14 Friday, July 20, 1984 ' THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 'TV debate No magic (Continued from previous page) by Sarah Honig FOR A WHILE last week it appeared that the election'campaign was heating up. But it soon trans- pired that despite all the smoke, no real fire was burning., The television debate between Mr. Shamir and Mr. Peres did not do anything to heat things up, with both on their best, image-conscious, be- haviour. Outdoor rallies and street-corner happenings this time are not what they used to be, and without Menachem Begin, the Likud lacks sparkle and Labour lacks his chal- lenge. The only refuge for the incurable political addict is the television election spots. But night after night there are only frustrated expectations. The Align- ment seems to be determined to sleepwalk the voters to the polls on July 23, and the Likud is still sear- , ching for a magic formula that would wake up many of the same voters. So just as the Likud will be alert to pounce on any Labour mishaps, Labour will be careful to avoid them. All this sounds like a sure recipe for maintaining the campaign at low key to the end. But that is not necessarily so. Unpredictability is always a factor. The Likud certainly sorely needs high drama to catch up with Labour. But there are no signs that Likud leaders have a dramatic surprise up • their sleeve. Begin: will he talk? If Begin would come out of seclu- sion long enough to tape even a radio message for his party, or issue an appeal to the voters in writing, it could be of real value to the Likud. This is what Likud leaders fervently hope to see. The Likud, like Labour, is neg- lecting some of its old party faithful. And like Labour, it has targeted very little of its campaign on the middle- class Ashkenazi vote; Just as Labour might lose precious votes to Shinui, so the Likud might lose even less affordable votes to Tehiya. The intelligentsia and the diehards may possibly defect to the Yuval Ne'eman-Rafael Eitan banner. The Likud, therefore, must make more use of Defence Minister Moshe Arens for the middle-class vote and of his fiery predeceor, Ariel Sharon", as an antidote to Raful. SHARON HAS NOT been put in political cold storage, a's some obser- vers insist: Despite hostility to him even in the Likud, he is seen as one of Likud's bigger vote-getters. His television appearances have been few, simply because he has lost his voice. He is a tireless campaigner, who, despite little love for him at Likud headquarters, does four or five daily solo electioneering jobs at one mar- ketplace or another. Sharon's television campaign de- but may add some ferment to the situation, though not of the sort the Likud strategists would necessarily welcome. Another potential source of ex- citement which the Likud would de- finitely not welcome is the publica- tion of the latest cost-of-living index. This blow, in the last week of the campaign, may be a bad one for the Likud, and its leaders thus far admit they don't know how they will deal with this potential disaster, almost on the eve of the polling day. IF THE UNFORSEEN does not happen, all that might be expected is a slight additional closing of the gap between the two large parties - a process which, to some extent, is inevitable. The question is whether this will be enough for the Likud considering that in 1981, with Begin and minus the Lebanon War and current infla- tion figures, the party had only a razor-thin advantage over Labour. The writer is the political reporter of The Jerusalem Post. made tremendous investments in in- dustrial infrastructure and social amenities, and had ensured employ- ment. Because of local and external developments, he said, the economy was confronted by three problems: inflation, the balance of payments deficit and reduced growth. On the question of security, I he candidates were asked to state under what conditions they believed the IDF can be withdrawn from Leba- non, and how they would deal with the eastern front, the Syrian danger and continued terrorist operations. Shamir said that the IDF will he withdrawn from Lebanon only when the conditions are right: a secure northern border and certainty that the terrorists will not return to South Lebanon. The government's policy, he said, is to support the develop- ment of the South Lebanon Army (SLA) and to come to agreements with the local population. He aver- red that progress is being achieved and that General Antoine Lahad's SLA is increasing the amount of territory under its control. But he t stressed that, "we can't set time- tables for a withdrawal." Massive settlement and opposi- tion to a Palestinian state, Shamir said, will guarantee security on the eastern front, and Israel's military strength and preparedness will pre- vent Syrian provocation. Peres responded that "anybody listening would believe that the country began seven years ago" - whereas, in fact, the IDF is 36 years old. The strengthening of the IDF is the Alignment's primary task, Peres said, pointing to his own role in the development of the defence indus- tries. The Alignment will ensure that Israel Res within defensible bor- ders, he said. "We pushed Jordan out of the West Bank and we will not permit a single Arab soldier to en- ter... We pushed the Syrian artillery out of the Golan and they will not be allowed to return." Finally, the candidates were asked to state their personal credos; to describe what sort of government they would like to see. "You (the Likud) learned to make mistakes .; we learned from our mistakes," • Peres said. The Alignment listens to the voice of the people and knows that the nation is tired of war, he added. He said that high-technology in- dustries would be built throughout the country, in particular develop- ment towns. The country, he said, must live from production, not from "U.S. handouts." Peres concluded by saying that he believes that peace and security can be combined. "I believe in a country living in peace with itself and with others." Shamir saw three main tasks the- t)ing the next government: to bring more Jews to Israel - he mentioned the figure of one million -.to ensure the unity of the nation, and to free the country from economic weak- ness. Unity demands a strong gov- ernment and action against the "irresponsible elements" contribut- ing to the "collapse" of parliament, he said. Shamir stressed that he believed economic weakness had dogged the country from its inception. He said that Israel must use its potential to build a developed, Western country based on advanced technology. Settlements,. Hussein are campaign topics Jerusalem (JTA) — Former Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister Moshe Arens, the man Rabin would replace if Labor wins the elections next. Monday, debated future policy with respect to Jordan and Lebanon before a capacity audience in a Jerusalem theater Satur- day. Rabin thought that Israel should offer territorial con- cessions to induce King Hussein of Jordan to join the peace process. Arens believed it was a mistake to announce a willingness for concessions in advance of negotiations. Otherwise, the two were not very far apart. Although Labor has been pressing the "Jordanian option" for years, Rabin conceded that in the event the next government is headed by Labor there is no guarantee that Hussein would enter negotiations. He said a Labor government would never give up Israel's security line along the Jordan River and a 30- kilometer-deep stretch parallel to that line. But he pre- ferred that Jordan police the heavily Arab populated hin- terland of the West Bank. - "They know better than us how to deal with this," Rabin said, recalling that 14 years ago "he indirectly as- sisted Hussein to crush the PLO and he did just that and since then there is quiet along the border, mainly thanks to preventive measures by the Jordanian army." Arens said the Likud government was ready to negotiate with Hussein "without preconditions." The prob- lem, he said, is not what Israel is willing to give up but Hussein's refusal to sit down and talk. "He is not prepared to take the slightest risk," Arens said. The Israel election campaign was marred by serious rowdyism for the first time late last week. Shimon Peres was harassed at a Labor-rally in Ramat Sharon near Tel Aviv when pro-Likud youths took up the chant "Begin, Begin" in an attempt to drown out his speech. Rabin encountered the same outcry during a campaign appear- ance in a movie house in Kiryat Shmona on the Lebanese border. There the hecklers also chanted "David, King of Israel," a reference to Deputy Premier David Levy who, like many residents of Kiryat Shmona, is Sephardic. Kiryat Shmona residents, for years the target of ter- rorist rocket attacks from Lebanon, are extremely sensitive to the issue of security. Rabin took pains to distinguish the original "Operation Peace for Galilee" in June, 1982, which the Labor Pary supported, from the incursion by Israeli forces all the way to Beirut, an extension of the war that he proclaimed ill-advised and "devisive." Enthusiastic Laborites in the front rows applauded the former Premir but the hecklers in the rear shouted their imprecations more loudly. Scuffles broke out and a large force of police intervened. Six youngsters were hauled off to the local jail and kept there until Rabin left town. Peres ran into trouble during his evening visit to the religious settlements of the Gush Etzion bloc between Bethlehem and Hebron. He was harassed there by suppor- ters of Likud, Tehiya and the Kach Party who seemed intent on provoking fist fights with his security men. Peres managed to hold a serious dialogue with Gush Etzion residents. He recalled that this bloc of settlements, founded before 1948, abandoned during Israel's War of Independence and re-established in 1967, was always sup- ported by Labor governments and considered part of Israel. But the residents were clearly unhappy with his remarks about other areas of Jewish settlement on the West Bank. Peres and Rabin have made it clear in the campaign that a Labor govenment would drastically cut back settle- ment activity in, the heartland of the Judaea and Samaria districts for budgetary, security and political reasons. The Laborites believe Israel's security would be best served by settlements along the Jordan River and in the environs of Jerusalem, avoiding the heavily Arab populated regions which Likud seems intent on colonizing with Jews. The Ministerial Settlement Committee on Sunday ap- proved a burst of activity on the West Bank, culminating with the establishment of nine new settlements in the territory by Sunday, the day before election day. The infrastructure for most of the nine has already been built. The Labor Alignment accused the government of play- ing politics with a serious, sensitive and divisive issue. It has complained to the Central Elections Committee that the ceremonial inaugurations of the new settlements re- present the use of public funds for electioneering purposes. .Zeev Ben-Yosef, a senior official of the World Zionist Organization's settlement department denied that the rul- ing Likud Party was trying to make political capital. Sup- reme Court Justice Gavriel Bach, chairman of the Central Elections Committee, warned however that if the cere- monies were used for electioneering, he would ban the use of government funds for the purpose. During the past month, the Likud government has invested some 500 million Shekels ($2 million) in nine "outposts" in the occupied territories, each the nucleus of a settlement. Roads have been built, electric power and water lines have been laid and 15 pre-fabricated housing units were trucked in. The new settlement drive led to an angry exchange between the co-chairmen of the- WZO settlement depart- ment, Likud MK Mattityahu Drobless and Laborite Nissim Zvilli. Zvilli, who succeeded veteran settlement expert Raanan Weitz on his retirement last month, charged that only three of the nine new settlements had been allotted funds. The rest Were financed from the regular operations budget, at the expense of other projects. He said moreover, that the decision to lay down nine new settlements by election day was taken without his knowledge. Drobless insisted that his duty was to establish as many settlements as possible and that he had violated no - regulations or exceeded his authority. Former Defense Minister Ezer Weizman, running for election at the head of his new Yahad party, told an election rally at Herzliya that Jewish settlements on the West Bank were a defense liability, not an asset. In case of emergency, the Israel Defense Force would have to protect them, he said and in any case they were not a national priority. In New York, a Labor victory in the Israeli elections was described as an essential but iwonclusive step towards an Arab-Israeli peace, according, to speakers at a Peace Now - sponsored disussion. "Though Labor may know the way to peace," it is "far from certain" that Labor can muster the political will needed to follow its path, said Dr. Leonard Fein, founder, editor and publisher of Moment magazine, one of three speakers at Hebrew Union College last week. American-born Peace Now activist Galia Golan, a pro- fessor of political science at Hebrew University, said the Israeli peace moveent's immediate task is to defeat Likud in the July 23 elections. She and the other speakers con- demned Likud for creating "poisonous" and "tragic" di- visions in Israeli society. Golan said that after Labor is installed, Shalom Achshav, as Peace Now is called in Israel, must "act as the voice of the public" to counter expected heavy opposition and to encourage Labor to begian negotiations based on territorial compromise. She hopes that what she called • Labor's "hawkish" West Bank stance turns out to be only an election ploy.