EDITORIAL
Israel In Middle
Of U.S. War With Iran
Make no mistake about it, the United
States and Iran are engaged in a continu-
ing, low-level war that is in danger of fully
igniting with the least bit of provocation.
Israel may well be the arena in which the
final battle is played out.
The conflict is ideological at its core:
Iran's militantly Islamic viewpoint holds
the West to be the devil incarnate, while
Washington's equally passionate belief in
the superiority of American-style secular
humanism holds Islamic fundamentalism
to be antagonistic to all we hold dear.
Historically, the conflict dates from
Washington's misguided, and ultimately
failed, effort to prop up the late Shah, a
man of decided Western leanings, but a
man who also treated his own people on a
par consistent with that of other dictatorial
Middle East leaders.
Had Washington not been so insistent on
maintaining the Shah's stranglehold on
power, a moderate Iranian leadership
might have developed that could have
headed off the Islamic fundamentalist
revolution of the late Ayatollah Khomeini.
The conflict took on a direct confronta-
tional tone with the 1983 Beirut attack by
Iranian-backed terrorists that killed 237
U.S. Marines, and with this nation's tilt
toward Iraq during its war with Iran.
The full extent of Washington's siding
with Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, is still
in the process of becoming clear.
Last week, ABC News' "Nightline" and
Newsweek magazine jointly reported that
during the late 1980s, the Reagan-Bush
administration covertly engaged in offen-
sive military actions against Iran in the
Persian Gulf. The downing of an Iranian
passenger plane, killing 290 people, by the
USS Vincennes was an unintended result
of this White House policy, according to the
report.
Also last week, a Republican congres-
sional report revealed that Iran, this time
in cooperation with Syria, has been
counterfeiting and circulating American
$100 notes in an effort to undermine the
U.S. economy while also financing the
spread of Islamic fundamentalism. Iran
appears to be printing as much as $12
billion annually in U.S. currency.
These latest reports of U.S.-Iranian con-
flict follow warnings that Iran is feverishly
working to enhance its military arsenal,
including nuclear weapons. Iran, which
has also been implicated in the recent
bomb attack on Israel's embassy in Buenos
Aires, openly calls for the destruction of
the Jewish state and, given the right op-
portunity, would not hesitate to act on its
hatred of all things Jewish.
Washington's commitment to Israel ebbs
and flows with the political tides;
Jerusalem cannot be sure that the tide will
be flowing in its favor when Iran finally
decides to make its move.
Israel must remain strong, and whoever
occupies the White House next cannot af-
ford to be as shortsighted as past ad-
ministrations have been in dealing with
Iran and other fanatical states in the Mid-
dle East. Because sooner or later, the U.S.
must deal with Teheran — just as it found
it could no longer put off dealing with
Baghdad. And the sooner this occurs, the
less deadly a confrontation it will be for the
U.S., Israel, and Iran as well.
The Middle East's
Forgotten Hostages
With news last month of the release of
two German relief workers held hostage for
three years by Shi'ite militants in Leb-
anon, the world breathed a sigh of relief.
They were the last of nearly 100 American
and European hostages freed by Arab or
Moslem groups.
But Ron Arad, an Israeli airman shot
down over Lebanon in 1986, still remains
in Shi'ite hands, the only one of several
missing Israelis who is presumed to be
alive. And the world is silent.
The fact that Israel was a major factor in
the release of Western hostages makes it
doubly frustrating that the fate of Israeli
prisoners of war and men missing in action
is still unknown. There is no word on Mr.
Arad's condition, no visits from the Red
Cross permitted, and no word regarding
6
FRIDAY, JULY 10, 1992
the fate of Zachary Baumel, Zvi Feldman
and Yehuda Katz, Israeli soldiers missing
in Syria since the 1982 war.
Israel and the world Jewish community
must do everything possible to dramatize
the plight of these missing men and to ad-
vocate for their release. Pidyon shevuyim,
the redemption of those in captivity, is
given the highest priority in Jewish law.
American Jewish organizaions have laun-
ched a national lobbying campaign to help
bring about an end to this inhuman treat-
ment, where relatives do not even know if
their loved ones are alive.
We urge our readers to speak out on
behalf of these missing Israelis and to urge
representatives of the U.S. government to
spearhead efforts in calling for their
release.
LETTERS
Assurance For
Maccabi Athletes
I am writing in response to
the July 3 Jewish News arti-
cle concerning the apparent
housing shortage for this
summer's Jewish Community
Center's North American
Maccabi Youth Games in
Baltimore.
This article was researched
and written by the Baltimore
Jewish Times for the
Baltimore community with
information supplied by the
Baltimore organizing com-
mittee as part of their final
campaign to secure the re-
mainder of their homes to ac-
commodate the athletes. We
have been assured that their
program is progressing
satisfactorily and none of our
athletes will be left home.
I have been in contact many
times over the past few
months with the Baltimore
people and am very en-
thusiastic about their sports
and cultural programs for the
games. The board of directors
of the Detroit Maccabi Club
has every reason to believe
that all participants will have
a meaningful and high-
quality experience in this
unique Jewish event.
Dr. Alan E. Horowitz
President, Metropolitan Detroit
Maccabi Club
The Draur Letter
And Anti-Semitism
I read with interest the Ju-
ly 3 article referring to a let-
ter which West Bloomfield
Supervisor Sandra Draur
sent to 1,100 Oakland Coun-
ty Republicans.
I have had an opportunity
to read that letter, which
strongly condemns anti-
Semitism. In the letter, Mrs.
Draur stated, "Clearly, anti-
Semitism has no place in
political life or in the
I
Republican Party. To allege
that someone is anti-Semitic
is to read them out of the par-
ty because anti-Semitism can-
not be tolerated."
I applaud Supervisor
Draur's statements as a clear
condemnation of anti-
Semitism. As a former senior
youth advisor at Shaarey,
Zedek, as well as a member of z,
the Wayne State Hillel boar..
of directors many years ago,
too spoke forcefully agains4, ;
anti-Semitism. More peopl,P,I.
need to do the same, so that,
the specter of this vicious way
of thinking will never brill,
to our country that which was
witnessed in Europe 50 years
ago.
As to Dennis Vatsis' com-
ments that Mrs. Draur's
powerful denunciation of anti-
Semitism is "insensitive tc
the Jewish people," I find such
to be most curious indeed. ,
Since when is criticism of
anti-Semitism "insensitive to j
the Jewish people"? Since'.7--
when has Mr. Vatsis shown
concern for the Jewish peon,
ple? Did he do so when he
originally voted against B'nai ,
Moshe's application to build a
synagogue in West Bloom-
field? . . .
It is interesting that Mr.
Vatsis should pick this occa-
sion to comment on the sen=.
sitivities of "the Jewish peo-
ple." Could the fact that he is
running for re-election (not on
Ms. Draur's ticket) be r
motivating factor?
Leslie Dick
West Bloornfielit\
Do Not Quote
Israel's Enemies
I came to Ann Arbor for
summer faculty seminar. In
order to keep current or
Jewish affairs I bought The
Jewish News (of June 261
While it looks like a good
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