4 Friday, January 31, 1986 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS THE JEWISH NEWS Serving Detroit's Metropolitan Jewish Community with distinction for four decades. Editorial and Sales offices at 20300 Civic Center Dr., Suite 240, Southfield, Michigan 48076-4138 Telephone (313) 354 6060 OFFICE STAFF: PUBLISHER: Charles A. Buerger Lynn Fields EDITOR EMERITUS: Philip Slomovitz Marlene Miller EDITOR: Gary Rosenblatt Dharlene Norris CONSULTANT: Carmi M. Slomovitz Phyllis Tyner ART DIRECTOR: Kim Muller-Thym Pauline Weiss NEWS EDITOR: Alan Hitsky Ellen Wolfe LOCAL NEWS EDITOR: Heidi Press OP-ED a ■ = Israeli Censor: Fine Line For Security, Democracy - BY SIMON GRIVER Special to The Jewish News LOCAL COLUMNIST: Danny Raskin PRODUCTION: Donald Cheshure Cathy Ciccone Curtis Deloye Ralph Orme ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Lauri Biafore Allan Craig Rick Nessel Danny Raskin ©1986 by The Detroit Jewish News (US PS 275.520) Second Class postage paid at Southfield, Michigan and additional mailing offices. Subscriptions: 1 year - $21 — 2 years - $39 — Out of State - $23 — Foreign - $35 CANDLELIGHTING AT 5:27 P.M. • VOL. DOO(VIII, NO. 23 Saudi Reward Saudi Arabia leads a. charmed existence. In recent days, the Saudis have continued to support Libya's Colonel Qaddafi, and King Fand reportedly told Qaddafi that he would support Libya in any showdown with the U.S. Moreover, according to New York Times columnist William Safire, "the monarchy of Saudi Arabia has declared economic war on most of the rest of the world." Safire reasons that the Saudis are now flooding the market with oil, causing prices to plunge until those who dare to compete are driven out of business. Then the monopoly will raise prices back up to pre-competition exorbitant levels. And how does Washington respond? By planning to sell another $1 billion in sophisticated weapons to our Saudi "friends." According to press reports, President Reagan will soon propose an arms package which will include 1,600 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, 800 Stinger-anti - -aiitraft missiles, 95 Electronic Countermeasure Systems for F-5s and F-15s, and upgrade kits- for 60 F-15s. Of course the Reagan Administration had pledged, at the time of the AWACS battle in 1981, not to transfer arms in the future to Riyadh until "significant progress" toward Mideast peace took place "with the substantial assistance of Saudi Arabia." And of course the Saudi "contribution" has been to obstruct the peace process, fund the PLO, support Qaddafi, ostracize Egypt (for making peace with Israel) and, most recently, try to keep King Hussein froM sitting down to negotiate with Israel. But as Near East Report editor M.J. Rosenberg notes, "appeasing the wealthy Saudis is one of the few Washington practices that is bipartisan." He recalled that President Carter sold them F-15s and said that they would help bring Riyadh to the peace table. President Reagan sold them AWACS using essentially the same rationale. "None of this changed Saudi behavior at all," observes Rosenberg. "Nor will a new Saudi sale. All more arms will accomplish is to help advance the day when the Saudis can transform the rhetoric of jihad into its reality." When, one wonders, will Washington learn? , Super Sunday TAO_ u, --- Last weekend's Super Sunday provided enjoyment for thousands throughout the world who tuned in to the Chicago Bears' mauling of the New England Patriots. This weekend's Super Sunday will affect thousands also: the thousands of volunteers participating in a nationwide effort on behalf of the United Jewish Appeal, and the thousands of Jewish beneficiaries both at home and abroad who depend on the monies raised. Last year's Super Sunday total for Detroit's Allied Jewish Campaign was $500,000. It is not a large amount in comparison to a' $22.5 million Campaign total. But every dollafraised becomes critical at a time of projected Federal budget puts. The Campaign affects us all: from children attending Fresh Air Society camps to children seeking help at the Jewish Family Service; from the elderly at the Jewish Home for Aged to the well-elderly attending programs at the Jewish Community Center; not to mention the many national and oversew programs. - Enjoy Super Sunday, and enjoy the ability to give a generous response when your telephone rings. but could harm Israel if explicit in- Jerusalem — Press censorship formation reached the wrong hands, in a democracy must tread a delicate like details of the nation's energy re- path, protecting the nation's security serves. while not stifling the freedom of the Included in the category of in- news media. Israel, which is on a formation that can be suppressed are constant war footing, is in a more details of Jewish emigration from difficult and vulnerable situation countries of distress (Ethiopia, for than perhaps any other democracy. example), discussions about security Yet, the country's press remains matters at Cabinet meetings and the seemingly vibrant with an investiga- amount of Israel's foreign currency tive cutting edge that has uncovered information injuring the careers of numerous politicians and military The foreign press men. Nevertheless, it is difficult to know just how much the censors are voluntarily agrees to suppressing. censorship controls Palestinians and their suppor- because . . . it will be ters claim that Israeli censorship is repressive. On the other hand, a barred access to potential British government commission of stories. enquiry offered the Israel Defense Forces as a commendable example of moderate censorship during the .war reserves. Censorship is itself a sub- in Lebanon while castigating the ject that is censored (this article will British army for its over-zealous he carefully scrutinized by the cen- censorship during the Falklands sor's . office) as is the full list of 69 War against Argentina in 1982. subjects liable to censorship, which Major General Yitzhak Shani, would itself identify potential weak- the Chief Censor of the IDF, does nesses to Israel's enemies. not like using political labels to de- As the country has grown scribe his task. "I don't agree with stronger, the number of subjects on the label of more liberal, or less lib- the censor's list has been whittled eral," he says. "It doesn't seem to me down from more than 200 items. At that it suits the issues at hand. We one time, for examples, details of oil are striving to make censorship logi- tankers travelling north from Eilat cal." were censored. This is information "Logical" by Shani's definition is no longer considered sensitive. Gen- that nothing liable to harm Israel's eral Shani feels that if the list got security can be published. There is any shorter there would be virtually currently a list of 69 subjects that no censorship left. cannot be discussed in the press. Surprisingly to many outsiders, These include the obvious, like the the Hebrew press in Israel cooper- number of troops in a particular ates with the censor under a volun- region, as well as matters that do tary agreement signed in 1949. That not deal directly with the military agreement has no legal status, though security regulations from the This article, published by the World time of the British Mandate do en- Zionist Press Service, was subject to able the government to punish those review and approval of the Israeli , , 1 Military Censor. Continued on Page 17 WOULD )01 PLEASE iNFCRM NAM LE4DER8 i11 3 8H ENV 146 rikALLY ARRIVED