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r i This Week

America's Crisis

The moral courage to pursue terrorists and ensure safety
should be legacy of Pan Am bombing tragedy.

ESTHER ALLWEISS TSCHIRHART

Special to the Jewish News

S

ince Sept. 11, America has been grappling
with how to defend our country against ter-
ror and how to defeat terrorism. Attorney-
author Allan Gerson suggests we should
have been pondering these questions before the
hijacked airliners struck New York and Washington.
Earlier terrorist acts targeting American citizens
ought to have been our country's wake-up call.
Gerson brought passion and an insider's knowl-
edge to his frank discussion of international terror-
ism at the opening night of the Jewish Community
Center of Metropolitan Detroit's 50th Annual
Jewish Book Fair Nov. 10. He engaged a crowd of
more than 300 at the West Bloomfield JCC.
Book Fair, also held at the Oak Park JCC, contin-
ues through Sunday, Nov. 18.
Gerson is a research professor of international rela-
tions at George Washington University and a former
diplomat and Justice Department lawyer. With
Newsweek Senior Editor Jerry Adler, he co-authored The

Price ofTerror: One Bomb. One Plane. 270 Lives. The
History Making Struggle for Justice After Pan Am 103.
The book outlines a quest for accountability after
the Pan Am flight mysteriously blew up nearly 13
years ago over Lockerbie, Scotland. Many Americans
were killed. Initially, Pan Am was sued by some of
the families, but Gerson's investigation and research
on their behalf found that Libyan agents had plant-
ed the bomb.

Fighting Terrorism

"National will and moral courage" are the two things
needed to defeat terrorism, Gerson said. He described
national will as a vigorous policy to pursue terrorism
involving covert operations and making states pay for
harboring terrorists. Pursuing this course over the
long haul will require sacrifice and risk.
"That takes moral courage," he said, calling it
something many Lockerbie families showed in pur-
suing the truth about the December 1988 bombing.
When Libya's responsibility became known, Bruce
Smith, a victim's husband, retained Gerson's law firm
to push for compensation for victims' families out of
Libyan assets. The firm succeeded in getting the
Foreign Sovereignty Immunity Act amended, which
had served to protect countries that willfully kill civil-
ians. The civil case against Libya will be heard in an
American court in January.
The public is told that greater precautions are

11/16

2001

16

being taken at airports,
but Gerson said airports
remain unsafe and "air-
line pilots are scared
today." Screening for
metal weapons is not
enough when "anyone
can smuggle Semtex (a
plastic explosive used in
the Pan Am bombing)
in someone's baggage
and put it into the hold
Allan Gerson
of the aircraft."
Our nation isn't fully
committed yet, Gerson maintained.
"We say we want airport security. We say we need it.
But we're not willing to pay the price for it," he said.
For example, he said, color X-rays could help detect
Semtex concealed in luggage, but only 10 percent of air-
ports have this equipment. Airlines aren't making the
necessary investments because they want to make a

profit, so "we tell ourselves we are safer than we are."
Gerson called upon Americans to get involved
politically, working with Congress to improve secu-
rity in our nation. "Become a force to deal with," he
urged. He also believes pilots should go on strike if
airport conditions don't improve.
As far as building a coalition to fight terrorism,
Gerson noted that the United States has lots of allies
but few friends. He wants President George W. Bush
to show "true leadership" by telling the American peo-
ple the truth about terrorism and to "prepare people to
pay the price."
"We must develop the moral courage for our
country's protracted fight against terrorism," he said.
Informed action is imperative now Americans
need to understand that terrorists were moving
against us long before Sept. 11, in incidents like the
1983 barracks bombing that killed 241 Marines in
Lebanon. Quoting Winston Churchill, Gerson said:
"If we don't confront danger, danger comes back at
you twice as strong."
When an audience member asked, "Why don't we
spend more money on airline security?" Gerson replied,
"I don't know if there's a psychologist for countries, but
we're sick. We're in deep denial. This is a serious patho-
logical disorder."
Following the presentation, Linda Lee of West
Bloomfield called Gerson a "profound educator"
who is telling us "complacency won't work."
Arnie Frumin of Southfield appreciated that "the
speaker did not mince any words," an opinion
echoed by Robert Hack of West Bloomfield.
"People want to keep their heads in the sand,"
Hack said. "We don't want to see terrorism, but it's
here. We need to go forward." ❑

Who's On First?

Jewish Book Fair cancellations keep volunteers and staff on their toes.

DIANA LIEBERMAN

Copy Editor

V

isitors to the Jewish
Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit's
50th Annual Jewish
Book Fair were not always sure
which speaker they'd find on the
podium.
As the Nov. 10-18 event reached
mid-week, five of the authors
scheduled to speak had canceled
their appearances, said Elaine
Schonberger, Book Fair director.
But visitors took it all in stride.
"People have been truly under-
standing," Schonberger said. "We
have very large audiences and
people are loving the speakers."
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
kept co-authors Cherie Bennett
and Jeff Gottesfeld home, along
with authors Amy Wilentz, David
Kertzer and opening night speak-

er Robert Shapiro. Author Joseph
Berger canceled his scheduled
Nov. 13 appearance following the
Nov. 12 crash of an American
Airlines jet taking off from John
F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
Ahuvah Gray, another New York-
based author due to speak on Nov.
13, boarded a plane the afternoon
of Nov. 12 when the New York air-
ports re-opened, Schonberger said.
Earlier that day, she had assured
Schonberger she was willing to take
a train, if necessary.
Although Book Fair does not
pay any of its speakers,
Schonberger said the group is will-
ing to reimburse authors for any
type of transportation expenses.
"The other speakers are con-
cerned but, so far, we haven't had
any other cancellations," she said. ❑

Check vvvvw.detroitjewishnews.com
for any Book Fair updates.

Karen Rosender of Or*ch:rd7;k7
browses through books at the West
Bloomfield Jewish Community
Center.

