Thursday, October 12,1989— THE BULLETIN—7
PBS adds insult to injury witii 'Days of Rage' panel
By BERTRAM KORN, JR.
While Days ofRagevi?iS not the first anti-Israel documentary to be shown on the Public BroadcastingSystem this year — in fact, it was the fifth — it was the first to really arouse the indignation of the American Jewish community, and. of the larger public television audience. Understandably concerned over the public outcry provoked by their decision to go ahead and broadcast blatant propaganda, PBS management decided to make a gesture of "fairness" to theirviewers. That gesture was a panel discussion to be aired ^XongsidQ Days of Rage, in order to.provide the balance that iDa>'5o//?fl^e sorely lacked.^
Many viewers expected the panel discussion to offset-the anti-Israel blasts in Days of ^o^*?. They were sorely disappointed. Instead of serving as ah antidote to the "d^qcuni^n-tary's" pLp ppispn, th^ panej only added more:anti-'Jsraelyfujel tp the te, alb^ek v ;
From the beginning the dw^ was stacked, and the composition of the panel was the.jirst giveaway. Theri? was Janies Zogby, a slick propagandist \vhQ heads the Arab-American Instit^^ leading Araf lobby in Washington. There was Richard
Be^ Commit^ teefqr Accuracy in, M^^ East Reporting in America (Eastern Region), which has chapters in eight major cities ^.'...Jncluding'Seattle.
Murphy, who, during his days at the State Department was heyer known for being friendly to Israel. There was Hod^ing Garter, whose status as "moderator" of the panel discussion enabled him to pose as a neutral authority, even as he subtly manipulated the discussion to highlight alleged Israeli misbehavior. And there was Walter Ruby, a correspondent for The Jerusalem Post, who, while certainly not anti-Israel, displayed ample sympathy for the Palestinians.
The opposhion to this Gang of Foiir was provided by Seymour Reich, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and the Hon. Alan Keyes, a onetime American diplomat at the U.N., and formerly the highest ranking black official at the Department of State. Reich and Keyes made a noble effort to correct the falsehoods of Davjo/ Rage, but they were outnumbered On the panel by a margin of four to two.
Zogby was the most effective exponent of the PLO line; repeatedly insisting that Days was an attempt "to listehto the voices of children talking about why they've rebelled." Thisc was at clever approach, subtly mixing an appeal to the prihcipie of free speech with the instinctive desire of adults to open their hearts to troubled, rebellious youth. Zogby was the PLO's ahswerfo "Dear Abby."
The only obstacle preventing Zogby from dominating the entire panel discussibn was Keyes, whose unorthodox approach seemed to unnerve Zogby and company. While Reich was well-informed and articulate, he clearly had to temper his arguments to represent the broadest possible range of mainstream Jewish opinion. Keyes, however, shouldered no such burden. He did not hesitate to characterize /)flf,rj as a "paid political
advertisement," and when Ruby praised the film as "powerful and compelling," Keyes replied that "it is powerful only for the, ignorant."
Keyes also scored well in his unexpected plea for Palestinian seif-determiriation. The PLQ and its advocates, of course, use , the phrase "Palestinian self-determination" as a code word alternately for an independent Palestinian-Arab state in the West Bank and Gaza, or for the eventual elimination of Israel.
Keyes used it in a creative, and.more honest, manner. "I believe strongly in Palestiniari-Arab self-government," Keyes said. "I believe that we should not be talking about some nonviable, symbolic West Bank rump state intended to buy off Palestinian feeling while the majority of Palestinians re sitiiation where, as in South Africa, their real self-government is denied." . - -^^/r^f' .
^That Palestinian majjomyr^sides in "the undemocratic state of Jordan, which actuaiiy,rhistorically speaking, provides the basisforatwo-statesolutioh which would actually represent the fulfillnieht-bf Palestinian aspirations," Keyes noted, and the? Utter inability of the pro-Arab panelists to rebut him was testimony to the intellectual power of his argument; - :
Unfortunately, Keyes had few opportunities to speak- Instead viewers heard mostly from the Arabists on th^ panel. The cold ■ stone-faced Richard Murphy, stilP soundinjg like a State Department bureaucrat, droned on about alleged Israeli human rights violations. ^
The polished, grinning James Zogby had the c7?wf2/^^^^ that Yasir Arafat had ever threatened to "pump ten bullets into the chest" of any Arab who questioned his methods (the phrase is Arafat's, tape-recorded by the U:S. government) — "1 spoke with Chairman Arafat directly about that," Zogby reassured the audience.. : - ■ ^^ ■ :^
Hodding Carter, as the smug moderator, provoked an argument with Seymour Reich, interrupting Reich at one point to iriject that "over 500 people haye died-V in the violence. When Reich pointed out that dozens of Israelis have been murdered as well (he might have noted that they were murdered in cold • blood, not shot while throwing firebombs, and that more than 100 Arabs have been murderbd by the PLO), Carter demanded toichow exactly how many Israelis had died. Reich replied that there had been oyer 2,000 attacks on Israeli buses: Carter thought the figure applied "to the last40 years," meaning about ^ 50 annually, which demonstrated his poor grasp of the severity _ of Arab terror.
WIESEL
ByELIEWIESEL
Everyone knows what the New Year season signified in'the past and signifies still in our own time: an effort, an attempt at introspection. To take stock of the year that has just passed: the Jew is alone with his soul, alone with G-d whosejudgment can be discerned with the soul's eyes.
. Let's look at the past year. The traces it has left are of blood and ashes. They are still fighting in Afghanistan. Beirut has not completed its. suicide. China has dhce again become a prison. Drugsare ravaging youth; terrorism continues to ridicule world leaders. One miist look hard to discover some-.;real and lasting sparks of hope. - ' '
In our own Jewish world, the situation also leaves a lot to be desired. Most certainly, we have recorded successes if not victories in important areas. The; condition of Russian Jews has improved. Israel is somewhat less attacked in the media. The anti-Israeli leftists remain a small minority thkt hasn't succeeded in seriously affecting the community.
We would, however, be wrong to rejoice too much. In general, anti-Semitism hasn't stopped; in fact it has increased. .
But most worrisome is the deterioration of our relationship with the Catholic Chiirch.TEcumenicism^ John XXIII, is h6longer what it us^d to bie. Whatlias happened to the great spiritual message of John XXII^ of Qur Chrisitian friends; the wind thathldws from nf^aS^prsibleto a rapprbcheinentaiid certainly hoU : Firsts of AiischwitZv Unfortunately it is impossible to move around it. The nuns would do wellto leave. They recite prayers there, well and good. But why hav^^ i Becaiiseitis ithe beare^ symbol, Buti.for the Jews too^ this place einbodies a symbol, as is the cross, and the synibol is not the same for Christians a^^
If the nuns want t^ for the souls of the killers, who after all were Christians— even tho^^
business: If they want to pray for the souls of non-Jews assassin nated at Auschwitz, that's their business too. But to say Christian prayers for the souls of the Jews who were among the most pious of Europe, well no: many Jews cried out at the scandal if not the obscenity.
As for the cross: a symbol of compassion and mercy to Christians, it evokes terror and suffering to Jews. That Jews resent having its shadow over iinvisible Jewish cemeteries ought to be comprehensible. How can one explain this insensitivity on the part of the good sisters? Couldn't they choose another place? Since G^4s,grd,.lsn the same everywhere? -Xi - J J f
What smne of iis resent nipst is the no-win situation that has been forced upon us. Imagine the television cameras showing the CarmeHtes leaving the convent. Wouldn't people say or think: "Poor nuns, being thrown out by Jews ... and for what? Forprayiiig?"
The nuns are destroying Jewish-Catholic relations and they know it. Several cardinals and priests, and other dignitaries of the church have tried, to intervene. The good part of this unnecessary incident was that we became aware of their deep commitment to Jewish-Catholic relations. They are bur friends. They deserve our confidence, and I would even say they deserve pur esteem and support: Several of them told me, last July, that Cardinal Maharsky of Cracow had pro-
This article was translated from the French by Ann StIHer. Elie WieseU 1986 Nobel Peace Laureate, is a university professor at Boston University. This article was : inade possible by a grant firom The Fund forJoumalism on Jewish Life, a project of The CRB Foundation of Montreal, Canada. Any views expressed are solely those of the author.
mised them a ra^pid settlement of the dispute., But,, to read his recent declaration, it is clear that he^misledjthemi;^^ , ^ )
The convent will not be moved ahdthe Geheya accpixl is ypid, declared Cardinal Maharsky. For what reason? Because the Jews had shouted too loudly? I^cpiifess that I consider the argument of the Cardinal of Cracow an insulttoJe^^^ honor.
Bad faith is apparently contagious. The words^ of Cardinal Maharsky found an echo in those of tjie Primate of Poland, Joseph Cardinal Glehip; Except, that the latter, .pushing the insult still further^ took the liberty of expressing him an anti-Semite. HeJaccuses Jews of stirring up anti-Polish sentiments in themediaihat, of course, controls goes so far as to insinuate that some American Jews who tried to enter the convent to voice their protests wanted toa^^^ kilithe nuns.
One can wonder, why doesn't the,Pope, s^ f Catholics, interyene in the 'debate? Why do^ hie kee
Pardon: he doesn't keep silent. has expressed hiniself. Not : directly on the subject of the cohyeht^biit^n soin^ What he said is perhaps more meaningful than the utterances of Cardinal Glemp.
On the evening of Tisha B'Av, which is for us a day of commemoration and faith. Pope John Paul llV in a hbmily, spoke of the people of Israel and reproached them for having chosen infidelity toward G-d. G-d, according to the Pope, would have broken his covenant with the Jewish pebpleb^ had sinned. This is why he sent prophets to convert them. And so G-d would have concluded a new covenant with the Christians. In other words: let the Jews convert and they will please G-d and the Pope.
How do we repress or even hide our indignation? In truth, it seems to me that it is the Pope who has problems with us, just as we have problems with him: Sometimes he gives the impression of wanting to provoke us. Exaniples? W^ldheim's visits, the mass at Auschwitz, the non-recognition of Israel, the meeting with Yasir Arafat. Bfut, then, you will ask me, why does he receive so many Jewish delegations? And why did he go to the synagogue in Rome?
I am unable to read the thoughts of someone else. I cannot unravel those of the Pope. But 1 can measure the consequences. If nothing is done to reassure the Jews, the separation between therJewish pepple^ahd Catholicism wil^ once, agaiii become an abyss. Arid this abyss; will be a dajngei for tlie who
But things have suddenly improved. After a long sileiicb; the Vatican has finally issued a statement favoring the relocation of the convent. Will it happen soon? Let us hope so. At least, the
WIESEL-Page 11
From Page 6
In this state, as soon as he becomes aware of a Divine command, he is filled with boundless joy — joy emanating from the soul's limitless essence f- which tranceiids the limitations of intellect.
; Herein lies the connection of the joy of the water-drawing with Succot:
The joy of Succot derives from; the spiritual achieye-ments'pf Ro^h Hatshaii£i;lhe Ten Days of Penitence, and most importantly, the day of-Yom Kippur. On that day the Jew's essence is bound up with G-d's Essence. This is revealed durihg Succot in the water-offering and the joy accompanying the wate r-d rawing — a joy of the Jew's essence which trancends the bound of intellectual limitation.
From the- fVellsprings of
Chdssidus,*' Kehot Publication Society, 5747.
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