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Interregnum:
The Century's Halves
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FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 1992
THE JEWISH NEWS
enerations have in-
separability when
they share experi-
ences and are ready to learn
one from the other. This
should be the motto for the
hours when we conclude one
era of five decades and
welcome another half cen-
tury in mankind's history.
In recording and
celebrating 50 years of The
Jewish News, experiences
and accomplishments are
not limited to our immediate
community. They embrace
our lives as Americans, our
aspirations and destinies as
Jews, our roles in the
historiography of mankind.
We have been in the habit
of resorting to the Tehillim,
the Psalms, when speaking
of the endlessness of time.
A Prayer of Moses the
man of God.
Lord, Thou has been our
dwelling-place in all
generations.
Before the mountains
were brought forth,
Or ever Thou hadst form-
ed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to
everlasting, Thou are God.
Thou turnest man to
contrition;
And sayest: 'Return, ye
children of men:
For a thousand years in
Thy sight
Are but as yesterday
when it is past,
And as a watch in the
night .. .
For all our days are pass-
ed away in Thy wrath;
We bring our years to an
end as a tale that is told.
The days of our years are
three-score years and ten,
Or even by reason of
strength four-score years;
Yet is their pride but
travail and vanity;
For it is speedily gone,
and we fly away .. .
So teach us to number
our days,
That we may get us a
heart of wisdom.
The Divine message with
its inspiration for piety
carries with it the necessary
awareness of what has
happened in the previous
decades. There are many
obligations. Perhaps a
primary one should be edu-
cation and learning. Here we
are confronted with a regret-
table obstruction.
A reduction in elementary
educational facilities must
be seen as a grave error.
Abandonment of schools will
always be regrettable.
There is always the subject
generalized as anti-
Semitism. Our cheerful ac-
claim of the democratic ideal
has always been the asser-
tion that as long as there is
no "official anti-Semitism"
there is nothing to fear.
Now we are confronted
with what could be feared as
a menace —occurrences that
have caused a charge of anti-
Semitism directed at the
Bush-Baker team. It is with
utmost seriousness that we
treat the editorial in the
March 6 Wall Street Journal
titled "The U.S. vs Israel." It
asserted:
Israelis overwhelmingly
support the annexation of
Jerusalem and the reten-
tion of the majority of set-
tlements. Most settlements,
rather than the trailer
parks with machine-gun-
toting zealots that some
American journalists like
to portray, are in fact
bedroom communities,
with pools and jogging
facilities and satellite
dishes. They house doctors
and lawyers, who came for
nonpolitical reasons.
On the other hand, there
is a healthy debate about
how to give the Palesti-
nians greater autonomy
while still safeguarding
Israel's right to exist. But
with their persistent Israel-
bashing, Messrs. Bush and
Baker have taken the U.S.
out of this discussion. They
are demanding, in effect,
that Israel make a
unilateral concession. Yet,
if Israel were to halt set-
tlements, it would be con-
ceding the principle that
Jews have no right to live
in, say, Hebron, the town
where Judaism was born.
If the White House has
reversed longstanding U.S.
policy that it doesn't sup-
port the creation of an in-
dependent Palestinian
state on the West Bank,
then that would be worth
knowing .. .
An Arabist policy led the
British down a shameful
path that had them train-
ing the Jordanian troops
who attacked the fledgling
Israeli state. For the U.S.
the drift would mean
replacing America's tradi-
tional support for
democracy and freedom
for a sham realpolitik.
The White House has
gone out of its way to pick
a fight with Israel. This
fight allows Mr. Bush to
demonstrate the U.S. drift
toward Arabism. He has
shown he can intimidate
American Jewish
organizations. But what
are the motives for this
turn? It does not advance
peace. Israel, being a pro-
ud nation, will not be cow-
ed by crude pressure.
Perhaps Mr. Baker has
been spending too much
time with the despotic likes
of Hafez Assad.
We have much to tax our
energies in the battles
against prejudices. It is in
such a battle against dis-
crimination the we continue
to be committed to a basic
human duty. Emphasis is
now on a single word:
We had special
good will sections
in the Jewish
press.
ecumenism. We began im-
portant actions a number of
decades ago when we called
for "good will" during the
week of Washington's birth-
day. The National Con-
ference of Christians and
Jews was the advocate of the
good will appeal. We had
special good will sections in
the Jewish press.
Recently, a most im-
pressive advertisement
received special attention. It
contained a drawing of a
large button indicating "no
more hate" and an appeal to
make this a sign of the
times. The appeal was
signed by the American Jew-
ish Committee. the National
Conference of Christians
and Jews, the National
Council of Churches and the
U.S. Catholic Conference.
The appeal for an end to
hate contains hope that the
Islamic elements will share
in the aim, for such good
will. The Detroit Round
Table of the National Coun-
cil of Christians and Jews
has already expressed this
hope in their appeals.
The abolishment of hate is
among the most compelling
duties of all time.
Such are our paths as we
learn from the half century
we leave behind. Those who
join with us in observing the
anniversary of this news-
paper are surely par-
ticipants with us in a
historic celebration. ❑