PLEASE DON'T FILIBUSTER

An open letter to U.S. Senators
Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow:

For more than three years, during the Clinton administration, we two have made substan-
tial effort within our Republican Party to insist upon the judicial appointment of a well known
Jewish Democrat to the U. S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. We were unsuccessful.

lem." Kam says Iran is not only closer
than ever to nuclear capability, but
there is a significant increase in Iran's
involvement in terrorism against
Israel.
Yoram Schweitzer, another Jaffee
researcher, takes Kam's analysis a step
further, warning of the threat of ter-
rorists armed with nonconventional
weapons. The war in Iraq did nothing
to advance the fight against interna-
tional terror, he says.
'Al Qaida still has significant and
proven capabilities of carrying out
mass terror," Schweitzer says. "But
unless bin Laden the man is liquidat-
ed, Al Qaida will not be defeated. .
And Al Qaida could target Israel too."
According to the Jaffee figures,
Israel has 538 warplanes, nearly 4,000
tanks, 8,000 armored vehicles, about
630,000 soldiers, 1,348 field guns and
236 helicopters. Syria can more or less
match this for size, but not for quality.
Egypt, which also has Western
weaponry, lacks Israel's sophisticated
command-and-control and intelli-
gence systems.
Ironically, the Jaffee report came out
just days before the 30th anniversary
of the 1973 war against Egypt and
Syria. Then, too, the prevailina mili-
tary theory was that Israel vas b far
stronger than any combination of its
enemies.
The "conceptzia" on which Israel
based its security thinking then was
that no country or countries would
dare attack Israel because of its clear
superiority. The initial Syrian and
Egyptian gains in the war came partly
because their massive joint attack, on
the holiest day in the Jewish calendar,
took Israel by surprise.
Israeli intelligence officials had
warned of the possibility that a war
was brewing, but the country's leaders
had been told by the United States
not to launch a pre-emptive attack, as
they had done in 1967.
In any case, Rapaport notes, the war
in Iraq — from which Israel suppos-
edly has derived so much benefit — is
not yet over. "What message will be
given if the U.S. is forced to flee from
Iraq with its tail between its legs, as it
did from Vietnam?" Rapaport asks.
For Israel, the message could be
dire. ❑

We now call upon you, our eminent Senators to assist us in the appointment of Sixth Circuit
nominee Judge Henry Saad.

We understand strident effort on behalf of ideology, but Judge Saad is not a ideologue.

Please note that Judge Saad has been endorsed and recommended by Law Professor Robert
Sedler, Chief Trial Counsel for the ACLU. In a letter to Senators Hatch and Leahy, Professor
Sedler remarks about United States District Court Judge Avern Cohn's most favorable impres-
sion of Judge Saad.

Judge Saad has been a builder of bridges between the Detroit Arab and Jewish communi-
ties. He is an NCCJ Board member and he is co-founder of the American-Arab-Jewish Friends,
whose humanitarian award was received this year by Congressman Sander Levin.

Now is the time when the efforts of each Senator must be devoted to the great debate of the
future of our beloved country as it faces perhaps its most difficult challenges. This immense
endeavor should not be interrupted by filibuster against this fine man — no matter the motiva-
tion.

Judge Saad's confirmation could be the beginning of a political peace, to which we pledge
our continued efforts. More importantly, this appointment is something to which we all can
point to as a symbol of Arab-Jewish cooperation.

This may just enhance Arab-Jewish neighborliness in Michigan, which can only bode well
for all of us.

Alan A. May

Edward C. Levy, Jr.

Paid For By Alan A. May and Edward C. Levy, Jr.

AAM: jv:3 79690

HAPPY NEW YEAR

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year be filled with
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and prosperity for
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Go Balloonies

Sue, Graham, Brandon & Jarrett Fishman

v4r

10/3

2003

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