A DAY OF PEACE

A Local Lesson From
The Middle East

RONALD ARONSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Hope And Apprehension

Jewish Detroiters congregate to
witness the historic signing.

some of the others contribut-
RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER
ing to these pages. Listen
carefully, to those who
jumped on the bandwagon
when it became policy and
then to the extremists who
still reject mutual recogni-
tion.
Talking so much about
insecurity and hatred, they
are the ones fueling it —
while carefully cloaking their
underlying goal. At bottom,
both Israeli/Jewish and
Palestinian/Arab rejectionists
believe that only one people
should rule all of Pales-
Ronald Aronson
tine/Israel, that the other
people must submit to them,
esterday's radicalism be transferred or be driven
has become today's into the sea.
Jewish and Palestinian
reality; peace, based on
mutual recognition extremists are opposite sides
between Israelis and of the coin: Neither is willing
Palestinians, followed by first to respect the national rights
steps toward Palestinian self of the other people. Both are
rule in the West Bank and driven by a brutal fantasy,
Gaza.
secular or justified by the
And how do yesterday's Bible or Koran, of having
radicals, in Israel and the their national home to them-
Diaspora, feel about it? We selves, dominating or being
are overjoyed at the break- rid of the other people.
Reaction inside the Federation Buildin g to Monday's peace signings.
through. For years we have
On both sides, they contin
argued, spoken out, and ue to deny the reality that we
the countries to turn from
omeday, when infants
demonstrated on behalf of have always stressed and Mr.
"bullets
to ballots."
Susan
Imerman
and
Rabin
and
Mr.
Arafat
have
mutual recognition as the
Ayelet
Shapiro
are
a
lit-
They
clapped again when
only realistic solution to the finally accepted: that
tle
older,
their
mothers
Mr.
Peres
and the PLO's
Israel/Palestine
is
the
home
Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
will remind them of the
Mahmoud Abbas put pen to
and argued that this was the of two peoples whose mutual
paper.
September morning in
key to the larger Arab-Israeli survival depends on working
1993
when
two
longtime
ene-
"The hope and the dream
conflict.
out a way for each to accept
mies in the Middle East
always existed, but the reali-
Again and again, we insist- the other's full freedom and
shook hands.
ty seemed impossible," said
ed that Palestinians and self-determination.
"I'll tell Susan that she
Judy Rosenberg of the
Those of us who have cam-
Israelis both had to accept
witnessed a historic day,"
National Council of Jewish
that each people is in paigned for this recognition
said
Women.
mother Miriam
Israel/Palestine to stay and among our fellow Jews find
Imerman, cradling her dia-
As she watched the sign-
that each one has the right to this moment of our victory to
pered 4-month-old.
ing, Ms. Rosenberg's
national self-determination. be bittersweet We are aware,
Mrs. Imerman, who works
thoughts wandered to an
We argued that the key to sadly, of how much abuse
for the Jewish Community
Israeli family she met during
continuing conflict was that we've had to absorb in assert-
Council, stood beside
the Michigan Miracle
from the beginning neither ing what today has become
Sharona Shapiro, Michigan
Mission last spring. The fam-
side had accepted the other the prevailing wisdom.
area director of the American
ily lived in Yavne, Detroit's
It is time to think about
as a nation, and that both
Jewish Committee. The
sister city. The son, in his
were slowly moving, and this intolerance. How much
mothers, along with about
late teens, served in the
needed to be encouraged to has it cost our community?
Israeli
army.
130
other
Jewish
Detroiters,
How
many
people
have
move, toward accepting this
joined
at
the
Max
M.
Fisher
"I'm
thinking about what
Now they have, and we are turned away because dissent
Building on Monday to watch
this must mean to that fami-
overjoyed.
has been so difficult? Has this
the telecast of the historic
ly." To a great degree, she
We are proud of having intolerance created a climate
peace accord signing in
said, it must spell relief.
advocated the solution when that retarded the process of
Washington, D.C.
Then came the handshake
no one else did and of having peace?
The aura was a mix of
between Mr. Arafat and Mr.
held out for so long. But it is
Whatever the conclusions
hope and apprehension.
Rabin. Applause and a cho-
important to ask: What was ? ur community should regret
rus of "I don't believe it"
Reporters from local media
it in our collective vision that is intolerance, and learn
scribbled on notepads while
echoed through the room.
enabled us to thi s from it. Ca
cameramen
"With all the people up
navigated
direction and to keep advo-
through
the
crowd
of
there
on the television screen
faces.
Ronald
Aronson is a professor of
cating it, often in the face of
Eyes of audience members
and all the wonderful words
enormous hostility?
interdisciplinary studies at
they said, I feel God is the
were 'riveted on the television
To understand why we Wayne State University and
screen, where President Bill
one behind all this, pulling
turned out to be right, it is former chairman of the
Clinton called for enduring
the strings," said Hilda
only necessary to listen to the Middle East Committee of the
peace in the Middle East.
Borenstein, assistant manag-
voices of those who turned New Jewish Agenda of
er of administration for the
The audience clapped for
out to be wrong, including Metropolitan Detroit.
Israeli Foreign Minister
Jewish Federation.
Despite their happiness,
Shimon Peres, who beckoned

S

(JD

LLJ

I

many expressed concern.
Robert Kalman, a 25-year-
old accounting executive in
Southfield, visited Israel 2%
years ago. Though encour-
aged by the recent progress
toward peace, "I've seen the
true feeling of some Israelis
who are opposed to the peace
accords," he said. "I've seen
enough radicals on both sides
to make me a little bit skepti-
cal about peace in the short
term."
David Gad-Harf, executive
director of the Jewish
Community Council, said
Israel and the PLO have
many questions to answer:
What forms will elections
take? What will the status be
of refugees outside of the
Gaza Strip and West Bank?
What is the future status of
Jerusalem?
He said the United States
and the rest of the world will
play a critical role in assur-
ing peace in the Middle East.
"A massive infusion of aid
is needed," he said.
"Whatever aid is provided
has to be carefully targeted to
build up an infrastructure.
Right now, no such infra-
structure exists in the West
Bank and Gaza.

"I'll tell Susan that
she witnessed a
historic day."

Mirtal 'merman

"Until it is created, economic
affairs (involving the Pales-
tinian territories) will be
severely handicapped," he said.
Robert Aronson, executive
vice president of the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit, said the local com-
munity also has a role to play
in the peace process.
"If people, wherever we
are, begin to talk to each
other and find a common
ground, it affects not only our
country but the worldwide
community," he said. "(Our
local goal) is to be as support-
ive as possible, to do what we
can locally to open up a new
communication and dialogue
with the Palestinian popula-
tion of Detroit.
"We have to reach out to
each other." ❑

