institution as well. First, there is the Jordanian issue which elicited the Having lost Lebanon, Mr. Arafat is now in a Presidential comments that were rejected by "the Jewish much more difficult position. He no longer has a adviser." Hussein and the White House have a long record tree house to climb into when the diplomatic heat of mutual accord, Hussein having been treated with much is on. The Israelis have virtually removed any more accord than most Israeli guests. The cancellation of serious PLO option for "armed struggle" and the the recently planned Reagan-Begin meeting is a special quickening pace of Israeli settlement-building in case arousing more than mere concern. Hussein is treated the West Bank has made it imperative for the as the darling in American political circles, and the Palestinians, and the Jordanians, to work out a hesitancy with which the Jordanian king has treated all credible diplomatic formula that will preserve the invitations for participation in peace negotiations con- land for Arab sovereignty before there is no land tinues to prove harmful to all efforts for anything approach- left. ing the Camp David conferences which led to an Egyptian- In these circumstances, the old PLO seems Israeli pact which remains the only friendly act between finished. Mr. Arafat now appears to have two Arabs and Jews. choices. He can take a clear-cut political decision It often appears as if Hussein of Jordan was receiving to negotiate with Israel or mandate Jordan to do love pats from American statesmen, _ and this could be so, accepting that this would split his organiza- judged as contributing towards the encouragement given tion. Or he can continue to live in an airplane, fly him to remain reluctant to any peace move placed on the around on state visits to the 100-odd countries Middle East agenda. that recognize the PLO and watch as his or- Hussein remains unhelpful and the White House to- ganization gradually becomes politically irrele- gether with the State Department have not been as de- vant. manding for action by him as they have been in dealing Mr. Arafat might have had a lot more room to with Israel. maneuver at this time had he crushed the ex- Then there is another aspect in the quoted Reagan tremists within his organization . when he had statement which seems to have irritated "the Jewish ad- them under his thumb in Beirut. Even his col- viser." It is the reference to the Jewish vote. It has one basic leagues will admit that Mr. Arafat, unlike other value for the Jewish community: it prepares Jews for the successful revolutionary leaders, has never really repetitive speculations, in the media and wherever politi- faced down the radicals in his organization. As a cians meet, about "the Jewish vote." result, the PLO today is a hodgepodge of pro- If there are no objections to the labeling of a "liberal Syrian, pro-Iraqi, pro-Libyan and pro-Arafat fac- vote" or many others with titles appended to certain groups tions, all of whom the leader has to poll before he — there being so much emphasis, for example, on "the can make a decision. black vote" — why panic over "Jewish vote?" _ "Because the PLO is now so dispersed and To deny its existence is futile. Jews will resent anti- loaded down wtith internal contradictions, it Israelism and will not support candidates who are an- can't agree on anything that falls short of 100 per- tagonistic to the Jewish state. Jews will fight to the finish cent of its objectives," a European diplomat said. when the Klan makes an appearance and when ADL is "But the PLO simply is not in a position to be attacked. But Jews will especially oppose any candidate demanding 100 percent from anyone." who does not support the nation's social needs, who is an Rather than make any decision that could obstacle to civil rights. Jews have always stood by the black split the organization or deprive it of a central role community in its opposition to racism. (A completed study in any peace negotiations, the leadership appears of the mayoralty election in Chicago will show that to prefer to postpone matters and hope that Mayor-Elect Washington had strong Jewish, liberal back- somehow conditions will change to its advantage. ing.) In the meantime, the bureaucracy seems likely to When, therefore, there is talk about a "Jewish vote," survive. The corporate instinct of the leadership the speculators must be reminded that what is involved is should not be underestimated. It has become a more than a ballot, that it is the code of ethics, basic way of life for hundreds of men. There are offices principles that underly the Jewish pride in American citi- to go to, lots of conferences to attend around the zenship. This is the Jewish vote! world and an endless steam of internal meetings The Haters and Their Platforms to take part in. The pay isn't bad and for senior officials there is always a Mercedes. Always Demand Exposing Somewhere along the way, a Western dip- It's a great pity that the PLO and its nefarious chief- lomat in Amman remarked, the PLO seems to tain continue to get top spots in public attention in spite of have become so involved with the "revolution" the destructive aims that keep influencing many ranks. and the "cause" that it has lost touch with the They are despised by fellow Arabs, yet they receive the - reality on the ground. After every Arab-Israeli widest attention. PLO-Hussein negotiations collapsed be- war, it decides that it might be ready to accept caust the Jordanian king could not provide a platform for what it could have had before the hostilities be- the terror-monger. Yet, although the Hussein-Arafat clan- gan, but which may be impossible now. ship collapsed, the PLO spokesman gets a platform in his These are facts and impressions that are not to be personal way of saying his contacts with Hussein remain hidden, and it is fortunate there is a courageous foreign i*act. It is a way of fooling the public, and he makes correspondent to relate them. progress on that path. Will the American diplomats pay attention to the reve- Not that the PLO nefariousness is always hidden. It is lations? They know the facts. Will they apply them, even if not secret. It is as evident as the vast aspect of Arab divi- a Hussein should be dragged down a peg? siveness in which Arafat has importance in the major cast of characters. A Former Congressman Prior to the collapse of the Hussein-Arafat talks — the Insults His Colleagues PLO head cannot deny their failure, in spite of his many The resort to the speculative Jewish vote theme often subsequent claims — Thomas Friedman, the star New York Times correspondent, reporting to his newspaper reveals a lack of respect for public officials. It relates to from Amman, made known the splits in Arab ranks, the accusations that elected officials are under Jewish influ- misrepresentations inherent in PLO, its leaders and tac- ence, and one former Congressman, speaking here last tics. Writing under the heading "For PLO, a First-Class week-end to an Arab group, dared say that his former colleagues are "terrorized" by Jewish voters. Trip to Nowhere?" on April 21, Friedman stated: What the reporters who quoted the ex-Congressman The PLO's refusal last week to give King Hus- did not indicate, as the well-informed California consti- sein any kind of green light on the Reagan plan tuency undoubtedly knows, is that the latest messenger of raises the question, as one Jordanian cabinet ill will who urged that all U.S. aid to Israel should cease had , , By Philip Slomovitz Old Speculations Gain Renewal Thanks to an Occurrence in the White House, With 'The Jewish Vote' on Agenda . . . An Expose of PLO Under Scrutiny been exposed long ago as one of the very few defenders of the PLO. Now he returns again as their advocate. Natur- ally, he resents the realism of the U.S. Congress whose nearly total membership recognizes Israel's value to the U.S. as its most devoted friend in the Middle East. It is the resort to the charge that Jews — Israel — "terrorize" members of Congress that is outrageous. It is an accusation that the chief U.S. legislative body is under submission to some 2 or 3 percent of the U.S. population. It is a rejection of decent diplomatic relations and of the very sense of justice that is at the root of American policies. Even when that spokesman still held a Congressional seat, he had already gained disrepute for such views and for being a spokesman for terrorism in the name of propagat- ing the PLO cause. Thomas Friedman as a Merited Prize Winning Correspondent Thomas Friedman could not have had much competi- tion. As the winner of the current Pulitzer Prize for corre- spondence he reaffirmed the anticipations of those who have studied the coverage of the Lebanese events in the American press that he would be a unanimous choice for such recognition. Friedman has shown thoroughness, a capacity for re- search, the skill of selecting the proper people to be inter- viewed, the ideal time to be on the spot when there was action during the entire dramatic struggles. The sense of fairness evidenced in his reports to the New York Times proved also to be a credit to the newspaper he represented and the others that subscribed to the cor- redpondence he provided. He deserves the congratulations he is receiving. In the Atmosphere of Freedom: Congressman's Yiddish Message Yiddish had an impressive echo in Washington last week, during the deeply-moving ceremonies marking the assembling of the survivors from Nazism. There was a one-hour ceremony on the steps of the West Front facing the Mall. One of the speakers was Sam Gejdenson, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut. Congressman Gejdenson spoke in Yid- dish. He was born in 1948 in the Eschwege Concentration Camp in West Germany and is the first child of a Holocaust survivor to serve in the U.S. Congress. This was more than an episode. It was a message of freedom to those who survived the most horrible of at- rocities, and was a special message to the children of the survivors. It was like a stanza to the hymn "God Bless America" that this message should have come in the Wash- ington atmosphere. Self-Democratizing Process: - Merging Masses with Classes Detroit's Jewish Welfare Federation leadership showed good sense in planning for mass participation in the concluding event of the Allied Jewish Campaign. As planned, and because of an artistic attraction, some 900 people participated, instead of the usual 300 or a maximum of 400 at a dinner. In his interesting address to the gathering, Judge Avern Cohn mentioned an earlier Campaign function which was attended by the late Dr. Joseph Schwartz, who masterminded Joint Distribution Committee activities as a world rescue agency, and who directed UJA activities, and the late Arthur Lourie, who as Dr. Chaim Weizmann's secretary and was Israel's ambassador to the Court of St. James. Judge Cohn could have referred to an early Allied Jewish Campaign experience when the late Dr. Chaim Weizmann, who was later to become Israel's first President, was the guest speaker at a concluding Allied Jewish Cam- paign event held at Temple Beth El, in lieu of a dinner. The temple was packed for the Weizmann message. That was a leading occasion at which the masses were linked with the classes in a communat 'fiinetion, That's the way to demo- cratize a community. CHAIM WEIZMANN ARTHUR LOURIE