EDITORIAL

The Games Begin

After a two-year buildup and thousands
of volunteer hours, the JCC North Ameri-
can Maccabi Youth Games are set to com-
mence Sunday evening with lavish open-
ing ceremonies at the Palace of Auburn
Hills.
Everything about these Games has been
first-class: the preparations, the sites, the
massive response of the Detroit Jewish
community to serve as hosts and vol-
unteers.
Matching the local excitement are the
expectations of delegations from around
the world. Veteran Youth Games coaches
fondly remember the warm hospitality of
the Detroit Games of 1984 and are anxious
to return for a week of top-notch athletic
competition and social activities.
The mixture of athletics and socialization

P/ti

bridges the distance between 2,700 Jewish
teens and coaches from throughout the
world who will be in Detroit next week for
the Youth Games. The 1,000 host families
and an equal number of volunteers will en-
sure this upbuilding of KIal Yisrael.
In a major sense, the 1990 Youth Games
in Detroit have already accomplished their
goal. They have attracted more athletes
and coaches than any previous Youth
Games — more, in fact, than the Winter
Olympic Games. They have also brought
together the Jewish community of Detroit,
both old and young, who will gain so much
in their volunteer work.
In helping Jewish youth from around the
world, in throwing a week-long party of
tremendous proportions, we gain enjoy-
ment and a most-important sense of family.

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--

Grim Satisfaction

One of the only positive aspects of the
Mideast crisis precipitated by Iraq's
Suddam Hussein is how it has underscored
a number of points Israel has been making
for a long time. Maybe now her cries will
not fall on deaf ears.
First, America and the free world should
acknowledge that Menachem Begin's deci-
sion to destroy Iraq's partially constructed
nuclear reactor in 1981 was an act of salva-
tion. At the time, Mr. Begin was savaged
for what some senators called an arrogant,
illegal act. Suffice it to say that if not for
Israel's pre-emptive strike, Saddam Hus-
sein would now be backing up his threats
with nuclear arms.
Israel could take an I-Told-You-So ap-
proach to any number of aspects of the cur-
rent crisis. For those who have argued that
in this age of missiles it is pointless for
Israel to maintain the West Bank as a stra-
tegic buffer, let them explain why all of the
military action to date in the Iraq episode
has been conducted by troops on the
ground.
Israel has long cast doubt on the integri-
ty of promises from the Arab world, par-
ticularly regarding giving up West Bank
territory for pledges of peace. What we see
now, in light of Iraq's conquest of Kuwait,

is that Arab promises, even to a fellow
Arab state, can have little meaning.
Israelis must take a grim satisfaction in
having the world realize how brutal the
Mideast can be, how real the threat facing
Israel, and how fickle Arab leaders can be.
King Hussein of Jordan, long viewed
with sympathy in this country as a
moderate, has cast his lot with Saddam
Hussein and proved a major disappoint-
ment to American officials.
Perhaps no Arab figure's stock has
plummeted as low in U.S. eyes as Yassir
Arafat, who is supporting Saddam Hus-
sein. This is the man the United States had
elevated to diplomat only a year ago. Now
he is revealed as obsessed with the possibil-
ity of eliminating, not negotiating with,
Israel.

Saddam Hussein would love nothing
more than to rally the Arab world around
him by eliminating the state of Israel.
What is important is for Washington to
emphasize the strength and depth of the
U.S.-Israel alliance for all the world to see.
Then, in a quieter mood, the administra-
tion should reconsider its thinking on the
Arab-Israeli equation and take stock of
who our real allies are.

Oil Ransom

With the crisis in the Persian Gulf, the
United States is paying the price of its
short-sighted energy policy of the last
decade. With two percent of the world's
population, the United States consumes
about 25 percent of the world's oil. Nearly
half of this is imported; about 23 percent of
these imports come from the ever volatile
Middle East.
Continuing to be so dependent on im-
ports, especially from the Mideast, means a
continued probability that we will get
sucked into some type of military confron-
tation in the region. And that we may be

6

FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 1990

held hostage to the adventures of nations
like Iraq.
The United States did not learn enough
from the 1974 and 1979 oil crises. Between
1981 and 1990, federal spending on im-
proved energy efficiency fell from $700
million to $150 million. Tax credits for us-
ing solar energy were abolished. Since
1985, U.S. oil demand has increased by
more than two percent each year.
It is high time that Americans stopped
being deluded into security by a few years
of ample energy supplies at tolerable
prices.

K iN 1- 11STRYA-JUNE 7. 1981_

I LETTERS

An Unfortunate
ChOice Of Words

Two things in your Aug. 3
issue disturbed me.
In his commentary, Philip
Slomovitz referred to the
Sabra and Shatilla massacres
as a "mishap." Regardless of
who was responsible, the
massacre of several thousand
men, women and children is
not what I would call a
mishap. If the residents had
been Jewish, would he still
call it a mishap?
Another use of language
that bothered me is the con-
tinued use of the word "pro-
fessionals." In the
"Keshernet" article, Matt
Weisberg says his 70
subscribers are professionals.
Professional what? I unders-
tand the popular usage of the
word and its implications,
but we should be reminded
that along with doctors and
lawyers we have professional
truck drivers, bricklayers and
car mechanics. These Jews
also contribute to our society.
The intention of the term
"professional" is to segregate
our society into classes of the
elite and common. This is an-
tithetical to Jewish teachings.
Certainly no man is to be
looked down on because of his
occupation. We should sus-
pend with such arrogance. As
Rabbi Levitas of Yavneh said:
Be exceedingly humble, since
the end of man is worms.

Richard D'Loss
Romulus

Judge Souter
And Abortion

In your Aug. 3 editorial
"Judging Judge Souter," you
comment that Judge David
Souter, President Bush's
nominee for the U.S. Supreme
Court, "should be confirmed

or rejected on the merits of his
past record, his intellect,
character and judicial and
legal philosophy rather than
on how he may vote on abor-
tion."
How he votes on abortion is
a direct indication of Judge
Souter's intellect, character
and judicial and legal
philosophy. The constitu-
tional rights of separation of
church and state and right to
privacy are at the heart of the
abortion debate. How will he
vote on other issues that
touch on these rights? Prayer
in school?
And how he votes on abor-
tion indicates how he feels
about women's rights in
general, as well. (Equal pay
for equal time, to name just
one of the cases likely to ap-
proach the Supreme Court in
the next decade.)
I think your position is ex-
actly what the Bush ad-
ministration wants us to
think . . . that abortion isn't
a litmus test and doesn't have
anything to do with civil
liberties or civil rights.
Maybe not Mr. Bush's rights.
But for me and the millions of
other American women, it
has everything to do with it.

Mitzi Berger
West Bloomfield

Who Is Really
Perplexed?

I am writing regarding your
Aug. 3 article "Torah and
Science Agree on Creation of
The World." Professor Nathan
Aviezer's concern that "Rashi
was perplexed . . . Why .. .
didn't the Torah begin with
something useful, like the
laws of Passover?" is incor-
rect. His words also have been
taken out of context. This is

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