EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

A Nation Stirs

mer Prime Minister Binyamin
Petach Tikvah, Israel
Netanyahu and his wife, and an
he young, clean-shaven
alleged hitman plot amongst newspa-
man in a knitted kippa
per publishers — to international
looked lonely last week as
matters.
he handed out literature
A diplomatic bomb had dropped.
near Jerusalem's teeming intersection
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine
of King George and Jaffa roads.
Albright showed up. At first, it only
The packet, emblazoned with
gave Jerusalem's cab drivers
nationalist slogans about the
a chance to roll out Arabic
necessity of Israel retaining
curses at sudden road-
the Golan Heights, captured
blocks, courtesy of "madam
little attention. It included a
secretary's" police escort.
colorful map of the northeast-
Peace talks with Syria,
ern range's Jewish religious
everyone knew, would
and historical significance,
resume within days.
and familiar lingo about the
Rumors flew. "Deal
importance of not relinquish-
Almost Done!" declared the
ing the strategic area captured
tabloid dailies. Newspaper
from Syria in the 1967 Six-
NEIL RUBIN
polls plastered on front
Day War.
Senior Editor
pages screamed of 54 legis-
But it's all been said
lators against a complete
before. And the average
withdrawal. And, they
Israeli cares little for nation-
added the next day, 74 percent of the
al affairs on a daily basis. That is,
public shared that view.
until something dramatic happens.
Suddenly, tattered signs and
Not only had drama been rare of
bumper stickers of "HaAm im
late, but many seemed to be enjoy-
haGolan" (the nation is with the
ing the calm.
Golan) and "HaGolan, zeh lo nand-
The mood, however, shifted in the
lahn" (the Golan is no real estate)
past week. The popular and abundant
seemed to have more significance.
radio talk shows, obsessed until
Everywhere — on street corners, in
recently with domestic crisis/scandal
du jour, were the best indication. They cabs, in restaurants and at the Shabbat
table — the Golan Heights was a
went from juicy domestic topics —
topic of debate. There were arguments
the government's ignoring social
about how arguments were futile.
needs, a criminal investigation of for-
More information was needed, many
Neil Rubin can be reached via e-mail
declared. Huge questions needed
at nrubin@jewishtimes.com
answers. How would the country pay

T

vibrant Jewish community, to the Los
Angeles Dodgers, which serve a huge
Jewish population but little if any
community," negates his "reasoning."
And, if he wants to be part of the
Dodgers-Sandy Koufax-Jewish tradi-
tion, someone should ask him if he
plans to play on Yom Kippur should
the opportunity arise.
Sheldon L. Green
Cleveland, Ohio

Contributor
Overlooked

The Temple Beth El Sisterhood would
like to congratulate the Orchards
Children's Services in Southfield, the
Family Independence Agency of
Wayne County and the Lovelight
Foundation for co-sponsoring "A Spe-

cial Gift: The Mayor's Party for the
City of Detroit."
We were proud to donate over 75
dozen baked goods to the party, as we
have over the last several years. Your
article ("Gift Givers," Nov. 19) omit-
ted the fact that we have been contrib-
utors. Our members are delighted to
join the Greater Detroit Chapter of
Hadassah in providing baked goods
for youngsters to enjoy.
We would also like to commend
the Young People's Society of Temple
Beth El for volunteering to help at the
party. These young people woke up
early on a Sunday morning to go to
Cobo Center in Detroit and spend the
day making young people happy. They
are learning the joy of helping others.
Deena Lockman
president,
Temple Beth El Sisterhood

for Prime Minister Ehud Barak's
promised referendum on a final deal?
Who would write the question?
Should other inquiries on the public's
feelings over the peace process be
included, ostensibly by a vote of confi-
dence or rejection of Barak's rule?
And, of course, would the United
States really pay the expected billions
of dollars needed to fund the with-
drawal?
A few right-wing Knesset members
argued that Israeli Arabs should not
vote since their ballots were pre-
dictable. Not to be outdone, some on
the left wondered if the public would
ever be educated enough to offer an
informed opinion.
Others grumbled about how, once
again, the average Israeli really has no
decision to make. That's because the
fate of the referendum, they said, is in
the hands of Orthodox rabbis such as
Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of
the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox Shas
party. The party's 17 Knesset members
will vote as told. They are expected to
offer a bloc vote in exchange for a
financial bailout of their bankrupt
school system.
Secular parties are not remiss from
Israel's realpolitik. The Russian politi-
cal parties could cash in on immigrant
benefits. And so on.
Through it all, doubt hangs heavy
in the air. Even the supposedly non-
nationalist and secular yuppies are in
angst over the Golan Heights issue.
Ideology aside, important historical

sites have been unearthed there, and
few places in the world match the
region's natural beauty. Everyone has
camped and hiked in the lush parks
and preserves of the Golan.
On a psychological level, the Golan
offers an important natural security
buffer. While missiles know no bor-
ders, Israelis recall that prior to 1967
Syrian gunners shot with impunity
down at Israeli farmers on the Sea of
Galilee's edge. The much-talked about
"revisionist historians" have found
archival papers showing how Israel
may have taunted the Syrians, but the
myth of a vulnerable Israel is far from
history.
There is, however, at least one
indication that a segment of Israeli
society is anxious for a deal to be
done. The stock market jumped
nearly 10 percent in. the first two
days of the week.
Yet Israel's financial market is
known for its ups and downs. No
doubt, the coming national debate
over the Golan also will see peaks
and valleys.
Many recognize that if the Israeli
and Syrian governments strike a deal
which is then rejected by Israel's
public, the Jewish state will face a
new set of questions — and Ehtid
Barak likely will be looking for a
new job. For the moment, the
majority seems more interested in
ignoring ideologues handing out lit-
erature on street corners than head-
ing back to the polls. ❑

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1999

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