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PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
. Editor and Publisher
ALAN HITSKY
News Editor
-
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
Business Manager
HEIDI PRESS
Associate News Editor
DREW LIEBERWITZ
Advertising Manager
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the eighth day of Adar I, 5744, the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Exodus 27:20-30:10.
Prophetical portion, Jeremiah 46:13-28.
' Candlelighting, Friday, Feb. 10, 5:43 p.m.
VOL. LXXXIV, No. 24
Page Four
Friday, February 10, 1984
THE ISLAMIC 'UNITY'
Back in the fold of the Islamic Conference
Organization, Egypt apparently avoided being
linked into another "unity": an identification
that spells disruption. Reaffirming adherence
to the Camp David agreements, Egypt must
therefore be judged as giving emphasis to a
basic principle: an approach to peace.
Whatever the obstacles in such an ap-
proach, there can be no deviation from the fact
that two of the members of the Arab League
have aligned themselves with an accord for
peace with Israel. Lebanon as well as Egypt are
now in these ranks, and even a majority of the
Islamic Conference Organization, into which
Egypt has been readmitted, can not wipe out a
basic change in the Arab nations' political aims.
The road to the craved-for peace is not an
easy one. There are more Arab chieftains
clamoring for the disruption of both the
Lebanese as well as the Egyptian accords
reached with Israel than there are adVocates of
expansion of the policies of such peace-
endorsing Arab nations. But the beginning has
been made. The continuity is the obligation of
an area that can not be both civilized and war-
mongering.
It was argued for some time that Jordan
could be closest to peace with Israel. King Hus-
sein has the most to gain from such neighborli-
ness. But the animosities between him and
Syria, the dealings with Arafat, which seem so
hypocritical and yet retain a diplomatic chord,
add to the obstacled conditions in this time and
in that area of the world. That Arafat, in his
defeat, should be given so much consideration
by Hussein, is part of the puzzle, yet it becomes a
consideration in the crises ahead.
The Jordanian - Arafat - Kremlin relation-
ships are importantly analyzed in a NYTimes
Op-Ed Page essay by Barry Rubin, a senior re-
search fellow at Georgetown University's Cen-
ter for Strategic and International Studies, who
points out, inter alia, in "Elusive Mid-East
Peace":
The obstacles are created by divisions
among Arabs. They include:
• "The PLO still hopes to rebuild relations
with Syria. Mr. Arafat's meeting last month
with Mr. Mubarak showed Damascus that the
PLO can move toward Syria's enemies, Egypt
and Jordan — and may make an alliance with
them unless Damascus keeps open a chance for
reconciliation.
• "Syria will oppose the Reagan plan with
all its might for one simple reason: Damascus
will never countenance giving the West Bank
and the Palestinian card to its rival, Jordan.
• "Mr. Arafat must deal with three oppos-
ing or potentially dissident PLO factions: the
pro-Syrians, the so-called 'neutrals' tilting
toward Damascus (including those who claim
they are 'Marxist') and the 'loyal opposition' so
far still in his camp. If he goes too far in aligning
with Egypt and Jordan — much less making
peace with Israel — the 'loyal opposition' will
desert him and the 'neutrals' will go completely
over to Syria.
• "Mr. Arafat does not trust Jordan any
more than he trusts Syria and wants to avoid
dependence on -Cairo and Amman just as he
wants to keep his distance from Damascus. Im-
plementation of any confederation with Jordan
would allow King Hussein to dominate the PLO
and permanently destroy Mr. Arafat's chances
for an independent state. (This is after all the
intention of both the King and the United
States.)
• "Close Soviet ties with the 'neutrals' and
the 'loyal opposition' leader Abu Iyad — who
favors offering Moscow a base in any Palesti-
nian state — suggest that the Kremlin has
abandoned Mr. Arafat or may do so if he accepts
an American plan.
"Those who believe that an act of American
will is sufficient to solve the Arab-Israeli con-
flict often call on Washington to press
Jerusalem. Certainly the Israeli government
wants to keep the West Bank, and it enjoys
considerable popular support for this policy —
largely because those favoring temporary and
permanent occupation are skeptical about Arab
intentions. Nothing Washington can do will
change this attitude. Only a clear and un-
equivocal Arab commitment to peace can move
Israel toward the possibility of compromise.
"What are the chances of that? Neither
American aid nor Israeli withdrawal from
Lebanon can push Jordan to make such an offer
— and finally, as always, King Hussein and Mr.
Arafat will be hostage to the politics of the Arab
world."
Of course, peace is "elusive." Yet it has not
been erased as a possibility. Even Egypt's re-
turn to the Arab League may have an aspect
immense with possibilities because of the indi-
cation that next to a rabid enemy advocating
Israel's destruction will sit a representative of a
nation that is benefiting from an end to warfare
on the Egyptian-Israeli border.
Therefore, in discussing "unity" among
Arabs, the very word is still resorted to in quotes
but is not erased from the Middle East dictio-
nary. There is endless hope in Prophecy, and
since it is addressed to mankind it does not
eliminate the Arab world when Isaiah 52:7 is
quoted:
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the
feet of the messenger of good tidings, that an-
nounces peace."
LEBANON • • • HORROR!
There is only one word to describe what is
occurring in what was the "Paris of the Middle
East": Horror! Lebanon suffered for more than
a decade from an invading horde of terrorists.
Now it is being ravaged by prejudices and hat-
reds that combine to harass the peoples in-
volved, agonize the nations who seek to aid the
unhappy country.
In the process, Israel is being affected by a
threatened harm to neighborliness, by interfer-
ence with acts that had led to Lebanon being
second to Egypt to negotiate with her.
"Horror" — only a measure of peace based
on a civilized approach will prevent its spread.
Zionism at Its Source,
Bible as a Teaching Guide
Zionism constantly needs defining and a tracing of its source and
inspiration. Three major American movements have combined in the
publication of a volume that serves this purpose excellently.
Union of American Hebrew Congregations, United Synagogue
Commission on Jewish Education and Jewish National Fund's De-
partment of Education have jointly produced "Zionism and Israel —
An Activity Book."
Authored by Michael Korman, the text is based on the major
inspirations for the Jewish national movement and the reborn state of
Israel, and the Bible texts are provided in the original Hebrew.
Especially significant in the presentation of this volume is a
message to the student which quotes this definition of Zionism from
the Encyclopedia Judaica:
"The root of the term tionism' is the word 'Zion,' which very
early in Jewish history became a synonym for Jerusalem. It had a
special meaning as far back as after the destruction of the First
Temple in expressing the yearning of the Jewish people for its home-
land. Thus 'Zion' is found in Psalms, 'By the rivers of Babylon/ There
we sat down, yea, we wept,/ When we remembered Zion' (Ps. 137:1), in
the prayer, 'And let our eyes behold Thy return in mercy in -Zion'; in
the poem, 'Zion! Wilt thou not ask if peace be with thy captives/ That
seek thy peace — that are the remnant of thy flocks' (Judah Halevi);
and frequently elsewhere in religious and secular literature.
"The modern term 'Zionism' first appeared at the end of the 19th
Century, denoting the movement whose goal was the return of the
Jewish people to Eretz Yisrael. It was coined by Nathan Birnbaum
(April 1, 1890) . . . Birnbaum himself explained the term (in a letter of
Nov. 6, 1891) as the 'establishment of an organization Of the national -
political Zionist Party . . .' The term was thus extended to express a
political orientation toward Eretz Yisrael . . ."
Inspirationally, the lessons commence with the chapter entitled
"Zionism: A Love Affair Between the Jews and Eretz Yisrael," and it
summarizes: "Over the past thousands of years Zionism meant differ-
ent things to different Jews and non-Jews. In spite of the differences,
the agreements are strong and binding: 1. Recognition that there is a
special relationship between the Jewish people and the land of Israel;
2. Eretz Yisrael is the original Jewish homeland; 3. We have a right to
claim Eretz Yisrael as our own."
The negatives are not ignored, and the suggested studies deal
with the prejudices, especially those at the United Nations and the
refutations of them.
Then come the historic references, the roots from the Bible, with
texts in the original Hebrew from prophecies and the assignation of
the Holy Land to the People Israel.
As a textbook for students and community activists, this Zionist
ideological work has special importance. It teaches, and in the ques-
tions provided for analyses and encourages delving into sources that
unite interest in the movement linking past with the present and an
inspiration for continuing concern in needs and problems involved.
In this study, current problems relate to previous experiences.
The interests relating to religious obligations are inevitably outlined
and discussed.
Thus, the total picture creates an historical validity giving em-
phasis to the effectiveness with which the subject of Zionism is tackled
in this volume.
That's the thoroughness with which the subject is treated and
traced through its historical roots. Not only as a textbook, but also as a
volume filled with information about the legacy of statehood, this
Zionist activity book is must reading for all interested in Israel's
statehood.
CI'