July 1991, Page 93

Publishers' Page

Before the Bad News.

In the previous issue we reported a record 1,100 new subscribers for the April issue and another 600 for the May-June issue. The latter was an educated guess.

But It Wasn't a Smart One.

By the time circulation director Catherine Willford got all the new labels ready to go to the mailer, we found we'd guessed wrong. There were 1,300 new subscribers.

We're Pleased to Meet You.

Now we'd like to meet your friends. That's why circulation records get broken, We won't attempt to guess how many new subscribers will receive this issue. We're just starting to get the responses to last month's appeal to readers to donate annual subscriptions to clergy, teachers, journalists, politicians, and libraries at the $7.50 opinion molders rate, because we have a matching grant that will pay $7.50 each for up to 10,000 such subscriptions.

It Means We Don't Lose Money.

All this explains why a number of people in these opinion molder categories are joining us for the first time this month. Now we hope they and those 2,400 new subscribers from the previous two issues will agree that what we have to say is important. If you do, please send us 14 names and addresses of people in the categories listed above and a check for $105. They may appreciate the subscription as much as you do.

If You Become a Donor

We'll provide your name to the recipients of your donated subscriptions, UNLESS YOU ASK US NOT TO. We'll also inform you about 14 months from now which of your recipients renewed at their own expense.

Then You Decide.

You in turn can renew for those who didn't, give up on them and send us other names, or just give up. There's no further obligation. Also, you become a member, in the appropriate category, of AET's 1991 Choir of Angels, listed on the next page.

All You Get is Satisfaction.

It's frustrating to see what the US is doing wrong in the Middle East (unconditional aid to an intransigent Israel), know what we should do about it, and not be able to get any reaction from your representatives in Congress, the State Department, or the White House. But don't give up ...

We Think Something's in the Works.

We're pretty good at this. In our third issue, May 3, 1982, we said an Israeli invasion of Lebanon "seems inevitable. " It came one month later. In our July/August 1990 issue, written in June, we said on this page, "Where does the Middle East go from here? Almost certainly to war. " Iraq invaded Kuwait August 2.

We Predicted It Two Years Ago.

With his election in 1988, the Washington Report predicted that George Bush would be the first US president since Dwight D. Eisenhower to use US aid as leverage to get Israel under control. The mainstream press said the Bush-Baker Middle East policy would just be more Reagan-Shultz.

And We're Standing on It.

In our last issue we said the confrontation with Israel, and with Arab hard-liners like Syria, would begin after the Secretary of State's return from his fourth Middle East shuttle. The mainstream press said the Bush Baker effort was naive and an exercise in futility. So let's see who's right—again.

It Will Take Courage.

Freezing or putting political strings on aid to Israel takes a lot of courage from any president and the congress members who support him. They're going to be savaged in the media on everything from how they play golf to eccentric relatives.

Ask Jerry Ford and Jimmy Carter.

When two previous presidents tried to do the right thing in the Middle East, the media immediately decreed that Jerry Ford (a star college football player) was a clumsy klutz, and Jimmy Carter (one of the most intelligent presidents we've ever had) came from a family of flakes. They might each have had another term if they'd agreed to let the Israelis keep the real estate they'd conquered. They didn't, but instead of telling the American people what they reluctantly were trying to do, they trusted the media. They were betrayed.

Who Are We Talking About?

The villains are otherwise good journalists and upstanding citizens who, unfortunately, abandon journalistic ethics or fair play when it comes to Israel. We're talking about publishers, key editors, and columnists who are willing to support even the present Likud nasties comprising Israel's government. They think, correctly, that Israel is in trouble. They also think, incorrectly, that the way to help Israel is to protect it from US pressure by undermining the Americans applying it.

They've Been Wrong for 25 Years.

The only way to help Israel is to put on the pressure, and eventually, perhaps after two or even three Israeli elections, the nasties will be repudiated. Things will just get worse for Israel, the rest of the Middle East, and the United States until this happens, despite Israel's US mainstream media protectors.

Where Are They?

At CBS, The Wall Street Journal, US News and World Report, The Atlantic Monthly, Commentary, The New Republic...

Is That All?

There are many willing hands slanting some Middle East coverage at other networks, The New York Times, Washington Post, and Newsweek. And probably on your daily newspaper as well. Even publishers without a bias, or a biased key editor, probably will be too afraid of some of their major local advertisers to close ranks behind the president and brave members of Congress if they take a courageous Middle East initiative.

So Why Are We Optimistic?

There's a dramatic new element in this mix of friendly Middle East governments in trouble with their own people because of their alliances with us while we subsidize an out-of-control Israel, a Congress on long term lease to the Israel lobby, and mainstream media ready to play dirty tricks in support of Israeli extremism.

The People.

What's changed is US public opinion. Listen to call-in radio talk shows that dare discuss Middle East questions. Read letters to the editor if your newspaper isn't in the totally co-opted category. Best of all, talk to your friends, neighbors, relatives.

It's In the Wind.

If you know something about the Middle East, you know this already. People who used to argue with you don't any more. If it's all new to you, well, you're probably part of the change. Otherwise, you wouldn't have read this far. That's why we're appealing for your help in getting to opinion leaders, and those friends, neighbors and relatives. It's one way you can personally help things along in a very critical year.

Make a Difference This Month

Another way to help is to write your three representatives in Congress and tell them you want no additional aid to Israel until the government of Israel stops any subsidization of settlements. In a letter to the president, with a copy to the secretary of state, you might tell them you'll support them if they call a peace conference, or let the UN call a peace conference. And that you'll support them in dealing appropriately with anyone who doesn't come, or who gets there but won't deal land for peace.

And Now, Please Turn the Page.

Is Your Name on This Page?

This magazine is made possible by the people who have contributed to the American Educational Trust and the tax exempt AET Library Endowment. Below are the names of those who have contributed to date this year. There are names omitted. Some requested it. Some we omitted because we don't know their wishes. We're trying to contact those in the latter category before we publish the 1991 list again.

It Soon Could Be.

We want, from now on, to honor those who give with a certificate, and we want to do it retroactively, and cumulatively. We have the lists from all nine previous years, so we have the capability. If we are listing you incorrectly, or have in the past, let's get it straight.

And Now for the Bad News.

We've hit that time of year again when we suddenly can't see how we're going to get to the end. We've explained previously why a circulation rise doesn't really mean a profit. This year it just takes more paid interns to do our business, which increases geometrically. That's why, this year as last, we appeal for former angels to come back to the choir loft. Maybe, too, this is where our several thousand new subscribers can give an assist. Please join our angels' choir now, and be proud for the rest of your life.

Here's How to Do It.

Check the appropriate box, and tear the coupon at left out of the magazine (or photocopy it if you keep a magazine file). Put your check right in with the coupon. Then use the postage-paid envelope at the center of the magazine to mail it. You also can donate by credit card by using the envelope.