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"I see a worrying possibility," Oz
said, "that, following the initialing of
an American-backed agreement, Assad
will make very sure that it will not
receive a majority here in a referen-
dum. And he will do that by repeated-
ly spitting in our faces."

More Than Culture

In a private conversation last week, a
Western ambassador who has served in
Arab countries as well as Israel argued
that this was just Assad's way. It was a
difference of cultures. Assad, he con-
tended, was-a dictator who didn't
understand how democracies work.
It wasn't entirely persuasive.
Another Arab dictator, Egypt's Anwar
Sadat, did things differently, flying to
Jerusalem, pressing the flesh, dining
with Menachem Begin, addressing the
Knesset (even if the things he said
there rang pretty harsh to Israeli ears).
"Sadat," Oz insisted, "understood
that our problem, the problem of both
the Jewish people and of Israel, was
not merely a problem of land and
security, but an emotional problem,
our problem of isolation and humilia-
tion. That is why Sadat began the
peace process by establishing an emo-
tional breakthrough."
Assad has not even tried, but per-
haps the ambassador was right. Patrick
Seale, the Syrian leader's British jour-
nalist mouthpiece, reiterated after the
summit was announced that Assad was
looking for a deal by the end of May.

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And Yet It Moves

Barak, too, is not without hope. He
urged his warring coalition partners to
patch up their differences so as not to
destroy the chances for peace.
On the Syrian side, Assad does not
want to be left in the cold.
Barak is earnest about getting out
of Lebanon by July. Assad would be
deprived of a major bargaining card,
while Israel would still be sitting on
the Golan.
Syria says that would mean war,
but would it? Only if Assad went for
broke against a much stronger Israeli
army.
Assad also fears being sidelined
while Israel is making peace with the
Palestinians. The talks resumed this
week in Washington. At the same
time, Israel handed over. another 6.1
percent of West Bank land to Yasser
Arafat and released dozens of
Palestinian security prisoners, includ-
ing some who murdered collaborators
or wounded Israelis. They called it
confidence-building, Mr. Assad. ❑

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Expires 3/31/00.

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