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News Briefs
Begin raps Parliament of Europe
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Prime Minister Menachem Begin told
a group of visiting members of the European Parliament Monday
that their institution's support for President Reagan's Middle East
peace initiative was “destructive.'' He insisted that the Camp David
accords are the only framework for peace negotiations.
Begin said the peace process would not be affected by the
changes in his Cabinet made necessary by the forced resignation of
Defense Minister Ariel Sharon. He also made it clear that the
changes would have no affect on his government's policies. He said
Israel would never hah settlement activities in the occupied
territories, would never agree to a Palestinian state and will never
negotiate with the Palestine Liberation Organization “because a
people does not talk to those who come to destroy it."
Israel frees 100 from Ansar
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Israel freed about 100 prisoners from the
Ansar detention camp in south Lebanon. But according to press
reports, the camp has become a hotbed of Palestine Liberation
Organization activity.
The prisoners were released in what officials described as a
thinning-out process. About 5,000 Palestinians and Lebanese
remain in the camp, however. They have not been granted
prisoner-of-war status.
Israeli newspapers reported Tuesday that the PLO is
maintaining tight discipline among the inmates and have turned
the camp into an effective training ground and school for the PLO.
Senior PLO members are said to be in command of the camp's
various sections.
Police are mum on investigation
JERUSALEM (JTA)—The police have imposed a blackout on
their investigation of the grenade incident which killed one person
and wounded nine others at a Peace Now demonstration here last
week. Although several suspects are said to be known, no one has
been detained so far. — - —• •
According to the police, they are marking time on arrests “out
of consideration for the investigation.'' Participants in the Peace
Now demonstration, held to demand the dismissal of Defense
Minister Ariel Sharon, have reportedly identified photographs of
several persons who harrassed them during their rally. Supporters
of Sharon were holding a counter-demonstration a short distance
away at the time.
Pianists to compete in Jerusalem
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Forty-nine aspiring young pianists from 17
countnes, including the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of
China, will participate in the fourth Arthur Rubinstein
International Piano Master Competition to be held in Jerusalem
and Tel Aviv in March and April.
It will be the first competition without the maestro’s presence.
Rubinstein died in Geneva recently at the age of 95.
The 49 finalists were chosen from 81 who applied to participate
in the competition. They were selected on the basis of
recommendations, their general education and prizes they have
won in past competitions. Prizes in the Rubinstein competition
range from SLOOO-SIO.OOO. '
The countries to be represented, in addition to Israel, the USSR
and China, are the U.S., Taiwan, Korea, Rumania, Bulgaria,
Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Britain, Italy, Japan
and West Germany.
Jewish writers among missing
GENEVA (JTA)—The issue of disappeared persons in
Argentina will be among the topics to be discussed at a conference
on human rights sponsored by the United States beginning
Monday. A Swiss committee that has been working on behalf of
the disappeared persons told a press conference this issue will be
taken up by a number of ambassadors attending the conference.
The committee distributed a list of 103 journalists who have
disappeared in Argentina which included a number of Jewish
journalists. They are: Roberto Elias Asf, Rafael Callelupo,
Guilerma EngeL Ariel Gelman, Raymundo Gleyzer, Felix
Granovski, Mario Idelman, Ignacio lkonikofT, Enrique Raab, and
Rodolfo Esparati. There was no indication under what
circumstances the journalists had disappeared.
. '
Enough was enough
Editor:
For eight years Lebanon
resembled a jungle in which hyenas
roamed about at will frequently
making forays into Israel to sink
their fangs into luckless children
and adults. After unbelievable
patience, Israel concluded that
enough was enough. The incursion
into Lebanon resulted.
As a result of Israel’s action,
Lebanon now has the opportunity
to reconstitute itself. One must,
however, be mindful that many
PLO terrorists and 30,000 Syrian
troops remain, forces that were
there during all the years of
Lebanon’s travail. In view of this.
President Reagan’s stance and that
of the State Department is
bewildering. They accuse Israel of
unnecessarily delaying withdrawal
of armed forces. We hear of no
such pressure being applied to
Syria or the PLO.
Our country is under the illusion
that with the collapse of the Begin
government, Israeli forces would be
quickly withdrawn and once
again peace would reign. Nothing
could be further from the truth. A
change of governments would not
result in greatly differing action
concerning occupying forces in
Lebanon. Israel cannot and should
not be forced to unilaterally
withdraw, thereby allowing the
situation to revert to its previous
status.
A word about former Defense
Minister Ariel Sharon. For years
many considered him a loose
cannon who should have been
stripped of rank long ago. He
frequently made harsh decisions,
though perhaps brilliant ones,
which were contrary to orders. It
is, however, somewhat troubling
to fault him for allowing
Christian Phalangist forces into
refugee camps to root out
terrorists. Israel, he doubtless felt,
had paid sufficiently in lives and
property while the Phalangistsand
Lebanese militia did little more
than stand aside and cheer.
No one will quibble with the
Israeli investigation into the
massacres, but one should also try
to understand what motivated
Sharon and the other generals who
were presumed to be indirectly
responsible.
Max £ Rob kin
Good question
Editor:
Why are our Marines in
Lebanon? This is the question that
must be asked after reading the
news articles of Israel Defense
Forces/U.S. Marine confrontations
over the last several weeks.
In recent days, American
authorities have made conflicting
claims. On the one hand, they
claim there are no armed
Palestinians moving through
the U S. controlled territory. On
the other hand, American officials
have been quoted as saying it is not
the Marines’ mission to prevent
PLO infiltration.
These statements explain why
the Israeli forces and the American
Marines have had uncomfortable
difficulties over suspected PLO
movements through territory
under U.S. Marine Corps control.
However, the purpose of the
Marine*’ presence in Lebanon is
unclear.
If American forces are to help
the Lebanese government re
establish sovereignty, and to
prevent further conflicts, they can
hardly achieve this goal by turning
a blind eye to terrorists.
Stanley N. Zwaik
National Commander
On Sharon
Editor:
Israel’s Gen. Ariel Sharon is like
the United States' Gen. George
Patton. He is rough with his
friends, destroys his enemies, and
wins wars. Sharon’s feelings about
the PLO are the same as the
feelings of Gen. Andrew Jackson
about his enemies.
Such people are always
controversial, especially when they
are not urgently needed.
Aaron Baron an
Begin bust story baseless
by Carl Alpert
HAIFA—
It happened many weeks ago,
but in Jerusalem they are still
talking about it. To some it was a
huge joke, and they burst out
laughing whenever the subject is
raised. To others it was a disgrace.
It was eventually revealed as a
hoax, but should it be considered
enterprising journalism or perhaps
an interesting sociological
revelation?
A couple of staff members of the
local weekly newspaper, Kol Ha-Ir
(The Whole City), armed
themselves with formal printed
receipt books, a modest
prospectus and a sales pitch, and
went out collecting. Their project:
construction in one of the central
squares of the city of a large bronze
monument in honor of Menachem
Begin.
Their fictitious “Menachem
Fund” invited the public not only
to contribute, but also to compose
a suitable slogan which would be
engraved in stone at the base of the
statue.
The solicitors went from door to
door in various neighborhoods of
the capital, and also set up a stand
in the heart of town to collect f
signatures in favor of the project.
A full-page spread in their
paper, later, told of the response
which they met. Obviously .there
were some who were not
cooperative. Some people refused
to open their doors when the bell
was rung. Others slammed their
doors loudly when they heard the
purpose, in some cases explaining
that they supported the Labor
opposition. One woman was
practical: “What does Begin need
money for? We need money; let
him give td us.” Another gave
grudging approval to the idea, but
added that it was the end of the
month and she had nothing left to
give for Begin.
Several expressed skepticism as
to the advisability of putting up a
statue of a living man. What would
the datim, the religious elements,
think of it?
The overall response, however,
ranged from merely favorable to
warm and even excited support. In
many homes the collectors were
invited in to have coffee and cake
or juice, in tribute to the cause.
Purse strings opened.
The slogans which were
suggested, on the spur of the
moment, reflected the views of the
people. Among the suggestions
were: We love you. Begin. Begin,
defender of the nation. A good
Jew, concerned for his people.
May there be many like him. It will
be long before there is another like
him. We back you Begin—and of
course. Begin, King of Israel.
One Jerusalemite, weak in
Hebrew, asked his 9-year-old
grandson to help out, and the latter
came up with: Blegin, prime
minister for life. The shortest
slogan was one word; Begin.
Presumably, every passerby could
in his own mind add whatever
further qualifications best
reflected his personal opinions.
Contributions ranged in size
from a few scattered coins, up to
100 shekels. In all, 59 people gave to
the monument fund, for a total of
1,510 shekels. One man approved
the idea, but said he would give
through his place of work. He
relented under pressure and gave
50 shekels.
On the same weekend that the
paper appeared, its competitor,
Kol Yerushalaim (The Voice of
Jerusalem) carried an item
reporting that swindlers or
practical jokers were tricking local
citizens and were collecting money
for a Begin monument. The police
declared that no complaints had
been received, and therefore there
was no action to be taken.
Nothing was said about the
money that had been collected.
Was it returned to the willing
donors, or contributed to
Menachem Begin's favorite
charity?
PAGE 5 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE February 18, 19*3