PURELY COMMENTARY mackenzie's 4 GOING OUT OF BUSINESS On The Paths Toward Amity In The Middle East now becoming smoother. Nothing could be more heartening than remarkably created aims adhered to by Israel and proclaimed by support for them in world Jewish communities. PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor Emeritus T Every item in the store! 50% OFF ALL SALES FINAL • NO ALTERATIONS CASH • VISA • MASTERCHARGE mackenzie's Traditional Menswear Applegate Square • Northwestern Between 12 and 13 Mile OPEN THURS. TILL 8 • FRI. & SAT. TILL 5 SUNDAY 12 — 5 Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit together with D.J:s Eric Harris and Stuart Rogoff are "Too Legit to Quit" (Not) so we have set up a winter "STREET DANCING CLASS" starting A February 3rd for 10 weeks for those of you who missed out . .. (word!) BEGINNERS CLASS 6th 7th Graders 6:30-7:30 p.m. - ADVANCED CLASS 6th 12th Graders 7:30-8:30 p.m. - Members: $150 Members: $160 Non-Members $170 Non-Members $180 Taught by a professional instructor at the JCC Maple/Drake Building Call for registration information, 661-1000, ext. 269, or 335 32 FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 1992 he commencement on Dec. 17 of direct tele- phone calls between Israel and 11 Arab nations may well be considered the most exciting news about peace making in the Middle East. Until last month, tele- phone communication ex- isted only between Israel and Egypt. Now the Israel National Telephone Com- pany is the supervising agency for the telephone exchanges between Israel and Algeria, Bahrain, Jor- dan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. According to Joseph Chen, spokesman for the Israeli Communications Ministry, the exchanges are routed via satellite and marine cables through communications equipment in the U.S. Nothing could possibly provide more effective en- couragement to peace mak- ing. Great enthusiasm has been evidenced in the fulfillment of Israel's , direct talks with the Arabs in es- tablishing an accord with them. Now conversations with the Arabs over tele- phones could hopefully strengthen the aspirations for direct negotiation. There is very much that can be attained when people converse amicably with each other. Many canards have been uprooted in the search for hatred. Many false fears keep being circulated to this day. One of them concerns the water problem. In this regard, there is a continuity of accusations, especially by Jordan, that Israel is diverting water sources. The water problem has always been one for Israel and her neighbors. It was not ignored. In the early 1930s, one of the world's most famous au- thorities on forest, land and water conservation, Dr. Walter C. Lowdermilk, in- troduced programs to solve the pressing needs for the entire affected area. Dr. Lowdermilk, who was one of the leading per- sonalities in the American Christian Palestine Move- ment, outlined his plans in " Palestine —Land of Prom- ise." Dr. Lowdermilk at- taches an acquired world Walter C. Lowdermilk . recognition for plans he for- mulated as a Jordan Valley Authority. In his outline of plans, which was published by the American Christian Palestine Committee under the title " The Untried Ap- proach to the Palestine Prob- lem" in 1939, he gave em- phasis to the Jordan Valley Authority as follows: It was while making an airplane survey of Palestine in 1939 that I was struck by the possi- bility of a great power project based on the ex- traordinary difference in altitudes between the deep rift of the Jordan Valley and the Mediter- ranean Sea only a few tens of miles away. Palestine's two chief economic needs are sup- plies of water for irrigated agriculture and power for industrial development. The JVA would supply both. It would divert the sweet waters of the Upper Jordan and its tributaries into a net work of irriga- tion canals, while, in order to compensate the Dead Sea for the loss of these waters, it would in- troduce sea water from the Mediterranean star- ting point near Haifa and conduct it through a tunnel and open canals down the Jordan depres- sion to the Dead Sea. As this sea water dropped into the Jordan rift, there would be almost 1,200 feet of effective fall for the development of hydroelectric power. The water problem is one of many that can be solved by direct negotiations. It demands seriousness with an elimination of rancor. Hopefully the paths toward the desired peace are Positive Factors In Israel's Status We want to visit Israel to take advantage of treatments of arthritis at the Dead Sea. Is there a clinic there? This was a question ad- dressed to the travel editor of the New York Times and published in the travel sec- tion on Dec. 15. Before turn- ing to the explanatory reply, there is the compulsion to repeat appeals made by us on many occasions: that the positive elements in Israel's creative life should never be ignored. There are so many tenden- cies to turn only to the threatening of Israel's exis- tence that the urgency to emphasize the Israeli con- tributions to mankind must keep demanding attention. The warm, dry climate of the Dead Sea area along with what is said to be the healing properties of the sea's waters draw people there for treatments of various kinds. The magnesium and other minerals in the water are said to be espe- cially beneficial in treating psoriasis and other skin ailments. Also, sulfur baths in the area are said to be effective in treating arthritis and rheumatism ... Because of the area's low elevation, the air there is said to include 10 percent more oxygen that at sea level and also have a lower degree of ultraviolet rays, allowing people to take the warmth of the sun, to ease ar- thritis or treat skin prob- lems, with less risk of sunburn. Packages include a stay at one of the spas that ac- commodate patients or in one of the hotels about a five-minute bus ride from the spas ... This may sound like an advertisement, but it is a provision for health pro- tection for everybody, Arabs as well as Jews. Therefore, this is an ap- peal for unlimited em- phasis on the positive fac- tors of Israel's status. El 4 4 4 4 -4 4 -4 41