EDITORIAL

The Hostage Releases

The long-overdue release of American
hostages in Lebanon is enormously
welcome. The isolation, torture and death
threats endured by Joseph Cicippio, Alann
Steen and the other hostages brutally
underscores the limited value placed on
human life by their fanatical kidnappers.

But let's not praise Syria and Iran for
their roles in securing the hostages'
release. Neither nation has suddenly seen
the light;. both remain despotic dictator-
ships. Rather, they have simply decided
there is more to gain by having their
Lebanese proxies release the hostages than
by their continued confinement.
The timing of the releases is of particular
interest.

Just as Mr. Cicippio was released, the
United States paid Iran $260 million in
compensation for weapons impounded by
Washington a decade ago.
And just as Israel held firm on not show-
ing up for the U.S.-imposed start of the se-

cond round of Middle East peace talks, Mr.
Steen is released in Damascus, of course.
In the world of realpolitik, coincidences
are few. White House pronouncements to
the contrary, it appears that Iran has been
paid off and that Syria has been allowed to
score public relations points just as Israel
seems to be losing some for its determined
stand on the renewal of the peace talks.
In truth, however, none of this could have
transpired had not Israel ordered the
release of additional Arab-terrorists held in
south Lebanon, and for which Israel has
apparently gained no new information on
the fate of its soldiers held by Lebanese
terrorists.
Israel, of course, was hardly playing the
humanitarian role. Jerusalem seeks to re-
main part of the hostage-swap game and is
also trying to influence Western public
opinion.
But why is the Bush administration
rewarding Syria and Iran while seemingly
denying Israel its due?

Long Overdue

Sixteen years after the United Nations
resolved that Zionism is racism, a major
effort is under way to repeal the repugnant
Resolution 3379. National Jewish organ-
izations have launched a campaign and are
pressing for a mid-December vote in the
U.N. General Assembly. There are en-
couraging reports that Japan, new
democracies in Eastern Europe and the
Baltic states as well as Latin America will
support the move to repeal the measure.
But the key to success is the Bush ad-
ministration. In a speech to the U.N. in
September, President Bush urged the
repeal of the offending resolution, asser-
ting that "to equate Zionism with the in-
tolerable sin of racism is to twist history
and forget the terrible plight of Jews in
World War II and indeed throughout histo-
ry. ,
At the time, there were those who felt
that Mr. Bush's speech was a rhetorical at-

tempt to cool U.S.-Israel tensions over Jer-
usalem's request for $10 billion in loan
guarantees.
The question remains: is the U.S. serious
about having the U.N. resolution repealed?
Now is the time to find out. Since
September, there has been little indication
of the administration becoming actively
engaged in seeking the resolution's repeal.
But national Jewish leaders say the ad-
ministration is now soliciting interna-
tional support for rescinding the U.N. mea-
sure.
The fact that a resolution equating Zion-
ism and racism was ever passed by the
United Nations is more damning of that
world body than of Israel. It is the U.N.'s
shame that the measure is on the books,
underscoring an inherent bias against the
Jewish state. Indeed, the U.N. can never be
considered a fair-minded institution until
Resolution 3379 is repealed.

In From The Cold

It has been a difficult economic year for
Detroit and its Jewish community. The old
parable about the city catching pneumonia
when the rest of the country catches a cold
appears just as valid today as in lean times
in the past.
Everyone has his hand extended, asking
for help on behalf of individuals and agen-
cies left low on funds by the recession or
state cutbacks. The Jewish community is
being asked again, to step up — not back.
The Allied Jewish Camapign will formal-
ly open next week with fewer major
events and with deep concerns about this
community's historic capacity to give. The
needs are greater than in the past, both in
Israel and at home.
In Detroit, the well-to-do and the needy
have been affected by the recession as

6

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1991

never before.
But this community also has a long his-
tory of pulling together during adversity. It
is being asked to take care of its own —
both here and in Israel — by pledging to
the Allied Jewish Campaign and making
cash payments on those pledges as quickly
as possible. Cash is vital to address current
needs at home and abroad and to reduce
the dependence on loans and the subse-
quent interest charges that sap vitally
needed funds.
It may be a long, cold winter in Detroit,
and it appears to be starting early. Most
people look to themselves first, to make
sure their own needs are met. But self in
Detroit's Jewish community has always
included a far-broader family. That family
needs us this year, more than ever.

LETTERS

Picking A Speaker
For Jewish Events

Former Senator Rudy
Boschwitz has been invited to
speak at the Allied Jewish
Campaign major fund-raising
event on Dec. 9. Mr. Boschwitz
was a refugee from Nazi Ger-
many, has been a longtime
friend of Israeli policy and
Jewish causes, President
Bush's envoy to Ethiopia and
is, reportedly, an affable
fellow. But that is not all he
is.
During his term in office,
Mr. Boschwitz had a disas-
trous record on voting for
women's issues, including the
right to choose to have an
abortion, children's issues,
gun control and arms control
and a poor record on en-
vironmental protection
legislation.
It is appropriate that the
Jewish Federation choose a
speaker based on his or her
contribution to resettlement
in Israel, but it is essential
that the Jewish community
also look at the larger ques-
tions of "what is good for
Jews?" These include a
healthy environment, preser-
ving the civil liberties of
other minorities and women,
taking care of children and
upholding Jewish values of
compassion and tzedakah.
I am troubled by what I see
as a trend in the Jewish com-
munity toward an increasing-
ly narrow view of Jewish self-
interest and a disregard of
any other elements. Isn't it
time that the Jewish com-
munity reclaim the second
half of Hillel's exhortation,
"If I am not for myself, who
will be for me? But if I am for
myself alone, then what am
I?"
An elected official who does
not concern himself or herself
with the integrity and well-

being of women, children and
the environment, is no more
acceptable to me than one
who doesn't care about the
survival of Israel and main-
taining the separation of
church and state.
We have many oppor-
tunities to have it all in a
political candidate and/or a
keynote speaker. In the
future, I hope that Jewish
leaders will take a more com-
prehensive look at someone
who is to be selected for
showcasing at a major Jewish
event.

Arlene Victor
Bloomfield Hills

Ailing Youngster
Needs Our Help

I am writing to inform you
readers of an opportunity to
perform the mitzvah of
pikuach nefesh, the saving of
a life.
For the past four years, 11
year-old Stacy Haber of
Staten Island, N.Y., has
fought a courageous struggle.
At the age of seven she was
diagnosed with a rare form of
Ewing's Sarcoma, a cancer
that normally attacks the
bone. In her case, however, the
cancer took a much more
virulent form,
Her only hope for survival
at this point is a relatively
new procedure performed at
Johns _ Hopkins University
Hospital in Baltimore.
Last week, Stacy traveled to
Baltimore to have the bone
marrow harvested. Unfor-
tunately, before the chemo-
therapy was started, her
health insurance company in
New York refused to cover the
procedure, saying it was "ex-
perimental" even though this
insurer's associates in other
states cover the procedure.

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