World

NEWS

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Detroiters
Worry

Don Cohen

Special to the Jewish News

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Without it, the Second Palestinian intifada
(2000 2005), the Second Lebanon War
(2006) and the Gaza War (2008-2009)
could easily have triggered wider regional
hostilities.
But in each case, in the teeth of region-
wide popular sentiment against Israel,
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ada-
mantly rejected calls to commit Egyptian
soldiers to the fray.
On the contrary, Mubarak was critical
of Hezbollah in Lebanon and of Hamas
in Gaza for provoking senseless killing,
and he played a significant role in achiev-
ing postwar ceasefire arrangements. "Not
everything Mubarak did was right:' Israeli
President Shimon Peres declared Monday.
"But he did one thing for which we all owe
him a debt of gratitude. He kept the peace
in the Middle East."
Because Mubarak has served as a
bulwark against regional chaos and was
for decades a central pillar of American

ocally, Jewish community lead-
ers were closely watching devel-
opments in Egypt.
Robert Cohen, executive director
of the Jewish Community Relations
Council of Metropolitan Detroit, was
clear that a reformed, but stable Egypt
is in the American interest, not just
Israel's.
"The Jewish
community's
interests in Egypt
are the same as
all Americans'
and are important
because of Egypt's
peace treaty with
Israel, its control
Robert Cohen
of the Suez Canal
and as an ally of
the United States:' he said. "We all hope
that the events in Egypt will result in
the aspirations of the people of Egypt
being achieved through a moderate,
Western-oriented government:'
Kari Alterman,
director of
the Detroit
Region of the
American Jewish
Committee, said,
"I hope to see
Egypt's political
crisis resolved
with a minimum
Kari Alterman
of violence and
with the voice of the people respect-
ed. Whatever the political outcome,
we are hopeful that the 30-year peace
treaty with Israel will be honored."
Josh Goldberg,
a West Bloomfield
resident, is con-
cerned about
the Egyptian
opposition. "The
prospect of a true
democracy is
exciting. However,
it would certainly Josh Goldberg
not be in our own
best interests if it
brought extremist parties to power.
It's a situation we need to monitor
closely."

Southern Frontier on page 22

Detroiters Worry on page 22

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu with Egypt's Hosni Mubarak

Southern Frontier?

Unrest in Egypt could lead to a security crisis for Israel.

Leslie Susser
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Jerusalem

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or Israel, the popular uprising
against the Mubarak regime raises
the specter of its worst strategic
nightmare: collapse of the peace treaty
with Egypt, the cornerstone of its regional
policy for the past three decades.
That is not the inevitable outcome of the
unrest; a modified version of the Mubarak
government could survive and retain the
( (cold peace" with Israel. But if, in a worst-
case scenario, democratic or Islamic forces
were to come to power denouncing Israel
and repudiating the peace deal, that could
herald the resurrection of a major military
threat on Israel's southern border.
The largely American-equipped and
American-trained Egyptian army — by
far the most powerful military in the Arab
world — numbers around 650,000 men,
with 60 combat brigades, 3,500 tanks and

600 fighter planes. For Israel, the main
strategic significance of the peace with
Egypt is that it has been able to take the
threat of full-scale war against its stron-
gest foe out of the military equation.
But a hostile regime change in Cairo
could compel Israel to rethink its military
strategy, restructure its combat forces and,
in general, build a bigger army, diverting
billions of shekels to that end with major
social and economic consequences.
A hostile government in Cairo could
also mean that Egypt would be aiding
and abetting the radical Hamas regime in
neighboring Gaza, rather than, as at pres-
ent, helping to contain it.
Worse: If there is a domino effect that
also leads to an anti-Israel regime change
in Jordan, with its relatively large Islamic
political presence, Israel could find itself
facing an augmented military threat on its
eastern border, too.
The strategic importance of the peace
with Egypt has come to the fore during
a number of crises over the past decade.

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February 3 2011

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