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The Hard Work Of Peace
"It is a difficult task. I carry with me
to the negotiations all the pain of the
conflict — the victims, the graves, the
memorial days — but also all the
dreams and hopes of Israelis who wait
for the day when we look from a
position of power and strength at a
different Israel, an Israel at peace."
— Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak,
leaving Jerusalem for talks in Washington with Syria.
T
he talks that started Wednes-
day between Barak and Syrian
Foreign Minister Farouk
al-Shara, mark a mon-
umental change; Syria, long
the most intransigent Arab
opponent of the Jewish
homeland, is not only mov-
ing toward recognizing the
state of Israel but it is also
showing the rest of the Arab states that Israel is
there to stay. Whether these talks actually pro-
duce a final agreement or not, the fact that
they are taking place at all is cause for cheer.
We wish we could feel that Hafez Assad,
Syria's aloof and intransigent president, gen-
uinely believed that Israel has a right to exist.
More likely, he is simply accepting the reality
that his country has no future in the global
economy without a Western economic pres-
ence that his war with Israel makes impossible.
Some argue that Israel would be better
served by simply letting the Syrian economy
implode, as it is bound to do without external
help. The Alawi ruling class has repeatedly
botched its various "five-year" economic plans
that were modeled on Soviet communism. But
allowing a deeper collapse would actually make
peace more difficult by lowering Syrian self-
esteem to the level of the Palestinians and
breeding demagogues, who would point a fin-
ger of blame at the neighboring Jews.
A dose of capitalism in Syria might not be
a bad beginning. Capitalism seems to have a
way of helping nations set aside a lot of the
faith-based differences. And while Israel
remains the military Goliath of the Mideast,
the Syrians can — and do — argue that
their troops have performed honorably
enough to satisfy national dignity.
The outlines of the deal are
reasonable enough. Syria
reclaims most of the Golan
and some water rights in
exchange for enforce-
able security arrange-
ments, including a way
to monitor troop move-
ments, and for stopping its
aid to the Hezbollah guerillas. It
also induces Lebanon to sign a peace
treaty with Israel and Israel gets its forces out
of southern Lebanon.
But selling the deal may be incredibly dif-
ficult both within the Arab states and within
Israel. Wednesday's Hezbollah attacks were
clearly intended to disrupt the process, and
the narrow mandate Barak won from the
Knesset Monday underlined the extent of
domestic division he faces on this and on
the likely deal to be cut with the Palestini-
ans. (Our hearts particularly go out to the
long-term Golan settlers who transformed
the region and built lives that are to be
uprooted for the greater national good.) Nor
is it clear that the West will be falling all
over itself to find $20 billion or so to relo-
cate those settlers and begin building a
stronger Syrian economy.
Nonetheless, a peace with Syria and
Lebanon will happen because war no longer
makes sense to either side. And that peace
will powerfully cement an Arab recognition
of Israel's absolute right to live within secure
and well-defined borders for the first time in
more than 3,000 years. It is what "the vic-•
tims, the graves, the memorial days" are all
about.
IN FOCUS
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Working Together
In a program titled "Treasured Traditions," the Youth Federa-
tion of Temple Israel hosted Jewish Association for Residential
Care residents for the 18th straight Chanuka. "The twist was
that not only did the Temple Israel youth do a mitzvah for
JARC, but the two together became involved in a social action
project to help others," explained Pam Bloom, youth group
adviser with Susie Malach. The Dec. 6 get-together, chaired by
Melissa Roberts, included assembly of food baskets for Yad
Ezra, the kosher food pantry based in Oak Park. "So often,
JARC is looked at only in need of helping," Bloom said, "but
here they helped give back." The 30 youth groupers and 50
JARC residents shared in a latke and salad dinner. Left, Daniel
Feldheim, 14, dances with JARC's Denise Bennett. Right top,
Jessica Garelik, 14, spins a dreidel with JARC's Warren Rogers;
Alyse Solomon, 14, is in background. Right below, Noreen
Goodman of JARC dances with Sara Levey, 15.
LETTERS
A
Rabbi's Presence
Felt In Ann Arbor
I appreciated your article on
the Orthodox Jewish students
at the University of Michigan
this past week in the Spiritu-
ality section ("Orthodox On
Campus," Dec. 10).
I believe the article inad-
vertently conveyed the
impression that Rabbi A.
Jacobovitz is the rabbi of the
Ann Arbor Orthodox
Minyan (AAOM). Though
he has added to the Jewish
and Orthodox presence on
campus, the rabbi of the
Minyan is actually Rod Glo-
gower. We are most fortu-
nate to have had the spiritu-
al and intellectual leadership
of Rabbi Rod Glogower
since his return to Ann
Arbor in 1988.
Rabbi Glogower offers
weekly classes to both stu-
dents and others in addition
to his superb, erudite weekly
Shabbat talks. Rabbi Glogow-
er also offers a course on Jew-
ish Law for credit at the U of
M Law School. He is well
known in the Detroit area for
his excellent Jewish educa-
tional classes.
The AAOM, founded in
1965, has always held its ser-
vices jointly with the students'
Hillel Orthodox Minyan in
the Hillel building.
My family and I have been
in Ann Arbor since 1988 and
have witnessed the wonderful
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AM
12/17
1999
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