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© 1987 by The Detroit Jewish News (US PS 275-520)
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CANDLELIGHTING AT 5:35 P.M.
VOL. XC, NO. 24
Kahane's Answer
Meir Kahane is skilled at raising the kinds of tough questions that
Jews should not be lulled into forgetting: What should we do to arrest
assimilation? How do we bring Jews to Judaism? How virulent is
anti-Semitism in the Diaspora? What can be done to solve Israel's
demographic problems?
Although Kahane asks good questions, one does not need to buy his
premises or conclusions. He came to town last week declaring, "Let's stop
the name calling," and then placed labels on Jewish leaders, Reform,
Conservative and Orthodox Jews, and Israeli society.
Indeed, Kahane, adept at rhetorical acrobatics, managed to deflect
everything of which he is accused onto others: Jewish leaders and the
media are undemocratic, the Jewish National Fund is racist, liberals have
supreme contempt for Arabs.
It begins to look like everyone is wrong but Kahane and that Kahane's
views are the only "Jewish views." That should cause us to wonder about
the man's beliefs and about his motivations.
His fundamentalist model for Israel is the pre-rabbinic, pre-talmudic
theocracy of the Second Temple period, unparalleled in Jewish history for
its corruption and brutality.
Political, legal and intellectual despotism are anathema to Judaism.
One need look no further than the Talmud for a plurality of opinions and
respect for both majority and minority views.
Kahane's premise is wrong, so why does he continue? Because his
methods have met with some success and absolute power lies at the end of
his road.
OP-ED
No Solution Is In Sight
For West Bank, Gaza Strife
ARNO HERZBERG
T
he bus rattles through the
streets of Jerusalem, passing
an endless row of houses. The
air, heavy on a hot day, filters the
sunshine into a blinding haze.
All of a sudden the houses and
traffic disappear. A kind of emptiness
grows on the horizon, filled only by
brownish houses and shacks. This is
the West Bank, or Judaea and
Samaria as some declare. with pos-
sessive ardor.
It doesn't take long to realize
that this speck of land is the center of
strife for two peoples. Nineteen years
of Israeli occupation, including the
Jewish state's beneficial measures,
have not calmed a Palestinian popu-
lation seething with nationalism.
This land defies all attempts to bring
the parties together.
There are unmistakable signs of
well-being. The forest of television
antennae on the roofs of Hebron and
Bethlehem demonstrate that people
have attained a respectable standard
of living. New houses and buildings
have gone up everywhere. The
streets are clean. The odor of the
Middle East is hardly noticeable.
Israel could present a long list of
remarkable achievements. The av-
erage lifespan of Palestinians has in-
creased during the occupation from
48 to 62 years. Infant mortality has
been reduced dramatically due to ex-
tensive health measures.
All children receive a free pri-
mary and secondary education at the
expense of the Israeli taxpayer. Sub-
sequently, the number of illiterates
has been cut by half. Seven institu-
Arno Herzberg is a long-time Jewish
Telegraphic Agency correspondent.
tions of higher learning have been
established. Modern methods of ag-
riculture have been introduced.
A third of the work force —
50,000 people — commutes every day
between the territories and Israel.
Both Arabs and Israelis have profited
from this arrangement, and a curious
interdependence has grown between
them.
The Arabs work in construction
and factories in Israel, supplement-
ing or replacing Israelis who have
All statistics and signs of
well-being are hollow in
the sight of the hatred
and revulsion that have
grown.
shifted to other trades. Without the
Arab workers, Israel's economy
would face adjustments, if not hard-
ships.
On the other hand, the Arab
workers receive the same social bene-
fits as Israelis. Their wages are
higher than they would receive in the
territories. They are not members of
the Histadrut labor federation, but
the Histadrut is officially ordered to
look after them and provide "trade
union protection" in exchange for one
percent of their wages.
The income of workers employed
in Israel has increased year after
year. According to a survey made by
a unit of the United Nations, their
contributions, added to the money
sent home by Palestinians from the
oil-producing countries, enable the
population to support high private
consumption. Aid from Arab gov-
ernments and government salaries
Continued on Page 34
acto me,
World Of Difference
The Anti-Defamation League's mammoth local effort to foster
understanding between ethnic groups is a major undertaking and a
welcome one.
Neither the Jewish community — nor any other — can achieve its
goals if it believes attitudinal problems rest only with an adversary. We all
have to examine what is in our hearts and minds, and bring the attitudes
reserved for church and synagogue into our daily lives.
Archbishop Trifa is a timely example. His funeral is being held today
at St. George's church, next door to Ira Kaufman Chapel. Trifa is sadly
mourned by his loyal parishoners in the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of
America. They still call his deportation a "Jewish plot," and refuse to
discuss Trifa's fascist role during World War II, which led to the deaths of
hundreds of Romanian Jews. How can a churchgoer, praying in the name
of God, see only the good a leader does for him while ignoring the evil
perpetrated against a neighbor?
We cannot condone this kind of behavior, either now or 46 years ago.
We cannot condone it for our neighbors or for ourselves. The
Anti-Defamation League's effort will make a "World of Difference" only if
we allow it to work.
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