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4 Friday, October 25, 1985
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
THE JEWISH NEWS
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"Elletr-W • .!
UN Resolutions: Never
A Simple Tea' Or 'Nay'
Washington — The White House
says President Ronald Reagan per
made the decisio3i against
- 'vetoing ' the Oct. 4 United Nations
Security Council resolution which
sharply condemned Israel for attack-
PRODUCTION:
ipg the PLO headquarters in
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES:
Donald Cheshure
Tunisia. .
Lauri Biafore
Cathy Ciccone
The U.S. abstention during that
Allan Craig
Curtis Deloye
roll call was a bitter disappointment
Rick Nessel
Ralph Orme
Danny Raskin
to Israeli officials, including Deputy
(c) 1985 by The Detroit Jewish News (OS PS 275-520)
Prime Minis r and Foreign Minis-
Second Class postage paid at Southfield, Michigan and additional mailing offices.
ter Yitzhak Shamir who met Oct. 9
Subscriptions: 1 year - $21 —. 2 years - $39 —"Out of State - $23 -L. Foreign $35
with Vice I3 esident George Bush
and Secretary of State George Shultz
VOL. Lxxxvii, NO 9
CANDLELIGHTING AT 617 P.M.
in Washington.
Shamir complained about the
vote despite U.S. efforts since then
to reassure Israel of America's con-
tinued opposition to terrorism. -
Shultz earlier •had telephoned
Shamir in New York with that mes-
From the outset, the prognosis has been poor for the Reagan
Administration's proposed arms sale to Jordan. First, Congress itself was
sage. The Secretary of State also in-
indignant at the idea of improving the military stance of a nation that
formed the minister, according to Is-
raeli officials, that the United States
has yet to sit down at the peace table with Israel. Seventy-two Senators
and over 200 Representatives wisely passed a resolution linking the
considered the raid an act of legiti-
$1.5-$2 billion sale to a public willingness by Jordan to recognize the
mate self-defense.
Other U.S. officials said the
Jewish State's right to exist and to negotiate with it. This has not yet
been forthcoming.
Administration had agreed tenta-
Secondly, at his recent much-heralded speech at the United Nations,
tively that the tin of U.S. aircraft
Jordan's King Hussein reiterated his insistence that any Mideast peace
and other military equipment had
effort include the Palestine Liberation Organization. In the last few
not represented a violation of
months, Hussein has been touting PLO chief Yassir Arafat's turn toward
American law.
moderation. But according to the American Israel Public Affairs
Now, in the aftermath of the
Committee, the Arafat wing of the PLO has claimed credit for over 100
hijacking of the Italian ship, Achille
terrorist incidents since Arafat signed a Feb. 11 accord with Jordan
Lauro, Shultz and other U.S. offi-
, that ostensibly signalled the PLO's abandonment of terror. In those same
cials seem clearly more inclined to
eight months,.PLO officials close to Arafat have-continued to reject
identify with Israel's firm policy of
Israel's right to exist, condemned the United States, extolled their "armed. —
retaliating against terrorists.
struggle" and pledged to continue the war against Israel until the "final
But earlier, the Reagan Ad-
victory." And one of Arafat's disciples reportedly masterminded the
ministration had waffled between'
terrorist mission that resulted in the pirating of the Italian liner, Achille
supporting and criticizing the Israeli
Lauro, and the savage murder of an invalid, Leon Klinghoffer.
assault. U.S. officials made the point -
• These are not words of peace. They are not actions of peace. They
that while they "understood" the cir-
only raise the hackles of Israel. And they ,should raise the suspicions of
cumstances leading up to the Israeli
the United States. Yet the Reagan Administration haa.remained
raid, they could not "condone" it'.
steadfast in its determination to sell arms to Jordan, a nation that has
Thus, the State Department is- -
remained steadfast in its determination to talk about peace with Israel
sued a lengthy statement attempting '
only in the presence of the PLO. And the PLO, of course, is an outlaw
to clarify the controversial absten-
group that has remained steadfast in its pledge to destroy Israel. In -
tion. On the same day, the Neth
recent speeches and meetings on Capitol Hill, Hussein has coyly adopted
the formulation of the Congressional resolution which links an arms sale
to Jordan to its willingness to directly negotiate with Israel. But by
insisting on including the PLO and also the Soviets in the process,
Hussein has proved that his goal is to fulfill the necessary requirements
for obtaining U.S. arms. And nothing more.'
Apparently, both the U.S. and Jordan are speaking a very different
language about resolving Mideast tensions. Selling arms to Hussein
before peace talks in the Middle East even begin cannot induce the King
to negotiate constructively with Israel and the U.S. No sale of military
,
equipment to Jordan should even be contemplated until there is a signed
and sealed peace treaty between Israel and Jordan. And until Jordan's
relation with the PLO is unambigiously clarified.
Arms And The King
Arresting Soviets
Detroiters William Graham and Dorothy Mahlin sang songs on a
Washington, D.C. sidewalk this week, and were arrested for
demonstrating within 500 feet of the Soviet Embassy. •
Two million Soviet Jews cry silently for freedom in. the USSR.
Hundreds of thousands have requestedthe required "invitations" from
relatives in Israel. Thousands have been persecuted for being Jewish.
Jewish citizens on both sides of the Iron Curtain are raising their
voices, being arrested, writing letters — taking public stances for
freedom. The voices may not penetrate the walls of the Kremlin, but the
cumulative actions certainly do.
•
forkTimes reported that the United
States decided in favor of an absten--
Oen_ nfter_receiving intelligence
warnings that an American veto
might lead to the overthrow of
President Habib Bourguiba's regime
by Libyan-backed mobs. The Ameri-
cans were also very concerned about
any further weakening of U.S. influ-
ence in the Arab and Islamic world.
Authoritative U.S. officials ac-
knowledged that the earjier state-
ments condoning Israel's air strike
Now, in the aftermath of
the hijacking of the
Italian ship, U.S. officials
seem clearly more
inclined to identify with
Israel's firm policy of
retaliation against
terrorists.
against the PLO headquarters in
Tunisia had already severely dam-
aged the U.S. position throughout
much of the Middle East. They were
hoping that the U.S. abstention
would weaken that- anti-American
trend.
The U.S. Ambassador to the
United Nations, Vernon Walters,
was instructed to work with the
Tunisians and others at the Security
Council to draft language which
would result in an American absten-
tion. The vote condeming Israel was
14-0 with the United States abstain-
ing.
Privately, the Americans noted
that they had managed to remove
from the resolution earlier refer-
ences calling on UN member states
to impose mandatory sanctions
against Israel. Instead, the resolu-
.
Continued on Page 42