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Histadrut Integrates Jews,
Arabs, Labor Leader Says

ELIZABETH KAPLAN

Staff Writer

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he organization he
represents serves as a
unifying factor among
Arabs and Jews, he said. But
the evening focused as much
on dissent — namely, the cur-
rent unrest in the territories
— as it did on what the
speaker frequently referred to
as the "integrating" quality
of the Histadrut, Israel's
largest trade confederation.
The visit here last week by
Nawaf Massalha, deputy
chairman of the Histadrut, af-
forded the opportunity for a
group of Detroit residents to
learn first-hand about the
situation in Gaza and the
West Bank. That Massalha
also is an Israeli Arab, and
one in a prominent position at
that, seemed to make the
evening all the more in-
teresting for the audience,
most of whom were members
of the Jewish Labor Commit-
tee which sponsored his visit
here.
In 1974, Massalha began
serving on the Histadrut Ex-
ecutive Committee and as
deputy chairman of the
organization's Arab Depart-
ment. As head of the
Histadrut's Arab section of
Kupat Cholim, Israel's na-
tional health insurance pro-
gram, he has played a major
role in bringing health-
related improvements to the
country's Arab citizens.
What appeals to Massalha
about the trade organization,
he said, is that it serves as an
"integrating" factor for Arabs
and Jews. He said that it
works to bridge the gap in all
areas — from medical and
educational facilities to
salaries — between the two.
Apparently, the proof of its
success is in the pudding.
Twenty years ago "if someone
recommend that an Arab will
be a member of the
(Histadrut) Executive Com-
mittee, nobody would believe
it;' he said.
Charting the Histadrut's
growth and development,
Massalha cited 40 new bran-
ches established in the past
several years and three new
vocational schools recently
opened by the Histadrut in
Arab villages.

He admitted that this uni-
ty has not always been
welcomed by certain
members of Israeli society.
"Sometimes, we're facing the
religious Jews who don't like
us to be together —

sometimes the Muslims, too."
And sometimes the
Histadrut, like the rest of
Israel, must confront a very
different issue, such as the
current unrest in the West
Bank and Gaza.
According to Massalha,
Israel was completely un-
prepared for the violence. He
explained that after the PLO
defeat in Lebanon, no one
suspected that Palestinians in
the territories would revolt.
His description of the ter-
ritories today is unsettling. A
recent meeting with Foreign
Minister Shimon Peres to
discuss the subject reinforced
Massalha's feeling that the
situation there "is not so op-
timistic."
Israeli leaders fear that
unless moves are made
toward granting autonomy
for the Palestininians, the
rioting will continue through
November, the month set for
Knesset elections, he said.
And even if the elections
result in a gan eden (paradise)
for Massalha's Labor Party,
don't expect the Likud to
become resigned to policies
(such as a Middle East peace
conference) it does not sup-
port. It's highly improbable
that Prime Minister Yitzhak
Shamir will change his views
and, in any case, figures such
as Deputy Prime Minister
David Levy and Commerce
and Industry Minister Ariel
Sharon are still very much in
the forefront, he said.
In contrast to views express-
ed by some of Israel's more
hawkish leaders, Massalha
advocates elections in the

West Bank, leading toward
autonomy for Palestinians
there, as -a panacea for the
problems in the territories.
He stressed that represen-
tatives chosen in the elections
should not be members of the
PLO and that Israel should
continue to administer securi-
ty in the area.

He also supports Peres' plan
for an international con-
ference on Middle East peace.
For this, he recommended
participation by moderate
Arab leaders — a comment
that prompted one member of
the audience to ask Massalha
exactly who are the moderate
Arab leaders.
Although not naming
names, Massalha replied that
there are numerous such in-
dividuals, and "even Prime
Minister Shamir met a lot of
those leaders." Earlier in the
evening, he said that Arab
figures including Hanna
Seniora, editor of the east
Jerusalem daily Al Fajr, fre-
quently hold talks with
Israeli leaders.
"Even if you have suspi-
cions, you have to have
respect," he said.
The concept of meetings
between Palestinian and
Israeli leaders, a Middle East
peace conference and Arab
autonomy in the West Bank
are not the sort of proposals
guaranteed to please
everybody. This is something
Massalha understands.
"It's not what Israel wants
and it's not what the Palesti-
nians want," he said. "It's
compromise."

George Schultz Meets
Svetlana's Parents

ALAN HITSKY

Associate Editor

B

efore his whirlwind
visit to the Middle
East last week, U.S.
Secretary of State George
Shultz had some unfinished
business in Moscow.
Shultz met Feb. 20 with a
number of Soviet Jewish
refuseniks at the American
Embassy in a meeting pro-
moted by Detroiter Keith
Braun. Among the refuseniks
who met with Shultz and
Assistant Secretary of State
Richard Schifter were
Braun's in-laws, Ilya and
Bella Shteingardt.
Svetlana
Shteingardt
Braun came to Detroit in

November, nearly three years
after marrying Keith in
Moscow. Her parents have
been refuseniks since 1981.
The Brauns spoke to the
Shteingardts by telephone
after the meeting with
Shultz.
The Shteingardts have new
hope that they will be releas-
ed soon, Braun said. They re-
submitted their documents to
the regional OVIR office in
Moscow after their local
OVIR office in Moscow turn-
ed them down for having no
"first-degree" relatives in
Israel.
Svetlana has just completed
a five-to-six hours per day,
two-month English course at
Oakland Community College,

