Newspaper Page Text
Sabbath studies
Arnold Eagle's 1937 photograph, “Reading the Talmud," is
from the Museum of the City of New Y ork.
12 reasons why Israel
is U.S. security asset
Is Israel a U.S. security asset'.’ The following reprint front the
Jewish Institute for National A ffairs newsletter answers that
question with an emphatic " Yes!"
1. Israel has a strong, secure location in the Eastern
Mediterranean.
2. Israel has a well-developed military infrastructure, featuring
a wide range of sophisticated communications, transport, and
supply systems.
3. Israeli forces are equipped to maintain, service and repair as
needed U.S. origin military equipment including the most
sophisticated electronic equipment and aircraft. Israel has a
proven capacity for quick turnaround during conflict and the
capacity to innovate rapidly in wartime.
4. Israel has an excellent deepwater port at Haifa bay, featuring
communications and military infrastructure.
5. Nearby Haifa, Israel has excellent air facilities of the most
modern type and can service virtually any variety of jet engine or
aircraft type.
6. Israel is close to vital sea lines in the Eastern Mediterranean,
Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Her ability to effect a rescue at Entebbe,
jam radars in Uganda, maintain in the air a command and control
and medivac aircraft, indicate a clear ability to project power over
long distances.
7. Israel maintains a domestic air force larger than many fighter
forces in Western Europe and possessing more up-to-date military
hardware.
8. Israel is a multilingual country with an in-depth capability to
monitor Soviet and Eastern European broadcasts, and to maintain
surveillance over hostile states in her immediate region. Most
Israeli officers read, write and speak English and received training
in the United States, Great Britain or France.
9. Israel is experienced in combating Soviet tactics and is
familiar with a wide range of Soviet military methods.
10. Israel is well situated to provide substantial assistance to the
U.S. Sixth Fleet when operating in the Eastern Mediterranean. It
keeps in its arsenal equipment common to the fleet, including naval
models of the U.S. Phantom F-4 aircraft, many types of missiles,
and the E-2C early-warning aircraft, used widely by the Sixth
Fleet.
11. In the case of wide-scale war in which the U.S. may be tied
down in southern Europe. Israel can provide essential military
support to the U.S. by combating flanking operations sponsored
by the Soviets, by lying down local troublemakers, and by
requiring the Soviets to commit forces to preventing an Israeli
strike against her port facilities, air bases, and military stations in
and around the Mediterranean, Israel can also provide emergency
air cover for the Sixth Fleet if needed
12. Israel is a democratic country with tested anti-Soviet, pro-
Western leanings, a high level of internal order and a strong
orientation to support the NATO system.
I
1
The Southert
VOL. LV
Israelite
The Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry
Our 55th Year
Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, December 21, 1979
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Abortion restriction passes
Knesset action adds life
to coalition government
By David Landau
and Gil Sedan
JERUSALEM (JTA) —A
controversial amendment to the
abortion law passed its first
reading in the Knesset this week by
a five-vote margin, giving the
Aguda Israel factions a substantial
victory and thereby saving Premier
Menachem Begin’s coalition
government. The vote was 58-53
with nine abstentions.
Coalition MKs. mainly of the
Liberal Party, who had opposed
the measure, leading to its defeat in
a 54-54 tie vote when it was first
submitted to the Knesset last
month, observed party discipline
this time. They did so after Begin
declared-the vote to be one of
confidence in his government. The
Aguda had threatened to withdraw
its four MKs from the coalition
unless the restrictive amendment
was adopted. That would have left
Begin with too slim a majority in
the Knesset to govern for long.
Shlomo Lorincz, head of the
tiny Aguda Knesset faction, said
after the vote that it was "a victory
for common sense and Jewish
morality.” He hailed Begin for
honoring his pledge to the Aguda
that the amendment would be
passed. The amendment eliminates
clause five of the present abortion
law which permitted abortions for
socio-economic reasons —
meaning for mothers of poverty-
level families with large numbers
of children.
Likud Party whips had been
lobbying vigorously for weeks to
bring defectors into line on the
issue. The prospect that the
governfrfPfit'WMrtd have to resign,
if the amendment failed and the
Aguda carried out its threat,
apparently persuaded many
coalition MKs to support it
although their conscience dictated
otherwise.
There was little doubt as to the
outcome when the Knesset met
Monday. Nevertheless, three
members of the Democratic
Movement — Deputy Premier
Yigael Yadin, Justice Minister
Shmuel Tamir and MK Shlomo
Eliahu —voted against the
amendment. Another Democratif
Movement MK, Akiva Nof,
absented himself. Unlike the
Liberal Party, the Democratic
Movement is not bound by
coalition discipline in votes on
religious issues.
Three other coalition MKs—
Hillel Seidel, Yosef Tamir and
Yitzhak Yitzhaki, either abstained
or were absent. Also absent were
Geula Gohen and Moshe Shamir,
who defected from Herut earlier
this year and are now associated
with the ultra-nationalist, right-
wing Tehiya movement.
All Labor MKs opposed the
amendment except Rabbi
Menachem Hacohen who
See Knesset page 21
Whale of a picture
This painting by contemporary English artist Fred Aris. is entitled, “Jonah and the Whale."
It is part of an exhibition at London's Portal Galleries, by artists of the Naive and Primitive School,
depicting Biblical subjects in a modern English setting.
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