2 Fridayi lMay ,j21, 1983
r I iFHE MIMI: JEWISH ,NEWS
Purely Commentary
Some Vital Points in Accord
Reached by Israel, Lebanon
The Immense Drama and Its International Stage, the Quest
for Peace and Conflicts Involving All Middle East States
With the U.S. a Leading Factor in the Cast of Characters
By Philip
Slomovitz
But the most difficult price may have to be
major guilt for having permitted the spreading of the nurse
paid by Washington. The Lebanese suggest that if
Ellen Siegel libels. It was the Post that sensationalized her
Syria is to be induced to p'ull out of Lebanon and
The Lebanese-Israeli accord, reached with the assis-
and introduced her as a witness who was ignored in the
thus risk alienating its patrons in Moscow, it
tance and encouragement of the United States, provided
inquiry conducted by the Kahan Commission and prior to
would
have
to
get
something
very
substantial
in
many speculative and analytical observations, in diploma-
it. What surprises is what this column questioned at the
return. The Syrians are likely to demand a Soviet
tic quarters and in the media.
time — why Nurse Siegel was not fully exposed in' her
role at any negotiating table as well as American
condemnation of Israel.
The Soviet support for Syria, the Syrian obstructions,
recognition
of
Syria's
centrality
in
any
settlement,
the attitudes of the Arab potentates, continue under
In the original Washington Post story it was state0,
a United States commitment to work for a return
scrutiny.
specifically, but not sufficiently emphasized, that Nurse
of the Golan Heights and greater American Atten-
The concern over Lebanese reactions is of special
Siegel the Jewess stemmed from PLO ranks, that two years
fives to Syrian viewpoints, as opposed to those of
interest. How do the Lebanese react to a peace with Israel?
Jordan.
before
the Beirut occurrences she danced with the PLO in
Will there be positive judging of the unanimous action by
London, that she had admittedly sung to the PLO tunes.
The Lebanon-Israel withdrawal negotiations
the Lebanese parliament, whose entire membership, the 80
took more than four months, required a two-week
Yet Nurse Siegel is introduced by McGrory as a chal-
Christians and Moslems, endorsed the agreement?
lenger who posed questions at the National Press Club
shuttle by the American Secretary of State,
The views of Pulitzer-Prize winner Thomas L. Fried-
session addressed by Sharon and was ignored. Perhaps the
George P. Shultz, were accompanied by a high
man, whose reports from the Middle East, including Am-
chairman read correctly what may have been the hatc
degree
of
regional
tension
and
involved
countless
man, and notably from Beirut, continue in superb fashion,
message from Siegel and chose not to give a poison-
compromises by both sides. Now the hard part
are of special significance.
spreading Jewess a platform.
begins — dealing with Syria.
On the eve of the signing of the Lebanese-Israeli
Will
Jordan's
King
Hussein
again
assume
a
position
of
agreement, reporting for the NeVork Times from Beirut,
McGrory's honorable record as a columnist should
influence in the dispute?
Friedman had this comment:
How far-reaching will the Soviet involvement be in the have led her to more accurate judging of the American
Privately, many senior Lebanese officials ex-
Jewish community. She could have been less cruel in the
process of creating amity among the nations affected?
press deep loathing for the Syrians, who, they say,
The oncoming weeks will be crucial. The U.S. diploma- charges leveled at Sharon, that they were not his hands
have been trampling on Lebanese sovereignty for
tic maneuvers, the State Department and Secretary George that were bloodstained in the outrageous massacre that led
eight years but are now frying to cast themselves
Shultz, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, who so to the appointment of an inquiry commission; that the
as Beirut's white knight, chivalrously protecting
effectively defended his attitude in the acclaimed address indictments by the Kahan Commission were for insen-
Lebanon's "integrity" from the Israelis.
sitivities. They merited condemnations but they also in-
he delivered at the convention of the American Jewi
vited, as they generally received, acclaim for a humane
With regard to the other Arab countries and their
Committee, will be important as participants in all deli
b- approach in official Israeli circles.
erations.
reactions to what is viewed as another historic occurrence,
Friedman also reported that emissaries have been sent
Israel will undoubtedly remain in the limeligh t.
McGrory showed real skill in ferreting out Israel's
around the Arab world "seeking to enlist support, particu-
Arafat's threats will not be ignored. The settlement pro b_ antagonists, especially in their being Jewish. She might
larly from Saudi Arabia's King Fand, who has the real lems will be used as weapons against the Menahem Begi n have said a word about a self-testing in the Jewish-Israeli
power to legitimize the position of either country. But the
administration. "Palestinians" will be the subject of em 0 _ character that permits an enemy like Nurse Siegel who was
King, who clearly has some reservations about the tional pleadings.
and is a front for the PLO to tour Israel at will, and a
American-sponsored agreement, has apparently decided to
Perhaps much will be resolved very soon. If only the re deluded Argentinian hero like Jacobo Timerman to express
stay neutral, leaving the field open to an eventual free-for-
were the much-needed Israel unity to withstand attac ks his bitterness over an administration in his adopted coun-
all."
not only from the outside forces but especially internally ! try which irks him. There remains the ethical-democratic
Syria remains, of course, the chief obstacle to an even-
The great drama has international concern and is strength of Israel, even if Timerman-Siegel-McGrory re-
tual peace, and this is where the American influence again
enacted on a vast stage.
main blind to it.
will be expected to be a chief factor in a long-lasting drama.
Friedman has some basic views on the subject in his com- Isaiah Minkoff: A Notable
Lawrence Crohn Symbolized
ments:
Syria's nuisance value in Arab politics, which
has made it unwise to ignore Damascus in any
American-sponsored peace initiative,-.has always
depended on its ability to heat up the situation in
Lebanon and to control the Palestine Liberation
Organization guerrillas based there. That is not a
role the Syrians will easily relinquish.
"All the money Syria shakes down the other
Arabs for is based on the fact that it is confronting
Israel or keeping the peace in Lebanon," said a
Middle East expert teaching in Beirut. "If the Sy-
rians allow the Bekaa front to be sealed up, how
can they ask the other Arabs for money?" Al-
ready, Damascus is trying to forge an anti-
agreement "Lebanese National Front" of politi-
cians in Syrian-controlled sections of Lebanon.
It is not easy for Lebanese politicians, espe-
cially Moslems, who have traditionally looked to
Damascus for guidance, to ignore Syria. The
Lebanese Moslem leadership was hoping for
clear-cut Saudi support on the agreement to blunt
any threat from Damascus, but this has not been
forthcoming so they are lying low. "The Syrians
are strong, mean and nearby," remarks a Sunni
Moslem professor. "The Saudis are weak, gentle
and far away. So how can anyone stick their neck
out?"
Still, the Lebanese profess to believe that with
the right combination of incentives, the Syrians
might eventually be induced to leave. But they
acknowledge that since this could be "Syria's last
tango in Lebanon," the price would be steep. The
Lebanese know that they have maneuvered the
Syrians into a tight corner. Damascus doesn't
have the Arab backing against the Lebanese
agreement that it had against Camp David. Egypt
and Jordan have already said they will stand be-
hind Beirut and are trying to persuade other
Arabs to do likewise. Damascus may have to risk
nearly total isolation in thArab world. The al-
ternative would be to try to make the best of a bad
situation.
If they do decide to withdraw, the Syrians will
try to get three different parties to foot the bill,
Lebanese analysts believe.
From Beirut, Lebanese officials believe, the
Syrians will demand a withdrawal accord that
will not appear to be the result of the Israel-
Lebanon agreement but will seem to stem from its
own set of principles. The Syrians want to be for-
mally recognized as Lebanon's big brother and
protector and could possibly demand a defense
pact with their neighbor.
From the Saudis, the Syrians will demand
their usual payoff — "X" billion dollars in cash.
-
Career in Human Relations
Isaiah M. Minkoff was among the giants in Jewish
communal spheres.
As founding executive vice chairman of the National
Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council, he was the
guide and inspirational force in all major activities involv-
ing the defense of Jews on a world scale. He was a leader in
the advancement of the highest ideals leading to genuine
good- will and to the strengthening of Jewish ties with
neighbors when problems involving civil, religious and
political rights were menaced.
He had earned an inerasable place in civil rights
battles when he led the NJCRAC into an involvement with
black groups in the struggle for just rights and the elimina-
tion of prejudices toward blacks in this country.
It was thanks to him that the leadership Conference on
Civil Rights was organized in . 1940.
He was a man of great charm and was beloved by his
co-workers and admired nationally for his courage and
wisdom.
His death on May 10 at the age of 82 served to revive
the esteem for a name that will live in the records of great
movements that gave power to the civil rights movements.
Canard-Spreading Menaces
Truth, Poisons the Media
For a time it was believed the spreading of canards had
halted, that reporting about the Middle East and the af-
termath of the Peace for Galilee campaign would lead to
honorable and realistic treatment of news and per-
sonalities making the news. But the canards seem to con-
tinue. Repetition of the fakes that were perpetrated during
the Lebanese conflict-in reports stemming from Arab quar-
ters was not unusual. When, however, responsible colum-
nists again resort to the type of misrepresentation that was
in evidence when faked photos, kept reappearing in tele-
vised scenes with descriptions on radio and in news reports
it is cause again for concern.
Mary McGrory added to the disappointing recurrence
of news canarding with her column about Ariel Sharon.
McGrory is an admired fighter for her views, She has
battled going in and on entering and departing from the
White House. In the media she is a Battling Medium. In the
Sharon case she provided puzzlement. Is it possible that she
undertook to judge him anew without having read the
entire Kahan Commission of Inquiry Report? Was it jus-
tified to have treated the Sharon visit here earlier this
month on the sketchy news releases, without double-
checking on the actual results of his confrontations with
the Jewish community?
Most distressing is her having drawn in as a witness
for her indictment a woman who poses as having been in
Beirut during the warring period and of having been an
eyewitnesS to atrocities by Israelis.
On this score it is the Washington Post that bears
Mattirity of U.S. Jewry
Lawrence Crohn was a second-generation American
who combined his native Americanism and his Jewish
heritage into a monumental idealism.
Born in New York, benefiting from a higher education
in American schools, he pursued family traditions with a
devotion to Jewish learning.
In that combined dedication to two great purposes, he
deiroted his life to the advancement of Jewish cultural and
spiritual aims and as a stalwart Zionist.
In a loyal embracing of the two great purposes, Mr.
Crohn was among the pioneer promoters of the basic aims
of making the American Jewish ideal a promotion of
American Jewry from an immigrant folk into a maturing
American Jewish community.
Whatever has been achieved in that respect is ascriba-
ble to the devotion and loyalty of the generation which
counted him among its most dedicated advocates.
It is in such a role that he recorded an inerasable page
in Detroit's Jewish and Zionist history.
Senator Percy Reports
Anti-Semites and enemies of Israel have made much of
the increase voted in U.S. aid to Israel. Supporting friend-
ship for Israel is reported this week by Senator Charles
Percy of Illinois, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Rela-
tions Committee:
"On the Middle East, the committee adopted a Percy-
Pell proposal which added $125 million in economic sup,
port funds for Israel and shifted $300 million from loans to
direct miliary grants for Israel. As I said in offering this
proposal to the committee on April 28, Israel is our strong
friend in the Middle East and we simply cannot allow the
appearance or the reality of their not being able to defend
themselves against any combination of potential adver-
saries."
What a welcome act from so important a source!
'Eric Hoffer's Legacy
Eric Hoffer was a ,fearless columnist in his time. He
defied platitudes and challenged the pompous. He was the
Longshoreman Philosopher who was not deluded by prej-
udices and his championship of Israel's just rights elevated
him above the commonplace. He fearlessly criticized an
element in black leadership in the 1960s that chose to give
comfort to those who would destroy the Jewish state. The
then head of the Jewish Community Council's community
relations committee was angered by it, yet future similar
encouragement to terrorists by a few, very few among the
blacks, justified urging the black community never to align
itself with anti-Jewish groups.
As a philo-Semite and friend of Israel, the Eric Hoffer
name is indelible in the 20th Century experiences.