Confusion Reigns
0, RUBS-- WHEN DO YOU -MINK)
ETH AND BERNIE
ILL GET-
ENGAGED?
* The status quo means a con-
tinually frustrated Palestinian pop-
ulace that will openly embrace
Hamas and Islamic jihad, radical
groups bent on sustained terror and
murder of Israelis. Eventually, this
will bring Mr. Arafat's demise and
necessitate a renewed Israeli mili-
tary occupation.
* There can be moves to disarm
the Palestinian police and reassert
military control in Palestinian cities.
This would likely result in heavy ca
LET'S JUST SAY
sualties on both sides and full-scale
THEY ARE SHOWING
1
THE
SUREST SIGN
war, ending even the pretext for ne-
v;,. I : i<NOW THAT A
gotiations.
\y ii JEWISH COUPLE IS
GETTING ENGAGED!
* Binyamin Netanyahu's gov-
ernment can reluctantly implement
the Oslo accords, as it says it is try-
ing to do. Yet, it must repeatedly
show concrete steps in this direction
and end its string of blatantly hos-
tile blunders, such as knocking
down an east Jerusalem child-care
and sports center that did not have
the correct building permits.
Israel must fully embrace the
Oslo Accords in spirit as well as in
letter. Mr. Netanyahu and his min-
isters can balk all they want about
being dictated to in their home. Yet, _they must
comprehend that the peace process has created a
momentum of its own.
The issues are complex. The Palestinians claim
that Israelis are violating Oslo by vowing to ex-
pand settlements and by not withdrawing from
Hebron. For its part, the Palestinian Authority
Arafat's failures.
has clearly violated some Oslo declarations. In-
Peres' embarrassing fifth polit-
stead of the called-for 22,000 armed policemen,
ical defeat was in response to the
30,000 of Mr. Arafat's armed officers are on pa-
fact that Israel has become a much
trol. Also, the Palestinian Authority is operating
Israel has backed herself into a more dangerous place. It is omi-
in east Jerusalem and refuses to. turn over con- corner and now must defend her nous that whether one reads the
victed terrorists to the Israelis, both of which are right to alter/open archeologi- Detroit Free Press or the New York
prohibited by Oslo.
caUtouristattractions in her cap- Times, the message' is clear. Ac-
The only answer to these and other claims is ital city Jerusalem after suffering cording to the media, Israel is vi-
sustained and intense negotiations among trust- 2,000 years of exile and stateless- olating the accords by building
settlements, by refusing to imple-
ed military and diplomatic leaders. The Wash- ness.
Apparently many Jews and ment future withdrawals, and by
ington summit will be hollow without a definitive
non-Jews alike have not inter- opening a second exit to an eight-
structure for further contact.
nalized
what it means to have sov- year-old tunnel.
We still believe that Mr. Netanyahu can de-
There is universal refusal to ac-
ereign
control
over one's country.
liver to the Israeli people — and by extension the
cept any responsibility or expec-
It
means
that
the
citizens
of
that
Jewish world — the peace it deserves. Almost four
country, not "Nightline" or "Meet tation that the Palestinians will
months ago, we applauded his inaugural speech The Press," dictate Israeli policy. abide by any of the requirements
in which he pledged to lead all Israelis and to move
If I am not mistaken, 60 percent of Oslo. To have to explain these
the peace process ahead.
of the Israeli-Jewish electorate re- contradictions and defend Israel's
Yet, as we read of Israel's dead, Mr. Netanyahu jected Peres' handling of the Oslo attempt to undue the resultant
cannot escape the bitter sting of the tears rolling accords and awarded Netanyahu weakening of the state by the pre-
down our cheeks. His initial decision to open a tun- a mandate to "fix" what is wrong vious Peres government is
Kafkaesque.
nel exit at the archaeological site, disregarding with Oslo.
The simple explanation is that
What
is
wrong
is
what
the
the advice of some intelligence officials, is much
anti-Semitism
is so rampant that
Palestinians
have
come
to
expect.
more than irresponsible. It was deadly. His ap-
parent reluctance to trust others than a small This means additional Israeli as the PLO is legitimized, the Is-
raelis are demonized. This does
cadre of yes-men has had horrible results. He must withdrawals to the 1967 armistice
lines, which include seceding east not explain that leading the cho-
learn immediately from his tragic mistakes and Jerusalem and the Golan. In ad- rus of PLO defenders is a vocal
ensure they are not repeated. The leader of Israel dition, the Palestinians do not un- group of Israeli and Diaspora
must not live in a bubble of contempt for his neigh- derstand why Netanyahu should Jews.
-
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DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahui: How many more lives?
As Washington buzzed this week with the snags
and successes of a Mideast leaders summit, Is-
raelis mourned the sudden and horrifying loss
of 14 soldiers — including one senior Druze army
officer. Palestinians laid to rest 57 co-nationalists.
After repeated street battles and, finally, a sem-
blance of order, the battle for public opinion raged.
Yassir Arafat's forces belatedly gained control, but
not until after returning the fire of tear gas and
rubber bullets with automatic weapons.
Then the diplomats tried to pick up the bloody
pieces of the forsaken peace. Stepping into the fray
to foster an atmosphere of dialogue was the Clin-
ton administration, whom we admire for taking
this risk in the middle of its re-election campaign.
While the clashes took place on the West Bank
and in the Gaza Strip, the symbolic and bloody
heart of this outburst is Jerusalem. The ancient
Jebusite fortress — holy to Jews, Christians and
Muslims — is claimed as the capital of the Jew-
ish state and the nonexistent Palestinian one.
When Israel, after more than a decade of delay,
opened a tunnel exit at the end of a fantastic ar-
chaeological site, the Palestinians rioted, claim-
ing that Israel was seeking to undermine their
claims to the Temple Mount, the third holiest site
in Islam and the holiest one for Jews. Some Pales-
tinians have claimed that the Temple Mount has
no significance in Jewish history. Any amateur
scholar can prove that is patently absurd. Fur-
ther, Jerusalem is united under Jewish rule and
will remain so until a democratically elected Is-
raeli government changes that, which we do not
foresee.
Jockeying for moral high ground aside, what to
do? The choices for Israel are clear — and they
present options ranging from painful to impossi-
ble.
Letters
Backed
Into Corner
bors.
expect a quid pro quo when Peres
bent over backwards to cover up
BACKED page 22