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March 22, 1991 - Image 6

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1991-03-22

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

EDITORIAL

The Luster Of War
Is Quickly Fading

The gloss is beginning to fade.
For 100 days, all of us were caught up in
this CNN-infused high called the Persian
Gulf war.
We were easily hooked as television
reporters scrambled on the air, talking us
through air raid sirens, Scud missile at-
tacks and Patriot responses. How many of
us watched in awe as Gen. Norman
Schwarzkopf narrated video of air-
launched missiles entering the front door
of an Iraqi target? And how many of us
watched in happy pride as tens of
thousands of vaunted Iraqi soldiers waved
white flags in surrender? This was not
Vietnam. This was the United States
beating the Russians in 1980 for the Olym-
pic ice hockey gold medal. This was the
hostages returning to Andrews Air Force
Base from Iran.
But even as we walk away winners from
the battle, there is still a raging war to be
fought on many, many different fronts. The
Jewish News sends its heartfelt sympathy to
the family of Army Specialist Anthony
Riggs, a Persian Gulf veteran, gunned
down by a car thief in Detroit. His death
reminds us that there is an inner-city war
going on that kills with colder blood and
deadlier accuracy than any Iraqi Repub-
lican Guard ever could.
On a more global front, we can't forget
that the world's magnifying glass is now
moving from the Gulf to Israel. And Israel,
a country that is always in danger of a
possible war, could now be under U.S.
pressure to force a move it does not want to
make concerning the West Bank and its
own security.
A recession, a savings and loan crisis, a

growing federal deficit and a governor that
isn't trimming his budget but, instead,
stripping his state of social service pro-
grams, is also part of all of this.
So as the luster of winning a war wears
off, let's not forget that there are plenty of
other battles to be won. And as Jewish
Americans we should help the United
States funnel the enormous energy from its
new-found nationalism into solving some of
our other, more local, problems. At the
same time, we can re-channel our corn-
mittment and support to Israel.
There was an editorial cartoon in an
Israeli publication showing two El Al
planes, with American visitors getting off
one and boarding the other. The visitors
shouted "solidarity."
This is how Israelis view American Jews
now. And why shouldn't they. While the
war was going on, we stayed here and cried
and wrote checks. Israel appreciated our
tears and checks, but what they really
wanted was our presence. An Israeli rabbi
once said that as soon as a Palestinian
throws a rock, American Jews call their
travel agents and re-book their flights from
Israel to Mexico.
The battle in the Persian Gulf is now
over. The sealed rooms have been unsealed
and the gas masks are put away. It's time
to go over to Israel again. By not going, we
are showing that the intifada battle is
winning the larger war.
As tourists, we are non-violent soldiers
fighting Jewish American apathy and sup-
porting our very own homeland. This
battle we can win without missiles and
bullets, but with the same luster that
effused from the Persian Gulf war.

Jonathan Pollard's
Case Revisited

The case of Jonathan Pollard, the Ameri-
can Jew who pleaded guilty to spying for
Israel, is a complex maze of legal complex-
ities and government duplicity laced with
overtones of anti-Semitism and the gut-
issue of Israel's military security.
Mr. Pollard admits he broke the law, but
says he did so only out of love for Israel. To
his supporters, he is an unsung hero who
deserves the Jewish community's full sup-
port, particularly now that his warnings
about Iraq were largely proven right by the
Persian Gulf War.
Israel, which exploited Mr. Pollard and
then denied him safe haven, is by all ac-
counts now working to gain his release.
Clearly, Mr. Pollard has been dealt a
harsh legal hand. The question is why?
Backers say former Defense Secretary
Caspar Weinberger, no lover of Israel, is
the key. His still-secret ex-parte memo sent
to sentencing Judge Aubrey Robinson Jr.

6

FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 1991

was reportedly so inflammatory that it
persuaded the judge to throw the book at
Mr. Pollard.
It is clear that Mr. Pollard has been
treated with exceptional severity during
his period of incarceration, one that Judge
Robinson said should last the remainder of
his life. He has been confined to a prison
mental ward and has spent the past three
years in solitary confinement.

Mr. Pollard is guilty of espionage, and
even though it was for a friendly nation,
that is a serious charge. But it should not
be confused with treason, and the treat-
ment he has received appears more in line
with that meted out to traitors.

With Mr. Pollard's appeal trial scheduled
for the fall, now is the time for the Jewish
community to look seriously at whether
Mr. Pollard is a victim of injustice — and
worthy of support.

COMMENT 1-1

When The Snooze Alarm
Is Actually A Fire Bell

AMY J. MEHLER

Staff Writer

S

omething vaguely
sounding like an
alarm slowly pene-
trated my consciousness
Saturday night.
Considering it was almost
three in the morning, I did
the only thing any self-
respecting, slumbering per-
son could do — I rolled over

and ignored it.
But like a cloying perfume
or greedy salesperson, it just
wouldn't go away. It per-
sisted, growing louder and
shriller until it shook my

brain and shouted, "Fire!"
My building was on fire,
and I was way up on the nin-
th floor.
I tried to remember my
last fire drill. Third grade, I
think.
Who really pays attention
to those things? I was happy
if I was excused from class to
use the water fountain. But I
try not to discriminate. I'm
the same way when it comes
to those emergency safety
shpiels airline flight atten-
dants launch into before
take-off.
Who has the time to follow
some colorful pamphlet
when there are earphones
and pillows to find?
But the ringing was star-
ting to sound a little
ominous, so I padded over to
the window and peered
through the frost. Things
were fairly quiet. Then I had
a vision. A blurry vision.
Something about spinning
orange lights and badly
dressed men in witch-like
yellow hats told me help was
on the way.

So here's the dilemma. Do
I wait for a fire ladder? Do I
sprint down nine flights of
stairs in nothing but a ratty
sweatsuit? Or, do I change
my outfit, put on a little
makeup and maybe wrap
that new silk outfit in a
garment bag so I can carry it
out to safety?
In the meantime, I put on
my contact lenses. The eye
glasses were crushed a long
time ago. Once I have my
sight back, the other senses
start kicking in. Take the
sense of smell. The stronger
it got, the more I imagined
swirls of smoke curling down
the hallway after me. And
you know, where there's
smoke, there's fire. So I nix-
ed the garment bag idea.
What I really wanted to do is
call my parents for some
empathy for my pain.
Where's the book on proper
fire etiquette when you need
one? And why do these deci-
sions have to be made at
three in the morning?
By now, people were star-
ting to emerge from their
apartments. No one looked
particularly panicked, but I
tried to be as helpful as
possible.
When I got downstairs, I
could immediately tell
whose apartment was on
fire. One woman was crying
hysterically and clutching
her nightshirt. Between
sobs, she told me that she
thinks the candle she lights
every night after saying her
prayers caught on her bed
sheets. To make matters
worse, both her kittens were
killed.
I wanted to yell at her for
putting so many people in
Continued on Page 10

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