Friday, June 21, 1985
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
FIRESEMNE
gel
Wholesale Diamonds & Jewelry
Remounting Jewelry & Watch Repair
ERADICO PEST CONTROL
JEWELRY APPRAISALS
SUITE 312 ADVANCE BLDG
evening's telecast of "Night-
line" on ABC-TV, former
Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger said, "There must
be no concessions under any
circumstances. If we
negotiate now or if there is a
release of the Shiite pris-
oners within any time frame
that is remotely relevant to
this situation, we will never
hear the end of it. The safest
course is to refuse to
negotiate. And to take action
— military or economic — if
necessary. We have to show
you pay every price by
endangering the lives of
American citizens."
A similar voice has been
heard from Israel. "The price
of blackmail is much higher
than the price of firmness,"
said Meir Amit, former chief
of the Mossad, the Israeli
secret service.
But most Israeli officials
said they would consider a
request to release the Shiite
prisoners if requested by the
International Red Cross or
leadership of Amal in
1980. Although he was
opposed by some elders of
the Lebanese Shiite
movement and by some
Shiite radicals, his rise to
power "was not acciden-
tal," said Deeb. "He is
willing to take orders from
Damascus. He is indebted
to the Syrians."
Berri refused to join a
National Coalition
Cabinet that was formed
in April 1984 until a new
Ministry for the South
was formed. Berri cur-
rently holds three
ministerial titles: Justice,
South Lebanon and Water
and Electricty.
Deeb differed with a
New York Times assess-
ment that Berri "is per-
haps the most powerful
man in Lebanon," Deeb
noted that since Lebanon
has virtually ceased to
exist as a unified country,
one man's power may be
completely nonexistent
outside of his home base.
"Power depends on one's
region in Lebanon," said
Deeb. "Berri is powerful in
the south and in parts of
Beirut. But it's all very
flimsy. Remove the arms
from the militia and you
have nothing."
publicly by the Reagan Ad-
ministration.
Clouding the entire issue
is the motivation for the
hijacking, especially since Is-
rael had planned to soon re-
lease the very prisoners
whose freedom the terrorists
demand. Marius Deeb, a vis-
iting professor at the Center
for Contemporary Arab
Studies at Georgetwon Uni-
versity in Washington, said
attacks against Israeli forces
increased after Israel an-
nounced in January that it
would withdraw from Leba-
non. Most of these attacks
were engineered by various
Shiite factions, he said.
"Each wants to get the honor
of injuring the Israeli army."
Kenneth Stein, associate
professor of Near Eastern
history at Emory University
in Atlanta; told The Jewish
News that the current
hijacking is "a statement by
the Shiites that they are a
force to be reckoned with.
They are trying to establish
their preeminence since
there is a vacuum in south-
ern Lebanon in the wake of
the Israeli withdrawal."
Also, said Stein, "The
Shiites feel the Israelis did
unnecessary damage to the
infrastructure of the villages
of southern Lebanon. They
feel they have to punish Is-
rael and its number one ally,
the United States, which
provided Israel with military
material."
Deeb speculated that the
hijacking was spurred by
Iran or Syrian efforts to de-
rail the peace process that
has been sponsored by Jor-
dan's King Hussein. "They
want to draw attention
elsewhere," said Deeb. "And
they want to show how
weak" the United States is
so no country would trust
American-backed guarantees
for security that might
emerge from a Mideast peace
conference.
All indications are that the
Iranian-backed and
Khomeini-influnced Hezbal-
lah Shiites masterminded
the hijacking. Nevertheless,
Nabih Berri, the leader of a
rival Shiite faction, the Amal
("Hope"), has emerged as the
mediator between the hijac-
kers and the United States.
The Hezballah, said Stein;
consider Berri to be a "secu-
lar tribal leader;" the Amal
consider the Hezballah to be
religious and military radi-
cals.
Berri has assumed his role
as mediator, said Marius
Continued on next page
•, v IV r 14 r .
23077 Greenfield at 9 Mile
(313) 557-1860
546-6200
Specialists In
Housing
Pest Control
1 t):10 WOODWARD HGTS.
FERNDALE, MICH. 48220
.
• PROFESSIONAL, QUALITY SERVICE FOR HOME,
APARTMENT AND INDUSTRY
• SERVICING SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN FOR 50 YEARS
IN ALL PHASES OF PEST CONTROL
FREE ESTIMATES
REASONABLE RATES
YULI EDELSHTEIN,
PROMINENT MOSCOW HEBREW TEACHER NEEDS HELP
Send letters/telegrams of protest regarding Yuli's
treatment at the prison camp to:
Major Avievkaev
Head of Camp Administration
Pos. Vidrino OV-94/4
Kabanski Rayon
Buryatskaya ASSR 671111 USSR
EDELSHTEIN BEATEN EVERY DAY!
The prison camp administrator told him, "I will have
you beaten every day until all your crazy religious
ideas are expelled out of you."
EDELSHTEIN'S SIDDUR HAS BEEN DESTROYED!
EDELSHTEIN'S FEAR IS THAT THEY WANT TO MAIM HIM
OR PHYSICALLY ANNIHILATE HIM!
Protest on behalf of Edelshtein!
Sent telegrams/letters of concern to the
head of the camp administration request-
ing intervention on behalf of Yuli Edelsh-
tein to prevent his physical destruction.
Please send copies of your letters/
telegrams to:
Detroit Soviet Jewry Committee
of the Jewish Community Council
163 Madison Avenue • Detroit, MI 48226 • (313) 962-1880
33