Dry Bones
Editorials are posted and archived
on JN Online:
www.cletroitjewishnews.com
IN AMERICA, THEY'RE
INVESTIGATING THE
BUSH ADMINISTRA-
TION
IN ISRAEL THEY'RE
INVESTIGATING ARIEL
SHARON
Imploding The Arab League
T
he missiles that killed Sheik Ahmed Yassin
have also blown up the planned Arab sum-
mit that was to have started Monday in
Tunisia. Whether that is a good thing or a
bad thing for Israel depends on your view outs long-
term interests.
Israel would ordinarily welcome further proof to the
rest of the world that the Arab states can't get their act
together even when they are facing extraordinary chal-
lenges. If they can't even handle the charade of the
annual unity exercise, the argument of Israeli support-
ers goes, how can the Jewish state rely on any promises
that they make.
This Tunisian meeting of the Arab League had two
goals. The first was to affirm its desire to
move toward greater democracy, with better
human rights performance and more govern-
mental accountability. But that proved to be
too hard a pill for the leaders of countries like Syria to
swallow. Rather than appear to be pushed around by
American suggestions that they join the 21st century,
they scuttled the meeting for now
The second goal was to reaffirm the Saudi Arabian
initiative, first floated at the Beirut meeting of 2002,
that would have the league members finally recognize
Israel's right to exist in exchange for an Israeli with-
drawal from the land it captured in 1967 and for a
"just solution" to the Palestinian refugee problem.
As Arab positions go, that wasn't so terrible. Israel is
already moving to get out of Gaza and has indicated
that, for security reasons, it may give
up the homes of as many as 180,000
of the 230,000 West Bank settlers.
And substituting a "just solution" for
the nonsensical Palestinian demand
for a "right of return" to Israel would
be a major improvement. But some
of the Arab League members found
that the assassination of the sheik
had created too much street anger to
allow them to talk even halfway
rationally about steps to recognize
Israel's legitimacy.
If the implosion in Tunis signals
that at least some of the
Arab states are talking seri-
ously about opening up
their often corrupt and
inefficient governments and testing
the waters of democracy, that will be
a good thing for Israel. More sensible
governments might get around to
putting meaningful pressure on the
Palestinians to come to peace terms.
But if history is any guide, Saudi
Arabia, Egypt and Syria, the biggest
players and rivals for leadership of the rest of Arab
states, will find the prospect of giving up their dicta-
torships and monarchies too threatening. Rather than
face up to their real internal challenges, they will
agree again that the best course is to blame Israel for
WHAT 00 YOU
CALL THA T/'
EDIT ORIAL
Spy Problems
E
ey, it wasn't just the American intelli-
gence operation that let the
policy makers down. Seems
Israeli agencies blew a bunch
of the big calls, also.
A Knesset panel determined that when Mossad,
Shin Bet and military intelligence were warning
about Iraq's non-conventional weapons and ground-
to-ground missiles, they were speculating rather
than conveying verified information. Even worse,
they hadn't a serious clue about the nuclear and
chemical weapons that Libya was working
on until Libya decided to come clean
about them and give them up.
Although the panel didn't recommend
that any individual intelligence officers be repri-
manded, the findings are fairly serious. Israeli intel-
ligence has long been thought to be the most accu-
rate source of reliable information about the Arab
EDIT ORIAL
all their woes and take a pass on any progress toward
real peace. Egypt says it will host in mid-April the
meeting that Tunis canceled. Don't expect anything
sensible to come of the meeting — if it happens at
all. ❑
world's arms and intentions. The failure this time
wasn't too serious; no lives were lost in Israel and
the extra expense of Israelis getting out gas masks to
protect against weapons that didn't exist is bearable.
But just as the 9-11 commission hearings are
demonstrating the need for substantial reformation
of American intelligence offices, the Knesset's work
has.clearly made the case for a major change in how
Israel's spy system works. Given the region's volatili-
ty, upgrading the system is absolutely imperative.
❑
Challenged, Humbled, Nourished
Ann Arbor
recently returned from a 29-day visit to
Israel, my sole companion being my 3-year-
old son, Zach.
"Gasp!" I'm sure you can imagine the
comments I got before the trip. The truth is, I
cancelled two previous trips and couldn't, in good
conscience, do so again. If I'd wait until things got
better, it might be Zach's bar mitzvah by then.
My husband, Gary, and I needed to be serene
with our decision. To all doubters, I explained
that everyone around me knows that I love them
and that they have gifted my life by being in it. I
I
Liora Rosen chairs the Young Adult Division
of the Jewish Federation ofWashtenaw Coun ty.
have no loose ends if it's really my time to
go.
"God," I said, "doesn't discriminate
based on location. I am going with a
whole heart."
I planned the trip based on the needs of
a 3-year-old, namely: planes, trains, kib-
LIORA
butz, beach and ice cream. (If you've ever
ROSEN
had the ice cream in Israel, you know
Community
what I mean).
Perspective
We started our trip with a week at
Kibbutz Hatzerim, a beautiful and serene
place near Beersheva. Some residents were
going away and offered us their house for the
week. We graciously accepted.
ROSEN
On those sun-kissed days, we went
swimming, visiting the calves, playing out-
side, and of course, eating ice cream. It
was the perfect way to transition out of
our jet lag.
Our next destination was up north to
Nahariyah, a beautiful, sleepy little town
on the coast, close to Rosh Hanikra.
Again, we filled our days with swimming
and playing at the beach, spending time
"downtown" under massive eucalyptus trees
and Zach tasting falafel for the first time.
We danced on the beach at night along
with — what seemed like — the whole
town.
on page 35
4/ 2
2004
33