TIFFANY & CO. Arad: America will come around on the PLO. intifada, said that dealing with the damage to Israel's public image resulting from the uprising has been the single most difficult chal- lenge he has faced. But he strongly denied that the turmoil in the territories has overly damaged relations with the U.S. government. "It did not affect the strong and friendly relations with the administration," he said. "But it does have, in the long- run, a negative impact upon Israel's image in this country and in public opinion toward Israel." What has been especially difficult, he continued, has been the nasty image of Israel that comes across on Ameri- can television screens. "Television tends to concen- trate its attention on the violence and not on the causes of the violence," he said. Arad, a career diplomat with extensive experience in America, grudgingly credited the PLO with successfully projecting the conflict as simply one involving Israelis and Palestinians, the latter becoming the perceived underdog. The broader Arab- Israeli dimension is thus ignored. "This is the most challeng- ing, the most difficult and the most important task that I would say I face," he said. Arad, who met last Thurs- day with Secretary of State James Baker, said President Bush knows a great deal about the American-Israeli relationship, including the enhanced strategic coopera- tion that developed during the Reagan years. He credited the President for his record of personal support for Soviet and Ethiopian Jewry. "All these are factors that would strengthen, in my view, his involvement in U.S. policy toward Israel in this new ad- ministration," Arad said. But the envoy suggested that Israel would be wise to come forward with its own peace initiative. The Ad- ministration, he said, would be pleased to work with Israel in trying to promote it. "Such an initiative," he said, "would be the first re- quired step in bringing about a peaceful resolution." Arad acknowledged the irony in the Reagan Ad- ministration's opening talks with the PLO despite its eight-year pro-Israeli record. "It was definitely an aberra- tion," Arad said. "We do not think that this step has in any way contributed to the advancement of the peace process." He said Israel has asked the United States to suspend the dialogue with the PLO. But the Americans have informed Israel that the talks will continue. Arad conceded that Washington and Jerusalem do not necessarily share the same definition of terrorism — as far as the PLO is concerned. - "Israel regards as terrorism every act which is perpetrated by the terrorist organizations against our civilians, against our settlements, against our villages," he said. "There is a long and bitter history of ter- rorist acts against Israel. We didn't detect at any given point any distinction between military or civilian targets." The United States does not completely agree with Israel. "I think the U.S., in its effort to bring about a reduction to the violence in the Middle East, has taken a somewhat softer attitude than we have taken," he said. "But on the other hand, I don't doubt that the administration regards and looks with great severity and great seriousness upon any attack, upon any act of violence, that is being in- itiated and perpetrated. And they continue to be initiated and perpetrated by PLO fac- tions." Arad did not shy away from acknowledging the damage done to Israel's image by the State Department's just- released human rights report. He insisted that the conclu- sions were not fair. The Tiffany Tesoro The definitive sports watch in eighteen karat gold with quartz movement. Also available in stainless steel and eighteen karat gold. JUL-ES R. SCHUBOT jewellers gemologists 3001 West Big Beaver Road • Suite 112 • Troy, Michigan 48084 • (313) 649-1122 ABSOLUTELY LOWEST PRICE! MSRP $28,136 GM REBATE S1,000 $27,136 LUXURY SAVINGS S400 $26,736 PRAT DISCOUNT - $3,387 PARK AVENUE "ULTRA" YOU PAY --> $23,349 ■111045/ - -31,,GAL.11,. 4111,2f, ik VAT •-•■-•,••■ - LODGE AT 7 MILE RD. 342-7100 COME IN NOW! lil Aer Prat Buick 1:L. You Get More Respect! T ax & title extra. V.:did this week coils — Not valid with other dis,:ounts. THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 15