UP FRONT
Henry Kissinger Concurs
On Shamir's Peace Proposal
IRA RIFKIN
Special to The Jewish News
F
ormer Secretary of
State Henry Kissinger
agreed this week that
Israeli Premier Yitzhak
Shamir's Middle East peace
proposal is worth a second
look in the aftermath of the
Persian Gulf War.
But Mr. Kissinger quickly
added that while he foresees
new support for the plan,
Jerusalem will also have to
sweeten the package for it to
gain widespread acceptance
as a viable peace initiative.
"Israel will have to go fur-
ther. This much is clear,"
Mr. Kissinger told reporters
Tuesday following a
Maryland Chamber of
Commerce breakfast.
When asked how the
Shamir government should
alter its proposal, however,
Mr. Kissinger said it was
premature to speculate on
that before a clear cut
resolution of the Gulf war
and the fate of Saddam Hus-
sein.
Ira Rifkin is assistant editor of
the Baltimore Jewish Times.
The plan first put forth in
1989 by Prime Minister
Shamir calls for bilateral
talks between Israel and its
Arab neighbors who are still
technically at war with the
Jewish state. The talks
would be conducted in a
manner similar to those held
with Egypt that produced
the Camp David Accords.
Israel also insists that a
U.S. Middle East
gains outweigh the
ill-will stemming
from Saddam
Hussein's defeat.
solution to the Palestinian
problem must be tied to
these bilateral talks, and
that the Palestine Libera-
tion Organization is to be
excluded from the process.
Mr. Kissinger, who now
operates his own interna-
tional consulting firm,
agreed with this aspect of of-
ficial Israeli policy as well.
"The PLO is out of it," he
said, as a result of having
sided with Iraq in the Gulf
conflict.
In his talk, the Nobel
Peace Prize winner said that
even with a "totally
discredited" PLO out of the
picture, some "new start" on
developing a formula for
limited Palestinian self-rule
in the occupied territories
must occur following the end
of the war.
Except to say that self-
governing Palestinians
"should be disarmed," he
was vague about how to set-
tle the Palestinian question.
"I have no grand solu-
tion," he said.
But he did say the Middle
East peace process, for now,
should shift toward talks
between Israel and the Arab
members of the anti-Iraq co-
alition, with the United
States facilitating the dia-
logue.
There have already been
hints that Syria, one of
Jerusalem's most antago-
nistic Arab tormentors,
might now be willing to ac-
cept Israel's right to exist.
Mr. Kissinger also called
the U.S. role in the Gulf war
"an extraordinary achiev-
ement" that serves notice to
the world that "any radical
leader who challenges the
international community
Henry A. Kissinger: Hope and concern.
will suffer a devastating
defeat."
While he does expect some
additional animosity toward
the United States to surface
in the Arab world after
Saddam's final defeat, Mr.
Kissinger said the respect
gained by Washington for its
military victory will offset
the feelings of
But rather than seeking
hegemony over the Middle
East, Mr. Kissinger said the
U.S. should strive for stabili-
ty in the region by encourag-
ing wealthy Gulf nations to
deal more equitably with
their poorer fellow Arabs,
and by making sure oil
money never again produces
another Middle East arms
race.
"The fact is we don't want
anyone in the Middle East to
dominate, not Iran, not
Syria, not Iraq," Mr. Kiss-
inger concluded. "We want
balance, which means there
is no final answer for the re-
gion but a constant need for
fine-tuning . . . The U.S. is,
however, the only nation
that can deal with the issues
on a creative basis." ❑
ROUND UP
Shimras Haloshon
Club Begins
Brooklyn — The Chofetz
Chaim Heritage Foundation
is sponsoring a Shimras
Haloshon Club for children.
The club aims to help chil-
dren avoid loshon hora,
malicious talk, and speak
kindly about others.
Club members receive an
official membership card,
stickers and are eligible for
contests and prizes. A tape
by Suki and Ding, "Shhh!
It's Loshon Hora!" also is
available.
For information, write the
Chofetz Chaim Heritage
Foundation, 1279 37th St.,
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11218, or
call (212) 724-9351.
AZYF Creates
Toll-Free Number
New York — In response to
the heightened interest in
Israel and the Middle East
on campus since the out-
break of the Gulf war, the
University Student Depart-
ment of the American
Zionist Youth Foundation
has installed a toll-free
number, 1-800-27-ISRAEL
(1-800-274-7723). The
number makes all types of
information about Israel
easily accessible to univer-
sity students across the
United States.
Callers are connected
directly to the USD/AZYF
national office in New York.
Many students request in-
formation about the various
academic and summer pro-
grams in Israel. Others
report on the latest pro-
Israel events being
implemented on campus or
request advice on planning
pro-Israel programs.
Lesbian, Gay
Jews Set Meeting
San Francisco — Con-
gregation Sha'ar Zahav has
announced plans for the
12th International Con-
ference on Gay and Lesbian
Jews, to be held in San
Francisco over Memorial
Day weekend.
Hundreds of Jews from
throughout the United
States and abroad are ex-
pected to convene for the
three-day weekend, which
will include numerous
workshops on social and po-
litical problems facing gay
and lesbian Jews.
Located in San Francisco,
Congregation Sha'ar Zahav
is a progressive Reform con-
gregation with more than
550 members. For informa-
tion, call Sha'ar Zahav at
(415) 861-6932.
Agency Changes
Grant To Loan
Jerusalem — To suc-
cessfully absorb the 300,000
new olim (immigrants) ex-
pected to arrive in Israel in
1991, the Jewish Agency
board of governors voted last
week to change the status of
$2,500 given olim from a
grant to a loan.
The $2,500 figure will be
increased to $5,600 and will
be guaranteed by the Coun-
cil of Jewish Federations.
Olim will begin repaying the
loan their fourth year in
Israel.
Jewish Agency spokesmen
said the change is expected
to reintroduce more than $1
billion back into the Jewish
Agency to help resettle in-
coming olim.
Meanwhile, the American
Jewish Committee reports
that the Persian Gulf war
has cost Israel $3.2 billion
through last month. The
$3.2 billion reflects the high
military alert and increased
security needs, loss of pro-
ductivity, loss of tourism
revenue, higher energy
prices and property damage
from Iraqi missile attacks.
JWB Assists
Gulf Soldiers
Since the beginning of the
Gulf war, the JWB Jewish
Chaplains Council, compris-
ing Reform, Conservative
and Orthodox rabbis, has
sent thousands of religious
items and gifts to Jewish
soldiers serving on the front.
The JWB Council has
monitored the shipment of
600 prayer books, 800 kipot,
75 tallitot, 400 Bibles, 500
pamphlets on religious
Reform, Conservative and
Orthodox rabbis plan Pesach
support for Jews serving in
Operation Desert Storm.
themes, 31 miniature
Torahs and other gifts. Most
recently, it shipped more
than 400 Megillot Esther
and 200 Purim groggers, as
well as several thousand
Passover Seder kits, to the
soldiers.
The JWB Jewish
Chaplains Council is staffed
by Director Rabbi David
Lapp, who is Orthodox, and
Deputy Director Rabbi
Nathan Landman, who is
Reform. The Council has
been serving Jews in
uniform since World War I.
Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 11