4 Friday, May 9, 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 Civid Center Dr., Suite 240, Southfield, Michigan 48076-4138 Telephone (313) 354-6060 PUBLISHER: Charles A. Buerger . ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Arthur M. Horwitz EDITOR EMERITUS: Philip Slomovitz EDITOR: Gary Rosenblatt CONSULTANT: Carmi M. Slomovitz ART DIRECTOR: Kim Muller-Thym NEWS EDITOR: Alan Hitsky LOCAL NEWS EDITOR: Heidi Press LOCAL COLUMNIST: Danny Raskin OFFICE STAFF: Lynn Fields Marlene Miller Dharlene Norris Phyllis Tyner Pauline Weiss Ellen Wolfe ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Lauri Biafore Rick Nessel Danny Raskin PRODUCTION: Donald Cheshure Cathy Ciccone Curtis Deloye Ralph Orme 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 8:21 P.M. VOL. LXXXIX, NO. 11 Message From Israel Prime Minister Shimon Peres sends the following greeting for Israel Independence Day. The celebration will be culminated locally May 18 at the Maple-Drake Jewish Community Center. The journey of our people to spiritual and political rebirth in its own land has not all been paved with joy. This is the longest and most revolutionary journey undertaken by any people, any time in the history of mankind. This is a journey which has not yet been completed. While we may perhaps already pronounce the benediction on deliverance, the time is not yet ripe to congratulate ourselves on a task completed. The journey is not yet over; neither have all the controversies been resolved — first between us, here in Israel, and our brethren throughout the world. At the same time, we will continue to maintain the unity of the people, despite its pluralistic character, and will continue to strive to assemble all Jews, from all corners of the world, here in Israel. It is only in our historic homeland that we have attained national freedom, self-fulfillment, and true, unqualified pride and self-respedt for every Jew; both as a human being, and as a Jew. We believe that the construct which has been created here in Israel, in the last hundred years, is not the sum total of declaration or of changes — but rather the result of vision, of hard work, of stubborn principles. Those who remain true to the path of pragmatic Zionism — know that this is the most humane course of action the world has ever known. The national unity government, after 20 months in office, can today credit itself with impressive achievements, in important areas of life. The withdrawal of the IDF from Lebanon served to consolidate our national security, while safeguarding the lives of our soldier-sons. We succeeded in halting the inflationary spiral — . which threatened to sweep the national economy into the abyss. We are now on the threshold of a new economic momentum — which will comprise the encouragement of exports, the replacement of imports, and a structural reorganization of the economy. On the political level, we have broadened the gateway between Israel and Egypt — and, despite attempts to intimidate and to terrorize us, both countries remain resolved to deepen the ties between us as a prelude to a comprehensive peace in the region. The Hashemite King has also come a long way to meet us on the road to the negotiating table, while the PLO continues to prove that it is an obstacle to peace, as we have postulated. The present government of Israel can also pride itself on the fact that, in its time, internal tensions in the country have been greatly reduced: between Ashkenazim and Sephardim, between the different political parties, between religious and secular elements, between Jews and Arabs. Israel's image in the world has also improved. Leader .s and governments are attentive to our views; they appreciate our firm stand against terrorism; and they understand that our continuing struggle, here in Israel, is based not only on power, but also on justice. The State of Israel represents a composite of three elements: continuity, change, and revolution. Continuity has kept us faithful to the Bible: The Lord is exalted, for He dwelleth on high. He hath filled Zion with justice and righteousness." (Isaiah 33:5). Change is superimposing a new physical layer on our ancient, historical foundations, without allowing planning and deliberation to take place of daring and boldness. While our revolution has been directed against the attempt by the nations of the world to imprison our spirit in the ghettos. From Jerusalem, the eternal capital of our people, we issue to you a clear and explicit call: come and live with us in Israel. Come and maintain with us Jewish continuity. Come and consolidate with us demographic change. Come and carry out together with us the Zionist revolution. OP-ED For Good Or III, TV News Shapes Perception Of Israel BY DR. BARUCH GITLIS Special To The Jewish News Most Americans form their opin- ions about nations, people, issues and events from what they see and hear on television. So it is not surprising (although it distresses me deeply) that many people in the United States have an erroneous image of Israel. This distorted and unwarranted view is largely the result of the pre- sentation of Israel, in words and pic- tures, that viewers get from watching the major TV networks — ABC, CBS and NBC. The view of Israel as a swagger- ing tough guy and harsh occupying power, with little concern for the rights and feelings of Arabs living under its thumb, has been especially evident since the Lebanese war. But the anti-Israel picture projected by the networks began nearly 20 years ago, when TV stepped up its coverage of the Middle East and decided that it would give "both sides of the story." At the Harry Karren Institute for Propaganda Analysis at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, we have been analyzing American and other TV news broadcasts for the past five years. What is particularly disturbing is not that Israel no longer enjoys its former status — most of us are famil- iar with the switch from "David" to "Goliath" in the public perception of the Jewish state — but that the crimes and outrages committed against Israel and the Jewish people are now said to be perpetrated by Is- rael in its treatment of Arabs. Thus, we see the use of such emo- tionally charged words as "Holocaust" and "genocide" applied to Israel's policies and actions. "Apartheid" has been used to describe Israel's treat- ment of black Jews rescued by Israel from famine and oppression in Ethiopia. It is the supreme irony — . epitomized by the infamous Zionism- is-racism resolution adopted by the United Nations — to accuse Israel and the Jews of the very crimes per- petrated against them. This form of role-reversal has proven surprisingly effective. It is a measure of the world's misunderstanding of words like "Holocaust", "genocide" and "racism" The television networks, of course, see themselves as impartial and objective in their reporting about Israel and the Middle East. that they are used so readily and ac- cepted so immediately when used re- peatedly to describe what Jews do rather than what has been done to them. The television networks, of course, see themselves as impartial and objective . in their reporting about Israel and the Middle East. But our monitoring of their output — hun- dreds of hours of TV network news per year — shows that, however uncon- sciously, they continue to present news of the Middle East in a way that demeans Israel and its policies. A case in point is TV's insistence on interpreting the news to help the viewer understand the meaning of events," or words to that effect. Thus, when CBS News reported the story of the recent bomb blast aboard TWA 840 that killed four Americans, a long segment sought to explain what it was that drove Palestinians to com- mit such brutal acts. The footage ac- companying this explanation showed the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps •