UP FRONT
Nuremberg Prosecutors
Seek Iraq War Crimes 'Mal
MAT EDELSON
Special to The Jewish News
I
n a roomful of those who
made history came the
cry: Act now, lest history
repeat itself.
The words were from sur-
vivors of the Nuremberg
War Trials — 125 men and
women; prosecutors, inter-
rogators and interpreters —
who gathered in Washing-
ton, D.C., recently for a reu-
nion marking the 45th an-
niversary. But while their
memories were of Hitler,
their immediate thoughts
centered on Saddam Hussein
and making the Iraqi leader
accountable for his actions.
A panel of 10 Nuremberg
prosecutors addressed the
issue during a 90-minute
open forum. Their conclu-
sion came in the form of a
resolution, calling for "The
UN, the United States and
its coalition partners and all
peace-loving nations to in-
vestigate, indict, prosecute
and punish those Iraqi na-
tionals who have engaged in
Mat Edelson is a contributing
reporter for National Public
Radio.
aggressive war against
Kuwait."
These were 10 angry men,
who see the Persian Gulf
war as their last chance to
establish the Nuremberg
Charter as a permanent part
of international law.
Walter Brudno, prosecutor
of Alfred Rosenberg, the
Nazi party's chief ideologist,
was adamant about the need
to act.
"If we are going to be
selective in applying the law
"Normally, in a war,
you don't claim
shooting the
enemy as a war
crime."
Daniel Margolies
of the Nuremberg Charter,
then it ceases to be law," Mr.
Brudno said. "It becomes
only a mechanism of politics,
and it's no law at all and
we've accomplished
nothing."
Mr. Brudno and his
Nuremberg colleagues
understand the political
ironies. A few short months
ago, President George Bush
told the American people
that Saddam Hussein would
face "swift retribution" in
the form of war crimes
charges for acts of aggres-
sion and crimes against hu-
manity, including the
holding of human shields
and abusing prisoners-of-
war.
But since the end of the
war, the administration's
stance has softened. On
March 29th, the White
House rejected Iraqi rebel
requests for aid in over-
throwing Saddam Hussein.
A Bush spokesman said the
U.S. "did not want to
intervene in the internal af-
fairs" of another country.
This was despite allegations
that the Iraqi leader was us-
ing combat helicopters
against his own people in
violation of the coalition's
cease-fire agreement.
The message the ad-
ministration is sending is
clear and wrong, said Henry
King, who prosecuted the
Nazis involved with slave
labor at aircraft plants.
To not prosecute, he
argued, "sends out a mes-
sage that we don't have the
courage of our convictions,"
and could influence other
leaders to pursue aggres-
The Allied powers prosecuted Nazis at the Nuremberg trials.
sions against other coun-
tries.
Whitney Harris, the
panel's moderator and the
man who brought Auschwitz
Commandant Rudolph Hoss
to trial, was direct in his
feelings.
"It would be a travesty if
Saddam Hussein, the mem-
bers of the Revolutionary
Command Council and other
leaders of Iraq responsible
for the aggression against
Kuwait were to escape an-
swering for their crimes,"
Mr. Harris said. "The cons-
cience of mankind cannot
give here to the plea, 'I kill
my brother, I am king: Let
me go free.' "
Aside from the resolution,
each panelist spoke briefly
about the difficult logistics
involved in going after
Saddam Hussein.
Charles Horsky, a counsel
liaison at Nuremberg, wor-
ried about what type of
international tribunal could
be set up. Nuremberg had
but four "conquering" coun-
tries to deal with, while the
Persian Gulf Coalition con-
sisted of 17 nations. Mr.
Horsky's solution? Work
within the framework of the
United Nations.
"I'm told that there's no
reason why the (UN) Securi-
ty Council could not, in its
wisdom, create a court," Mr.
Horsky suggested. "(Such a
court) would permit
reasonably easy negotiation,
as it is now negotiating the
ROUND UP
Radio Runs
Gold Rush
Tel Aviv (JTA) — The
Golan Heights was host to a
massive treasure hunt last
week.
The territory Israel seized
from Syria in the 1967 war
and annexed in 1980 was
flooded with tens of
thousands of Israelis and
tourists during the
intermediate days of
Passover. Their goal: finding
a bar of gold at the end of the
proverbial rainbow.
The gold rush was a pro-
motional stunt organized
and vigorously promoted by
Israel Radio, the Golan
Heights Development and
Tourist Corp. and a local
mineral water bottling fac-
tory.
As of press time, there was
no winner.
First prize is a bar of gold
valued at $3,500. It awaits
the canny searcher able to
interpret the series of clues
broadcast by Israel Radio.
Digging or panning was
not required. The winner
was the person to first ap-
proach a car parked
"somewhere" on the heights
and challenge the driver
with the statement, "You're
from the radio."
The winner will receive a
certificate redeemable at
Israel Broadcast Authority
headquarters in Jerusalem
for the gold ingot.
Mr. Misgav is a graduate
of Boys Town Jerusalem. He
joined the Israel Defense
Forces in 1964, where he
was cited for bravery for his
part in the capture of
Hebron during the Six-Day
War. Before joining Ordan
in 1969, Mr. Misgav studied
economics, statistics and
mathematics.
American Kitchen, a collec-
tion of 135 recipes.
Mail entries to
Manischewitz Recipe Con-
test, Suite 200, 1507 Avenue
M, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11230.
Deadline is April 25.
Group Unites
Jews And Gypsies
A new organization, based
in Washington, will foster
solidarity between Gypsies
and Jews.
"As the two most widely
spread, non-territorial
peoples to have come into
the West, the destinies of the
Jews and Roma (Gypsy) have
very often been thrown
together over the centuries,
and both our peoples have
suffered mercilessly as a
result," said Jewish Romani
Alliance (JRA) represent-
ative Toby Sonneman.
For information, contact
Ms. Sonneman at P.O. Box
325, Cashmere, WA, 98815,
or call (509) 782-4710.
,
Israeli Firm
Is A Real Patriot
Jerusalem — The Patriot
missile was the first line of
defense against Iraqi missile
attacks on Israel and coali-
tion forces during Operation
Desert Storm, and has been
touted as a prime example of
American technological
superiority in the war.
But few know that en-
graved on the base of every
Patriot missile launched
were the words "Made in
Israel." A vital component of
the Patriot system — a plat-
form that can withstand
tremendous temperatures
generated during the missile
Is There Gold In
That There Matzah?
The Patriot: A firm Israeli base to
stand on.
munch — is manufactured
by Ordan Industries of
Netanya.
For the past three years,
Ordan has been the sole
supplier of launching plat-
forms for the Patriot mis-
siles. Ordan's contract with
the U.S. company Raytheon,
which manufactures the
Patriot, was secured in large
part because of the efforts of
Ordan chief Eli Misgay.
New York — Just when
you thought you had seen
the last of matzahbrei. . .
Ladies and gentlemen,
don't put those Passover rec-
ipes away! The Manischewitz
Wine Company, together with
Stewart, Tabori and Chang,
publisher of the Jewish
American Kitchen cookbook,
is sponsoring a favorite
Passover recipe contest.
Contestants may send rec-
ipes for appetizers, hors
d'oeuvres, entrees or dessert.
One hundred winners will
receive a copy of Jewish
Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
11