EDITORIAL 1
Mideast Pawns
I
t is a time of miracles: the Iron Curtain lies in ruins, and the impossible
dream of free emigration for Soviet Jews is within our grasp.
But this dream has the potential to turn sour in Israel, where a slow-
moving absorption bureaucracy and a serious budget crunch are testing the
nation's sense of purpose.
More ominously, there is danger that newly released Soviet Jews could
become pawns in Israel's fierce internal struggle over the best route to Middle
East peace negotiations.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir's recent comments about needing a "big
Israel" to accommodate the influx of Soviet Jews is a case in point. It was widely
interpreted in Washington as a concession to Likud hard-liners, justifying the
need to hold on to the West Bank, but it displayed a lack of sensitivity to the in-
ternational realities that — like it or not — will help determine Israel's ability
to cope with the massive wave of immigrants.
To Israel's Arab neighbors, the speech was a red flag that crystallized grow-
ing concerns about the idea that Israel — by official policy or through a more
subtle diversion of immigrants to settlements — is trying to short circuit any bid
to negotiate land for peace.
The Soviet Union, too, responded with anger, threatening to choke off the
flow of Soviet Jewish refugees. At the very least, the Soviets can drag their feet
in facilitating this massive population movement.
It is important for Israel to realize that there are two separate issues here.
The Jewish world is facing an unprecedented window of opportunity as a result
of the new Russian revolution. Nobody knows how long this window will remain
open; already, a rising tide of anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union makes a
tightly-focused effort to facilitate emigration a matter of critical importance.
The Middle East conundrum is a separate issue. To use the new flood of
Soviet refugees as tokens on the Middle East game board can only impede the
effort to give every Soviet Jew the chance to leave while there is still time.
Israel also needs to understand that the U.S.-Israeli relationship suffers
damage every time Shamir says one thing to his Likud constituency and
something else in response to complaints from Washington. This results in a
cumulative erosion of credibility that can only damage Jerusalem's chances for
peace and security in the decade ahead.
The irony in all this is that so few Soviet Jews are settling in the West Bank
— fewer than one percent.
It is important for Israel to make it clear that Soviet Jews will not be used to
change the reality-"on the ground" in the administered territories and to get on
with the task of absorption and acculturation.
Tragic Reminder
L
ast Sunday's terrorist attack on an Israeli tour bus in Egypt is a tragic
reminder that, for all of the sweeping changes taking place across the
globe, from Poland to South Africa, the situation in the Middle East re-
mains unique. No other country but Israel is hated by her neighbors for her very
existence; only Jews are murdered for the fact that they are Jews.
The Islamic fundamentalist group that claimed responsibility for the attack
said the killings were meant to block Mideast peace efforts and the influx of
Soviet Jews into Israel. All the more reason why both should continue with
greater intensity.
Israel's goal remains to strive for peace with her neighbors and to flourish as
the fulfillment of the Zionist dream, a haven and home for all Jews. Violent
efforts to thwart those goals have not been successful throughout the history of
the Jewish state and will not succeed now.
The attack on Sunday is also an attack on Egypt. It calls into question the
largest Arab nation's ability to control events within her borders and her desire
to play a broker's role in any Middle East negotiations. It will also hurt Egypt
financially because, like Israel, her tourism industry will surely suffer in the
aftermath of terrorism.
Israel has moved cautiously, often reluctantly, toward the peace table. The
Arabs have moved not at all. Unfortunately, Sunday's tragedy shows the world
why Israel must be reticent.
6
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LETTERS
Surprising News
For Maimonides
"Jews are obligated to try to
establish the Laws of Noah
wherever they can,"
Maimonides said. The Jews'
purpose among the gentiles,
according to Talmud, is to
bring the Noahide Laws —
seven commandments and a
code of some 60 ordinances,
posited as universal minimal
moral obligations — to the
whole human race.
Thank goodness, we can all
relax a little now, according to
Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum
("Rabbi Urges Jews To Study
Christianity," Jan. 26): the
world's Christians are
abiding by the Noahide Laws.
Maimonides, I bet, would be
surprised to hear it. I was.
The Christian doctrine of
the trinity may be truly
monotheistic, but the code ab-
solutely condemns certain
other constructs. Like the
Zoroastrian twin gods of
Light and Darkness, the
Christian idea of an anti-God
Devil (Satan, God's "pro-
secuting angel" in Jewish
lore) "entertains the thought
that there exists a diety ex-
cept the Lord."
The code commands a
strict, even radical,
monotheism. As an explana-
tion of evil, the Satan-
construct may be attractive, if
misleading; the code con-
demns it as soul-diminishing
idolatry. Also idolatrous,
under the code, are statues or
images purporting to repre-
sent the divine, as trivializing
the ineffable God.
The idea of saints or a "Ho-
ly Mother" acting as agents
or deities between God and
man is idolatrous. Emphasiz-
ing a tangible afterlife over
this life's social issues con-
tradicts the code's concern
with justice.
The purpose of Judaism, or
Noah's Code, isn't to make the
world Jewish but to make
people better. Born of
Judaism, Islam and Chris-
tianity were terrific im-
provements over the savagery
they replaced. Humanity has
acquired a Mosaic sense of
time and progress, of constant
causes and natural laws; on
average, people probably are
morally better today than in
the distant past. But there's
room for improvement.
Rabbi Tanenbaum, whose
own brother was killed as a
Good Friday "ransom to
Jesus," should know better
than to pronounce the job
complete.
Michael Dallen
Detroit
No Greenberg,
UHS Connection
The Akiva Day School had
an office and conducted
classes at the Hayim
Greenberg Hebrew-Yiddish
School in Detroit, with no
connection to the United
Hebrew Schools ("Raising
The Flag Signals New
Lathrup, Akiva Era" Jan. 26).
The Hayim Greenberg
School had its beginnings in
Detroit in 1912.
Dena Greenberg
Detroit
Relations
Are Critical
Helen Davis has provided
an excellent overview of the
current state of relations bet-
ween Poles and Jews both
here and abroad ("Poland
Begins Seeking Ways To End
Bitterness with Jews," Jan. 5)
and I concur with her conclu-
sion that Israeli Prime
Minister Yitzhak Shamir's
statement "Poles drink in
anti-Semitism with their
Continued from Page 13