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Friday, July 5, 1985
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CANDLELIGHTING AT 8:53 P.M.
VOL. LXXXVII, NO. 19
Terrorists' Coup
Last Sunday, the latest terrorist ordeal finally ended. This most
recent instance of U.S. citizens being held hostage in an Islamic country
ended far sooner than the 444 days that Americans were held in the
Ayatollah Khomeini's revolutionary Iran and far, far longer than Ronald
Reagan's combatic rhetoric about fighting terrorism had suggested it
should. Perhaps by now, the President has realized that words are feeble
weapons against terrorists. As a Presidential candidate and as a
President, Reagan has consistently spoken of retaliation against
terrorists. None has been forthcoming. Simply issuing what turns out to
be empty threats does not make our enemies back off. It only makes it
easier to humiliate an already humbled United States.
Hardly anyone, including Mr. Reagan, has emerged from this episode
looking good. The United States has clearly negotiated with terrorists —
or, at least, with their proxy, Nabih Berri — despite a long-standing
policy against such negotiations. Israel has been accused — even by the
White House — of violating international law by transporting Shiite
prisoners south across its border with Lebanon. And Israel's own policy
not to bend to terrorists' demands, have cost it some American good will.
Some Americans charged that Israel could have quickly ended the entire
matter by summarily releasing the Shiites in its Atlit Prison. Without
taking into consideration the moral and political ramifications of such a
gesture, they regard Israel's refusal to aid captive Americans as
downright niggardly.
For the moment, Syria and Lebanese Amal chief Nabih Berri are the
benefactors of the last two and a half weeks. Nabih Berri's role highlights
1) His current dominance in Lebanese politics and 2) The virtual
nonexistence of the Lebanese government,. headedby Amin Gemayel.
Virtually nothing has been heard from Gemayel since the hijacking
began and no one, inlact, even asked him to intervene. The death of the
central government of Lebanon is no longer a nasty rumor: It is a cruel
and bitter fact.
And just as Syria appeared humanitarian when it released captured
U.S. pilot Robert Goodman in Spring, 1984, it again appears humane
because it helped secure the release of the TWA prikoners. But Syria's
motives were more to help itself than to help the hostages. Freeing the
hostages helped Syria stabilize the often unpredictable, uncontrollable
politics of Lebinon. And it helped it score the very public relations coup
with the American public that had escaped Israel through the entire
matter.
The entire incident illustrates, once again, that the United States —
and the entire international community — must formulate a firm and
unyielding anti-terrorist policy, one that makes these "thugs and
murderers and barbarians," in President Reagan's words, outlaws
everywhere and offering them a safe haven nowhere. And it also points
out that in the Middle East, jealous, sometimes vicious rivalries between
sects and factions have a way of determining the outcome of events in a
more byzantine, convoluted manner than we in the democratic — and
relatively more sedate — West can ever anticipate.
OP-ED
The Conservative Stance
On 'Who Is41 Jew' Issue
The resolution of the Rabbinical
Assembly, the international organ-
ization of Conservative rabbis, re-
sponding to the Knesset vote of Jan.
16, 1985, on the "Who Is A Jew"
issue has evoked much discussion. In
the interest of clarity and truth, we
Conservative rabbis of metropolitan
Detroit wish to respond.
What does the resolution pro-
vide? It commends by name the
members of the Knesset who were
helpful. and supportive of the efforts
to defeat an amendment to the Law
of Return. The same resolution listed
those who for various reasons, sup-
ported the amendment. It then
called upon rabbis "to affirm the
unity of the Conservative Movement
and its full identification with our
fellow Conservative Jews in Israel
by:
• commending the Movement of
M'sorati Conservative Judaism in Is-
rael for its successful campaign in
halting a change in the Law of Re-
turn;
• encouraging those members of
the Knesset who have demonstrated
their friendship for the Conservative
Movement to remain strong in the
struggle for religious pluralism in
Israel;
• inviting their participation in
our synagogues when they are visit-
ing the United States;
• informing the directors of
local Jewish federation agencies, Is-
rael Bonds, Zionist organizations,
and the Jewish National Fund, that
any members of the Knesset who
have voted for a change in the Law
of Return, despite the dialogue that
has taken place between Conserva-
This article was signed by the following
Detroit rabbis: Robert Abramson,
Kenneth L. Cohen, Noah Gamze,
Benjamin Gorrelick, Irwin Groner,
David A. Nelson, Stanley M.
Rosenbaum, A. Irving Schnipper, Efry
Spectre and Max Weine.
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sent Israel Immigration Law which
states "that a Jew means a person
born to a Jewish mother or con-
verted to Judaism and who is not a
member of another religion." The
religious parties in Israel have been
able to live with this formulation
from the birth of the state, and the
average Israeli has been truly in-
different to its provisions. The
multi-party system of Israeli politics
necessitates coalitions. In order to
form a majority in the Knesset, the
Likud coalition promised the ultra-
Orthodox Agudat Israel that Likud
would support a change in the Law
of Return according to the wishes of
the Agudat Israel. That change in-
volves the addition of only two
words: "Lefi Halachah" — "Conver-
sion according to Halachah" (Jewish
Law). This bill has been repeatedly
submitted to the Knesset and was
voted upon on Jan. 16.
The true purpose of the proposed
Continued on Page 12
60 aliCiir V lit NM OT41111-
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The true purpose . . . is to
delegitimate the rabbinic
status of non-Orthodox
rabbis in the eyes of the
American Jewish
community.
1 1 0 I 60 )13 ( NET TO ISRAEL,f
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I
tive Jews and them, are not welcome
as speakers or honorees in our syna-
gogues, which they have sought to
discredit; and
• encouraging continued private
dialogue both here and in Israel to
keep open avenues of communication
with those members of the Knesset
who have voted for a change in the
Law of Return.
Why has the Conservative Rab-
binate responded in this way? The
proposed change would alter the pre-
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