Temple after the Syrian-Greeks were
defeated. Though thousands of years
ago, the war cost many lives, and we
should remember that real people were
killed in their effort to ensure Jewish
continuity. We recall that even though
the Syrian-Greeks controlled the
Temple for a period of time, they did
not control the future of Judaism.
Judaism has out-survived and out-
thrived Syrian-Greeks by more than
2,000 years. We celebrate our continu-
ity with the chanukiah and the dreidel.
Certainly, the Al Qaida attacks are far
too close for us to minimize our recent,

tragic losses. However, the Chanukah
story teaches an important lesson for
today. Even while we mourn horrible
losses, we must remember that every-
thing has not been lost. America remains
the dominant world power and, more
importantly, the democratic values for
which our nation stands remain concrete.
Tradition teaches that Jewish people
rallied around our religion and its values
during the Syrian-Greek siege. Similarly,
Americans have rallied around the flag
and the president in recent months. We
should carry this rally into the holiday
season and new year.

stitution, it will certainly have a debili-
tating influence upon most regimes in
the region, where rights of the individ-
ual are most often left to the whim of
state security services.
Domestic political engineering cat-
alyzed from the outside only works if
individual self-interest is promoted.
Israelis and Palestinians must receive
ironclad commitments about their securi-
ty. Palestinians must receive a political, as
well as an economic, dividend. That
means money to the tune of $2 billion-
plus a year for more than a decade —
money that does not find itself into the
pockets of corrupt politicians, but instead
onto the tables and bank accounts of
Palestinians. It is time for the Arab world
and European Union to defray a signifi-
cant portion of this commitment.

tive value.
Since World War I, the months
and years after conflicts inadvertent-
ly catalyzed the Jewish state's cre-
ation and solidification. Before
World War I was over, the Balfour
Declaration was issued. Two years
after World War II ended, the
United Nations voted to create a
Jewish and Arab state in Palestine.
Five months after the June 1967
War ended, the framework for all
Arab-Israeli negotiations was
enshrined in United Nations
Security Council Resolution 242.
Days after the October 1973 War
ended, U.S. Secretary of State
Kissinger pushed Egyptian-Israeli
diplomacy to a point where
President Carter sealed a peace deal
in 1979. Nine months after the
1991 Gulf War ended, the Madrid
Middle East peace conference led to
bilateral talks, the Oslo Accords and

Just as Judaism has long survived
the Syrian-Greeks, American demo-
cratic values will thrive many years
after Osama bin Laden and his Al
Qaida network have become a his-
torical footnote. For this, we can
celebrate.

MSRP $37,735

SALE PRICE $33,999

or lease for

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❑

Andy Pass of Farmington is a doctoral

candidate in educational policy at
Michigan State University. He is a
graduate of the Davidson School of
Education at the Jewish Theological
Seminary of America. You can contact
him at passandr@msu.edu .

39 Mo.

$1344 Due at Signing

Stk.# 1W222294

2001 130

MSRP $30,790

Looking Back

Historical precedent may have predic-

says that the current method is the best or
most efficient use of money and time and
the most effective effort at achieving the
proposed goals.
If the objective is to make
Americans feel good about attacking
"something," then the goal has been
achieved. If the goal is to fight terror,
then I, personally, am skeptical.
I am not at all certain that
Afghanistan and the Taliban are the
only, or even the best, targets against
whom America should vent her anger,
frustration and despair. They are cer-
tainly the easiest target. The Taliban
are not coming after America or
Americans. They play host to the
camps that trained the terrorists. And
they will never, can never, retaliate.
Osama bin Laden is out there. And
even if he found refuge with the
Afghanastani Taliban, he and they are
just the tip of the iceberg of world terror.
There are other countries that host

terror and there are other places where
terrorism gains support and protection.

Saudi Responsibility

What about Saudi Arabia? This is the
country from which most of the
hijackers hailed. And Saudi Arabia
officially sponsors schools and other
educational institutions that propose
terror as a theological and practical
solution to political problems.
The hijackers who were not Saudis
were Egyptian. One must ask: What is
happening in Egypt to allow for these
human exports of terror? Egypt
receives the second largest U.S. foreign
aid package. This must be addressed.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
recently said that there is a difference
between the Sept. 11th terror and what is
happening in the Middle East. Mubarak
says that Palestinians are not terrorists but
warriors. Syria's President Bashar Assad

the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty.
And, without the assault on
America on Sept. 11, would either
President George W. Bush or British
Prime Minister Tony Blair have pub-
licly endorsed the establishment of a
Palestinian state that did not jeop-
ardize Israeli existence?
What is similar in all these
instances is that prior to the out-
break of each conflict, there were
discussions, proposed outlines, some-
times violence and always active
diplomacy surrounding the notion of
a Jewish state in the Middle East.
History does not have to repeat
itself, but unintended consequences,
even similar ones, are possible.

❑

Professor Kenneth W. Stein teaches
Middle Eastern History and Political
Science at Emory University. His e-mail
address is kstein@emory.edu

echoed the exact same sentiment to
British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
This may be the root of the problem, a
relative definition of the term — terror.
The terrorists certainly don't perceive
themselves as such. They only see
themselves as warriors, battling martyrs
fighting an oppressive foreign invader.
Bush is doing an excellent job. I just
want to hear a critique. I want to see
and hear suggestions and alternative
responses in the media and from
Capitol Hill. The time has come for
America to awaken and return to its
democratic tradition of debate.
We all fear terror, but we should not
fear democracy and democratic
debate. If that is lost, then the terror-
ists have won, without firing another
shot or exploding another bomb.

SALE PRICE $26,590

or lease for

$399

36 Mo.

$999 Due at Signing
Stk.# 1T036617

=- - -

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34574 Woodward
S. of Maple • Birmingham
248-645-5930

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°Buy or lease with approved credit, plus tax, title, plates. Each
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tives to dealer. 12,000 miles allowed. Amount due at signing
includes ref. sec. dep. Delivery must be before 11/30/01.

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❑

Micah Halpern is a Middle East ana-

lyst and expert on terorrism. He can be
reached at JcommMicah@aol.com

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2001

37

