EDITORIAL
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Clean Campaign
For The Presidency
Now that we are a week and a half into
1992, the Year of the Election, we can be
sure that the presidential campaign is
about to descend upon us with a vengeance.
On the Republican side, thanks to the
disreputable likes of Pat Buchanan and
David Duke, there may be more of a horse
race than almost anyone expected. The
Democratic race, for now, is a bit of a mud-
dle, with no clear front-runner among the
six candidates and no clear image of them
in the minds of most voters.
After the first two or three primaries, the
field of candidates will start winnowing
down. Even then, there may not be a clear
front-runner, but there will surely be a few
withdrawals.
However the field plays, this year's cam-
paign desperately needs to be waged at a
higher level than was the 1988 presiden-
tial race. Then, Republicans in particular
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were not above slinging mud; more was
heard about Willie Horton and the Pledge
of Allegiance than issues (and solutions to
them) that truly mattered.
Yet President Bush, in a PBS interview
that aired last Friday, said, "I'm certainly
going into this as a dog-eat-dog fight, and I
will do what I have to do to be re-elected."
This is an unfortunate approach.
At a time when this nation, stunned by a
stagnating economy, is pessimistic about
the future and prone to narrow-interest
concerns, each candidate must present
himself with integrity, with respect toward
the electorate, toward the electoral process
and toward, even, his opponents.
To do less is to mock the potential for a
campaign to provide a forum for a national
debate on the direction of the nation. To do
less is to mock the process that is one of the
bedrocks of our nation.
Conveniently Forgetting
A Hostage From Israel
America recently closed a painful
chapter on hostages in the Mideast, but for
Israel the book remains open.
Of the seven Israeli servicemen missing
in Lebanon, the body of one has been
returned. Two are confirmed to have died
in captivity, and three are presumed dead,
though Israel is seeking confirmation.
That leaves one, air force navigator Ron
Arad, who was shot down in 1986 and is
believed to be alive.
Israel helped make possible the release of
American and British hostages by freeing
hundreds of prisoners, including terrorists.
In return, Jerusalem had been promised an
accounting of its missing soldiers. But even
this bit of information was not forthcom-
ing.
Israel's chief hostage negotiator, Uri
Lubrani, criticized outgoing United
Nations chief Javier Perez de Cuellar for
failing to probe the fate of Israel's missing
servicemen during his successful negotia-
tions for the release of American hostages
last month.
Israel's frustration is understandable,
particularly in light of reports that the
Bush administration agreed to compensate
Iran $278 million for military equipment
impounded by the U.S. in 1979. Washing-
ton is also expected to lift its restrictions on
at least $7 billion in Iranian frozen assets
held by American banks. So much for U.S.
claims of refusal to deal with terrorists.
One need not be a cynic to conclude that
terrorism and hostage-taking pays. The
hostage-takers go free, despite torturing
and perhaps murdering their captives; Iran
and Syria, who control the terrorists, are
compensated by the West with arms and
gratitude for the release of the surviving
ifIVIFTs
hostages; and Israel, which walked the
extra mile in releasing prisoners, is not
even told whether its MIAs are living or
dead.
There is a strong likelihood that Ron
Arad is alive, waiting to be reunited with
his wife and 6-year-old daughter, Yuval,
who has seen her father only in photos. We
look to Boutros Ghali, the incoming U.N.
secretary general, to bring pressure to bear
on the Arab world and right this grievous
injustice. Mr. Ghali has insisted that his
being Egyptian will not prejudice him in
his Mideast work at the U.N. Ensuring the
release of Mr. Arad and finding out the sta-
tus of Israel's other MIAs would go a long
way toward establishing Mr. Ghali's
sincerity and effectiveness as he begins his
post.
Dry Bones
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I LETTERS
Children
And The Messiah
Thank you to Elizabeth Ap-
plebaum for her fine article
on the Mashiach in The
Jewish News of Jan. 3. This
well-written article presented
a great deal of information
that will help readers to bet-
ter understand this funda-
mental concept of Jewish
thought and belief.
My daughter, Chana Rivka
Leaf, age 9, was one of the
children interviewed for the
article. Unfortunately, she
felt that her comments were
misunderstood and did not
reflect her actual beliefs. She
took exception to the quote "I
think he's coming soon, but
he's not around the
corner" .. .
According to Chana, the ar-
rival of the Mashiach is immi-
nent. She states that "the
Mashiach is already here but
he hasn't been revealed
yet." . . .
Without a doubt we as
adults can gain im-
measurably from the positive
example of our Jewish
children, who by virtue of
their emunah shleimah, com-
plete belief in the coming of
the Mashiach, will hasten the
final redemption of our people
speedily in our days. Amen.
Front-Page Topics
Are Questioned
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—4
Nacha Sara Leaf
Oak Park
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4 RFOR TX.
As an ardent Zionist . . . I
am dismayed, deeply concern-
ed and shocked that you chose
to give front-page coverage,
pictures included, to an avow-
ed Nazi, David Duke. Also, in
prior copies of The Jewish
News, I had to view Arafat
and his Arab terrorists on the
front page.
I would suggest that you
place these despicable
characters in the back of your
publication. How about
featuring Mr. Max Fisher, or
Mr. David Hermelin or Mr. Ed
Levy Jr, plus their pictures.
They certainly should have
front-page coverage. Yitzchak
Shamir, would also be an ap-
preciated subject at the pre-
sent time. These well-known
personalities would provide a
wealth of information perti-
nent to the Jewish concerns of
today.
Please, I implore you, do not
infringe on dishonoring my
Shabbat with your deplorable
characters of Duke and
Arafat, and honor us with
distinguished Jewish states-
people on the front page.
4'4
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Evelyn Wallace
Oak Park
Changed Attitudes
At Ford Motor
We applaud your article on
Ford Motor Co. vice president
Mery Manning in the Jan. 3
issue of The Jewish News.
Too many Jews have a
mistaken concept of Ford
Motor Co. 'Ib so many Jewish
Detroiters, mention Ford and
they immediately think of
anti-Semitism. There's no
question that Henry Ford was
an anti-Semite.
However, there are many
facts that go largely
unrecognized. How many peo-
ple are aware of the numerous
awards bestowed by B'nai
B'rith and other Jewish
organizations on Henry Ford
II, the grandson of Henry
Ford, for his generous support
of Jewish causes? Ford
employees contribute,
through United Way, large
sums of money to Jewish
agencies. (In fact, Ford
employees contribute more
than General Motors, which
Continued on Page 10
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