THE

POWER

AND THE

Glory

agreeing to attend the re-
gional peace conference
cosponsored by the United
States and the Soviet Union.
Israeli Prime Minister
Yitzchak Shamir also is
seeking clarification on the
observer role the U.N. will
play at the conference. Mr.
Shamir has insisted that no
Palestinians from east
Jerusalem be allowed to
take part on the grounds
that this would imply that
the eastern part of the city,
captured by Israel from Jor-
dan in the 1967 war and
since annexed, is subject to
negotiations.
The Israeli prime minister
is also insisting that the
Palestine Liberation Organ-
ization, which Israel con-
siders to be a terrorist organ-
ization, have no direct in-
volvement with the
Palestine delegation.
Mrs. Lichtenstein believes
the Arabs, and in particular
the Syrians, don't really
want peace.
"When you fight a friend,
and you want to make up,
you don't come to the peace
table with preconditions,"
she said. "You should make
up for the sake of making up.
"The Arabs aren't going to
stop until they get what they
want," she said. "And what
they want is our land."
Mrs. Lichtenstein also
feels the United States is
placing unfair pressure on
Israel.
"America wants to be big
in the world's eyes," Mrs.
Lichtenstein said. "The U.S.
government is holding $10
billion in loan guarantees
over Shamir's head like a
whip. What about the mill-
ions in debts loaned to other
countries the United States
has wiped out?"
Mrs. Lichtenstein said
anyone believing in peace
between Jews and Arabs is
living in a fantasy world.
"They are fighting for a
cause that just cannot be,"
she said. "Israel has already
given back Taba, Yamit, the
Sinai and Neueba, and we
still don't have peace."
Mrs. Lichtenstein, who
joined the IDF when she was
18, said she never question-
ed her decision to join the
Israeli military.
"I always knew I'd go
back;" said Mrs. Lichtens-
tein, who graduated from
Southfield-Lathrup High
School. "In my senior year-
book, my friends joked I'd be
a sergeant the next year. It
was never a question. My
whole family is in Israel and
they are all in the army."

32

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 1991

Mrs. Lichtenstein fears the
Likud government will
ultimately splinter in the
face of Arab-Israeli standoff.
"If the peace conference
actually takes place, there
will be a falling out
throughout the country,"
she said. "People will start
living in fear again."
Mrs. Lichtenstein and her
family were in Jerusalem
throughout the Gulf War.
"I'm thankful my son
won't remember anything,
but my husband and I will
never forget the terror we
felt," she said. "And Israel
wasn't even at war. All it
took was two Arab nations
at war, and Israel became
the most popular target."

❑

the day we were handed our
nohelai atzsirat chashud —
procedures for when and
when not to shoot.
"We were told which mer-
chants we could and could
not buy fruits and
vegetables from," he said.
"We were told they could
poison us."
Much of Mr. Brami's time
was occupied by house-to-
house searches.
"The Israeli army is like
no other army," Mr. Brami
said. "When we had to sear-
ch a house because of infor-
mants, we were ordered to
clear it first from all its
valuables and take nothing.
We were always looking for
informants. It was during
the intifada."
Mr. Brami, now living in
Franklin, slept in sparse
barracks in the heart of

Gaza.
"We were surrounded by
the uprising," he said. "Most
of the people living there are
ignorant and really poor.
Many have been brainwash-
ed, in school, at home. They
don't seem to have any other
choice."
Mr. Brami said he and
other soldiers had to wear
protective helmets when
patrolling the streets and
the shuk, the Arab open-air
market.
"They'll try to kill you
with anything," he said.
"One trick is loading apples
with sharp razor blades.
Then they try and throw
them like balls against your
face." Mr. Brami said
Israel's Arab neighbors need
to take responsibility for the
Palestinians.

"We can't take charge of
them anymore," he said.
"They should take care of
themselves."
Mr. Brami, who studies
radiology, said United
Nations observers should
monitor the Palestinians the
way they are supposed to
monitor the Iraqis.
"But if the U.N. interferes
with the state of Israel, tell-
ing it what and how to do,
then I'm against that," he
said. "Israel can't have any-
one telling it what to do."
Mr. Brami, one of 13 chil-
dren, believes in the biblical
boundaries of Israel, which
would include some of Iraq
and Syria.
"Let the Palestinians in
Gaza have some form of
autonomy, but there should
be no land for peace. Israel
can't go backwards."

Local Residents Believe
Compromise Is The Key

Aryeh Brami: "If there's a hell,
it's called Gaza."

LESLEY PEARL

Jewish News Intern

Fear And Paranoia

Aryeh Brami will not
forget Gaza.
"If there's a hell, it's called
Gaza," said Mr. Brami, 23, a
reservist in Givati, an elite
Israeli infantry combat unit.
That's where he spent mon-
ths at a time patrolling
Gaza's rank, dirt-encrusted
streets.
"It's like being in another
world," Mr. Brami said.
"When you enter Gaza you
leave the 20th century
behind. I used to think Gaza
was a part of Israel. But now
I'm not so sure.
"The sewers stink. There's
not enough food. You can't
help but feel badly for the
people living in those conch-
tions."
Mr. Brami, born in
Ramleh, grew up next to
Arabs. They attended the
same high school. They
shopped at the same
markets, went to the same
movie theaters.
"All that changes when
you go into the Israeli
army," Mr. Brami said.
"You're surrounded by an
atmosphere of fear and
paranoia. I'll never forget

F

lorence Hoffman has
a vested interest in
seeing peace soon in
the Middle East —
her son is moving to

Israel.
Concerned with her child's
well-being and safety, the
Southfield resident is will-
ing to see Israel make con-
cessions during the upcom-
ing peace conference.
"I hate to see Israel give
up land, but it's going to
have to happen to reach any
sort of compromise," Mrs.
Hoffman said. "However,
they (the Israelis) cannot
give up lands that would put
them in an obviously
dangerous situation."
Most Detroit-area Jews are
not as firm in their stance
regarding concessions and
the giving up of prisoners,
but instead find the Middle
East situation a troubling
and difficult dilemma.
"This is an extremely
complex question," Cheryl
Kimelman of West Bloom-
field said.
"If Israel maintains its
current stance and the Arab
countries maintain theirs,

Betty Shear:
"Why is Israel always the bad
guy?"

Cheryl Kimelman:
"A complex question."

there will be no negotia-
tions. Both sides need to feel
comfortable giving a little to
get a little," Ms. Kimelman
said.
Ms. Kimelman added that
she was unsure what would
make each respective coun-
try comfortable.
However, Ms. Kimelman
shared the sentiment of
many local residents —that
too much is expected of
Israel, not just in the current
situation.
"Why is Israel always the
bad guy?" Betty Shear of
West Bloomfield said.
Mrs. Shear said most
Americans don't understand
the everyday life of an

Israeli and because of this,
America should not try to
impose on Israeli policy-
making decisions. Mrs.
Shear added she is bothered
by requests that Israel give
up land.
Frieda Olin of Farmington
Hills is also concerned about
land loss in Israel.
"Israel needs to stand firm
on this issue. Israel needs its
land for the immigration of
Ethiopians and Russians,"
Ms. Olin said.
Local opinions vary less on
the subject of Israeli-held
prisoners. The majority of
Detroiters interviewed
believe the Israeli govern-
ment is right in not releas-