Editorials

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Existential Questions

IV

hen a terrorist group bombs a
school bus, kills two teachers and
maims a half-dozen children,
how much force can you use in
reply without being "excessive?" A couple of
hundred rubber bullets and some tear gas can-
isters? Four shells froth a tank, or six? Would it
be OK to fire a missile from a helicopter at
what you know to be an empty building? Who
ought to decide?
The questions occur to us in the wake of a
silly and offensive pronouncement last week by
the U.S. State Department that Israelis "need to
understand that the excessive use of force is not
the right way to go." The statement came in the
immediate wake of Israel's gun-ship attack on the
suspected offices of Fatah, the Palestinian terrorist
group implicated in the bus bombing.
To be fair, the State Department did say the
attack on school kids was "heinous," and it didn't
come right out and say that particular retaliation
was excessive. But the linkage was unmistakable,
particularly when State urged the Palestinian
Authority to condemn the bus bombing — a
step that it knew the PA would never take.
From the very beginning in late September
of this Al-Aqsa intifada, it has been clear that
Israel would be in a public relations predica-
ment because its forces are — happily for the
safety of the Zionist state — so much greater
than those of the Palestinians.

Related coverage: page 45

Even the pictures of the Palestinians gleeful-
ly showing their hands stained with the blood
of the reservists they beat to death never over-
came the images of 12-year-old Muhammad
Al-Durrah being shot to death in his father's
arms. Thanks in good part to the shallowness
of the Cable News Network's (CNN's) cover-
age, much of the world thinks that Israel is
willfully and wantonly aiming to kill the
stone-throwers rather than the armed militia
men who fire from behind the teenagers.
So long as the incitements remained small
— rocks and taunts — the Israel Defense
Forces needed to practice great restraint, using
far more crowd-control measures and much
less deadly force, to show the Palestinians and
the rest of the world that it understands the
use of mercy. World opinion does count, and
there is no need to give more ammunition to
the irresponsible forces that generate anti-
Zionist resolutions at the United Nations.
But when terrorist bombs go off in the mar-
ket in Jerusalem, or in Hadera, or when Pales-
tinian snipers lay in wait for unarmed cars on
the roads to settlements, a response is neces-
sary. And the response has to be forceful
enough to demonstrate to the Palestinian lead-
ership that Israel is not a paper tiger.
Yes, Israel needs to be careful — as it has
been. But, no, it doesn't need a lecture from a
diplomat safely behind a desk in Washington
about how it should respond to the next-door
neighbors who are trying to kill its citizens. ❑

LETTERS

Emergency Assets

N

ational Jewish leaders should proceed
cautiously with their plan for a new
$10-million emergency fund to deal
with catastrophes and crises that affect
Jews in this country and around the world.
It's not that the community overall can't
afford to set aside the money. Rather, it is a
question of using money most effectively when
problems crop up suddenly. Having a pot of
money sitting around can easily prompt peo-
ple of generous spirit to rush to dole it out,
possibly even finding "emergencies" that cooler
thinking might call "problems."
The plan, presented at the annual General
Assembly of the United Jewish Communities,
the umbrella national unit for federations and
other Jewish agencies and philanthropies, seems
noble enough on its face. As UJC Chairman
Charles Bronfman explained, if the fund had
existed when Israel suddenly withdrew from
southern Lebanon in May, it would have been
tapped to help the economies of northern border
towns that suffered a severe tourism loss.
That's perfectly fine, but what about the

Related story: page 50

Dry Bones

overall Israeli economy that is being hurt by
the current Palestinian violence? Would the
fund be better used to help some of the facto-
ries find replacement workers? Should it assist
the battered hotels and spas or help subsidize
those empty seats on El Al flights?
Generosity has been a wonderful fact of
American Jewish life for longer than there has
been an Israel, and we hope that never
changes. The needs remain immense, even in a
21st century that promises a global waning of
anti-Semitism.
Over the years, our communities have built
strong structures for responding to these needs in
thoughtful and effective ways. It may take a little
longer to go through the process of agency evalu-
ation, but it assures the biggest bang for the buck
and the most sustainable flow of money.
As UJC leaders consult with local federa-
tions over the coming months about the need
for the fund, they should listen carefully to the
people who would have to come up with the
money. Unquestionably, Bronfman's support
carries a lot of weight — and it should. But
ultimately, if the idea is good, it will prevail. If
not, we could be sorry we rushed into it. ❑

Special Needs,
Special Attention

We are the parents of one of
the children with special
needs who will benefit from
the future Friendship Circle
Ferber-Kaufman Life Town
Center ("Completing The
Circle," Nov. 24, page 10).
Our daughter Elana, 12,
has a rare chromosome
abnormality and requires a
lot of care and special atten-
tion.
As parents, and being
involved in the Friendship
Circle almost from the
beginning, it is an unbeliev-
able feeling to have them in
our lives.
Rabbi Levi and Bassie
Shemtov, and everyone
involved with this wonder-
ful organization, are truly

gifts. The joy that the vol-
unteers put on Elana's face,
as well as the other chil-
dren with special needs, is
priceless. It teaches that
not everyone is born the
same, but everyone gets a
chance to experience joy,
friendship, companionship
and a lot more.
We look forward to the
future Friendship Circle
Ferber-Kaufman Life Town
Center. We thank everyone
who is so willing to be a
part of This from the bot-
tom of our hearts. Your
help will certainly not go
unnoticed. You will just
look at these beautiful
faces and know it is all
worth it.
Sheryl and
Dennis Kaminer

Oak Park

YWT

12/1
2000

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