76 Friday, February 22, 1985 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS NEWS Israel's WB Policies Scored In U.S. Report Remember the 1 1 th Commandment: "And Thou Shalt be Informed" Israeli troops patrol the Jewish settlement in Nablus on the West Bank, one of the trouble spots singled out by the U.S. State Department in its annual report on human rights violations. Washington (JTA) — The State Department's ninth annual re- port on human rights throughout the world praises Israel as an open society with a democratic goir- ernment, but criticizes the Jewish state for human rights problems because of its control of the West Bank and Gaza. "Each year we note that despite the tremendous security threat against Israel, it maintains a very vigorous democracy." Elliott Ab- rams, Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, told a press conference marking the re- . lease of the report last week. Abrams said that the Depart- ment's country-by-country "Re- port on Human Rights Practices for 1984" finds that the problems for Israel on the West Bank are the result of it having a military government rule there rather than a democratically elected one. He added that there was an in- crease in violence in the adminis- tered territories in 1984, but it was occupants against other oc- cupants — apparently a reference to Jewish and Arab residents — and not the military government against the residents. The 1,450.-page report, covering 164 countries, was submitted ear- lier to Congress. It is the fifth such report submitted to the Reagan Administration. The section on Israel stresses that "Israel is a parliamentary democracy which guarantees by law and respects in practice the civil, political, and religious rights of its citizens." But it notes, "as in 1983, the most significant human rights problems for Israel continued to - derive from the strained relations between Israeli authorities and the Arab inhabitants of the occu- pied territories. These problems were exacerbated as a conse- quence of the activities of Jewish settlers in those areas. "During the year, Israeli lead- ers expressed concern over the potential growth of extreme views and violent actions and their ef- fect on Israeli society." One problem in Israel pointed out by the report is that of the Israeli Arabs who, while having /-• P-N • c,\--.(1Nrc You've read the five books of Moses. Isn't it time to try the Fifty-Two Issues of the Detroit Jewish News? It may .not be holy, but it's weekly! And such a bargain. To order your own subscription call 354-6060. . 1111 1. 11 , 41.1t 4 '3 A. IP .4 4. 3. wac. • * . O.4 i.• IF • • 411.0 .111 OW. ..t v 3 u e ; st. ;•;rt. rt. • - equal rights under the law, "are relatively powerless and tend to feel alienated. Despite some gov- ernmental and private efforts to bridge the gap, there is little so- cial interaction with Israeli Jews. "Israeli Arabs assert that they are denied equal access to educa- tion; housing and other services, and that they are discriminated against in such areas as employ- thent and appointment to gov- ernment positions." While Arabs have frequently charged that Israel tortures Arab prisoners, the report states that "torture is forbidden by Israeli law and there is no evidence that torture is condoned by the Israeli authorities. Several Israeli border and national policemen were con- victed of abusive use of force against Arab prisoners during 1984." Stories of genocidal actions by Ethiopian authorities against that country's Jews appear unfounded. The report also noted that U.S. representatives received reports of "cruel or degrading" treatment from several U.S. citizens under arrest, one of them an Arab and the others supporters of Rabbi Meir Kahane, and succeeded in getting conditions improved for them. The report asserts that while living standards in the adminis- tered territories have "risen sub- stantially since 1967," Israel's economic problems began to affect them last year with less Palesti- nians working in Israel and a drop in business in the territories. In addition, the report charges that Israel has hampered eco- nomic development on the West Bank, and that the taking of land for settlements or military use has hurt Arab agriculture. Abrams said there was no way Continued on Page 78 "4:1.