Page 4 - The Canadian Jewish News, Friday, March 3, 1978
M-T
Editorial
lan news
All IIIJepfiiJent Cjimmuiiilv^NTwspaper >if r\MH;-a> jforTIm tor Jiverse vicwpiiintN. Directors: Criarles Bronfman. Donald Carr.CJ.C. George A. Cohon, Jack Cummlngs, Murray B.Koffler. Albert J. Latner, Ray D; Wolfe; RuDin Zimmerman Editc. Ralpn Hyman Associate Editor. Lewis Levendel Production Manager. Gary Laforet Advertising Manager, Vera Giliman ContioMei. Maurice B'onner
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All or
U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance has confirmed the news that Israel hoped would turn out to be untrue. In an appearance before a Senate subcommittee last week, Mr. Vance said the Carter administration intended to present to Congress for approval a sweeping proposal to sell advanced jet aircraft to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel. But, in an entirely new twist, Mr. Vance said the proposed arms deal was a "package". In other words, Israel does not get the F-15s and F-16s unless the Saudis and Egyptians do as well.
For the United States, the "package" represents a departure in policy on two counts. For the first time in many years. Washington has announced its readiness to sell Egypt so-called lethal weapons. Until recently, Egypt was the recipient of such "non-lethal" weapons as transport planes, drones and jeeps. Secondly, no administration, in recent years at least, has linked arms sales to the Middle East in quite the manrier as has President Carter.
Israeli supporters in Congress thus find themselves in a peculiar position so long as President Carter remains adamant about presenting the $4.8 billion deal in the form of an all-or-nothing package.
If they veto the Egyptian and Saudi purchases, they run the risk of undercutting Israel's chances of receiving the sophisticated jets. If they assent to'the sales, the balance of power may not be as favorable to Israel in the future. In the classic sense, it is a Catch-22 situation.
The question is, why has the U.S. adopted this seemingly unprecedented stance? As far as Cairo is concerned, the
White House wishes to solidify its relations with the most influential country in the Arab Middle East. The Soviet Union has cut off the flow of weaponry to Egypt and, except for Western European sources, the Egyptians must rely on the Americans. President Sadat. in American eyes, is an increasingly reliable ally and an anti-Communist for good measure.
The Saudis, the true blue Islamic conservatives and the custodians of the world's-' largest oil reserves, must also be appeased by the Americans. And what better way to do it than to give them — and the Egyptians
— the toys of modern warfare.. . Strategically, the Saudi sale poses more
of a long-term danger to Israel than the Egyptian deal. Under the administration program, the Saudis would be allowed to acquire 60 F-15s. which have a range of 2,800 miles. Such devastating firepower worries Israel. Not only can the Saudis use the planes themselves, they can lend them to Egypt in the event of a fifth war. The F-5Es earmarked for the Egyptians are not as potent in military terms, though the deal does symbolize Washington's desire to extend U.S. largesse to Cairo on a scale hitherto unimagined.
It is doubtful whether Israel can do anything to stop the sales, the administration being fully, determined to see them through Congress. The alliance that Washington has wrought with Cairo and Riyadh
— an axis that Henry Kissinger began to build after the 1973 war — is growing stronger and the arms deal is merely a reflection of this realitv.
A duty to speak out
"The future of South Africa and of its Jewry is unpredictable."
In these words journalist David Kessler concludes a two-part Jewish Chronicle News and Feature Service article on the position of the South African Jewish community against the background of the whole South African scene. •
Thousands of South African Jews have emigrated to Israel. Britain and other lands, including Canada which is now home to a substantial community of new_ airivals, most of whom are anything but destitute.. They have left their homelaiid not because of persecution — anti-Semitism in South .A.frica no longer exists to any significant degree ^ but because, as Mr. Kessler writes, "the Jewish conscience cannot tolerate the inhumanity of apartheid." He ■ points out that the Jewish community is a
. part of the wider white community "and will
■sink or swim with it."       . ,
While emigration has increased noticeably in the pastye.ar. it is felt that the bulk of South Africa's Jewish population, some
.135,000. will not leave unless their situation worsens. They belong in the main to the affluent society and they have a high percentage of professional people and business leaders. Their stake in the land of their birth. is a considerable one. . . The average South African Jew is opposed to apaiTtheid and those whose convictions are' strong, have left to start new lives elsewhere. But those who stay put find
themselves in a quandary, Mr. Kessler writes. Should they speak up and denounce what they feel is unjust and immoral in the Nationalist government's treatment of the non-whites or should they remain silent in the face of these conditions?
It is obvious that many Jews in South Africa are content with the status quo; with their affluent lifestyle, 'a plentiful supply of cheap black labor and a philosophy that calls for a low profile on sensitive issues. Their don't-rock-the-boat-attitude in the face of . glaring injustices inherent in apartheid violates the ethical and moral concepts which are so much a part of our Jewish tradition. To speak out against injustice rampant in the'society in which they live is the duty of South African Jewry. If by so, doing they find -their position growing intoleraible, there are other lands where they can find sanctuary. Thousands of their co-religionists have already done so.
•The picture painted by the Kessler articles is not altogether sombre; there are a few bright spots. The Union . of Jewish Women operates creches for non-whire children and ia handful of rabbis speak out fearlessly against the evils they see. Other rabbis believe their first duty-is. to their cominunities, leaving it ..to the individual congregants to make his oWn decision in the light of Jewish values. There is no unity on the moral and political issues.-And there lies the tragedy.
The rfollowing editonal. is reprintefj in its entirety from the Oklahoma Eagle, one-of the ■ ■leading Black'newspapers in.the U.S.
Can you remember the howls of outrage when Menachem'Begin was elected as prirne minister oflsrael? The critics of Israeil had a field day prophesying the hardening of Israel's stance and her unwillingness to make any kind of concessions to ensure peace.' ' ■' ,' ':
Begin's election, said the critics, signaled a return to the politics of the past. It meant that Israe.r had become war-like and cocky and was, iii effect .thumbing her nose at the rest of the world.
This newspaper pointed out at the time that the election of Begin was determined by purely local issues and Israel's stance on the international scene could not necessarily be determined by the election of Begin. Israel, however, had to take her lumps and even the Carter administrJation's reception was exceptioiially chilly.
.Time,_hpwever, has proven how wrong
were the critics. While Begin, the salty old guerrilla fighter, is undoubtedly very 'pro: Israel'; (as witness the West Bank settle-, ments), Begin is also a realist who realizes . .that Israel jnust make a genuine try for peace or live in isolation.
Sadat has garnered most of the headlines andTindeed, Sadat is most worthy of all the commendation that we can give to hirii, but we, should not lose sight of the fact that considerable behind-the-scenes conyersa-,tion took place between Begin and Sadat before: Sadat made the decision to go to Israel. He would never have goiie if Begin was stin the guerrilla fighter with a pistol on his hip.
And finally, the concessions which Begin has been willing to make to keep the .talks between Israel and Egypt going demonstrate his flexibility. He may not have offered all that the idealis;ts desire, but he has already offered far more than his critics would ever have given him credit for even six months ago.
Heroic struggle helped Israel gain independence
Tiitiely eonventiott
The growth and importance of the Canadian Jewish commiinity on the North Ariierican and world scene in recent years is recognized by the decision of the Rabbinical Council of America to hold its; .42hd annual convention in Toronto next June. It will be : the first siich gathering ever held in Torpnto ' andl the first in 18 years in Canada. ^-Rabbi Walter S. Wiiirzbufger, president of the largest rabbinic body in the wdrlcl,, is no stranger to Toronto. He is the former rabbi of Toronto's Shaarei Shomayim Congregation. An increasing proportion of the council's membership are now serving in Canada and. their special needs and insights will be featured at the convention. Among those serving.on the pfrepartions
committee are Rabbis Gedalia Felder, Meyer Berglais, Henry Hoschander, Seymour Stauber and Irwin E. Witty. Rabbi; Reuven Bulka of Ottawa is co-ehairman.
The convention will bring together many; distinguished leaders of North American Orthodoxy and they will focus their deliberations on the theme of the increasing role of religion among^oung-people' and the challenge confrontfng the ihode^ Orthodox rabbi in interpreting traditional Jewish values. These /are areas of concern to all . Jewish communities, more so today than at any time in recent history. The Toronto convention will provide valuable insights iiito the problems wrhich threaten pur spiritual '  values. '•
By BETTY SIGLER
HAIFA —
A World War II tank carrier is now; a museum of the "illegal" iriimigration that brought 107.000 people to Israel before the land became a state, and of the Israel Navy that developed from those "illegal" ships." Every week hundreds of tourists and school children are among the visitors to the Af-AI-Pi-Chen — Despite Everything-in English — now installed in a small park on the southern approaches to Haifa under the direction of Yosef Almog. himself a veteran of Aliya B<t^
After the carrier had finished taking Canadian tanks and their crews to the French coast in the final phase of the war, she was bought by the Mosad. That was the organization that transported the "illegal" immigrants, some 75^000 of whom sailed from Mediterranean ports between May, 1945. when Nazi Germany collapsed, and May, 1948. when Israel was declared a state and immigration became legal.
Destroyers closed in
Right after she was purchased iii 1946, the tanker tied up at a remote pier in the port of Naples. The superstructure was dismantled and SCRAP was painted large over the hull, to ward off unwelcome attention. Under cover of darkness, she was rebuilt to look like a freighter. Inside, she was fitted with three tiers of bunks, floor to ceiling, that would enable her to carry 434 immigrants.
They boarded one summer night in 1947. Then the ship set sail on her first and only voyage.
in the eastern Mediterranean a British destroyer ordered her to identify herself. She did so in Arabic. "Didn't understand a word." came the British wireless officer's reply."Repeat. Not a word."
The ship tried again, this time only half in .Arabic and half in Arabic English, p's replaced by b's and plenty of extra vowels. She declared herself an Egyptian freighter from Alexandria, bound for Jaffa. Off Port Said, however, after a fierce but futile struggle, the destroyers closed in. The ship had b'een betrayed, it turned out, by a woman who fiashed signals at night when the passengers, in small groups, were allowed on deck at night for a breath of air. Despite Everything was boarded and towed, listing heavily, to Haifa.
There she lay rusting offshore after the refugees had been deported to Cyprus, and even after they finally landed in Israel as citizens in the latter half of 1948.
Nearly 20 years later Despite Everything was raised out of the water and, in 1969, she began her new life as a museum. Exhibits in the:entrance hall built around the hull tell the story of the 140 illegal ships making for the coast of Israel between 1934 —when the first restrictions on Jewish immigration were enacted by the British — and 1948.
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Illegal Jewish immigrants brave sorf to go ashore to British Mandatory- Palestine. Haifa museum commemorates history of those years.
Photographs show immigrants wading toward the dunes of Caesarea, bundles raised high above their heads to keep them out of the surf. There are heartbreaking views, too. of those who were not so lucky.
All they saw of Israel before deportation was the Wharf of Tears in Haifa Port. There tor a moment refugees might ernbrace the relatives who had waited so long to see with their own eyes the dear ones who had survived the war. Then British soldiers forced them aboard navy ships for deportation.
Among the exhibits telling the refugees' story is a model of Exodus 1947, giant among the illegal ships, which carried 4,500 passengers. Wounded and exhausted, most" of them were not allowed to see. much less touch, those who came to meet them. Heavily guarded on the Wharf of Tears, they were flung into a British prison ship that took them back to camps in Germany.
There are two interesting if faded Magen David flags on display here. One was given to the museum by Belgian immigrants who
rescued if before their own illegal ship sank. The other was sent from England by a' Mr. Brown who, years before, had served on a boarding party against another illegal ship.
The, hold, like the bridge of Despite' Everything, has been reconstructed in detail. The log is open at the last day of the voyage. In the hold, battered knapsacks that were all the luggage allowed on board; a child "s doll lies on the bunks. In the corner of this dormitory are two water tanks from which the daily pint ration was distributed.
Egyptian ship captured
Another built-on section of the m_useum shows how the Israel Navy grew, from the illegal days to the present. Hagana 1946, the Canadian Corvette Norsyd in World Warll, was captured on her first illegal run, and her 2.700 passengers a'nd crew arrested. Later refitted for the Israel Navy, she has long since been decommissioned.
The naval museum includes discarded earphones and other equipment that visiting youngsters can have fun with in the museum park. Indoors there are photographs and other records of the feats of Israeli frogmen, the arrival of the first • submarines and destroyers in Haifa Port, and of the .five famous Cherbourg missile boats.
One display is taken from the Ibrahim II Awal. an Egyptian destroyer captured when she was trying to shell the coast near Haifa during the Sinai Campaign in 1956, then recommissioned as the Israel Navy ship Haifa. Souvenirs include the ship's name plate, the Egyptian national flag, the surrender flag — and the captain's whip.
In order to assure her future, Israel must do all in its power to ensure that its youngsters know her past and, perhaps above all. the struggles which made Israel's independence possible. Haifa's museum of "illegal" immigration is a modest but important contribution to this purpose.
By RICHARD YAFFE
NEW YORK [JCNSl -
Israel had hoped that with the death of the Spanish dictator. Francisco Franco, relations with the Jewish state might .come about for the first time, and there were early signs that the new regime of King Juan Carlos tetided toward moderation on the Middle East. However, intensive Arab diplomatic and economic pressure have torpedoed these hopes.
Arab states visited
. This is the conclusion drawn by William Korey.. director of the B'nai B'rith's International Council and head of its observers at the United Nations, who.has been keeping an eye on Spain in relation to the Israel-Arab conflict. :
King Juan Carlos appeared to be following a more moderate course than his predecessor when he asisumed the throne, but following visits to Arab stiates in March of last year and to Saiidi Arabia in October, he seerns to haive closed the door, at least for the time being, on iany positive peace initiative toward Israel, says Korey.
"In Saudi Arabia^the Spanish monarch practically endorsed the main. Arab positions in the Israeli^Arab conflict,-' he adds. "According to the Saudi Arabia radio. His Majesty King Juan Carlos has affirmed that his counti-y will not establish diplomatic relationis on any level with the Zionist entity."" ■     ■   :   ■ .
the so-called Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People — a committee,that is "anti-Israel, one-sided, biased and hostile, being wholly guided by the PLO, with 19 of its 23
members having no, diplomatic relations with Israel, and some of whom even deny Israel's right to exist." The committee's recommendations "were nothing but a prescription for the dismantlement of the State
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remains
However, hopes still remained that Spain's position at the United Nations General Assembly would be more balanced, Dr. Korey says. "Themain reason to expect a less pro-Arab view — there was the pngbing attempt by Spain to co-ordinaite its position in the United Nations with the nine European countries in the Common Market to help smooth its entry into the market, the record shows that these hopes proved optimistic. Spain voted with the Western Europea:ns on most issues, but whenit came to Middle East problems, it remained, faithful to its anti-Israel line.
"Consequentiy, Spain's attitude during . the recent General Assembly was. dismal^ from Israel's point of view. It voted consistently against Israel on every issue without exception." .
Kbrey lists Spain's actions on central issues as follows:
— -It supported the recommendations of
(fPPA photo) I
Gen. Dan Shomron, newly appointedv^ead of the Spnthem Command, reviews honor | guard in Beersheba ceremony. He led the assault i^falnit Entebbe Airport in 1976. 1
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of Israel in stages." ■
— It supported a resolution to create a special unit within the United Nations Secretariat to prepare and disseminate: apti-Israel propaganda an action which has no . parallel and precedent in the UN and which will cost close to SVi million annually.
— It supported a resolution on the Middle East which reiterates in uncompromising terms the traditional demands against Israel, ignores Security Council Rcsoliitions242 and 338 which lay down the basis for peace, and calls.for the participation of the PLO at the Geneva Conference. .
Anti-Israel resolutions
— It supported a resolution which recognized the Arabs' right to full cornpensation by Israel for exploitation, depletion, loss arid damages to their natural human and other resources in the territories Israel had been administering since the Six Day War. . — It supported the Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories, and related resolutions in the assembly. "These condemn Israel oh false iand distorted'charges of mass arrests, ill-treatment and torture of Arabs in the territories, not to speak of measiires to change the physical character,, demographic composition, legal and institutional structure of the occupied territories," Korey says.
F'inally, "the hard line against,Israel reached its height when Spain suppprted the resolution singling out Israel for its. relations with South Africa," this despite the fact that the whole of the West, including all the Common Market countries, voted against it. "
Spain nixed proposal
In addition to its activities at the General Assembly, Sjpain has shovvn its anti-Israel attitude on such political matters as the safety of civil aviation, Korey points out. For example, in Montreal in December, Spain voted against a proposal submitted by Israeli to the International Civil Aviation. Committee on Unlawful Interference with Civil Aviation.
This/was the first time in the histPry of civil aviation that a proposal submitted to improve standard regulation for the safety of airports and surveillance in and near; airports was supported by the Soviet Union. Spain and Pakistan were the only two countries to object to the resolution.
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