12

Friday, May 25, 1984

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

NEWS

Likud, Labor spar in Knesset

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1- .............

Jerusalem (JTA) — Pre-
mier Yitzhak Shamir prom-
ised on Monday that Israel
would make no a priori
promises of territorial con-
cessions in order to induce
Jordan to come to the
negotiating table.
Speaking during a politi-
cal debate in the Knesset,
he appeared to be replying
to opposition Labor Party
Chairman Shimon Peres
who said the main problem
is how to create "a
psychological climate"
which would allow an open-
ing move toward negotia-
tions with Jordan.
With respect to relations
with Syria, Shamir said Is-
rael would not be tricked
into any provocations. "The
Syrians are well aware that
they will make no gains by
provoking Israel," he said.
He said that Egypt, Saudi
Arabia and Israel have a
common interest in keeping
the region calm. In that
connection, he said that Is-
rael should suggest to the
states bordering the Gulf of
Akaba that they reduce the
chances of potential mili-
tary conflict.
Coalition and oppositon
spokesmen seemed in
agreement on only one issue
— condemnation of the pur-
ported Jewish terrorist un-
derground on the West
Bank currently under in-
vestigation by the police.
"It is of concern and re-
gret," Shamir said, "that
after 36 years of our inde-
pendence there are those
among us who challenge the
authority of the state and do
not accept and honor the
basic principle that the gov-
ernment of Israel, and the
government only, is respon-
sible for the security of Is-
rael."
Former Defense Minister
Ezer Weizman last week
spelled out the positions of
his new Yahad (Together)
Party on key issues, the
most serious of which, he
stressed, is to rescue Israel
from economic disaster. Ad-
dressing the Foreign Press
Association, Weizmann
maintained that neither
Likud nor the Labor Align-
ment can win sufficient
votes in the July 23 elec-
tions to govern alone.
His party, which he be-
lieves can win up to 20
Knesset mandates, would
provide the crucial extra
weight that would allow
either of the major political
parties to form a strong,
stable government. It would
give them the philosophy
and direction to get the
country "back on its tracks
again," Weizman said.
Weizman, who quit Likud
several years ago over pol-
icy differences with Premier
Menachem Begin, charged
that Likud has failed in the
economic field. Any future
government, he said, would
have to amend the tax

structure /Ind encourage
people to work.
Weizman's political pro-
gram is a departure from
the traditional Herut pol-
icy. Israel must learn to live
with its Arab residents and
its Arab neighbors, Weiz-
man said, and toward that
end he said he was ready to
talk to all Arab leaders,
without prior conditions, to
achieve peace. "Even (PLO
chief Yasir) Arafat if he
were to abandon his Pales-
tine convenant which calls
for the destruction of Is-
rael," Weizman said.
He maintained that Is-
rael must get out of Leba-
non as soon as possible.
Weizman believes Israel
should recognize that Syria
has legitimate interests in
Lebanon and an Israeli
withdrawal should not be
made contingent on a Sy-.
rian withdrawal.
According to Weizman,
the settlements on the West
Bank no longer serve any
security purpose "and we
might even have to send
troops to defend them in

case of war." No new set-
tlements should be built,
though the existing ones
could be strengthened, he
said. He said that grandiose
plans such as building a
railroad line to Eilat should
be abandoned while the
government struggles to
put its economic ho - in
order.
Weizman disclosed that
he had "tried to topple the
Likud government" at the
time of the Sabra and
Shatila refugee camps mas-
sacre in September 1982, by -
talking to the Liberal Party
elements in Likud. But
nothing came of it at the
time.
Meanwhile, an expert on
Arab affairs predicted that
Israeli Arabs, seeking a
channel for political expres-
sion, may soon form their
own independent Arab -
political party.
Given Israel's Arab popu-
lation of close to 600,000, it
would have the potential to
win 12 Knesset seats, ac-
cording to Avner Regev of
the Jerusalem Institute for
Israeli Research.

Syrians are seen as failure
in Lebanon by the Arabs

Washington (JTA) — The
questioning by Arab coun-
tries about the staying
power of the United States
after the pull out from
Lebanon may have lessened
as a result of Syrian
President Hafez Assad's
failure to bring about unity
in Lebanon in the last three
months, the former third-
ranking official in the State
Department said this week.
"The events in Lebanon
and the denouncement of
our own correct involve-
ment in Lebanon had led to
a certain degree of question-
ing of America's ability to
stay the course in the Mid-
dle East." Lawrence Eag-
leburger, who recently re-
tired as Undersecretary of
State for Political Affairs,
told a meeting of the board

of governors of B'nai B'rith
International on Monday.
Eagleburger said that
while this questioning of
U.S. staying power was
"less" in Israel, it existed
among "moderate" Arab
states. But now, "Assad and
the Syrians are finding that
their ability to determine
events in Lebanon is not
substantially greater than
ours when it comes to trying
to be constructive," he
added. "It is very easy in
Lebanon to be destructive
and the Syrians certainly
perform that role with great
aptitude."
Eagleburger was pre-
sented with B'nai B'rith's
National Distinguished
Government Service Award
at the meeting for his 27
years in the government.

Israel culture fest opens

Tel Aviv (JTA) — The
Jerusalem Israel Festival,
four weeks of indoor and
outdoor, performances
featuring top talent from all
over the world, opened here
Saturday night. But high
ranking guests, including
president Chaim Herzog
and Premier Yitzhak
Shamir who attended,
encountered disgruntled Is-
raeli artists outside the
Binyanei Haooma Conven-
tion Hall protesting against
the alleged neglect of local
talent in favor of foreigners.
The main Israeli contri-
bution to the festival is an
exhibition of "180 years of

sculpture in Israel" at the
Israel Museum.
At a pre-festival P"ant
Friday night, four me Ts
of Japan's Sankai d uku
Dance Troupe, wearing
white body paint and little
else, hung by their feet from
the walls of the Old City and
were slowly lowered to the
ground before the eyes of
8,000 tense spectators. Ear-
lier on Friday, the Bond
Street Theater Coalition
from New York, performed
circus tricks on the Ben
Yehuda Mall in downtown
Jerusalem. About 500 over-
seas 'artists are participat-
ing in the Festival. ,