DETROIT
U-M Professor Offers Analysis
Of Death Patterns In Intifada
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Assistant Editor
A
pplying what he
called an empirical
analysis to death pat-
terns in the intifada, a Uni-
versity of Michigan-
Dearborn professor sug-
gested Israeli soldiers have
been anything but re-
strained in trying to control
the Palestinian uprising in
the West Bank and Gaza.
Speaking last week for the
Wayne State University
Center for Peace and Con-
flict Studies, Professor
Ronald Stockton told a small
audience that a dispropor-
tionate number of Palestin-
ian males have been killed,
though women and children
most often comprise the
demonstrations.
He described the intifada
as "a children's crusade."
Professor Stockton, of U-
M-Dearborn's social sciences
department, said that when
the intifada began on Dec. 8,
1987, "The Israeli govern-
ment took the worst possible
action. It sent in the forces
and started the beatings."
After images of the
beatings were shown on
television, provoking
"incredible outrage
throughout the world,"
Israel Defense Minister Yit-
zhak Rabin responded with a
"shooting policy."
Since the start of the in-
tifada, Israeli "authorities,
settlers and paramilitary
groups" have killed 1,000
Palestinians, he said.
"There's no question the
number of deaths is entirely
a function of (Israeli)
government policy," he said.
"They say 'shoot more' and
the soldiers shoot more.
They say 'shoot less' and
they shoot less."
After Moshe Arens replac-
ed Mr. Rabin as defense min-
ister, the number of Pales-
tinian deaths dropped dra-
matically, Professor
Stockton said.
In the first two months of
the intifada, 64 percent of
the deaths were reported in
Gaza, where the uprising
began, he said. Three mon-
ths later, the intifada had
expanded to the West Bank,
where 81 percent of the
deaths now occurred.
The press has suggested
that Israel Defense Forces'
youth and inexperience may
account for some of Palestin-
ian deaths. But in fact the
deaths do not reflect random
16
FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 1991
crowds of mixed age and sex,
Professor Stockton said.
Most of those killed were
men aged 17-36.
"That leads you to believe
something else is going on,"
he said.
In the second year of the
intifada, Israeli newspapers
spoke of an alleged "wanted
list" of 700 Palestinians.
Professor Stockton said in
the first two years of the
uprising, 80 percent of the
Palestinians killed were
named on the "wanted list"
and had been killed at close
range, in an ambush or a
raid, and had two or more
gunshots to the head.
Such statistics show a pat-
tern of execution, he said.
In the middle of the talk, a
member of the audience ask-
ed the source of Professor
Stockton's data.
The professor said he
received the information
from the Data Base Project
on Palestinian Rights, based
in Jerusalem, which he said
is "very respected for its ac-
curacy" and whose figures
are close to those of the
Israel government.
Another member of the
audience, who is Jewish,
asked who funds the Data
Base. Professor Stockton re-
sponded that the monies
come from Faisel Husseini, a
top aide to Palestine Libera-
tion Organization leader
Yassir Arafat.
Pressed by the Jewish
questioner, Professor
Stockton retracted his
statement that "There's no
question the number of Pa-
lestinian deaths is entirely a
function of government
policy."
The vast majority of Pales-
tinian deaths occurred dur-
ing demonstrations, he said.
A number of deaths also
were prompted by the follow-
ing scenario: an Arab hangs
the PLO flag. The Israeli
army comes in to in-
vestigate. The Palestinian
men unite at the edge of
town and a conflict begins
with the IDF.
He said he had not studied
whether Palestinian deaths
might have been caused by
interfactional fighting
among the Arabs.
As Professor Stockton's
talk drew to a close, the Jew-
ish questioner left the room.
Professor Ron Stockton: "There's
no question the number of (Pales-
tinian) deaths is entirely a function
of Israeli government policy."
The professor then began to
discuss what a "friendly
people" the Palestinians are.
He said he had met with a
number of Palestinians who
showed him gas canisters
the IDF had thrown in their
homes. Made in Penn-
sylvania, the canisters are
clearly marked "do not use
in enclosed spaces," he said.
A young woman in the au-
dience said she recently
heard a talk by an artist
"who had been in Palestine"
and said the IDF rubber
bullets were filled with a
special material to cause
maximum harm.
Professor Stockton said the
rubber bullets contain metal
and soldiers often use them
at close range. He said he
knows of "a large number of
cases of brain penetration"
by the rubber bullets.
While the PLO has recog-
nized Israel, he said, Israelis
support politicians like Yit-
zhak Rabin, who has made
clear his policy of no conces-
sions to the Palestinians.
While serving as defense
minister, Mr. Rabin was
"the single most popular pol-
itician in Israel," Professor
Stockton said.
The professor spoke of
secret Israeli "assassination
squads" and said that half
the country's Jewish popula-
tion is in favor of expelling
all Palestinians.
Responding to the
speaker's remarks, Jewish
Community Council Exec-
utive Director David Gad-
Hard said, "The data pre-
sented by Professor Stockton
is suspect, due to his reliance
upon a clearly biased source
and his exclusive focus on
Palestinians killed by Israeli
soldiers.
"I urge him to conduct a
study of Palestinian
murders by fellow Palestin-
ians, the dominant type of
intifada-related Palestinian
fatality for the past year." ❑
Orthodox Back Oak Park Candidate
KIMBERLY LIFTON
Staff Writer
T
o ensure the Jewish
flavor of Oak Park, a
group comprised most-
ly of Orthodox Jews is rally-
ing to fill an expected vacan-
cy next November on the
city council.
Their candidate of choice is
Paul "Pinch" Braunstein, a
46-year-old political
newcomer who says his 20
years of activity in the Or-
thodox community will help
him to maintain Oak Park
"as a place where we want to
live."
Two seats, one held by
council member Ray Abrams
and the other by council
member Gerald Naftaly, are
open in the upcoming elec-
tion for two four-year terms.
A mayor is elected every two
years.
Mayor Charlotte Rothstein
said she is considering
retirement in November
after 18 years in city
government — nine as
mayor. If she retires, she
said she will back Mr. Nafta-
ly, a long-time council mem-
ber, for mayor. She said she
also would support council
Paul Braunstein:
Against the machine.
member Ray Abrams and
planning commissioner
David Dystant for the two
council seats. (See related
story, Page 39.)
Mr. Braunstein, who has
never held elected or ap-
pointed political office, is an
alignment engineer and in-
dustrial surveyor for the
Great Lakes Division of Na-
tional Steel Corp. in Detroit.
He kicked off his campaign
this week with an informal
parlor meeting in Oak Park.
An airborne officer for the
U.S. Army during the Viet-
nam War, he recently served
as a part-time military ex-
pert for WJBK, Channel 2,
and WWJ Radio.
"The city machine has
come to an end," said Mr.
Braunstein, who added that
former mayors Joe Forbes,
who left office to go to the
state legislature, the late
David Shepherd and Mrs.
Rothstein, were all part of
the same era. "They did a
good job. But it is time for a
new generation of leader-
ship."
Urged to run for the seat
by friends Ron Sandler and
District Court Judge Ben-
jamin Friedman, his cam-
paign is largely supported by
active members of the Or-
thodox community. Sup-
porters include Dr. Henry
Brystowski, Reed Rubins-
tein, Rabbi Leo Goldman,
Margaret Basta, Ezra
Roberg, Dr. Harry Jubas and
Avram Borenstein.
"Oak Park is a city in
flux," Dr. Brystowski said.
"The Orthodox community
has made a commitment to
this city."
Mr. Braunstein said there
are no major issues facing
Oak Park. On his agenda,
however, is fighting to keep
liquor by the glass banned
from restaurants in the bed-
room community. Mrs.
Rothstein has supported
changing the city's law to
allow wine and beer to be
served in city restaurants.
"The City of Oak Park is
at a crucial juncture from its
past as a homogeneous
community to a stable multi-
ethnic community with a
predominate Jewish tam
(flavor)," Mr. Braunstein
said.
"Last year we dodged the
bullet when the Federation
finally purchased the old
B'nai Moshe building," Mr.
Braunstein said. "But will
we be able to do it next
year?"
"We pushed Pinch to
maintain a viable presence
on the council," Mr. Sandler
said. "Oak Park is the lin-
chpin of the entire Jewish
area. Without it, Hun-
tington Woods would col-
lapse. It is the crux of Jewish
services and the entire Jew-
ish infrastructure."
❑
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