Publisher and Editor-in-Chief SAMUEL KAPLAN
Our 59th Year
since 1930 the only weiskly publication serving Jewry of the Pacific Northwest
An Independent Newspaper
Advertising Manager RONFREEDMAN
City Desk MARTHA BARKER
Thursday, March 16,1989
Published every Thursday by Angio^ewJsli Publishers Ltd. 3268 HMthsr 8L, Vancouver, BriUsh Columbia V5Z 3K5 Subscription In Canada: $35.00 par year
The dilemma which Israel faces today in the wake of the intifada can be reduced to a handful of simple but provocative suppositions.
Abba Eban and Yehoshafat Harkabi represent the critical posture. They argue that Israel is strong and that an international conference should cause no alarm for the Jewish state. They assert that occupation of the territories was justified initially but that to continue it is both unjustified and inimical to Israel's best interests. They both argue that negotiations with the PLO, however distasteful, are necessary for a settlement. The Arabs, they also affirm, have given up the grand design to destroy Israel.
Prime Minister Shamir and his supporters refuse dialogue with the PLO because it is a terrorist organization which advocates in its charter the "nullification" of Israel. They also reject the idea of a Palestinian state because, as David Bar Ilan pointed out in Commentary, such a state could become a staging ground for Syrian aggression against Israel within hours of achieving independence. Security experts
also argue that a Palestinian state alongside Israel would provide an opportunity for its enemies to bombard Israel with laser-guided missiles of unimaginable destructive potential.
Ultimately the Israelis will have to sort out these contrasting positions and make a.decision regarding an accommodation with the residents of the West Bank and Gaza. If the PLO and Palestinians truly want Israel to accord them a measure of autonomy, they will have to convince the Israeli people that their odious charter is null and void and that their grand design has been replaced with a realistic acceptance not only of the reality of Israel but also of its legitimacy.
The PLO's dispatch of terrorists against Israeli civilians or soldiers (one of whom was killed recently by a cement block dropped on his head in Nablus) raises the presumption that one of the ultimate aims of the intifada is the killing of Jews.
As long as this perception continues in Israel, prospects for any accommodation appear slim.
Letters represent writers* opinions, noiJhe Biulletrn. Right of reply rectifies Inaccuracies. Letters must be signed, with day phone contact, and typed or printed, up to S50 words. VIEWPOINT exists for longer pieces, up to 750 words.
Wlllthe'rearDavid Berger please rise?
Dear Mr. Kaplan:
I was delighted to see my picture in your newspaper (JWB, Dec. 8,1988) under the heading Six Jewish M.P.s elected even though I did not run for office in the last Federal Election. At least you could have used a better picture of me rather than one taken in 1984. Apparently, there is a David Berger, M.P. for the riding St.-Henri-Westmount, in the province of Quebec, but he does not look like me at all.
DAVID P. BERGER
Richmond, B.C.
Editor's Note: The Bulletin wrote the office of BERGER David Berger, M.P. several times and were promised a photo but none has arrived to date. However, we are delighted to set the record straight with this letter and file photo from 1986!
Chicago seeks contacts from '33-'53
Dear Mr. Kaplan:
The Jewish Children's Bureau (JCB) of Chicago is seeking to contact individuals involved with this agency as part of the resettlement of European children and youth during the period 1933 to 1953. If you were involved with JCB as a foster parent, professional or were a resettled child/ youth during this period, please contact Dr. Ruth Stock Zober or Charlotte Dolins-Lozano at (312) 444-2090. ROBERT BLOOM
Executive Director
DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY   9:00 a.m.
BuHdtIn Office: 879-6575
Weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed Saturdays Jewish and legal holidays
JWB Copy Box at Jewish Coinmunity Centre cleared once a week at deadline
JiV0 Office Mail Slot for after-hour drop-offs
MEMBER: American Jewish Press Association. Ethnic Press Association of British Columbia, Multilingual Press Association of Canada.
SERVED BY: Jewish Telegraphic Agency, World Zionist Press Service. Israel Sun Photos.
AWARDS: Government of Israel Award of Excellence — 1968; Smolar Avirard for Excellence in North American Jewish Journalism — 1979 (Smolar Award Finalist: 1974 and 1982).
Second Class Mali Registration No. 1384 ISSN 0021-6879
Subserfptlcn: CanBda$35peryear.U.S. $37.50 per year, other countries $40 per year. Foreign airmail rates on request.
OcAdllne: Every Wednesday at 9 a.m. unless otherwise advertised in the newspaper.
Contents: Tho Bulletin assumes no responsibility for the content of. or opinions expressed in news, advertising, articles by contributing writers or Letters to the Editor. In democratic free expression this newspaper's columns are open to different views as well as to rebut or rectify inaccuracies, perceived or otherwise-. JWB -also reserves the right in its sole discretion to reject news, articles, letters or advertising. ,,.
Submissions: Submissions and letters are welcomed on matters of Jewish interest but The Bulletin assumes no responsibility for unsolicited publicity, manuscripts or photos.
Brier Home space limited
Dear Mr. Kaplan:
I hope you are well and will continue to spend your time giving guidance to all who ask for it. You guided me to many people who tried to help^place my sister Ida Robins in the Louis Brier Home (Vancouver) where she did a lot of volunteer work in her lifetime (and was also a life member of B'nai B'rith Women and Hadassah).
She always made donations to all who asked for her help. Yet her being very much alone was of no consideration in her being able to get into Louis Brier. She was still on the waiting list when she died.
I hope the Jewish community will never allow it to happen again that such lonely people have to die in a goishe Home. But thank G-d such a Home gave good care to my late sister.
LILY HELMAN.
. Winnipeg
Brier planning expansion to reduce waiting time
Dear Mr. Kaplan:
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to Mrs. Helman*s important letter. We share her distress at the lack of available facilities for our deserving elderly.
Ida Robins was one of many very deserving members of our community who have sought admission to the Louis Brier tlome in vain.
The waiting list for available rooms is compiled and priorized by the City of Vancouver, Health Department and is based on the date an application is received by the City. Had it been possible to admit Ida Robins, every effort would have been made.
The board of directors of Louis Brier Honie and Hospital is most concerned about lengthy waiting periods for admission. Building expansion plans are now being developed to accommodate more persons and reduce the waiting period.
With a proper Jewish community response and support, a larger facility will be able to better meet an aging population's needs. We are moving to meet this need in the next few months.
BERNARD REED
*• President
In the event of a typographical error edvertising goods at less than the proper price. The Jewish Western Bulletin will furnish letters to the advertiser stating the correct price, but goods may not be sold at the price printed and the difference charged to the newspaper. The Bulletin is not responsible for the Ka(8hruth of products or establishments advertised in its pages. The Bulletin assumes no' respdnsibility for the contents of advertisements which represent solely the advertiser's claims or views and have no connection with this newspapeiv..:.'.   ' j
TORONTO — A university president, a financier, a science researcher, a composer, a medical doctor and a civil servant were among the Jews named to the Order of Canada in the annual New Year's appointments.
The prestigious Order of Canada is conferred on outstanding citizens by Canada's governor general, presently Jeanne Sauve.
Those honored include: Harry Arthurs, ipresident of York University, former dean of Osgoode Hall Law School, and past head of the Canadian
Civil Liberties Association; Samuel Belzberg of Vancouver (JWB, Feb. 16), a well-known financier who sits on the board of the Wiesenthal Institute of Los Angeles; and composer Oskar Morawetz of Toronto, who emigrated from Czechoslovakia before World War 11.
Also honored were Bernard' Ostry, president of the Ontario government television network; Louis Siminovitch, a prominent researcher at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto; and Blossom Wig-dor, a gerontolbgist from Toronto. jta
IDF'shoultbecoiiimend^ not coridBifined' for Bffori
By SHIMON ARBEL
I recently returned from Vancouver where I presided at a community fundraising dinner.
During the course of the evening, I was able to greet and speak with a number of the guests. As I represent a major Israeli national institution, the topic of discussion always seemed to lead to the current disturbances in Israel's administered Territories, and the Israel Defence Forces' methods of confronting the protesters.
I was taken aback by some of the comments about Israel and her armed forces. Some Jews I spoke with perceive Israel as the obstacle to a peace agreement between her and the Palestinians, and as the perpetrator of human rights violations and other "crimes" against "innocent civilians."
Little confidence and trust were expressed in the justice of Israel's position of her longing for dialogue.
The Palestinians were seen as the "new Jews," and the Israelis as the "evil occupiers." Roles are reversed: the victim has become the villain, and the rioters are portrayed as saints.
Perhaps it is a manifestation of Diaspora insecurity, fuelled by a media onslaught against Israel, that some Jews have lost all confidence in the Jewish State. It is here that I would suggest that it is not Israel which has become tainted, but a world which holds the Jewish State to a standard high above any other nation, democratic or otherwise.
Shimon Arbel is national executive vice-president of Canadian Friends of Hebrew University.
I do not wish to relate the IDFs response t6 the ongoing violent demonstrations by PLO-affiliated or Islamic fundamentalist radicals in the Territories, or to the means employed by its troops to defend against massive stone barrages, Molotov cocktail Orebombs, and hurled bags of broken glass and urine. Nor do I wish to comment on methods used to repond to the rioters' use of civilian hospitals as refuge centres; ambulances as a means of transporting the uprising's leadership; or the masked Palestinian youngsters' forcing of young pupils to leave their classrooms and homes to participate in street demonstrations.
Needless to say, as a committed democrat, I recognize the responsibility of the state to maintain law and order and defend all its citizens against acts of violence.
Israel's troops should be commended, not condemned, for their great efforts in balancing security and humanitarian requirements while maintaining public order and safety in the Territories,
The distortions and lies regarding legal procedure, prison conditions, administrative detention, expulsions, home demolition, and human rights violations have all been addressed by Israel's representatives at home and abroad.
Israel and the Jewish people are now besieged by an internat-nional effort by some to delegitimize and isolate the Jewish State. It is outrageous that the greatest offenders of human rights in the Arab and Third World have become the authoritative judges of Israel, the, only democratic state in the Middle East.
Israeli and Diaspora Jews share a common concern over Israel's future relations with the Arabs of historic Palestine. No people seek a lasting, just, and permanent peace agreement with its neighbors more than do the citizens of Israel. No people detest violence and bloodshed more than the same people who have lost one out of every three of their own only 40 short eyars ago. These are truths which have stood the test of history and experience.
The role of the Diaspora Zionist is to defend these truths and provide comfort and support to Israel as she struggles to achieve peace.
It took Israel nearly three decades to reach an agreement with her former enemy Egypt. The road to peace with the Palestinians is long, yet all sane Israelis are determined to travel the distance for that coveted goal.
Confidence, optimism, and historical perspective are integral parts of Jewish belief and Zionist commitment. Let us remember the simple truths of the Middle East conflict, and provide Israel with the moral support necessary to attain the peace for which we all hope and pray.