2 Friday, September 23, 1983
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Purely Commentary
Evenhandedness Viewed as a Menace, Gets a Severe
Blow from John Glenn . . . The Political Aspect in the
Pledging Stage on Agenda in Senator Percy Attitudes
By Philip
Slomovitz
Without a Strong School . . . What Hope Is There for the Children?
Three obligations are vital to Jewish life and dignity: Home, School, Synagogue.
Without the first, the other two are valueless, without the second, there will be
calamity for the other two.
This is a fact of life not to be forgotten in dealing with a situation like the current
strike of teachers at Akiva Hebrew Day School.
There are some admonitions which school and community must take into considera-
tion: that disruption of studies invites catastrophe and must not be condoned. Perhaps
there are faults both in administration and teaching staff. There could be blindness in
approaching whatever the issues may be. Even the most difficult must be negotiated and
the school must remain open, functioning under highest standards of tested learning and
teaching qualities.
An Amora who was teaching some nine centuries ago, Simeon ben Lakish, ad-
monished: "A town without schools is doomed to destruction." Taken seriously, this must
also have the qualification of good teachers who have been tested by time. That cannot be
ignored.
Ahad HaAm (Asher Ginsberg, 1856-1927), perhaps the most revered essayist of this
century, offered a definition in a letter he wrote on Oct. 26, 1915:
The heart of the Jewish people has always been in the Bet HaMidrash;
there was the source from which they drew the strength and the inspiration
that enabled them to overcome all difficulties and withstand all persecu-
Political Campaign Already Fully
Heated and Senator Percy
Typifies Some of the Acrimony
Political acrimony is not new and in preparation for
;he 1984 campaign it is in evidence in many spheres. If all is
'air in love and war, it certainly attains justification in
)olitics.
It's a bit too early to speak of the genuineness of prom-
ses. Yet, it is already being tested.
Illinois provides one of the most interesting tests af-
ecting a most prominent U.S. Senator. Charles M. Percy,
is chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Commit-
,ee, has been under attack for several years for statements
le has made regarding Palestinians and the role of Israel in
;he U.S. Middle East involvements. He still stands accused
)f endorsing anti-Israel attitudes and of being overly criti-
;al of the Jewish state.
As a result, several
candidates who have
entered the race to oppose
him for re-election have
gone a long way to condemn
him and to call for his ous-
ter.
Yet, for many months,
Senator Percy has been out-
spokenly pro-Israel. He may
have played the chief role in
his importantly dominant
U.S. Senate position in the
adoption, with minimal op-
position, of a considerable
U.S. increase in the eco-
nomic aid allocation for Is-
rael
SENATOR PERCY
Much of the venom
eveled at Israel has been the hatred that has been gener-
ated against Prime Minister Menahem Begin. Senator
3 ercy did not submit to that extensive witch-hunting. The
3egin announcement that he was resigning from the prime
ninistership produced this tribute to Begin by Senator
?ercy:
Prime Minister Begin is a dedicated man, a
man who loves his country, and who sought to do
his best. I found him personally to be a warm and
gracious person, but he was a tough fighter in
Israeli politics.
He will be remembered as an opposition
politician for 25 years who finally came to power
and conducted himself with strength and self-
assurance. His great achievement is the Camp
David accord which he negotiated with President
Sadat and which resulted in a significant peace
treaty between Israel and Egypt.
His resignation will probably have no im-
mediate effect on Israeli foreign or domestic pol-
icy if his Likud coalition holds together. However,
Israel is faced with serious economic problems
and with the critical situation for Israeli soldiers
in Lebanon. The new leadership will have to con-
front these policy challenges.
I am confident that the U.S. will want to work
closely with the new leadership. Israel is a mature
democracy and we can expect that the transition
will go smoothly.
Israeli-American relations, which have im-
proved dramatically in the last few months,
should continue to be good. It is in the interest of
both the United States and Israel to work
cooperatively for Mideast peace. I would hope
that we could increase our cooperation with Is-
rael in order to assure Israel of our continuing
concern for her security and to give Israel the self
-
tions. If we want to go on living, we must restore the center to the Bet
HaMidrash, and make that once more the living source of Judaism.
One must turn also, in this hour of crisis in the local school system, to Judah HaNasi
(135-220) the editor of the Mishna, for guidance. Declaring, "The World abides only for
the sake of school children," he added: "The studies of school children may not be
interrupted even for the building of the Temple."
It may be argued that the school that is struck by the functioning teaching staff
remains open. But it is undeniable that the staff that functioned until this month is now
on a picket line — in itself a cause for concern over disruption of good community
relations — and that those who have been tested by time may have been replaced by
substitutes. Not only are they eliminated as wage-earners, manyhaving been dependent
for their very existence upon salaries from the struck school, but those who are striking
have been revered as qualified teachers. The teacher having been respected as much as
the school itself, it becomes ethically amoral to permit a situation like the Akiva strike to
continue.
The crisis can only be resolved by negotiation. If the currently-responsible people are
unable themselves to resolve the issue, sufficient influence must be exerted in a com-
munal basis to effect a solution. A dignified community cannot long subsist on strikes,
picketing and failure to resolve a conflict through negotiation.
confidence to take further steps for a peaceful
resolution of the Mideast situation.
This interesting and commendable statement may not
wipe out previous negative assertions, but a change of
heart is not always evil. There was an occasion years ago
when Hubert Humphrey blundered on Israel and found it
necessary to correct his error in a Senatorial speech.
Similarly, Presidential candidate Senator John Glenn
is constantly called upon to offer explanations of his stated
views on Israel, the Arabs and the Middle East.
These and similar attitudes are always subject to
realistic evaluations.
The judgment of opposing candidates for the U.S. Sen-
atorship from Illinois can be anticipated. It will be accused
as a vote-seeking ploy. The fact that the opponents are also
vote-seekers will not be acceded.
What is happening in Illinois is being duplicated in
many other states and in scores of political precincts. That's
where the PAC discussion becomes evident. There'll be
many accusatory declarations and numerous debates, with
Israel as the element for temptation to voters. Political
Action Committees will be criticized, yet they will continue
to serve important purposes in the American political
games. They are important, lest the aims of airing views on
important issues are stifled.
The Illinois senatorial issue may be more vital than
most. Yet it is to be hoped that the judgment of Senator
Percy will not be utterly selfish in the scramble for votes.
The test there may indeed prove to be a most crucial one.
Senator Glenn Clarifies
Attitudes on Evenhandedness
and PLO vis-a-vis Israel
On a higher level, in the Presidential race, another
U.S. Senator is in the limelight. John Glenn has been under
dispute. There were charges that he was too kind to the
PLO and had a pro-Arab leaning while affirming friend-
ship for Israel. In his address in New York on Sept. 13
before the Foreign Policy Association he may be viewed as
having set the record straight. He didn't mince words in his
treatment of the PLO and his major contribution was in
refuting "evenhandedness" — an approach to the Middle
East issues which has been very harmful to Israel.
Most important, how-
ever, in the Glenn speech,
was his emphasis on
Jerusalem being accorded
capitalship of Israel by this
country. Once before there
was such strong recognition
of Jerusalem as the capital
of Israel. It was by Gerald
Ford, then Congressman
representing the Michigan
district that included his
home town of Grand Rapids,
before he rose to the
Presidency upon the resig-
nation of Richard Nixon.
Ford was adamant on the
subject. It was when Demo-
SENATOR GLENN
crats were in power. Then
came a change of party rule, and while in power Ford either
forgot or chose to ignore that pledge on the Jerusalem
issue: Senator Glenn sounds a bit more forthright on
the subject — certainly equally as forthright as Ford was
some 15 years ago. The Glenn statement is powerful and
must also be viewed as timely.
Glenn is politically on top of the agenda and his speech
will surely serve as a basis for wide discussion of one of the
major issues in the oncoming Presidential campaign.
Therefore the necessity to keep the text of his Sept. 13 views
under serious consideration. This is the portion of his
speech presently under consideration:
. .. the United States must do a better job of
promoting the peace process. And in my judg-
ment, we have unwittingly sown confusion in the
Arab world by endlessly proclaiming our fidelity
to an "evenhanded" Middle East policy. Of
course, we do want good relations both with Is-
rael and the Arab states. But in practice, so-called
evenhandedness has all too often meant a tilt
away from Israel.
Presidential candidates, for instance, often
loudly trumpet their complete support for all as-
pects of Israeli policy. But once the election is
over, "evenhandedness" becomes a convenient
excuse for pressuring Israel and backing away
from previous commitments. Worse yet,
"evenhandedness" has sometimes also meant
leaning on Israel to appease the Arabs — without
getting anything in return.
The Administration's recent decision to with-
hold arms already promised to Israel, for exam-
ple, has undermined both mutual confidence and
future cooperation. And it is just the kind of mis-
take that causes many Arabs to conclude that
they can always hold out for a better deal. They
know — and the world knows — that pledges too
easily given are too easily broken. And that is why
instead of patronizing Israel, we need leaders
who truly understand the interests of both our
countries — and who are willing to stand up and
express them frankly. -
All the Democratic candidates for President adhere to
a pro-Israel policy emphasizing the American commitment
to protect Israel's existence. Therefore, Glenn may not be
permitted to rest on his laurels. Nevertheless, his policy
statement will demand serious treatment. It could be a
most weighty inducement to enroll Jewish support in the
1984 election. There will be much to watch and to judge as
the months roll on and as the contest grows more heated.
It'll be a most interesting political year.
Oppenheim's `Sukkot
Moritz Oppenheim's "Sukkot, the feast of Taber-
nacles."