EDITORIAL
Keeping Track
One of the interesting pieces of information about this week's
Close-Up article, "Palestinian Pipeline," (page 24) is the lack of
knowledge within Jewish communal agencies about 'Palestinian
funds generated in the United States.
The common cry within the Jewish community alleges that
Palestinian funds raised in this country are used by the Palestine
Liberation Organization to support terrorist activity. The Jewish
News could find no direct proof of this allegation. Nor can we sup-
port with certainty the Palestinian claim that all funds raised
through their recognized, tax-deductible groups are used 'for the
stated humanitarian purposes.
Calls for information to the headquarters of the major Jewish
organizations in New York and to the Israeli. Embassy in Washington
provided no information on this subject, although they view it with
some concern.
We believe this subject deserves more attention from the Jewish
community and the State of Israel. If improprieties are occurring,
if humanitarian funds are being sidetracked to support terrorist ac-
tions, then counter steps should be taken.
The intifada in the territories has increased fund-raising by
American Palestinians. The results of actions outside the law in the
Middle East should be kept within the law in the United States.
It is over such nations as Israel or Egypt that America and the
Soviet Union may end up jousting. In its eagerness to again be in-
volved in the Middle East, the Soviets may be willing to make cer-
tain concessions to Egypt, with which it has held tenuous relations
since 1972, when Anwar 'Sadat expelled Soviet military advisers.
And Israel, in its desire to restore diplomatic relations with the
USSR, which were broken during the 1967 Six Day War, may be per-
suaded to come to a United Nations-sponsored conference.
Both the United States and the Soviets are urging Israel to talk
to the PLO, and one can sense the pressure building.
But in the meantime, we are surely witnessing a new world — and
a new momentum — in the Middle East. The United States is talk-
ing to the Palestine Liberation Organization; the Russians are at
least talking to the Israelis, if not outright recognizing them. Iran
is coddling up to the Kremlin, which it had previously vilified as
a bastion of godless communism. New relationships, if not alliances,
are being formed before our very eyes. It is a time in which all the
concerned parties should tread carefully. Peace may not be at hand
in the Middle East, but the pathways to it may be subtly forming
amid all this very busy diplomatic jockeying.
Moscow On The Nile
Ten days in the Middle East do not a groundswell make, but
Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze's just completed swing
through the region surely portends something else: The Kremlin is
firmly committed to being a player — a very active, influential and
perhaps indispensable player — in this most volatile of regions.
Now that Soviet troops have finally pulled out of Afghanistan, the
USSR can finally attend to the Middle East — and it seems to be
making up for lost time with a vengeance. On his junket, Shevard-
nadze met with just about everyone who was anyone: Israeli Foreign
Minister Moshe Arens, PLO chief Yassir Arafat, Iran's Ayatollah Kho-
meini, and the presidents of Egypt, Syria and Iraq. Clearly , the Soviet
Union has a different clientele in the region than does the United
States, but according to our Foreign Correspondent Helen Davis,
Moscow and Washington may be coordinating their Mideast peace
efforts (see story, page 1).
.
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LETTERS
Murray Rosman's
U-M Association
In your article about Dr.
Murray Rosman in the Feb. 3
issue, you failed to mention
one critical fact about his
presence in the greater
Detroit area this semester. Dr.
Rosman is a visiting professor
in the Department of History
and the Jean and Samuel
Frankel Center for Judaic
Studies at the University of
Michigan. He is teaching an
undergraduate survey of the
history of the Jews in Eastern
Europe and an undergrad-
uate colloquium on auto-
biography in early modern
European Jewry.
We are happy to have Dr.
Rosman with us this semester
and believe that the Detroit
6
FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 1989
Jewish community should be
aware of the kinds of courses
we are now able to offer to
students at the University of
Michigan.
Todd M. Endelman
Director, Jean and Samuel Frankel
Center for Judaic Studies
Rabbis Support
Marrow Test
The Conservative Rabbis of
Metropolitan Detroit urgent-
ly add their voices in support
of the community-wide bone
marrow blood test drive on
Sunday, March 12, from 12 to
3:30 p.m. at the Jewish
Community Center (Maple/
Drake).
The purpose is to find
perfect matches to help cure
aplastic anemia, leukemia
and lymphoma. In the future,
babies with inborn abnor-
malities of the blood and
adults with arthritis may also
be helped by a bone marrow
transplant.
When one has the possibili-
ty of saving another's life,
one must not shirk from
that awesome religious
responsibility.
Rabbi David A. Nelson
President, Conservative Rabbis
of Metropolitan Detroit
Society Killed
Lisa Steinberg
In your pious editorial
about the Steinberg child
abuse case (Feb. 17), you fail
to understand the real
tragedy of Lisa: the accep-
tance by the trendy middle
class of the destructive,
outrageous drug culture of
the young opportunists of the
1960s in the name of peace.
There will be more Lisas as
long as fashionable slimeballs
and the media set our moral
climate.
Gita Raymer
Huntington Woods
Condemning
Rosensaft
One must express dismay at
the attempt of Features
Editor Elizabeth Kaplan to
defend the intrusive and med-
dling behavior of Menachem
Rosensaft (Feb. 10) in dealing
with the PLO on behalf of
Israel's security, contrary to
its declared policy.
It is only fair to state at the
outset that the issue is not
the right to express a con-
trary opinion, nor even the
right to actively work for its
cause, nor is the issue
whether to deal with the PLO
and under what circum-
stances. But in this public set-
ting the concensus of Jewish
Continued on Page 10
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