4 Friday, November 30, 1984 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS THE JEWISH NEWS Serving Detroit's Metropolitan Jewish Community with distinction for four decades. Editorial and Sales offices at 17515 West Nine Mile Road, Suite 865, Southfield, Michigan 48075-4491 TELEPHONE 424-8833 PUBLISHER: Charles A. Buerger EDITOR EMERITUS: Philip Slomovitz EDITOR: Gary Rosenblatt BUSINESS MANAGER: Carmi M. Slomovitz ART DIRECTOR: Kim Muller-Thym NEWS EDITOR: Alan Hitsky LOCAL NEWS EDITOR: Heidi Press EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Tedd Schneider LOCAL COLUMNIST: Danny Raskin ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Lauri Biafore Rick Nessel Danny Raskin Seymour Schwartz OFFICE STAFF: Marlene Miller Dharlene Norris Phyllis Tyner Pauline Weiss Ellen Wolfe PRODUCTION: Donald Cheshure Cathy Ciccone Curtis Deloye Ralph Orme © 1984 by The Detroit Jewish News (US PS 275-520) Second Class postage paid at Southfield, Michigan and additional mailing offices. Subscription $18 a year. CANDLELIGHTING AT 4:44 P.M. VOL. LXXXVI, NO. 14 New UN approach Israel is taking a new and welcome aggressive stand at the United Nations these days, thanks in part to her new Ambassador to the UN Benjamin Netanyahu. We have nothing to apologize for," the 35-year-old successor to Yehuda Blum told The Jewish News in an interview this week, in acknowledging that he has adopted a posture of aggression rather than defense. Netanyahu says the UN is "a great place for us to make our case, because we have truth and justice on our side." While noting that this UN is not about to be reformed" and is "still used to inject political poison," Netanyahu said there is a sense among Israel, the U.S. and a few other Western countries that "we're not going to sit back and take this abuse anymore." In recent days Netanyahu has used his UN platform to call attention to Israel's aid to Ethiopia, and point out that the majority of Arab conflicts in the world involve Arabs vs. Arabs rather than Arabs vs. Israel. This approach may not change the UN overnight but at the very least it exposes the American media and public to Israel's case and marks a positive development in Israeli diplomacy. Terrorized Refuseniks Russian Jewish refuseniks who are defying their persecutors and organizing classes in Jewish studies are being subjected to added terror. Latest reports on the spread of bias against this brave group of teachers, who are conducting classes not only in secret but often without seeking to hide their intensions with an aim to teaching youth about their heritage, are subjected to house searches, arrests, brutalized treatment. This is not new to the Jewish experience in the Soviet Union. It is an additional compulsion for unceasing action to mobilize public opinion protesting the terror. It is cause to encourage American leadership to pursue the task of keeping the limelight on Russia, so that the horrifying conditions will remain on the record as subjects for worldwide condemnation. There is a certainty that U.S. Congressional outrage is undiminished in the consideration of the Russian Jewish situation. Protests and formal condemnation of the prejudice seems certain to emanate from Washington as a continuation of concerns over the status of Russian Jewry. Coupled with the protests is the major concern that the issuance of visas to those insisting upon emigrating from the USSR should be renewed. Contrary to. Soviet denials, those seeking exit visas number in the tens of thousands, with many who are knowledgeable insisting it is in the hundreds of thousands. Havens will be available for them, with Israel hopefully occupying the position as major refuge for thousands of new settlers. It is in this regard that demands for action must be continued and all possible pressures exerted on the USSR leadership to adhere to the international principle that people have a right to choose their homelands. The reaction to increasing terrorization, as in the instance of prejudice against the rights of teachers conducting Jewish study groups and seminars, must be in the form of demanding right of exit for visa applicants. Perhaps the mounting public pressure will bring the desired results. OP-ED Credibility: Anthony Lewis vs. Sharon vs. Time magazine BY BERL FALBAUM Special to The Jewish News If New York Times columnist An- thony Lewis still maintains that he is objective in analyzing Middle East policies and events as they relate to Israel he obviously is not reading his own material. His Monday column on former De- fense Minister Ariel Sharon's libel suit against Time magazine is so blatantly biased and contrived — and frankly totally unnecessary — that the only purpose it serves may be to remove any lingering doubt about Lewis' ability to evaluate any issues on Israel without hostility. Lewis observes in his column that Sharon has based his case on "one paragraph" in Time which stated that Sharon, shortly before the Sabra and Shatilla massacre, had met with Phalangists and discussed with them the need "to take revenge" for the as- sassination of their leader, Bashir Gemayel. " Why Lewis should question Sha- ron's decision to file suit is not clear and in his reference to "one para- graph," Lewis seems to imply that the charge is of little consequence. Indeed, being accused of conspiring to commit this tragic massacre — an event which attracted almost unprecedented atten- tion in the world — is hardly a small matter and if Sharon wants to clear his name he certainly deserves his day in court. But Lewis also demonstrates per- sonal umbrage that Sharon, in his tes- timony, has gone beyond - that "one paragraph." He feels compelled to play - defense attorney in telling his readers that Sharon has discussed other issues relating to the massacre such as the suspicion that "about 2,000 armed ter- rorists" may have been left behind in the two camps by the PLO. He seems to suggest that Sharon is fulfilling a speaking engagement and receiving an honorarium rather than answering questions on the wit- ness stand in an important trial. Lewis can be assured that Time's defense at- torneys will challenge Sharon's statements if he goes beyond the "one paragraph" and, presumably, the judge will rebuke him similarly if it is legally necessary. To make his own case against Sharon, Lewis has dug through mil- lions of words written on the subject, and quotes his "highly-respected" New York Times colleague, Thomas L. Friedman, as having written that ". . . the weight of evidence suggests that the number (of terrorists left behind) was in the low hundreds." While Friedman is recognized as a responsible journalist, it is unlikely It may remove any lingering doubt about Lewis' ability to evaluate any issue on Israel without hostility. that he would qualify as an expert in- telligence witness in the court case. The use of the quote is more tel- ling and revealing as- it pertains to Lewis. It implies that Lewis is pre- pared to admit that some PLO ter- rorists may indeed have been in the camp, something that U.S. liberals, of which he is a leader, have been reluc- tant to acknowledge. But the issue is not the Sharon case as it relates to Lewis. That will be decided in the courtroom — as it should be. At issue is the absurd intellectual gymnastics that Lewis undertakes to prove his point — which generally has been anti-Israel. He has criticized Israeli censor- ship policies — which he should — but ignores the total lack of press freedom in Arab countries. He has written Continued on Page 28