EDITORIAL
Time To Speak Out
By now it is no secret that President
Bush has a strong personal dislike for
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.
The president feels that the Israeli leader
is a hindrance to progress on peace
negotiations with the Palestinians, a stub-
born man unwilling to compromise.
But that personal dislike should not pre-
vent the president from appreciating and
recognizing the longstanding, deep rela-
tionship between the United States and
Israel, one that is founded on moral, polit-
ical and strategic ties that transcend per-
sonalities.
We have often heard that Israel is the
only democracy in the Mideast, and the
only faithful, stable ally in an area of con-
flict. If those phrases are more than empty
rhetoric, it is time for the United States to
take action to assure Jerusalem that she
has not been lost in the Anything-To-
Please-The-New-Arab-Alliance-Shuffle.
On the symbolic level, Mr. Bush should
publicly recognize Israel's key role in
preparing American troops for combat in
the Persian Gulf, and see fit to meet with
Mr. Shamir.
On a deeper level, Mr. Bush should
reflect on the troubling meeting he had last
week at the White House with several
leaders of the American Jewish commun-
ity. At that meeting, as reported in last
week's Jewish News, the president ex-
pressed surprise at the level of anger
among Israel supporters over Washing-
ton's participation in two recent United
Nations resolutions condemning Israel for
the Temple Mount tragedy last month.
"He couldn't understand how these
resolutions were different from past resolu-
tions," said Seymour Reich, chairman of
the Conference of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Organizations, who at-
tended the meeting.
But they were different because a United
Nations investigation into what Israel con-
sidered an internal matter would call into
question the sovereignty of Jerusalem.
That is an issue President Bush himself
stirred up this year by, for the first time,
seeking to distinguish between East and
West Jerusalem in regard to settlements.
One of the few issues that all Israelis
agree on is that Jerusalem is one city, un-
divided, and must remain that way.
Also troubling at the Oval Office meeting
was that Mr. Bush warned against Jewish
opposition to the new round of Saudi arms
sales expected this winter. Such opposition,
he suggested, could endanger American
troops in Saudi Arabia.
This reaction calls to mind President
Franklin Roosevelt's response to pleas
from American Jewish leaders, during
World War II, to bomb the railroad tracks
leading to Nazi concentration camps and
save Jewish lives. President Roosevelt
refused, asserting that such a request in-
dicated a lack of patriotism on the part of
the Jewish leaders since any action not
directly related to the defeat of the Nazis
would weaken the American war effort.
The American Jewish community has
come a long way in the last 45 years,
though, and should not be cowed into ac-
quiescing on the grounds that our
patriotism is suspect. If anything, perhaps
we need to articulate our position more
clearly — that introducing new arms into
Saudi Arabia might destabilize, rather
than secure, the region.
We need to let the White House know
that Israel, a vital ally, should be treated
with respect and that we, as proud and ac-
tive American citizens, have every right to
voice our concerns. And those concerns
should be shared by the administration as
well.
Deadly Waiting Game
As predicted, American public support
for a U.S. military action in the Persian
Gulf is waning. Several months ago, more
than 80 percent of Americans favored
taking on Saddam Hussein. Now the
number is down to 51 percent, as the sober-
ing realities of a major conflict, and the
resulting casualties, are being discussed
and debated.
But the issue is not simply waiting out
Saddam, or calling his bluff with a huge
show of American military manpower.
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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1990
Reliable sources insist that he is feverishly
speeding up his nuclear capabilities, stall-
ing for time until he is ready to launch a
deadly attack. The longer we delay, the
better his chances.
The administration in Washington seems
to be of two minds. One day there is tough
talk of attacking this "latter-day Hitler."
The next day we hear hints of compromise
and peaceful resolution.
No reasonable person seeks war. But the
world must realize that any resolution that
does not end Saddam's nuclear and
chemical arsenal is only postponing the in-
evitable.
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Some Personal
Family Legacies
Having moved away from
the Detroit area where I was
born, went to school, married
and raised my family, my
roots are still very firmly
planted after being away six
years. I still enjoy the weekly
Detroit Jewish News.
The "Family Legacies" ar-
ticle (Oct. 19) prompted me to
make copies to send to my
sisters Dorothy Neiman Wolk
and Selma Neiman Schrut,
who have also moved away
from their roots.
It seems our very talented
father, Manuel Neiman, was
an exceptional artist and sign
painter and as children we
remember fondly that cold
day in November going
downtown to deliver the
"turkey sign" my father had
painted "after sundown" so
Mr. Lowenstein could have it
before Thanksgiving.
The Jewish News brought
back these warm memories. It
was also my father's sign the
men from Reliable Linen
Supply were holding up. And
the picnic was in front of our
cottage in Walled Lake! In
our own family legacy photo
album we have these same
pictures taken on that same
day!
Anita Neiman Gold
Boca Raton, Florida.
Israel Is Working
On Public Relations
James Besser's report on
Israel's public relations ("Is
Israel's problem PR or policy,"
Oct. 26) is commendable. Its
description of Israel's many
public relations pitfalls and
criticism of Israeli policy and
statesmanship are accurate,
though distressing. Yet, does
inept Israeli PR leave us on-
ly with the option of throwing
our hands up in despair? Not
at all!
Despite many constraints,
including the low priority
given to Hasbara (the Hebrew
word for PR) by Israeli
decision-makers and low PR
budgets, we at the Consulate
General of Israel for the
Midwest decided to grab the
bull by the horns. Taking a
step that no other Israeli Con-
sulate has ever taken, we
hired a public relations firm
in Chicago.
While our public relations
efforts in the Midwest cannot
change some of the harsh
realities in the Middle East,
our initiative strives to build
a greater U.S. understanding,
at the grassroots level, of
Israel's people and
policies .. .
Working with the PR firm,
we presented a human face
and humane picture of Israel
by publicizing non-political
Israeli activities and pro-
moting cultural exchange,
particularly between youths
and ethnic groups .. .
Few can deny that Israel is
in desperate need of PR.
Through public relations we
have seen that we can direct
the general public and the
media to view Israel in a dif-
ferent light. Facilitating
dialogue between groups,
opening doors for cultural ex-
change, and sharing the
human side of Israeli culture
with our American counter-
parts is necessary to generate
a better U.S. understanding of
Israel.
This costly path was taken
because we realized that
much is left to be done in the
PR arena besides "kvet-
ching" about the beleagured
Israeli PR. Our activities
with the PR firm were
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