Newspaper Page Text
—Bush
Continued from page 1.
“not a photo opportunity. This is a
policy opportunity.”
Analysts here also pointed out
that Syria’s President Hafiz Assad
sent the Reagan administration an
indirect message through his release
of the Rev. Lawrence Jenco that
Syria must be involved in any
Middle East talks. Bush’s 12-day
trip included Jordan, Israel and
Egypt, but not Syria. On the day
Bush arrived in Israel, Jenco was
Continued from page 1.
the cause of Soviet Jewry and the
protest of Waldheim’s election.
“Anti-Semitism knows no boun
daries. The problem of Soviet Jews
knows no boundaries. It’s not just
a Russian problem. This was not
just an Austrian problem, and not
just a Jewish problem. Because 95
percent of Austria is Catholic, it
was critical that I be joined by
Catholic clergy in speaking truth
to power, to translate empathy to
action.”
Weiss and Sister Rose com
mented at length on the fear they
felt emanating from the Jewish
community of Austria. The small
group was unable to even rent a
table and chairs from any Jews,
although they were easily able to
do so from their hotel. Weiss was
careful to mention that the Jewish
community of Vienna was recep
tive to them on Shabbat, mention
ing particularly Rabbi Chaim
Eisenberg, who “was especially
gracious. But it’s an absolutely
frightened Jewish community,” he
said.
Sister Rose and Father Bossman
returned to New York later than
Weiss. At the Vienna airport’s
baggage inspection, Sister Rose
told JTA, “I went through just like
everyone. Then, on the other side
of the X-ray arch, someone pulled
me into a curtained booth.”
freed, 19 months after his abduc
tion by Moslems in Lebanon.
Three other Americans remain
captive in Lebanese territory con
trolled by Syria.
Bush’s personal activities ex
tended beyond the program of Vice
President Walter Mondale in 1980.
when he also was gearing up his
presidential ambitions. Until Bush’s
arrival, Mondale was the highest
ranking U.S. official to visit the old
city of Jerusalem. Wearing a kippa.
Bush was photographed kissing
the Western Wall, grim-faced at
Yad Vashem, listening to Natan
(Anatoly) Shcharansky. He pointed
—Vienna—
Sister Rose wants to be sure it is
understood that she is both accus
tomed to strict security checks and
welcomes them. In the 28 times she
has been to Israel, she emphasized,
“I appreciate the security of El A1
airlines. It has been most humane,
polite and gracious. El A1 security
personnel make eye contact and
seem to apologize to the person.”
But, she recalled, “when I went
into the curtained booth, no ques
tions were asked.” She thought she
would just be frisked, but a tho
rough body search was conducted
after stripping her. She was never
told why it was being done. “I
began to feel what Jews must have
felt when they were stripped and
sent to the gas chambers.”
Father Bossman hadn’t even seen
her vanish, and didn’t know where
she was. The two of them had been
put ahead of other people in the
line without explanation. They have
since made diplomatic inquiries to
find out the reasons for the treat
ment.
The Shabbat following their re
turn to Vienna, Sister Rose spent
the day with Weiss’s family and
congregation in Riverdale, the
Bronx. The rabbi and the nun
addressed the congregation follow
ing the services and described their
experiences in Vienna.
Sister Rose said her purpose for
going “was to lend a Christian
voice to this protest, because I feel
out in his speech to the Knesset
that Israeli-American ties have
grown stronger in President Rea
gan’s five years in office, and
commended both Peres and For
eign Minister Yitzhak Shamir, who
is to become prime minister in the
lunity government in October.
In the so-called Mideast “peace
process” Bush apparently achieved
few if any gains primarily because
both Syria’s Assad and Yasir Ara
fat’s Palestine Liberation Organi
zation had castigated Hassan for
meeting with Peres. Reports em
phasized that while Bush asked
that Christians did not speak out
enough during World War II.” She
pointed out that “Christians and
Jews were united in this protest of
prayer and fast, demanding an
international investigation into the
charges made from many quarters
that Mr. Waldheim's role during
the Nazi Holocaust is sufficiently
clouded as to require a thorough
investigation.
“My voice and actions of pro
test, joined with Avi Weiss and
others, called for justice on behalf
of all those Jews—six million—
Catholics, Protestants, homosex
uals, minorities, elderly, handi
capped, dissenters and resisters,
whose lives were unjustly and bru
tally snuffed out by the Nazis and
all who joined Hitler’s henchmen
during the period 1933-1945. They
are gone, never to speak for them
selves.
“Very few Christians spoke out
during those terrible years. So how
can anyone remain silent now, when
Kurt Waldheim, a member of the
Wehrmacht, the Brown Shirts, sets
himself up as a model to govern?
Kurt Waldheim was involved in
that Nazi war machinery... He be
longed to the same group—the
SA—that destroyed the 42 syn
agogues in Vienna... The vote for
Waldheim was really a vote for
human indecency, because he lied.”
Quiz Bax
Why does Jewish law prohibit a
Jew from wearing a garment of
clothing in which woo! and linen
fibers are interwoven or connected
with each other?
This prohibition comes from the
Bible (Leviticus 19:19 and Deuter
onomy 22:11). Some scholars try
to explain this law (e.g., Maimon-
ides) by saying that this used to be
an old heathen custom whose
priests wore garments with such
mixtures.
Other scholars claim that the
mixture of the two fibers is indica
tive of the clash between Cain and
Abel, one being a shepherd and the
other being a farmer. Wool comes
from a sheep, raised by a shepherd;
and linen comes from a plant (flax),
developed by a farmer.
A third reason offered is that
since the Almighty created these
materials separately from vegeta
ble and animal life, people should
not mix them. They must, thus,
retain their individuality.
Why is it traditional to either put
salt on bread when eating the first
piece of bread at a meal or to dip a
piece of bread in salt?
This is usually traced to the
commandment in the Bible which
requires that all sacrifices offered
on the altar should have salt added
to them (Leviticus 2:13). The gen
eral reason given for this require
ment is that salt acts as a preserva
tive.
The offering of sacrifices on the
altar in the Old Temple in Jerusa
lem was intended to preserve the
relationship between a human being
and the Almighty. Likewise, the
table in a home is considered to be
like an altar; and the food placed
on the table is considered to be like
a sacrifice.
Thus, the Jew joins his bread
’ with salt so as to preserve his rela
tionship with the Almighty. This is
why, for example, people w ho eat
together at a table are requited to
indulge in some kind of Jewish
learning which is a means of pre
serving their relationship with the
Almighty.
Next time you feed
your face*
think about your heart.
f Go easy on your
heart and start cut
ting back on foods
that are high in saturated
fat and cholesterol. The
change’ll do you good.
American Heart
Association
WE'RE FIGHTING FOR
YOUR LIFE
Arab states to further the opening
for peace through the Peres-Hassan
meeting, he decided not to go to
Morocco. Information here, how
ever, was that Hassan declined to
invite Bush to avoid further con
demnation by Arab powers that he
was kowtowing to Washington and
being led by its bias against Arab
interests.
Arab merchants closed their
shops in the old city to protest
Bush’s tour and reportedly more
than a dozen Palestinian leaders
from territories administered by
Israel declined invitations to attend
the reception at the residence of
U.S. Consul General Morris Draper
in East Jerusalem. However, it was
noted, many Arabs did attend. The
State Department declined to pro
vide “a guest list,” noting this is not
a practice.
Syria’s symbolism in the release
of Jenco was openly matched by
Arafat’s PLO statement in his head
quarters in Tunis. The PLO con
demned Bush’s tour as a “plot”
against its demands for a Pales
tinian state. Thus, Assad and Ara
fat, bitter foes, delivered the same
message of hostility to Bush and
Washington.
In Israel, Bush also visited the
Hatzerim Air Base and Sde Boker
kibbutz in the Negev desert 100
miles southwest of Jerusalem where
the late Prime Minister Ben-Gurion
spent his last years. At the kibbutz,
he suggested direct talks between
Peres and Jordan’s King Hussein
to maintain momentum and efforts
to start negotiations for peace.
Meanwhile, hopes virtually van
ished that Bush could attend a
signing of a tentative agreement
for a solution of the Taba question.
At Egypt’s urging, teams involved
at bringing the matter to a close
“worked like mad” to have an
agreement based on aerial photo
graphs, rather than on-the-ground
survey teams, delineate “for the
time being” the boundaries of Taba
and 15 other points of dispute on
the Egyptian-Israeli line. The agree
ment, as planned, would be initi
aled, but subject to further negoti
ation before the formal signing of
the document and before submis
sion of the dispute to arbitrators.
However, it was said here that the
Egyptians demanded conditions
that stalled the compromise.
J2e£,
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PAGE 19 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE August 1, 1986