UP FRONT
Bush Asks For Shamir's Views;
Iraq's Hussein Repeats Threats
p
resident George Bush
has sent a private let-
ter to Israeli Prime
Minister Yitzhak Shamir
asking for Shamir's views on
how the peace process should
proceed.
Bush also gave some of his
own "suggestions," White
House spokesman Marlin
Fitzwater said last week.
He said Bush's letter was
sent last week to con-
gratulate Shamir for suc-
cessfully putting together a
new government. William
Brown, the U.S. ambassador
to Israel, delivered the letter
to the prime minister last
Friday.
The letter appeared to be a
restatement of U.S. policy
toward Israel, including
support for the security of
the Jewish state and the
continued emigration of
Soviet Jewry.
The president "looked for-
ward to working with Mr.
Shamir on behalf of the
freedom of Soviet Jews,"
Fitzwater said.
But Bush also reiterated
his opposition to Jewish set-
tlements in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip which the
president considers an
"obstacle to peace," the
spokesman added.
Meanwhile, Israeli Labor
Party leader Shimon Peres,
against a backdrop of conti-
nuing threats from Iraq's
Saddam Hussein, pressed for
the continued life of the
peace process.
The opposition leader,
speaking to American Jew-
ish leaders in New York,
warned that if the process
ends, there will be "an
escalation of threats, terror,
violence and preparations
for war."
On the same day, Iraqi
President Hussein repeated
his threats to attack the
Jewish state with all
available means, if Israel
took action against any Arab
country.
Hussein even included
Syria in his protective em-
brace, despite the fact its
leader, Hafez Assad, is his
arch-enemy. The Iraqi
leader appeared to be em-
phasizing that confrontation
with Israel is paramount to
any internal Arab differ-
ences.
In Jerusalem, Israeli
leaders saw Hussein's warn-
ing as an expression of Arab
concern about Israeli
retaliation for the abortive
Shavuot attack on Israel's
beaches by Palestine Libera-
tion Front terrorists.
It was also reported that
Libyan leader Moammar el-
Qaddaffi allegedly has in-
structed his scientists to
speed development of
nuclear arms and ballistic
missiles. His instructions
coincided with other reports
that Libya has begun
building a second chemical
warfare plant.
An Israeli Foreign Min-
istry spokesman Tuesday
stressed that Israel has no
aggressive intentions
against any Arab countries.
But Jordan's King Hus-
sein attempted to allay fears
of a potentially dangerous
alliance being formed bet-
ween Syria, Jordan and Iraq
by sending a message to
Israel via the United States
indicating that no Arab
army would be deployed in
his country.
The Israeli newspaper
Yediot Aharonot reported
that Shamir responded to
King Hussein with
assurances that Israel had
no aggressive intentions
against it and is interested
in maintaining the stability
of the Hashemite regime.
The bulk of the lengthy
Bush letter to Shamir was
aimed at getting the peace
process moving again.
Fitzwater said Bush
"reiterated his strong sup-
port for the Israeli govern-
ment's May 14, 1989 in-
itiative as the most realistic
way forward in the peace
process."
An Israeli diplomat said
Bush asked Shamir to
resume the process where it
left off three months ago,
with the United States
waiting for Israel to decide
whether to accept Secretary
of State James Baker's pro-
posal for Israeli-Palestinian
talks in Cairo.
Bush also asked if the new
Israeli government had
other ideas on how to pro-
Continued on Page 14
ROUND UP
Kosher Watchdog
Group Is Formed
New York (JTA) — A new
association to promote
kosher food and monitor
legislation affecting kashrut
has been established in New
York.
The National Kosher Food
Trade Association will rep-
resent kosher food manufac-
turers, distributors, retailers
and related service com-
panies across the United
States, and assist companies
in acquiring kosher cer-
tification. It also will
observe legislation on local,
state and federal levels.
Auction Features
Books, Posters
New York — Swann
Galleries will conduct a
major auction of Hebraica
and Judaica, including early
Hebrew printed books and
20th century posters, June
24 in New York.
Among the books for sale
will be Sepher Abudraham,
a commentary to the com-
plete synagogue liturgy,
printed in 1489 in Lisbon —
the third book in any lang-
ed include World War I
posters, a 1920 advertise-
ment in Hebrew for Singer
sewing machines and a 20th-
century Persian illuminated
Megillat Esther.
A World War I color lithograph to
be auctioned Sunday in New York.
uage to be printed in Por-
tugal; a first edition of
Yiddish poet Mani Leib's
Yingel Tzingel Chvat, a chil-
dren's story about a
mischievous boy, published
in 1919 in Kiev; and Meshal
Hakadomoni, published in
Venice, circa 1547, a collec-
tion of allegories, fables and
puns.
Other items to be auction-
Letter Tells
Soviet Jews' Pain
Moscow — In a poignant
letter published last month
in the Soviet reformist week-
ly Ogonyok, a young woman
wrote of her anguish at be-
ing a Jew in the Soviet
Union.
The letter's author said
she has decided to emigrate
"not because you can't buy
meat, sugar, boots, soap or
cigarettes," but because she
can never escape the
"handsome young men from
Pamyat [the Russian anti-
Semitic organization] (who)
have promised to destroy us
like insects," and the next-
door neighbor who "tells us
to 'go to your Israel.' "
The letter, reported in The
London Observer, continues:
"They're saying again there
will be pogrom on 19
August. Jews get leaflets
printed in real printing
shops with four-letter words,
and some doors have been
marked with crosses. There
are police in the streets, but
they can't put one outside
the door of every Jewish
family.
"Once I was walking home
and was stopped by people
who said, 'Show us your
shopping bags, you Yid. This
is who is eating all the
meat.' (Finally they've found
somebody to blame for the
meat shortage.)"
MAPAM Invites
Mandela To Israel
New York — MAPAM, the
Socialist-Democratic Party
of Israel, has extended an
invitation to Nelson
Mandela, leader of the
African National Congress,
to visit the State of Israel as
the official guest of
MAPAM.
Gary Brenner, Israeli
representative for MAPAM
in North America, said in a
letter to Mandela, who will
be in Detroit on June 28,
"We believe that peace is the
key to achieving equality
between Jews and Palestin-
ians inside Israel and to
achieving social justice and
progress in the State of
Israel. There is no doubt in
our minds that your visit,
dear Nelson Mandela, will
be a source of inspiration in
this difficult struggle."
28 Jewish Cadets
Become Officers
New York (JTA) — Twen-
ty-eight Jewish cadets were
commissioned as U.S.
military officers when they
were graduated last month
from three service
academies.
The 25 men and three wo-
men attended the U.S.
Military Academy at West
Point, N.Y.; the U.S. Air
Force Academy in Colorado
Springs, Colo.; and the U.S.
Naval Academy in An-
napolis, Md.
The Jewish officers were
presented with copies of the
latest Jewish Publication
Society translation of the
Tanach by representatives of
the Chaplains Council dur-
ing baccalaureate services.
Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaurn
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
5