• ditorials • • Simchat Torah Ending To Start Over • • Jewish state and hides behind the Law of Return as a shield from justice. That certainly was not the impetus for Israel's founding nearly five decades ago. But while Israel's actions were laudable, those This is the season to be joyful. With so much of some American officials in this nightmarish time, effort, energy, sadness and pain over our case have been appalling. In particular, some of divisiveness, we celebrate Friday night Simchat Israel's newest "friends" in the House Republican Torah. Some synagogues will offer aliyot to those leadership, such as Rep. Bob Livingston (R-La.), who desire. Some temples will unroll the Torah chair of the House Appropriations Committee, around the entire congregation. Others will and Rep. Sonny Callahan (R-Ala.), head of the dance with the Torahs. foreign operations subcommittee, have unfairly It is a time when the person sitting in the and unwisely threatened to hold up Israel's eco- back row of Judaism has an opportunity to hug, nomic aid unless Mr. Sheinbein was extradited kiss and sing songs of our joy and commitment immediately. just as much as the person in the front. We urge Mr. Callahan and Mr. Livingston have been you to take this opportunity. Life, as we say, is cozy with pro-Israel activists, but the first time too short not to seize the moment and the beau- their friendship was put to the test they resorted ty. Kiss the Torah, hold it, and you'll feel the to the old Israel-bashing tactic of threatening to energy of something wonderful and real coming hold up American aid. Besides eroding the U.S.- back to you. Israel relationship, such behavior causes ques- In this week's Close Up story, we cover this tions about the depth of the new pro-Israel wonderful document of our survival. Some see it coalition that has been created in the as a code book for life. Others draw their inspi- Republican-led Congress. ration from it. But when Simchat Torah is over, Is this really how the United States treats its our involvement with the Torah continues. It's a allies? Threatening each time there's a disagree- week-after-week present. The learning you and ment between Washington and Jerusalem is your children can glean from it is something that hardly the way friends treat each other. will touch you as a Jew forever. We can certainly understand American frus- Remember that even though we want to tration with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin touch the Torah it's really the Torah that touches Netanyahu's intransigence in the Middle East us. Take advantage of that wonderful opportuni- peace process, which could be one factor in the ty. events of the past two weeks. But threatening Israel's foreign aid is hardly an inducement to the Netanyahu government to work more closely with American mediators. Recent histo- ry suggests that when legislators unsheathe the foreign aid weapon, a backlash in Israel usually works against the objectives of angry legisla- The Israeli attorney general's decision this week tors. to permit the extradition of a Maryland Jewish Let's not pretend that Israel's economic teen-ager charged with murder demonstrates reliance on the United States was Photo by AP/Nati Harnik once again that Israel is not a ever merely a matter of American banana republic but a democracy altruism and generosity. shaped by the rule of law. American aid to Israel, it should Unfortunately, some American be pointed out, benefits both officials who should know better countries. Given that reality, don't understand that distinction. threatening Israel's aid for politi- Despite complex legal proceed- cal reasons is counterproductive. ings, Israeli Attorney General That being said, how can one Elyakim Rubenstein determined Maryland teen-ager's legal quag- that Samuel Sheinbein, one of two mire pull a pair of allegedly tight teens charged last month in the allies into such a rift in which Maryland mutilation death of 19- threats of economic pullbacks year-old Alfred Enrique Tello Jr., is surface? An old Yiddish proverb eligible for extradition, even with advises, "Hiten zol men zich di his father's debatable status as an Samuel Shein bein, right, is freina nit far di feint," bewaretf Israeli citizen. led to jail in Israel. your friends, not your enemies. We applaud Israel's determina- More than ever, this case tion to proceed according to the demonstrates that Israel — with its emer- letter of the law, despite a host of diplomatic, gence as a thriving economic power — political and economic pressures. And we corn- would do itself a huge favor by finding ways mend Mr. Rubenstein for his cool, judicious to wean itself off U.S. aid. At the very least, handling of this explosive case. that would be a strong step in the right direc- Mr. Rubenstein's decision ensures that Israel tion toward warding off empty threats from a will not be transformed into a safe haven for supposed friend ❑ every potential Jewish criminal who flees to the With Friends Like These ... 10/24 1997 32 Rim Aljaroushi, an Arab toddler, in a Tel Aviv operation received the heart of a Jewish child killed in a road accident. LETTERS Editorial Reflects Hope Thank you for your editorial on-the peace process ("Some Optimistic Signs On The Peace Front" Oct. 17). More than 21 months ago, I was given the opportunity to write an opinion article for The Jewish News. At that xi time, I wrote of my strong optimism for an eventual agreement including not only the Palestinians, but even the Syrians. Since then, a series of events have prevented much progress. In fact, those of us that still believe in eventual success are becoming an ever c: smaller minority. Yet your edi- HOPE on page 35 Photo by AP/Housein Housein Dennis Ross, Benyamin Netanyahu and Yassir Ara at at a meeting in Gaza.