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PAGE 4 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE October 24, 1986
Editorial
There’s no excuse
Once again the call has gone out to the administration in
Washington to close down the PLO office there.
This time the impetus was last week’s terrorist attack in the
Old City of Jerusalem. One man was killed and 69 soldiers
and civilians, including an American citizen, were injured.
The first to claim credit was the PLO.
Apparently there are still those who regard the PLO as
some sort of quasi-governmental body which somehow merits
not only a Washington “presence” but a United Nations
mission.
Well, it’s time to rethink that position.
In a telegram to U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese, the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organi
zations has urged the administration to reconsider. Over the
signature of Morris Abram, chairman, the telegram said in
part: “The PLO’s continued presence in our midst poses a
danger to the security of Americans while the implied recogni
tion that the U.S. grants to the PLO by permitting it to operate
serves to enhance its position and stature.”
Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.) has joined in the call. In a letter
to Secretary of State George Shultz, Kemp says: “We have the
legal authority, as a matter of policy, to shut down these
terrorist outposts on U.S. soil. I believe it is past time for us to
do so.”
Bluntly, Kemp continues: “The PLO is a terrorist organiza
tion. Terrorists are not welcome in the United States—nor
should they be welcome in any country that values human
decency and human lives.”
Yasif Arafat himself claims that during 1985 “the Palestine
revolution carried out 62 heroic operations.” Those opera
tions, which he terms heroic, took the lives of many civilians,
including Americans. And, he calls for more terror in what he
calls “not an Israeli-Palestine battle but a Palestine-U.S.
battle.”
Yet we allow, not only the U.N. Mission, but what amounts
to a PLO “embassy” in this country.
Enough. Let’s kick them out—and soon.
Rally ’round
The Southern Israelite
The Voice of Arionro s Jewish Community
Since 1925'
Vida Goldgar
Editor
Jeff Rubin
General Manager
Luna Levy
Managing Editor
Published by Sun Publications, Inc.
also publishers of The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle
Stan Rose
Chairman and
Publisher
Steve Rose
President and
Co Publisher
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Vida Goldgar
Getting settled
Traditionally, our Jewish communal activities get into full
swing just after the High Holy Days. With this year’s holidays
coming so late, our organizations have to squeeze a lot of
major events into a short period of time.
There’s hardly a date on the calendar without something
special going on. Some hardier souls will be able to attend
them all. Others may have to make some tough decisions.
But there is one date that should be starred on all our
calendars. That is Monday evening, Oct. 27. If there ever were
a year for each of us to turn out at the annual rally in behalf of
Soviet Jewry, this is it.
See you there.
We did it! Moving day has come and gone and,
for the most part, we’re settled in our new offices.
But it wasn’t without its questionable moments.
Despite my good intentions
to somehow sort through all my
files, stacks, folders and baskets
of papers well before moving
day, it didn’t work. First 1 had to
tackle the books. Somehow, over
the years, we’d accumulated hun
dreds. No way we were going to
take them all with us. By the time
1 finished sorting, my black skirt
and sweater were gray with dust
and boxes marked for the Bureau of Jewish Educa
tion to select from and pass the rest on to other
libraries and the Brandeis Book Sale. I had a box to
take home and about a hundred, carefully chosen,
to move with us.
At odd moments during the week I managed to
sort through some of my most current files, extract
ing what was vital and filling every waste basket in
the place with the rest. I didn’t really make much of
a dent and can count on spending lots of whatever
spare time I have back at the old place finishing the
job. I’m determined to neither bring anything really
unnecessary over here nor to take it home for sort
ing where it would probably remain intact for the
rest of my days.
But you know how editors are; every scrap of
information may be important some day. The trick
is to find it when you need it.
Friday was total chaos. Most of the staff was
here helping get the new desks arranged and organ
ized while a few of us stayed on 15th Street to pack
up last minute belongings and see that the movers
didn’t take the wrong things.
It’s kind of depressing hanging around a half-
empty place and I was glad enough when the mov
ing van pulled out. We weren’t far behind.
I’d been so busy that I hadn’t had time to check
out the new office since it was a cavern of sheetrock
and dangling wires. What a thrill it was to walk in
to such a spacious, sparkling place. No furniture
except a couple of storage cabinets came from the
old place. Not even a pencil. Shirley Rose in Kansas
City had designed the offices and selected the fur
nishings.
Mitch Levine, Sun Publications’ general man
ager, made list upon list of everything we might
need to run an office and then came down himself
to oversee the arrangements so that for the most
part, we could close up shop and move right in. I’ve
been told that he was here at least once in the
middle of the night, rearranging furniture, polish
ing desktops and checking and rechecking. He was
so thorough that when we opened our desk draw
ers, there were paper clips, rubber bands, pencils,
pens, scratch pads, new calendars—the works.
But even the best laid plans... . We showed up
Monday morning, ready to get to work. What we
didn’t have was chairs and typewriters. Oh, they
had been ordered all right, and promised—just not
delivered. The typewriters finally came, and some
substitute chairs were brought. We really could get
to work. Then the copying machine broke. Then
...well, you get the idea.
Now if all that weren’t enough, this was the
week that this old dog had to learn new tricks. You
can see for yourself the new format. It all sounded
so simple when we planned it. I should have known
better.
Monday morning we didn’t have chairs and
typewriters, but we had Diane, managing editor of
the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle, she had already
been through several design changes, and came
armed with what had proven to be efficient new
ways of doing things. 1 suspect when we get it all
figured out, that may be true but even our termi
nology is different. “Where’s your log sheet?” was
one of her first questions. “What’s that?” 1 asked.
Then an explanation. “Oh, we call it a budget.”
That’s been going on all week, but we’re finally
getting it straightened out and Diane did more than
advise; she plunged right in and edited copy, wrote
headlines and helped dummy up pages.
So, we’re on our way. And for all my kvetching,
I’m still excited. Now, the worst really should be
over and we can concentrate on doing what we do
best...and doing it in style.
The Sp J ri ‘ ° fthe age ' as U is revealed to each of us, is too often only the
pint o t e Sroup in which the accidents of birth or education or occupa
tion or Jellowship have given us a place.’
Benjamin N. Cardozo