EDITORIAL
Peace Maneuvers
Images in the Israeli press regarding the
upcoming peace conference do not inspire
optimism. Israel is depicted as having its
arms twisted, of being dragged to the nego-
tiating table. A headline in Ha'aretz, the
country's most respected daily, reads,
"Gang Rape In Reverse," with the accom-
panying story describing how the U.S. has
forced its will on all of the participants.
Indeed, Israel has much to worry about.
Many Israelis believe that the peace con-
ference is essentially an effort to make
Israel return land that the Arabs could not
regain on the battlefield. In the end, they
fear, Israel will have to give up territory —
and thus, security — in return for some-
thing as ephemeral as a pledge to keep the
peace.
President Bush _ and Secretary of State
Baker have been relentless in their efforts
to make a reality what until recently was
viewed as an impossibility — Arabs and
Israelis sitting down to negotiate face-to-
face.
If the outcome is successful, they will be
hailed, rightfully, as peace makers. But if
the talks fail, and that is always a strong
possibility in the Middle East, the ad-
ministration may be guilty, albeit in-
advertently, of precipitating the next war
in the region.
Mr. Baker deserves credit for persistence,
if for nothing else. His eight visits to the
Mideast since the end of the Gulf War
blended threats and promises and resulted
in the participants, however reluctantly,
yielding to the influence of the world's only
real superpower.
Mr. Baker was lucky. He was able to
pressure the Palestinians and Jordan to
the table after they backed Iraq in the Gulf
War; the Saudis owed the U.S. for saving
them in the war; and Syria is desperate for
aid after its ally, the USSR, collapsed.
Israel, of course, is desperate for financial
assistance to house and employ hundreds
of thousands of Soviet Jewish immigrants
and cannot afford to alienate its only
strong ally in the world.
Still, Israeli Prime Minister Shamir
managed to hold out for virtually all of his
demands, including restoration of full dip-
lomatic ties with the USSR as a pre-
condition to the conference, exclusion of
the PLO, and insistence on face to face
negotiations with the Arab delegations.
So now the stage is set for an historic
meeting. Do not expect dramatic results.
Indeed, the U.S. plan is simply to get the
parties together and hope that, in time,
they will achieve a sufficient degree of co-
operation for progress to be made. But
whether Washington's true goal for the
conference is to assure Israel's stability in
the region, or the flow of Arab oil, remains
to be seen. In the meantime, one is remind-
ed of the theme song to an early Mel
Brooks film: "Hope for the best, expect the
worst."
Duke Of Fear
When are we going to start taking David
Duke seriously?
The former leader of the Ku Klux Klan
who has expressed blatant racism and anti-
Semitism, who questioned the Holocaust
and sold Nazi literature as recently as two
years ago, may well be the next governor of
Louisiana.
In his last two elections, Mr. Duke was
underestimated by political observers in
Huey Long country, where deep-seated
racism and poverty have brought out the
worst instincts in many voters. Last year,
Mr. Duke received 45 percent of the elec-
torate in a race for the U.S. Senate.
Now he has qualified to run against
former Governor Edwin Edwards in a
November 16 runoff election by finishing
second in last weekend's general election.
Mr. Duke has muted his racism and anti-
Semitism and played upon the frustration
of voters by railing against welfare reci-
pients, tax burdens and "outside inter-
ference."
Mr. Duke has been repudiated by the
Republican Party, which he represents in
the election. But the GOP, like Jewish
groups and others who oppose the former
Klansman, are worried that speaking out
against him may only,enhance his appeal.
One lesson to be learned here is that
voters have grown so cynical that they do
not believe mainstream politicians can ad-
dress their concerns. Another is that we
can never relax in our vigilance against
bigotry, ignorance and racism, even in the
United States in 1991.
Dry Bones
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Senator Specter
And Judge Thomas
Senator Arlen Specter's
performance on the Senate
Judiciary Committee was an
attack against all women. As
a woman who has been "sex-
ually harassed" let me state
that never, never does that
leave your memory. As a
woman who is proud of her
Jewish identity I am asham-
ed that a fellow Jew would
behave in such a manner.
I am a Democrat but have
always supported Republi-
cans who are Jewish because
"they are good for Israel."
Israel will survive without
senators like Specter. Not one
cent should be sent to this
man when his office is in
jeopardy.
When the Republicans pick-
ed him as their hatchet man
they knew what they were do-
ing. Bush is despicable for
what he has done and what
he continues to do to this
country.
Eve Garvin
Southfield
Mark Bernstein
And Al Sharpton
Mark. Bernstein, a Univer-
sity of Michigan junior who is
active at the Hillel, has ar-
ranged for the Reverend Al
Sharpton to speak at the
university. Mr. Bernstein
fears "coming off as some self-
hating, idealistic, anti-
Semitic Jew." His fears are
well-founded.
He is inviting the Reverend
Sharpton on the heels of the
death of Yankel Rosenbaum,
a 29-year-old rabbinical stu-
dent who was killed in rioting
stirred up by Sharpton. "No
justice, no peace," was his cry
as he led his mob on a pogrom
through Crown Heights.
Mr. Bernstein hopes that
"this kind of program
stimulates thought and
discussion." It may also
stimulate violence.
I am continually amazed
that so many self-hating,
idealistic, anti-Semitic Jews
don't realize that people who
preach hatred also stimulate
violence.
No doubt the local police
will not be nearly as naive as
Mr. Bernstein. They will sure-
ly prepare for the possibility
of riots and violence. I hope
that no one is hurt as a result
of Mr. Bernstein's "idealism."
Barry Mehler
Big Rapids
Animal Rights,
Abortion, Torah
I found it ironic that your
article "Is Animal Rights a
Jewish Issue?" (Oct. 4) would
run the week of Parsha
Bereshit, which features the
Almighty's creation of the
world and the handing over to
mankind "dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the
birds of the heaven, and over
every living thing that creeps
upon the earth" (Genesis
1:28).
Whether it be animal
rights, civil rights, abortion
rights or gay rights, social
issues cannot be turned into
"Jewish"issues just because
some Jews advocate these
causes and wish to give them
a hechsher (kosher im-
primatur). Away from the en-
tire gestalt of Torah law, the
authenticity of these and
many other issues as "Jew-
ish" ones is questionable at
the least.
Picking and choosing Torah
concepts to fit or support a
particular interest is like
shooting the arrow and then
drawing the bullseye around
it. Sorry, but Judaism is a
package deal: pieces of Torah
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