Friiliy,-JUly 19, 1985
onf1omkwisi4 NEWS, r
PURELY COMMENTARY
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Mankind's Blessings To You, Mr. President
Ronald Reagan
In every household in the nation, there
is the prayer and hope that Ronald Reagan
will retain his strength and will carry on,
with the courage already to his credit, to
administer the affairs of this nation:
It is not only the American heart that
yearns for his good health and for his
strength to carry on the affairs of this na-
tion. All mankind is affected by the virility
of the man who heads the American gov-
ernment. The peace of the world, the good
will among civilized nations, receive guid-
ance from our people, and our Chief of Staff
sets the rules. Therefore, his health is an
encouragement to the humanism and
civilized spirit of all peoples.
Therefore, the good wish to the
President of the United States: Get well,
Mr. President, and may your spirit remain
the guide to the hopefulness that assures
the determination for Good Will in all
mankind!
Ignoring Israel's
Right To Live
Has No Credibility
Three Detroit-area Jews and three
members from the local Arab community
met a while ago to discuss the U.S.-
Lebanese relationship, the TWA hijacking
and the Middle East in general.
It is to the credit of the Detroit Free
Press that such a discussion was inaugu-
rated. It has been a policy with the Detroit
morning newspaper to probe major issues
by assembling interested participants with
conflicting views.
The latest exchange of views left much
to be desired. It was not to the discredit of
the sponsoring newspaper. The fault was
with the discussants. They beat around the
bush and permitted constant repetition of
accusations aimed at Israel. The result of
that fruitless discussion was to leave the
impression that Israel was mankind's vil-
lain.
The same day of the publication of an
edited transcript of the session assembled
by the Free Press (July 7), major newspap-
ers throughout the country published ex-
cerpts from statements by the hostages of
the hijacked TWA plane revealing the bar-
barism of the hijackers. The brutal treat-
ment of the Americans on the hijacked
plane remains an atrocious chapter in
human relations. The occurrence, which
began in Greece and continued on a hor-
rified journey, was utilized for a gathering
of new hatred on the irrelevant-to-the-
issue element called Israel.
While one must refuse to believe that
any sensible American will be duped by the
anti-Israel propaganda that was generated
by the hijacking, the fair-minded should be
considered as possessing an obligation at
least to protect Israel and to have a kind
word for the relatively small Jewish state
adhering to the right to battle for a secure
existence. On a governmental basis, the
spokespeople for the United States lived up
to such duties. In many areas there were
failures to do so. Such a failure is ascriba-
ble to the sum total of the Free Press sym-
posium.
• The least that could have been ex-
pected at that session was a kind word for
Israel. The least that could have been done
was to follow the example of King Hussein
of Jordan, who described the hijackers of
the TWA plane as "the scum of the earth."
In an interview in Jerusalem, during her
visit there two weeks ago, Prof. Jeane
Kirkpatrick, former U.S. ambassador to
the United Nations, said in relation to the
terrorism and to the hijacking:
"Israel has done much and the U.S.
has to take the necessary measures to de-
fend itself and its citizens . . . Israel has
shown the way, and the U.S. must give the
lead to the rest of the world in defending
itself."
Such are the necessary assertions by
all who are concerned that truth should be
respected and justice supported, even when
Israel is a target for attack. At least a mod-
icum of such feelings could have been ex-
pressed at the Free Press discussion ses-
sion.
The reason for emphasis on such a
hope for fairness toward Israel is often pro-
vided in the hate-mongering that is all-
too-rampant. The constant attacks on Is-
rael surely are not to be ignored. Here is a
sample that matches the most venemous.
Such hatred commenced with the war that
was declared on Israel by the Arab states,
from the moment the UN assured Israel's
autonomous national status in the world.
Imam Mohamad Jawad Chirri, the
religious leader of the Shiite Moslems in
the United States and the director of the
Islamic Center of America in Detroit, in an
interview with Barbara Reynolds appear-
ing in the July 8 issue of USA Today, didn't
hesitate to advocate Israel's destruction.
Here is the way it is reported in USA To-
day.:
USA TODAY: If the Shiites
could write a Middle East policy
for the United States, what would it
be?
Chirri: They would tell the
United States that Israel has no ,
place to stay in the Middle East be-
cause Israel occupied Palestine.
Those people were uprooted, dri-
ven out of their homes. They were
prevented even from returning to
look inside their homes — the
simplest human right. This was
done by the Israelis, but it was
supported, wholeheartedly, by the
United States. '
Repeating our opinion: if such
genocide can still be entertained, isn't
there an obligation for the rational and
decent citizens of all faiths to utter a fre-
quent kind word for Israel? Wouldn't that
be one way of helping set the record
straight and expressing a sense of justice in
an atmosphere laden with brutalities?
Geneva Clarification
Jewish News "Purely Commentary" of
June 28 refuted the accusations that Israel
failed to adhere to the Geneva Convention
dealing with civilian detainees during the
recent hostage crisis. That column quoted
sections of an article devoted to the issue
and quoted a section that justified the Is-
raeli actions in retaining in prison camps
some 700 Shiites and Lebanese who were
meaning of Israel, especially by the media.
arrested for sabotage and other threats to
"Media Mad" by M. J. Rosenberg in
Israel's security.
Near East Report calls attention to the per-
The serious charge which was utilized
petrated injustices. Quoting Rosenberg:
in scores of condemnations of Israel was
more clearly defined in a letter published
Tom Shales, the Washington
Post media critic, puts it more tren-
by the New York Times July 6 in which Leo
Gross, professor emeritus of International
chantly. In his June 29 column, he
Law and Organization at the Fletcher
predicted that the "networks
School, Tufts University, states:
(would be) sorry to see this hostage
crisis end. They're having such an
In "U.N. Chief Urges Israel to
exciting time with it; they're get-
Free Prisoners" (news article,
ting such good stuff out of Beirut.
June 26), you report that Secretary
The networks are wearing the hos-
General Javier Perez de Cuellar
tages like charms on a bracelet."
"repeated his earlier statements
Shales criticized the media for
that the Lebanese and the Palesti-
giving so much air time to one hos-
nian prisoners were imprisoned in
tage, Allyn Conwell, an oil com-
Israel in contravention of interna-
pany employee, who Shales called
tional law as defined in the Fourth
"the most talkative of the bunch."
Geneva Convention." The same
Conwell repeatedly called for
day, you report that Vice President
pressure on Israel. Shales wrote:
Bush, "responding to a question at
"The broadcasting of such loose-
a news conference in Bonn, said
that the Reagan Administration
lipped remarks could turn public
opinion against Israel and further
had previously expressed its 'con-
cern' to Israel over the transfer of
hamper efforts to negotiate a set-
1,120 mainly Shiite civilians from
tlement."
Lebanon, contrary to the Fourth
He concludes that "the parad-
Geneva. Convention."
ing of these coached and con-
Statements like these are un-
trolled hostages across American
true and have no basis in Geneva
television screens day after day,
Convention IV, relative to the pro-
night after night . (was) more of a
tection of civilian persons in time
national humiliation than was the
of war of Aug. 12, 1949. The relev-
original seizing of the plane."
ant provisions are in article 49,
Shales is surely right. But in this
which consists of six paragraphs.
case — as in so many others — the
Relevant are the first two para-
dollar took precedence over de-
graphs, which read as follows:
cency.
"Individual or mass forcible
One must judge the saddening experi
transfers, as well as deportations
ences, especially the abuse leveled at Is
of protected persons from occu-
rael, with a sense of confidence that tho
pied territory to the territory of the
American people will not be fooled. Mean
occupying power or to that of any
while there is the constant need to keel
other country, occupied or not, are
refuting the accusatory lies.
prohibited, regardless of their mo-
tive.
"Nevertheless, the occupying
Never Forget . . . Continue
power may undertake total or par-
Prosecuting Is Compulsori
tial evacuation of a given area if
the security of the population or
Detroit News columnist George Canto]
imperative military reasons so
re-introduced a debatable subject in one o
demand. Such evacuations may
his recent essays by what he suggested
not involve the displacement of
the "pointlessness" of trials of Nazi mu;
protected persons outside the
murderers. He dealt with the guilt of Jose
bounds of the occupied territory
Mengele and expressed these views:
except when for material reasons it
One of the oddest concepts I
is impossible to avoid such dis-
have come' upon concerning the
placement. Persons thus
evident death of Josef Mengele is
evacuated shall be transferred
that his demise by drowning was
back to their homes as soon as hos-
pointless, an act that somehow
tilities in the area in question have
enabled him to escape answering
ceased."
for his crimes.
One need not be an expert
I am not convinced 'that
lawyer to see that the second para-
Holocaust trials serve any useful
graph modifies the first paragraph
purpose. To those who refuse to be-
in a very significant manner and
lieve what happened, no amount of
that it confers upon Israel
evidence is convincing. To those
authority to do what it did: transfer
who survived it, no single death
some civilians, Shiites and others,
can answer for the extermination
to its territory. One could argue
of their parents, brothers and sis-
about the extent of the discretio-
ters.
nary authority but to charge Israel
All the trials did was permit us
with a violation of article 49 seems
to believe that even in the face of
misleading, if not malicious.
the most hideous barbarism, we
That the Reagan Administra-
still observe the legal formalities.
tion makes false statements about
It's more than people like Mengele
international law is one thing, but
deserved.
for the. Secretary General of the
Half a lifetime spent as a fugi-
United Nations to charge a
tive,
listening for, footsteps in the
member with a serious violation of
night, pursued by vengeance and
the law as laid down in the 1949
-then finally meeting death in a
Geneva Convention is another and
moment of relaxation, I don't find-
calls for refraction or at least an
this pointless. In a more religious
apology.
age, it might even be called provi-
It is one of the surprising develop-
dential.
ments in Lebanese and other crises and
Judaism has no concept of an
during the barbarism of the TWA hijack-
afterlife spent in heaven or hell.
ing that so little effort had been made to
Even so, it is reasonable to believe
clarify the Geneva Convention confusions.
that Mengele did not escape his
But so also are the many more matters
judgment.
relating to an age of horror and the de-
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