Page 6 - The Canadian Jewish News, Thursday, May 19, 1983
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Our congratiiladons to the Jews of Alberta for pntthig enongh pressare ontheir premier j Peter Loogheed, to coiivi^ him to get ap off his fot Heritage Fond and do sometliiiig about the s6-caU^"Keegstra af&iir/l^Jim Keegstraf you wiU recfdl^ is the Eckville, Alberta ex-schopT~£Bacher who wais finally fired after preaching anti-seinitisiii to hto students for 15 yearsr^
Keegstra, however, is stiU mayor of ^^U^^ tdwn and there seems to be no apparent effort to kick Uih out of this job.
Lougheed, speaking in the Alberta Legls lature, acknowledged that '^elements of bigotry such as the antiHsemidsm in this recent [Ke^gstra] base grow like a cancer, if not chaUengi^ and yigorousiy condemned by those in positions of responsibility.Yet the premier did hot chastise his member, Stephen Stiles, who earlier, speaking in support of Keegstni, said the slaughter of Jews during the Holocaust had never been proven. Stiles later apologized to the Legislature and withdrew his remarks — but was tills enough? Shouldn't Loiigheed have at least reprimanded him?
Wefl, in any event, die Alberta goyeriir ment plans to faitroduce an edncationai program **to explain the nature of dls: crimination and the importance of exposing it," and will review the school curricula with the aim of fostering tolerance and a respect for minority groups. It's about time!
Something is amiss.
-While the world press chums out reams of copy on the politic^ and military conflict In Lebanon, it has maintained a relative silence on the other war situation which has gripped the Middle East since September of 1980.
Since Iraq launched a blitzkreig against Iran, more than 200,000 soldiers on both sides have fallen. Two million Iranians, buffeted by the tides of war, have become refugees. Cities have been devastated.
In a recent article in Middle East Focus, Morris Montale claims that the ' 'total military and civilian casualties in Lebanon iapproximated only one Irahian-Iraqi battle.'*
More disquieting still is the fact that the region in which this war is b0ing fought contains some 80% of OPEC reserves.
Although tens of thousands have died in the battles and millions have been displaced,, the Western rnedia continue to-^ncentrate oh relatively minor flareups in the Shouf Mountains, which are controlled by Israeli
forces, and elsewhere in Lebanon.
It seems incredible in this age of satellite communications and other electronic hardware, that the press goes on ignoring one of the most savage encounters between armies since the war in Vietnam.
Indeed, the Iran-Iraq war shows no signs of drawing to a close. The combatants may be at war for years to come. The casualties will probably be awesome. No Arab-Israeli war has been as bloody. And yet the editors of some of the best newspapers in the West cannot find their way to station correspondents there.
It may be possible that reporters are not permitted into the war zone. The Iranians and the Iraqis have not been generous with their visas.
We can also suggest that the virtual ignoring of the ^Gulf War could be a manifestation of myopia and incompetence among the news services.
This is not one of the most heroic moments in the history of journalism.
Poles caU for a Pdl£i^finidn st(U^
• No re^^^ lir^^
By
SHELDON KIRSHNER
WARSAW —
Poland has no immediate intention of reestablishing diplomatic relations with Israel, say two leading government officials.
Jerzy Urban, the Polish press spokesman^ said in an interview that Pplaiid will hot break ranks with its Warsaw Pact allies — none of which^ save Romania, have had relations with Israel for the past 16 years.
"We will resume relations with Israel when the reasons which ruined them cease to exist,'rsaid Urban, who speaks for the Polish leader. Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski. He told this reporter that Poland severed its ties with Israel because of its "expansionist policies."
At the foreign ministry, I heard a similar refrain.
Poland, said the foreign minister's advisor on Middle East affairs, sees no prospect at present for a resumption of relations. Israel, he claimed, committed "aggression" in the Six Day War and has been following "aggressive" policies ever since.
The official, who prefers to remain anonymous, said *^traces of aggression" could be remove^ if Israel witiidraws from "eveiy inch" of the territories it acquired in 1967 and acquiesces to the creation of a Palestinian state on tiie West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
"We accept Israel's right to exist, so we can't treat the rights of the Palestinians any differently."
Poland, which recognizes the PLO as the Palestinians' sole representative, believes that those Palestinians wishing to return to their former homes in what is now Israel should be permitted to do so, he explained.
Barring such a solution, Palestinian refugees should receive compensation for their lost property, he added.
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'Traces of aggression' should be removed
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The official doubted whether Israel and Poland wiir have any political contact in the foreseeable future. The last Polish-Israeli exchange occurred in October of 1981 at the United Nations, when Israeli Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir met his Polish
counterpart, Jozef Czyrek. Israeli and Polish officials had not had such a top-level meeting since the Six Day War.
Held at Israel's request, it lasted for one hour. According to reports, Shamir raised the possibility of renewing diplomatic relations. It isn't clear what the Polish response was^
But, obviously, it must have been negative;
It doesn't require any great insight to realize that Poland is not a totally free agent. As long as the Soviet Union and its East Bloc allies shun Israel, so, too, will Poland. It is inconceivable that Poland would ,make any unilateral moves witiiout the approval of its big brother, the Soviet Union.
Israel and Poland established diplomatic relations in 1948, but by 1950, they had cooled off. Two years later, with the Cold War in high gear, the Israeli minister in Warsaw was declared persona non grata, Soon afterwards, two Israeli diplomats Avere expelled.
Relations improved in 1956 when a wave of liberalization swept over Poland. The Israelis returned to Warsaw, and in 1963 their mission was elevated to the level of an embassy. "
Poland voted with the Soviet Union against Israel at the/United Nations, but Polish-Israeli bilateral relations were not really, affected. Cultural and scientific exchanges were initiated and trade grew. Israel's major exports were tires ^nd citrus fruit. Poland exported frozen nieat, sugar, chemicals aiid iron and steel products.
The Poles issued exit visas freely and tens of thousands of Polish Jews immigrated to Israel.
Oii the eve of the Six Day War, Poland turned against Israel. In concert with the Soviet Union, Poland adopted an unstintingly pro-Arab position On the crisis In the Middle East. About a week before the war erupted, the Polish president sent a message to Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt in which he expressed ' *full support for the struggle of the Arab nations."
Taking its cue from Moscow, Poland broke relations with Israel on June 12, 1967. Michael Checinski, in his new book, Poland: Communism, Nationalism, Anti-Semitism (Karz-Cohl, $22.95), claims that the decision was taken in Moscow during a hastily summoned session of the Warsaw Treaty Organization.
Since 1967, Israeli interests in Poland have been handled by the Dutch embassy, whose main function is the processbig of visas. Last month, some 300 Israelis arrived in Poland for the 40th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprishig. They made up the hirgest Israeli group to visit Poland shice the Six Day War.
No third country tends to Polish interests in Israeli whatever they may be, the official in the foreign ministry informed me.
However, Poland has a vital stake in Middle Eastern developments, since the region is so relatively close to Europe, he noted.
"Any tension there can influence European politics. That's why we're interested in a Middle East solution. It would help create a better international climate." '
In his view, the Fez resolutions — which call for an independent Palestinian state under the PLO and extend implicit recognition to Israel — are a good framework for peace.
The plan was approved by the Arab last autumn and was supported by most Arab nations and the PLO. Israel described it as a prescription for its eventual dismantlement.
"It deals with all aspects of the conflict in a comprehensive way," he said, referring to thie Fez resolutions.
In the opinion of the official, the Camp David peace process has not come to grips with the Palestinian problem.
He dismissed President Reagan's Sept. 1 peace plan as a "partial solution."
"The Reagan proposals don't recognize
Palestinian national rights and don't even mention the Golan Heights" [which Israel annexed hi December of 1981].
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Extensive relations with Arab worlds
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As far as Poland is concerned, the PLO has evolved to the point where it now recognizes Israel impUcitiy.
Poland, besides having cordial relations with the leaders of the PLO, has embassies in every Arab country except Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. The official said that Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states have shunned relations with the Soviet Union in particular, and with Eastern Europe in general.
"We would be ready to have relations with them. They have no differences with us."
Poland, he revealed, imports 90% of its oil from the Soviet Union and gets the rest from its own fields and from the Arabs. Arab exports to Poland also include cotton, leather and phosphate. Poland sells the Arabs items like heavy machinery, construction equipment, chemicals and steel products.
The official said he is not. aware of published reports suggesting that Poland has sold military equipment to the Arabs. (In 1982, Poland is said to have supplied the PLO with outdated Russian tanks. The Israelis claim that the Poles trained some members Of the PLO.)
As far as Polish-Arab trade goes, Poland's best export markets are in North Africa, Syria and Iraq. In 1982, for example, Poland exported $255 million worth of goods to Iraq. Exports to Libya and Morocco were $230 million and $60 million, respectively.
By comparison, Polish exportsto Canada in the same period amounted to only $38 million, the official said.
OfBciailyvno trade exists between Poland and Israel. But it is an open secret that Israeli citrus, either from Israel proper or the Gaza Strip, has been shipped to Poland and other Communist regimes.
No one can measure the extent to which Polish public opinion is for or against Israel and the Arabs. But it is generally accepted that a great many Poles, while criticizing Israel's stance toward the Palestinians, are sympathetic to Israel, if only because their nemesis, the Soviet Unions is unabashedly pro-Arab.
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Poland's Gen.^Wojciech Jaruzelski [AP photo]
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