OPINION

CONTENTS

CLOSE-UP

24

Back Door

DAVID HOLZEL
Children of mixed marriages
find an easy way out of Judaism.

SPORTS

52

Gridiron Judge

MIKE ROSENBAUM
Jerry Marekbreit's career spans
touch football and the Super Bowl.

BUSINESS

56

Kosher Survival

SUSAN WEINGARDEN
Sit-down kosher eateries
continue to struggle in Detroit.

PLO leader Yassir Arafat addresses the PNC: 'Implicit' recognition of Israel is meaningless.

How Should The U.S. React
To Palestinian Independence?

DR. MITCHELL BARD

A

s expected, the Palestinian Na-
tional Council (PNC) has declared
Palestinian independence for the
West Bank and Gaza. The media seized on
the announcement that the Palestine
Liberation Organization accepts United
Nation Resolution 242 as a basis for
negotiations as an indication that the PLO
has finally recognized Israel's right to
exist.
The truth is that the PNC meeting has
made no dramatic changes from past policy.
Israel already has said as much, but the
Palestinians expected a negative response.
Their target audience was the United
States, so it is President Reagan's reaction
which will determine the success of their
initiative.
Reagan should not change U.S. policy
toward the PLO because the PNC meeting
in Algiers did not alter the PLO's tradi-
tional positions. Yes, the PLO now accepts
242, but its interpretation of the resolution,
unlike that of the United States, is that
Israel must withdraw from all the occupied
territories.
In addition, the PLO still refused to ex-
plicitly acknowledge Israel's legitimacy.
"Implicit" recognition based on 242's
references to Israel is meaningless.
The PLO insists that a Palestinian
state with Jerusalem as its capital be
established, yet both Reagan and
President-elect Bush oppose the creation of
such a state.
The PLO based its declaration of in-
dependence on Resolution 181, the U.N.
resolution that partitioned Palestine and
called for the creation of a Jewish and an

Mitchell Bard is a foreign policy analyst in
Washington.

Arab state. This suggests that the PLO is
not satisfied with an Israeli withdrawal to
the 1967 borders, but expects a rollback to
the 1947 borders.
Those borders are no longer relevant.
Israel has fought six wars since 1947 and
cannot be expected to give up territory it
acquired in the course of defense.
The PLO renounced terrorism, but the
organization reserved the right to "resist"
in the occupied territories.
This has been the PLO's policy for
years. The assertion that it would not
engage in terrorism outside of Israel has
been frequently proved worthless;
moreover, there is no reason Israel or the
United States should be satisfied with a
PLO pledge to restrict terrorism to the oc-
cupied territories.
Just days before the Israeli election, a
bus was firebombed and a woman and two
children killed. Does the PNC endorsement
of such actions reflect evidence of
moderation?
The most significant outcome of the
PNC meeting received no publicity from
the American press. That was the failure
to repudiate the PLO Charter which calls
for Israel's destruction.
The Palestinians displayed un-
precedented unity during the meeting, but
if the past is any indication, that facade
will quickly dissipate. Several of the mili-
tant factions expressed displeasure with
the marginal steps the PNC took toward
moderation and they will inevitably oppose
them in the coming months.
In addition, a number of Palestinian
factions were not represented in Algiers.
Several of these groups are allied with
Syria and have routed PLO leader Yassir
Arafat's supporters in Lebanon. Others are
Muslim fundamentalist organizations that

Continued on Page 10

EDUCATION

58

Quiz Kids

HEIDI PRESS
Waler Field's history quiz
adds spice to education.

75

ENTERTAINMENT

Nightflight

HEIDI PRESS
Jay Roberts has transformed
overnight into a wake-up call.

BOOKS

Starr And Stripes

95

ELIZABETH KAPLAN
The first Jewish president
is kidnapped in this thriller.

YOUTH

101

Keeping Faith

STEVEN M. HARTZ
Young local Jews
are finding roots
in Orthodox
youth groups.

DEPARTMENTS

34
36
63
66
70
75

90
98
106
112
114
142

Inside Washington
Synagogues
For Seniors
For Women
Here's To . . .
Entertainment

On Campus
Ann Arbor
Engagements
Births
Single Life
Obituaries

CANDLELIGHTING

November 25, 1988 4:45 p.m.
Sabbath ends Nov. 26: 5:59 p.m.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

7