73
. LARRY
FREEDMAN
Orchestra
IN THE
he Freest Arab Press
s Published In Israel
Haifa — In what country does
he Arab press enjoy the greatest
reedom of expression, free to
riticize the government and to
dvocate political views at var-
ance with those held by the rul-
ng administration? The answer
s, in Israel, including Judea and
Samaria administered by Israel.
It was not always this way for
editors and publishers in the West
Bank. Prior to 1967, Arab papers
issued in East Jerusalem under
Jordanian rule had to toe the line
dictated by Amman. If the Jorda-
nian authorities did not like what
they wrote, editors could go to jail.
Today they can — and do — freely
criticize Israel's policies, and they
can even demand an independent
state of their own. However, they
may not incite to violence, and
what they report about events in
Judea, Samaria and Gaza may not
be inflammatory to the point of
fomenting disturbances.
Parenthetically, it is not out of
place to record here that the vari-
ous Arab universities which today
flourish in the occupied areas
were all created after the Israelis
came. Previously, Jordan permit-
ted no institutions of higher
learning to be established.
This remarkable freedom of the
press, unique in the entire Arab
world, is being fully exploited by
Arab leadership, according to an
article in Israel Scene magazine.
There are today six dailies, six
weeklies, seven monthlies and
two quarterlies which serve up to
their Arab readers a mixed jour-
nalistic fare. On one subject there
is near unanimity among them —
their opinion of the Israel gov-
ernment — but there are the simi-
larity ends, for they represent
points of view that are so widely
divergent that they frequently
clash among themselves.
The Arab reader can take his
choice of a pro-Arafat paper, or an
anti-Arafat one; a pro-Jordan
periodical or a pro-Libyan; or one
which follows the Communist
line, whatevei that happens to be
at any given moment. All are
highly partisan on behalf of their
particular programs. There are
those who favor a political settle-
ment with Israel, on "favorable
terms" of course, and those who
oppose not court censorship by
suggesting how that may happen.
What constitutes incitement,
and how far can the editor go in
stirring up opposition to Israel?
Very simply! He carefully reads
the Hebrew press in Israel, espe-
cially that which is in any event
critical of the government, trans-
lates choice items into Arabic, and
affords them prominent display,
with full credit to the source. A
few critical paragraphs in a left-
wing Hebrew paper sound quite
different when emblazoned in
Arabic headlines, with considera-
ble inference and inuendo. After
all, the Jews published this them-
selves. The result stretches free-
dom of the press beyond anything
that might have been con-
templated in .a nation which is de
facto at war with omnipresent
enemies.
ONLY
The more moderate of the Arab
papers provide full publicity to
expression of dovish views from
groups like Peace Now, which are
prepared to make great com-
promises for the sake of peace.
The inference is that Israelis are
ready for far-reaching appease-
ment but are prevented from act-
ing on these views by a few wicked
leaders.
Most widely circulated of the
papers is Al-Kuds (the Arabic
name for Jerusalem), which fol-
lows a pro-Jordan line. It carries
advertisements from Jordan
hotels and banks, as well as from
Israel firms which sell to Arabs.
Al-Fajr (The Dawn), one of the
more virulent papers, publishes
an English weekly which we used
to read with interest, if not with
approval, but it apparently does
not reach Haifa anymore.
At one time an Arab daily, Al-
Anba (News), was published by
the Prime Minister's office, but it
failed to gain any substantial
readership. The Histadrut and
the left-wing Mapam also tried
magazines in Arabic, but both
were discontinued. Major Egyp-
tian dailies are free to circulate in
Israel, even those which follow an
anti-Israel line, but the local
Arabs prefer the local product,
with its reporting of local news.
It would appear that none of the
Arabic periodicals is self-
supporting. Almost all are fi-
nanced from outside, and while
some.of the sources of funding are
not known, there is little doubt
that the political views expressed
in both the news and editorial col-
umns reflect the opinions of those
who provide the backing.
Another source of advertising
income is the official announce-
ments of the government. For a
while the Arabs refused to print
these ads, lest by so doing they
would appear to be recognizing
the "legality" of the Israel gov-
ernment. The authorities made it
clear that according to the law
those announcements had to ap-
pear in every paper, and so, in ef-
fect, the government insisted that
the papers had to accept this ad-
vertising revenue.
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RIETS Marks
Its Centennial
A total of 100 recently-ordained
rabbis will take part April 6 in the
Centennial Chag HaSemikhah
(celebration of ordination) at the
Yeshiva University-affiliated
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological
Seminary (RIETS) in New York
City.
RIETS celebrates the ordina-
tion of its rabbis with a major
event every three years. This
year, to mark the centennial of
the institution — founded Sept.
15, 1886 — 100 rabbis who have
been ordained during the last
three years will be especially hon-
ored.
When the April 6 ceremony is
completed, RIETS will have or-
danied its 2,000th rabbi.
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