EDITORIAL

Mr. Bush, Take Action

A

n urgent message to President Bush, Sen. Dole and
other American officials who, at best, fail to speak out
in defense of Israel's abduction of Sheikh Obeid and, at worst,
hold the Jewish state responsible for the reported deaths of American
hostages at the hands of Shi'ite terrorists in Lebanon: What is re-
quired in these difficult times is not blame but a sense of history,
perspective, and reality — and a commitment to end the cycle of
violence.
History: President Bush follows Presidents Reagan and Carter
in seeking a solution to Arab terrorism and hostage-taking. Until
now, American policy has been to use strong words and little else.
The pattern has been painfully consistent, from the takeover of the
U.S. Embassy in Iran a decade ago to the 1983 bombing of the Marine
barracks in Beirut to the destruction of Pan Am flight 103 over
Scotland last winter — the United States threatens to strike the
perpetrators and then does nothing. Suggestions that the United
States punish the nations responsible for sponsoring Middle East
terrorists are, in the end, countered by the fear that such action will
endanger surviving hostages. So instead, nothing is done and the
mighty United States, for all of its rage and frustration, appears im-
potent and helpless. And the hostages continue to languish.
Perspective: The Middle East is not an area where reason and
diplomacy rule. For all of the attention to the Arab-Israeli conflict,
it must be remembered that the Arab states have constantly been
at war with each other. Most recently, Iran and Iraq killed millions
of people in their long war, which featured the use of chemical
weapons in destroying thousands of innocent civilians. The civil war
in Lebanon has killed an estimated 100,000 people, and even today,
Syrians and Christians do deadly battle in the ravaged remains of
Beirut. Such savagery has nothing to do with Israel. Further, the
Middle East is a region where prospects for peace are made possi-
ble by the recognition that one's enemy is more powerful than you.
That is why the late Egyptian president, Anwar El-Sadat, to his
everlasting credit, buried the sword with Israel, and it is only when
other Arab states finally recognize that war with the "Zionist enemy"
is futile will they consider negotiations.
Reality: Jerusalem Correspondent Louis Rapoport, in an exclusive
report, states that Israel did not abduct Sheikh Obeid to swap
hostages but rather to prevent a new series of planned terrorist ac-
tions against Americans and Israelis which Obeid helped plan. (See
story, Page 1). Washington knows the source of Middle East terror.
It may take place in Lebanon, but it is directed by the governments
of Syria, Libya, Iraq and Iran. State Department reports have catalog-
ed and characterized the links between Hezbollah and Thhran, in-
cluding this quotation from Appendix B of State Department Publica-
tion 9705, released earlier this year, on Hezbollah:

"Description: Dedicated to creation of Iranian-style Islamic
Republic in Lebanon. Closely allied with and largely directed by Iran
in its activities.
"Activities: Known or suspected to have been involved in
numerous anti-U.S. terrorist attacks, including suicidal truck bom-
bing on the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in October 1983 and the
U.S. Embassy annex in September 1984. Responsible for the kidnap-
ping and continued detention of most, if not all, U.S. and other
Western hostages."
Plan Of Action: President Bush expressed "shock" at the Hez-
bollah bloody deeds this week, but he should not have been surpris-
ed. How should he respond? The answer lies not in military strikes
in Lebanon; the cycle of violence will only end when the United
States has the courage to do economic, diplomatic and political bat-
tle against terrorist nations like Iran by organizing the nations of
the world to isolate completely such countries until they order the
release of all hostages and end their terrorism.
It is easy to be cynical. We watch a United Nations that was silent
when the Chinese government slaughtered thousands of students
a few weeks ago now rush into action to condemn all hostage-taking
(with its implicit criticism of Israel's action); we hear a respected
senator like Robert Dole, R-Kan., blame Israel for endangering
American lives, when in truth Israel is the only country in the world
with the ability and commitment to attempt to save the lives of
hostages. And we wait for Washington to support its ally, Israel, and
to muster its courage in responding with deeds of decision rather
than words of weakness.

LETTERS

Alcohol And
Auschwitz

For all the publicity in the
Jewish press about the con-
vent, nothing was mentioned
about a much bigger affront
and disgrace to the memory of
the millions who were exter-
minated than having a liquor
bar on the grounds of
Auschwitz.
On June 26, I was at
Auschwitz with a group of
educators on a trip organized
by the Holocaust Memorial
Center in West Bloomfield.
Upon entering through the

6,

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 4,,1989

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gates, with the inscription
above, "Arbeit Macht Frei"
(Work makes you free), I saw
a sign advertising a bar.
As I looked at it I felt it was
shameful and insulting. Can
this be possible on the planet
of death, people drinking
alcohol, others buying
souvenirs, jewelry and other
memorabilia?
I asked myself the question:
Why was this never mention-
ed in the Jewish press? Is this
not a greater Chillul Hashem
to the memory of the dead
and also to the living to have
this unacceptable activity in

the territory of those who
were exterminated than to
have a convent?

Charles Upfal
Southfield

Detroit Among
UJA Leaders?

I have a slight correction to
the article of June 30 by Alan
Hitsky concerning the Allied
Jewish Campaign.
My son, Barry Stein, assis-
tant director of the Jewish
Family and Children's Ser-
vice of Minneapolis, called to
my attention that the article

mentioned that Cleveland
and Detroit, with per capita
donations of $375 and $367,
ranked first and second
among Jewish communities
in North America in 1988.
He pointed out to me that
the Jewish Community of
Minneapolis, also in North
America, had a per capita
donation of $498!

Isadore S. Stein
Crystal, Minn.

Editor's note: The article rank-
ed Cleveland and Detroit as
leaders among the 18 large
Jewish communities.

Pro-Abortion
Or Interference?

Reference is made to the let-
ter (July 28) from a
spokeswoman for the Womens
Orthodox League condemn-
ing abortion.
Most of the pro-choice ad-
vocates like myself are also
against abortion. The issue is
not pro-choice or pro-life but
government interference in
our personal lives.
Abortion is abhorrent to me
and against everything I was
taught in my religious train-

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