I FOCUS 1 Gorbachev And Bush Will Squeeze Israel A Soviet-American approach to the Mideast conflict seems more likely than ever, but Israel has never been in a less accommodating mood HELEN DAVIS Israel Correspondent W A nice hot bowl of chicken soup can often make you feel better. But sometimes you need more. Sometimes you need expert medical advice. Then it's time to turn to the medical experts at Sinai Hospital. We have specialists who can help with everything that's got you krechtzing, from the minor "oy vat's" to the serious "gevalt!"s. The doctors on our staff have offices convenient to your home or business, whose office hours fit into your busy schedule. If you need a good cup of soup, try our recipe. If you need medical care, try our doctors. For a referral to a doctor on staff at Sinai,. call Shirley Stern, our physician referral maven, at 1-800-248-DOCS (248-3627). THIS IS SINAI Michigan's Only Jewish Hospital Custom Mirrored Creations Dial Down with a DOWN QUILT Top Quality Work, Top Quality Service Mirror your existing Closet Doors other Custom Services — • Mirrored Walls • Bars • Fireplaces • Pedestals • Furniture • Tub and Shower Enclosures • Heavy Glass Table Tops • Glass Shelving • Glass Etching (Beveled Edges Available on Glass) TRAURIG'S str , e QUILT & PILLOW SHOP MIRRORAGE Free Estimates Custom Mirror & GLass Work References 50 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1988 I "FACTORY TO YOU SAVINGS" • Custom Made Down Quilts • Quilts & Pillow Remade, Renovated & Cleaned • Merino Wool Mattress Pads • Down & Feather Pillows • Quilt Covers (Duvets) • Custom Made to Order 1 FERDOAWARD 557-8776 547.266, Sk.30-6; SAT. 10:00-300 hen George Bush enters the White House in January, he will find that Moscow is ready, willing and able to en- gage in an aggressive Middle East peace initiative with the United States. He will also find that outgo- ing Secretary of State George Shultz has bequeathed him a comprehensive timetable for a settlement of the two cen- tral issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict: releasing the ad- ministered territories from Israel and ending the pro- blem of Palestinian home- lessness. While the United States has been consumed by its election campaign in recent months, the Soviet Union has not been idle. Over the past few weeks, it has engineered a rapproche- ment between Jordan's King Hussein and PLO chief Yassir Arafat. At the same time, it has carefully maneuvered the Palestinian leader fractional- ly closer to the negotiating table, a critical prelude to last weekend's meeting of the Palestine National Council, the Palestinian "parliament," in Algiers. Soviet leader Mikhail Gor- bachev has made no secret of his determination to join the United States in reducing regional conflicts — and the Arab-Israeli dispute, which carries the seeds of a super- power confrontation, remains one of the most persistent and dangerous of these conflicts. Moreover, Gorbachev re- gards the mechanism de- signed to end the dispute — an international peace con- ference — as the prime vehi- cle for restoring Moscow's influence in the region and returning the Soviet Union to the center stage of Middle East diplomacy, a position it lost when it severed relations with Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War. In an effort to accelerate the process, the Soviet leader has been working assiduously to forge a united Arab front which could challenge Israel's claim to the diplomatic high ground and provide a formid- able negotiating team at any future peace conference, where the Soviet Union and the United States would par- ticipate on equal terms. Late last month, on the very eve of the Israeli elec- tion, the Soviets played a crucial role in persuading Arafat to attend two mini- summits orchestrated by Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak. The first resulted in the reconciliation between the PLO leader and his old rival, King Hussein; the se- cond cemented his ties with Iraq's President Saddam Hussein. If this potent Arab peace coalition — Egypt, Iraq, Jor- dan and the PLO, supported by most of the moderate Gulf states — holds together, Moscow calculates that it can In addition to building a joint Arab front for peace talks, Gorbachev has been meticulously, almost imperceptibly, mending his fences with Israel. wait for the most obdurate of its regional clients, Syria's President Hafez Assad, to fall into line — or risk missing the bus altogether. In addition to building a joint Arab front for peace talks, Gorbachev has been meticulously, almost imper- ceptibly, mending his fences with Israel. He has opened the door to a significant increase in Jewish emigration (1,140 were allowed to leave in all of 1985, while 2,587 left last month alone), and he has taken the first tentative steps to restoring diplomatic rela- tions with Israel by despatch- ing a consular delegation to ml Aviv and, earlier this year, allowing a reciprocal Israeli delegation to visit Moscow. Both missions are still in place. Just in case the Soviet message was lost on the West, Gorbachev preceded his moves by publicly administer- ing a very bitter pill to both Assad and Arafat.