tive. Nevertheless, an assessment
of his operation points to Iran.
The clearest connection is that
Mr. Mikdad was spotted enter-
ing the Iranian embassy in Beirut
a number of times in the past
months. Other clues are that he
entered Israel bearing an ex-
pertly doctored British passport,
his command of English (which
would not attract suspicion), the
route he took to Israel (via the
Zurich airport, which is known
for its tight security), the explo-
sives he carried and the means of
concealing. Each, security ana-
lysts say, points to Mr. Mikdad's
operation having been prepared
by a more sophisticated appara-
tus than the Hezbollah (of which
he was a member) — or at least
that Hezbollah could not have
mounted it on its own.
Well before the details of Mr.
Mikdad's mission were revealed,
Prime Minister Shimon Peres
had been telling his countrymen
that Iran is bent on sabotaging
his candidacy as the easiest way
of scuttling the Middle East peace
process. But it wasn't until last
Some recent breaks
for Israel, but the
fear of Iran on the
horizon.
/—
•
•
week that the spokesman of the
Iranian Foreign Ministry, Mah-
moud Mouhmadi, responded by
characterizing the charges as
"cheap propaganda designed to
influence the outcome of the [Is-
raeli] elections."
Even so balanced an observer
as Ha'aretz political analyst Uzi
Benziman characterized a sce-
nario in which a distant funda-
mentalist-Muslim state
presumed to pull the strings of
the Israeli voter as "almost sur-
realistic" and redolent of the dis-
tant days when imperialist
nations "meddled in their African
colonies."
What nevertheless makes this
"fantastic" version of events dif-
ficult to dismiss, Mr. Benziman
added, is that it is confirmed in
leaks by both American intelli-
gene organs and by Israel's own
politically disinterested securi-
ty services.
It all leaves the Israeli voter in
something of a quandary. The La-
bor Party's propaganda machine,
working overtime to forestall the
damage of a major terror attack
before or on election day, is im-
ploring voters not to allow Israel's
enemies to decide how they will
vote. Nevertheless, the conven-
tional wisdom is that a success-
ful action by a suicide bomber will
seriously affect the outcome at
the polls.
And so a complex, even slight-
ly absurd, situation has evolved
and pre-election tension is
growing. ❑
Lis'icus
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Congregation Beth Achim
invites the community to celebrate the
90th birthday
of our beloved
Benjamin
H.
Gorrelick
Rabbi Emeritus
with a festive dinner on
Tuesday, June 4th, 7:00 p.m.
Mill Floor
COVERINGS
VISIT OUR NEW STORE
Mon., Thurs., Fri. 9-9
Tues., Wed. 9-6
Sat. 9-5; Sun. 12-5
(810) 738-6554
2380 Orchard Lake Road
just E of Loading Dock Plaza, Sylvan lake
$30.00 per adult $15.00 per child
($5.00 from each adult dinner will be
donated to the Jewish Theological Seminary
in Rabbi Gorrelick's honor)
For more information, or to make your reservations,
please call Congregation Beth Achim
at 810-352-8670 by May 29, 1996
•