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Making Sense of All This
Conservative and liberal thinkers agree the
Middle East's only consistency is its inconsistency.
PHIL JACOBS
Gertrude Towell:
"Israel has to be confident its
people will be returned before it
frees any hostages."
Florence Hoffman:
Israel will have to give up land.
ing any prisoners until its
own people are liberated by
neighboring countries.
"Israel has to be confident
its people will be returned
before it makes any moves
toward freeing hostages,"
Gertrude Towell of West
Bloomfield said. "That's how
it has to be. That's how it
should be."
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Managing Editor
VW
hat was once
black is now
white. What
was once white
is now black. A
short time ago, the govern-
ments of the United States
and Israel did not talk to ter-
rorists. Now they do.
A short time ago, third-
party nations were used to
negotiate. Now that's not
necessary. What is there left
to do even for the Rev. Jesse
Jackson now that the U.S.
and Syria fought in the great
Persian Gulf War on the
same side?
But Israel too was on the
side of many of its tradi-
tional enemies, even though
its military role was a
passive one. Now Israel is
willing to trade in terrorists
as long as those holding
Israeli soldiers release them
as part of the deal.
Before there were no deals.
This was not only seen as an
ultimate right, but it was
also a defiant measure aim-
ed largely at the Palestine
Liberation Organization.
But, what was once black
and white is now very gray.
Conservative Republican
thinker Alan. Keyes told The
Jewish News in an exclusive
interview just minutes
before the first Iraqi Scud
missile attack on Tel Aviv
last January that the old
rules might not count
anymore. He indicated that
somehow Syria would be
looking to gain favor with
the Bush administration
even if that meant some sort
of peaceful agreement with
Israel.
Syria, said Mr.Keyes,
wants to be the regional
Arab power, especially since
Iraq would soon be estrang-
ed by almost all of the world.
"This is an opportunity for
Syria that I don't think it
will forgo," said Mr. Keyes,
a once unsuccessful U.S.
Senate candidate in
Maryland. "The question is,
is this an opportunity for
Israel as well? That remains
to be seen."
Robert 0. Freedman, an
international expert on the
Middle East who is as liberal
as Mr. Keyes is conser-
vative, finds himself
somewhat in agreement
with Mr. Keyes. He said that
the prisoner exchange is an
opportunity for the Israelis
to exercise some positive
public relations, an area in
which the Jewish state has
suffered in the past.
"Israel is doing all of this
right," said Dr. Freedman,
dean of the Baltimore Heb-
rew University. "Recently,
the Israelis released some 40
Arab prisoners and got
nothing in return. Besides
that, nobody gave them any
credit for what they did.
"With this more recent
event," he added, "Israel has
effectively thrown the ball
back into the Arabs' court.
They are saying that they'll
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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