I I BACKGROUND I'm BEVERLY HILLS • LONG BEACH • BIRMINGHAM WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE NOT REAL? Reports Say Israel, S. Africa May Jointly Develop Missiles HELEN DAVIS Foreign Correspondent Perfect Copy Diamonds and Precious Stones Set in 14K Gold (Yellow • White • Platinum) EVEN YOUR JEWELER WON'T KNOW! • Replica • Hand- Designer Knotted Watches Pearls • Copy Colognes MAJESTK: COINTERFEIT JEWELS HOURS: Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri., Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday 12 noon-5 p.m. 244 E. MAPLE BIRMINGHAM 540-3338 PROFESSIONAL "a" LANDSCAPE Perennial Gardens Inc. Total Landscape Service • Our Designs or Yours • Trees and Shrubs Custom Decks & Gazebos • • • • Brick Patios Landscape Lighting English Gardens Designed Landscape Retaining Walls Spring Clean-Up • • • • Residential and Commercial 38 Trim Shrubs and Small Trees Rake Debris and Leaves Bedding Preparation & Formations Fertilizer 879.6328 FRIDAY, MAY 19, 1989 Mcwm Cord ust as Jerusalem was enjoying a respite from the welter of interna- tional diplomatic and media pressure, a fresh ghost has risen to haunt it: the old South African Connection. British intelligence sources revealed in London at the weekend that Israel and South Africa are cooperating closely on the acquisition of missile technology. More seriously, according to one authoritative report,. Israel's Mossad intelligence agency was deeply involved in an abortive attempt to ex- change arms for technology with a terrorist movement operating in Northern Ireland. The deal led to the arrest of four men — a South African diplomat and three members of the outlawed Ulster Resistance movement — in a Paris hotel room earlier this month. Three diplomats at the South African Embassy in London were subsequently ordered to leave Britain. According to security sources in London, South Africa and Israel were hoping to acquire a dummy Blowpipe missile, recently stolen by ter- rorists from an arms depot in Northern Ireland. The dum- my, say the sources, would have enabled South Africa and Israel to jointly develop a range of state-of-the-art, high- velocity missiles. British security sources believe that Israel played a key role in the deal by procur- ing weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, for the Northern Ireland ter- rorists in exchange for the missile technology. According to the sources, the weapons were bought with South African funds and procured by Israel from militias operating in Lebanon. The Blowpipe missile is the progenitor of the British Starstreak missile, which is in an advanced stage of development and is reputed- ly the most sophisticated weapon of its kind in the world. The Starstreak is intended to be deployed on attack helicopters, though it will be portable and capable of being used by ground forces. Its revolutionary design enables each missile to ac- commodate a cluster of three supersonic explosive darts, each equipped with high-tech guidance systems. Israel is known to be critically short of modern air defenses for its ground forces and was apparently pinning high hopes on obtaining the British missile technology, which is considered superior to its counterparts in both United States and Soviet arsenals. The American Stinger and Soviet SAM-7 missiles employ infra-red heat-seekers to iden- tify and strike their targets, while the British missile relies on an optical system that cannot be deflected by flares and or other devices designed to imitate the ex- haust heat of an aircraft. Israel has acquired exten- sive experience in deflecting the Soviet SAM-7 missiles and has expressed a preference for investigating alternatives to the American Stinger missile systems. While the Israelis have not hidden their intense interest in the British Starstreak missile, security officials in Jerusalem have refused to comment on Israel's alleged involvement in the South African operation. What is known for certain, however, is that Israel would not even be considered as a potential customer for the conventional sale of such British weapons. London has consistently refused to sell arms to Israel since the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Last week this em- bargo was given new mean- ing when Britain extended the ban to include the sale of gas masks for Israel's civilian population. ❑ UI 4 I NEWS I Oprah Winfrey Show Riles Jewish Viewers New York (JTA) — Not all Jewish leaders are satisfied with the apology made last week by Oprah Winfrey, host of the popular talk show, for featuring a mentally ill Jewish guest who claimed Jews practice ritual infanticide. Winfrey introduced the guest, "Rachel," as someone who was in psychiatric treat- ment for multiple personali- ty disorders. "Rachel" said that ritual sacrifice takes place in "other Jewish families across the country. It's not just my family." Inclusion of a mentally troubled guest whose responses could not be pre- dicted has drawn criticism and was the heart of the discussion between Winfrey and representatives of Jewish organizations when they met last week. • Barry Morrison, director of the Chicago ADL office, said he hoped the meeting produc- ed a greater understanding of Jewish sensibilities on the part of the show's staff. "It hopefully created a greater commitment to scrutinize in- vited guests for potential to exacerbate relations between groups," Morrison said. The talk show host and her producers agreed to call Jewish groups in the future if a similar situation appeared likely to arise. After the meeting, Winfrey and her production company, Harpo Productions, made a statement of their own, and Jewish representatives drew up a joint statement in response. Signing the Jewish state- ment were representatives of the ADL, the Jewish Com- munity Relations Council of Chicago, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, Greater Chicago Board of Rabbis, American Jewish Committee and the American Jewish Congress. On Monday, however, • the AJCongress released a state- ment expressing dis- satisfaction with Winfrey's apology. The statement, made by the group's associate executive director, Phil Baum, found "inadequate" the program's response "to the harm done by the dissemination by one of her guests of religious canards about Jews and Judaism." Baum said the statement expressing awareness of "group sensibilities" is not adequate, that "it is a matter of maintaining the integrity of her program and the quali- ty of the comments it elicits." Baum, saying Winfrey's regrets "cannot possibly reach any significant part of the massive audience" that watched the program, sug- 4 • 4 4