36 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, December 7, 1984 tstmituitcr (Sating BLAZERS, KILTS, SCOTTISH & IRISH `WOOLENS, HATS Distinctive GUIs from the EirItIsh Isles U.S. weighs implications of Morocco-Libya treaty Hours: 10-5 Mon.-Sat JE\VELERY BY VICTOR BIENSTOCK Special to The Jewish News (313) 855.3488 EDINBURGH CRYSTAL I ANALYSIS 32744 FRANKLIN ROAD FRANKLIN, MI 48025 r- I Jurler r— " WOOLF ROOFING 1 COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL FLAT ROOFING HOT TAR • 1 Ply Systems • Shingles • 24-Hour Emergency Service ASK FOR SCOTT OR SAMMY WOOLF Southfield West Bloomfield 646q2452 682-7336 18161 W. 13 Mile Rd. L. 2496 Walce INSURED • FREE ESTIMATES r I • --imm tr-ri,i --/ 14 For 12 JOIN B'NAI B'RITH _ TODAY AND GET 14 MONTHS OF MEMBERSHIP THRU DEC. '85 IF YOU JOIN NOW JOIN 500,000 MEMBERS AROUND THE WORLD FIGHT ANTI-SEMITISM HELP JEWISH YOUTH 10,000 MEN & WOMEN MEMBERS IN METRO DETROIT FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 552-8177 (M-F 9-5) "Offer does not apply for Oakland-Century Lodge" B'nai B'rith Men I I The Arab affairs experts in Washington and Jerusalem re still trying to fathom the damage the treaty of federation signed in August by King Hassan II of Morocco and CoL Muammar Qad- dafi of Libya has inflicted on the American policy of building a position in the Middle East based on the friendship of the "moder- ate" Arab states. For Washington, the agree- ment signified that the most de- pendable Arab friend it had in the Middle East had signed a pact with the devil, the most violent enemy America has in the Middle East with the possible exception of the Ayatollah Khomeini. For Jerusalem, the agreement was a warning that the one Arab leader since Anwar al-Sadat who had shown any readiness to work for an Arab-Israeli understanding and who had on numerous occa- sions served as an intermediary between Israelis and Arabs, must from now on be considered an un- known factor in the Middle East equation. The promising pathway to peace that apparently lay through Rabat had been blocked off, at least for the immediate fu- ture. King Hassan had.played a large role in the preliminary dis- cussions that led to Sadat's flight to Jerusalem and the initiation of the negotiations that led, finally, to the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. The late Moshe Dayan, then the Israeli foreign minister, had visited Hassan secretly on a number of occasions to work out the details for the Israeli- Egyptian meeting. Since those days, there have been numerous secret meetings between Hassan and Israeli emis- saries, some weighing the possi- bility that the monarch might be the instrument through which explorations of peace possibilities could be initiated in the Arab world. Both Washington and Jerusalem were reported to be B'nai B'rith Women invite you to Bring in the New Year with 0 ODA, co)ramiw 4, I •• Dance to the music of the Jerry McKenzie Orchestra Monday, December 31,1984 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 am. Shaarey Zedek 27375 Bell Road Southfield $18.00 a couple in advance $22.00 a couple at the door Bring your House Party to Us! For Information or Tickets Call: B'nai B'rith Council 552-8177 • B'nai B'rith Women 552-8150 Party Favors! Door Prizes! Light Refreshments! Cash Bar! Coffee and.. finding some solace over shat- tered dreams in the expectation that the union of this odd couple, Hassan and Qaddafi, was merely a marriage of convenience and, like Qaddafi's six previous federa- tions, would not be of long dura- tion. But the agreement does in- clude mutual defense clauses and therefore some risk that Hassan could be dragged into some of Qaddafi's adventures. The secrecy and haste with which the agreement was negotiated and the language used in its announcement were dis- maying both to Washington and Jerusalem. Despite the closeness of the Washington-Rabat rela- tionship and the personal friend- ship of Hassan and Vice President George Bush and Ambassador Joseph V. Reed Jr., Washington had no intimation that such an agreement was even being con- templated. Washington first learned of the agreement a few minutes before its announcement when Hassan telephoned the vacationing Reed in the United States and told him. He reportedly assured Reed that the agreement had no cosmic sig- nificance and would not affect his attitude towards the United States. Hassan added to the puzzle- ment a few days later when he claimed in a speech that the fed- eration idea had originated with him and that he had first proposed it to a surprised but pleased Qad- dafi. The "Arab-Africa Federa- tion," Hassan said, was open to all other Arab countries. To Israelis, the language used — the tired old abusive vocab- ulary of the confrontation states — was dismaying and discourag- ing. The denunciation of Zionist violence and aggression might have been taken out of a PLO statement and the definition of the need for the federation — to protect the Arab world, Islam, Palestine and Jerusalem from "Zionist aggression" must have been written by Qaddafi. It seemed totally out of char- acter for Hassan to take this line. Over the years he has consistently displayed friendship for the Jews of Morocco, now numbering about 20,000, and has included Jews in his close circle of advisers. Only last May, he brought the wrath of the Arab world down upon his head by sanctioning an invitation to 35 Israelis of Moroc- can origin, including eleven members of the Knesset, to come to Rabat with other Moroccan Jewish emigres from Europe and the United States to participate in the conference of the Moroccan Jewish community federation. The delegation invited the king to visit Israel. But the king, apparently, is prepared to use whatever lan- guage is required to serve the purpose at hand. He demon- strated this last January when he charged that the food riots which disrupted Moroccan cities were inspired by "a multifaceted con- spiracy perpetrated by Marxist- Leninists, Zionist agents and Khomeinists." He is able, without personal embarrassment, to de- nounce "Zionist agents" one day and warmly welcome Israeli Gov- enment representatives the next. The monarch, despite his playboy reputation, is an astute politician and it is hardly likely that if he were merely seeking to promote Arab unity, he would choose as a partner Qaddafi, the loner, the man regarded as the world's arch terrorist. He had more pressing reasons for the al- liance with Libya. First of all, King Hassan is beset by problems at home. There is a strong left-wing opposition to the monarchy which is a festering concern and which can and does cause trouble. And although Has- Hassan receives some $140 million each year in military assistance from the United States and he wants more. san claims direct descent from the Prophet, his Western ways and mode of life have set the Islamic fundamentalists against him. Economic conditions, after years of drought and depression, are poor, as witness the incidence of food riots and protest strikes. Unemployment runs at least 20 percent and is particularly high among the younger men. Hassan receives some $140 mil- lion each year in military assis- tance from the United States and he wants more. Ambassador Reed, a former banker, has been zealous in pressing his claims in Washington. Vice President Bush, who is described as a prin- cipal advocate of a Middle East policy based on the "moderate" Arab states, is said to keep in close contact with Hassan. But now there is concern that American arms to Morocco may reach Qad- dafi whom the State Department has characterized as an outlaw. Hassan has agreed to give the United States landing rights in c- Morocco in case of need and the United States is planning to lo- cate a giant Voice of American transmitter there. The Reagan Administration has been seeking a two-tier policy for the Middle East based on close friendship with Israel on the one hand and with the "moderate" Arab states on the other. So far, it has not had much luck with the Arab side which objects to our re- lationship with Israel and sus- pects that we are trying to draw them into an anti-Soviet front. For a time, American hopes of succeeding in this policy were centered on Saudi Arabia. When our failure there became all too evident, we focused on Morocco and its Western-oriented king. Now it appears that this, the most moderate of the "moderate" Arab states, finds it expedient to link its fate with the ruler the United States considers the world's most dangerous terrorist.