Thursday. August 27. 1981 — THE BULLETIN — 5
Le Monde's bias is irrational
By HENRY H. WEINBERG
The ability to inform is also the ability to exercise power. In the modern history of journalism few newspapers have possessed as much influence and power as the Paris daily Le Monde. ,
For the past 30 years it has established such a hold on French social and political life that even the authority.*^ highest echelons of the political In no other Western democracy establishment fear its opinions and has one daily succeeded in mono-judgments, polizing to such a great extent the ' Required daily-re«Kng for the "-authority over both moral and
Henry Wcinbcis ^ professor oTFraBcb Utcntorest Univcnity of Tonmlo. He has pirfyfe&ed on Zchi, FbiAefft, Litetary TlM^
rclatiom. This essay (exccrpSed froaa Middle East Focus— Maich I9tl)ispvt of a diapter in a fortbcooiiiis book on tke Middle East and the media.
country Is large intelligentsia as well as for those governing France. Ley Monde has become a force whose" **slightest opinions have acquired considerable, at times exorbitant.
Letters reprewent the writer's persossal opbutm and do not neeessarify rtfleet this new^per's editorial twtlook. Right cfrepfyisopen to rectify maeeuraeies and oifertonunent. MaU to: JWB,3268 Heather St., Vancouver, VSZ 3K5.
Action neeilecl ^gairist Nazi war criminais
Dear Mr. ICaplan:
A postcard was made available to the pnbWc'iJWB May 28)just before the postal strike.
The card stated: **That Nazi War Criminals continue to live undiscovered in Canada is an affront to justice and moraiiiy. The Solicitor-General of Canada Robert Kaplan has said: 'Canadians are unresponsive to the issue.. .* i disagree. I am responsive. As a Canadian 1 urge you to act on the prosecution of these criminals now. Justice Knows No Time Limit — There Is No Statute of Limitations For The
Victims.** The rey^rs^ side was ad^nessed to
Honorable Jean Ctiretseii. Minister
of Justice. House of Commons.
Ottawa. Ontario KlA 0A7.
Now if we take the troubk to send this postcard, will it be another exercise in frustration? Or will the Minister of Justice and/ or Solicitor-General Robert Kaplan take positive steps to bring these criminals to trial?
In April this year. Solicitor-General Kaplan told an Ottawa audience there was insufficient evidence because: ''In Canada... we throw everything out. It is part of the
British tradition ... **
But Kaplan has the wrong country. This is not part of British tradition, rather it is S.S. technique. As • a Canadian, the Solicitor-General makes me very uneasy. As a Jew. 1 am ashamed.
There have been hints ssd subtle comparisons between Robert Kaplan and Henry Kissinger, but Kissinger was tireless in his efforts to try for peace whereas Kaplan is very reluctant to try for justice (according to this speech).
On behalf of all thc>se who suffered extermination at the hands of Nazi barbaltians. and on behalf of their still mctuming rslativ^, I urge; every Ca^pdian to send to Ottawa this postcard (or a facsimile if they cannot obtain the card) and to demand action — not out of revenge and not for their self-gratification, but in the name of humanity: in the name ofjustke. and in the namt of G-d.
SYLVIA VICKERS.
Caimdkm Jewisk Ctnigras iifffkeat the Jewish Commuaaty Cemn sUB hn some posteuds for Ssartbtaitm
— TkeEOkor.
cultural standards in becoming "the compendium of French cuhure, the monitor qf-^the^ntellfgefiisia aad:-<^ French politics** to an extent that "nothing really counts if it had not appeared in it.**^
The power of this newspaper which.has "become indispensable for an understanding of French history since the war** is so awesome that ^ even sympathetic criticism induces "a kind of fear.*^ Because of its reputation for independence, promptness in supplying its readers with specialized analyses of various aspects of modem society, because of its high technicat and linguistic standards, LeA/oiu/e has become an institution whose influence is immense.
.Yet, paradoxically, its role in French life has "barely been studied.*^
If, in domestic politics Le Monde seems to have carved out for itself at the sauK time the position of semi-official spokeman and oigan of the opposition^, on foreign affairs in general, and on tin Middle East in . particular, it has played the role of a suppdrter and at times of a catalyst of government policy.*
"As we all know, Le Monde has never felt a great deal of passion for the state of IsraeL**' writes iheauthcr of an admiring book 6n Le Monde Even before the sharp turn in the orientation in France's Middle-Eastern policy in 1967, £r Monde's attitude toward the Jewish State reflected a covert hostility which stemmed, in part, from the moral and intellectual roots of its founder and fiiist editoK ^-^^^"^ >t -
Hubert Beiive-Mery^^brdi^t-up in the most conservative, leac-r tionary. Catholic milieu of his period, a milieu which was part of his . "heredity and genes.** During the twenties he held the post of seciietaij^ to. one of the most conserysitive clerics in the French church, Pcic Janvier. This influential figure had close ties to the anti-Semitic "Action Francaise".
Jacques FauveU the hand-picked successor of Le A#c»/u^2p first editor, has not only maintained the spirit
and attitudes instilled by Beuve— Mery, but also nudged the political, outlook fiirtlier to the left, tirelessly promoting the "Union of the Left** and a variety of leftist and Third World causes.
In general terms Le Monde's positions on the Middle East follow a' by now familiar line: The Arabs have been consistently moderate while Israel, whether governed by the Labor or the Likud parties, has been intrasigent.
The key ip any peaceful solution lies in IsraeKs wilGngnesii to make
concessions and to grant the Palestinians self-determination. At best. Israelis refusal to be conciliatory is due to an "obsession with security**, at worst it represents simple irreden-tism stemming from grandiose de^ sires for a Jewish empire and fanatical religious mysticism.'
Israel is responsible for the tragedy of the Arab refuged sad PLO terrorism has to be undnstoo4 in the context of the suflering and scorn
LEMQNDESBIAS
The waeiw go t>y slowly for three Moscow Jew* SM^^ long prison ternis for wanting to toora the counny.
yLADIMIR
SLEMK
IDA
NUDEL -
ANATOLY
AUIEAOVSUFFCmNG THEGULAOOfiOEAL:
166 166
WHAT CAN YOU D6?
The Heisinhi Agreement vi^ich the Soviet gowwiwieirt signed allows for freedorn of emigfation. Let -our voicas — letters. te^ran» and phone calls — express our pt^ltm fo^Mssiem leaders to intercede and to the Soviets io ^ («ism free.
THIS WEEK WRITE OFFICIAL:
United MrtkHiSf ^ New York, fi.Y. 10017.-
Slir ^ctti gork Sitnrs
From Begin raises m seeuiar sttmn
JERUSALEM — "We never had a coalition so close to changing our country from a state of law to a state of religious law.** Yediot Ahrondt. a newspaper that has sometimes
championed Prime Minister Begin's hard-line views, said (recently). As Mr. Begin presented his new Cabinet to President Yitzhak Navon. many liberal and secular Israelis were indignant.
It was Agudat Israel, with four seats, that gained the most ia the coalition-building wheeling and dealing. Its demands, if fully implemented, will impose fundamentalist practices on secular-minded fellow citizens.
A key Agudat demand, not contained in the coalition pact, would grant military exemptions to those who decide to engage in Orthodox religious studies. In a countf> where the militaiy is parathount. many Israelis, including members of the National Religious Party, arc furious. Wr. Begin said last week that the exemptions would
be spelled out in a letter to the party from bis new Defense Minister, the hawkbh Ariel Sharon, a former generaL
The issue of exemptions ci^ts deep. Said a woman who lost her son in the 1973 war with Egypt ''He died for them and now 1 am to pay to exempt them, to subsidize their indifference to how the state is run. What is happenins^T* Others are asking how a fierce old Zionist like Mr. Begin could have acceded to this demand.
Critics see the new coalition as so opportunist and so narrowly based that it will only be a matter of time before it collapses. But others, notably including Mr. Begin, say the very fragility of his plurality will keep in line coalition members who extracted what they wanted in weeks of tortuous talks.
pared to U.S. iQen. George. S. PattOn. Like Gen. Pattori, he is volatile and daring; and simihirlyhis critics and enemies aver that he is ruthless and politically unstable. Former defence minister Ezer Wciz-man said of him that "he tendk to leave behind him a wide swath of bitter enemies, disappointed, sytn-pathizers and fervent admirers.*!^
W. CoatlMr Rnn Aa^ 12 81
JWB 'offers tt' weekfy series o§ edkkmseiike world's leodbtg fiomLeMomie, Mtutchesier Cttordken Wedkfy.
Mmerioleked
WilHam E. Fanell
From Religion a factor in Bcgin*s CabinH
Ariel Sharon, commonly known as Arik, is easily the centrepiece of the Cabinet. The new Defence Minister has a brilliant war record and has most frequently been com-
Ffom Amerietm Arab bid extraction hok
WASHINGTON — ArabAmeri^ cans have been stepping up their campaign to fight the extradition to Israel of a 21-year-old PaliKtinian accused of a bombing in Tiberias that killed two Israelis and injured 36.
For two years. Ziad Abu Ein has been sitting in a Chicago jail while lawyers and State Department officiab have argued over his case. It has now gone to the Suprense Court and is posing a diplomatic problem.
Israel has produced evidence from an accomplice who confessed that Z:aw luuii pianied iheTiiMrii^uuMiv.
Bilt Ziad*s lawyers challenged the confessioik For one thing it is in Hebrew. For another, the confession was made after weeks in custody and has been twice recanted .
Two issues are at stake in his case. The first b whether there is. indeed, "probable cause** under U.S. law to believe he is guilty.
The second is more complicated and concerns the wording of the U.S. extradition treaty with IsraeL signed in December 1963. The question is whether the crime is considered to be a political act. If so. American courts and the Secretary of State have some discretion in refusing extradition. This is a customaiy extradition clause designed to allow governments ,to stay out of other nations* domestiie nolitics ...
Seventeen Arab ambassadors in Washington have already written to Haig warning hsm'clatmsng tiiat a decision to extradite Ziad would add to the "profound sense -of hijustice** they fc^l about the< Palestinian problem. (ONS)
Peter Prinjcic Aug. 9 XI
From BiMfc ScptOBbcr fci Aagst
iHis plans had been made for weeks. Retomiitg from his meeting with President Rcsigan in Washington. £gypt*s President Anwar Sadat intended to visit Salzbing, one of his favorite cities.
The series of events that apparently influenced S»]Sat^ decision not to go to Austria began two t»eks ago when customs ofHcials in Vienna st<|pped two Palestinians whose lujigage was found to contain an arsenal of five automatic weapons and six hand grenades. Intelligence sources believe that the two were rnembers of a reborn Black September, and that their probable aim was to assassinate Sadat. The Palestinian radicals have been at -odds' with him ever since he negoluiied a peace treaty with Israel, and their goal is to keep the Israeli-Arab conflict alive in the hope that Israel will eventually be overpowered.
