October 1991, Page 56

Issues in the News

Compiled by George Shadroui

From the Middle East Press:

Syria Withdrawal Optional:

Syrian Information Minister Muhammad Salman said his government would withdraw troops from Lebanon when the Lebanese government so requests.

Salman, quoted in a Reuters report published in the Saudi Gazette, said his government is abiding by the Taif agreement, which called on Syria to redeploy its 40,000 troops to the mountains in east Lebanon by Sept. 1, 1992.

"When the Lebanese army or legitimate Lebanese institutions are able to directly shoulder the responsibility and ask us to withdraw, we cannot postpone for one second, " he said.

Syrian troops have occupied two thirds of Lebanon and have helped Lebanese forces disarm militias inside the country. Israel continues to occupy a 9 mile zone in south Lebanon and has indicated it will not withdraw until all foreign troops leave the country. Iranian Revolutionary Guards also are in Lebanon serving with Hezbollah militiamen who have not yet surrendered their arms to Lebanese authorities.

Israeli Killers and Saddam:

Israel had infiltrated a team of killers into Iraqi President Saddam Hussain's entourage during the Gulf war, but they never had a chance to attack him, the Saudi Gazette reported.

The report, which first appeared in the Sunday Times of London and quoted Israeli intelligence sources, said a second team of Israeli agents had gathered vital information on the Iraqi nuclear program and sabotaged shipments of nuclear materials.

One of the members of the Mossad team, the report claimed, was a high level official in Iraq's ruling Ba'ath Party.

Soviet Immigrants Take Arab Jobs:

New immigrants to Israel, most of them from the Soviet Union, have replaced close to 20,000 Palestinians who had been working illegally in Israel, the Saudi Gazette reported. Since the start of this year, Israel has imposed more severe restrictions on illegal workers, both as a security measure and as a way of expanding work opportunities for new immigrants. Fines for employing a Palestinian without working papers were raised to $833 and an additional $375 for each day the payment is delayed.

About 110,000 Palestinians worked in Israel prior to the 1991 crackdown and they made up most of the day labor force in Israel, including street cleaners, fruit pickers, and restaurant and construction workers.

Changing Attitudes in Kuwait:

The Iraqi invasion of their country more than a year ago has radically changed Kuwaiti attitudes toward Arab nationalism, internal security and the Palestinian issue, according to a poll conducted by the Arabic newspaper Al Hayat and an American research team.

A survey of 406 Kuwaitis showed that 66 percent of those asked no longer believe in the idea of Arab unity, while 31 percent said they did, but with reservations.

Though 37.5 percent still considered the Palestine problem the Arab world's major concern, 42.5 percent said it was not and 20 percent said the Palestinian issue was simply one of several of equal importance.

Of those surveyed, 48 percent said Arabs should not recognize Israel, while 39.5 percent said they should. Another 12.5 percent said they would accept a solution supported by the Palestinians.

Only three percent said future security in Kuwait could be guaranteed by military agreements with Arab countries. On the other hand, 35.5 percent favor military agreements with the United States and 33.5 percent would accept the presence of Western troops in Kuwait.

Before the crisis, Al Hayat noted, strong Kuwaiti support for the Palestine issue and Arab unity could have been taken for granted. No one could have advocated recognizing Israel without creating widespread protests. To have agreed to allow foreign troops in Kuwait would have been considered "treason," the Arab paper said.

Sixty-one percent supported severing ties with Arab states that were sympathetic to Iraq. Of those polled, 74 percent said the Palestine Liberation Organization deserved to be shunned by Kuwait. Sixty-four percent felt the same way about Jordan.

In addition, 73.5 percent rejected any restoration of ties with Iraq, and 21 percent said they would support such ties only if the regime in Baghdad were changed. Five percent said they would support resuming relations with Saddam Hussain, but only after war reparations and security guarantees were obtained.

On the issue of aid, 55 percent supported aid only to countries that supported Kuwait, while 25 percent wanted aid stopped completely and 20 percent said aid should be continued at lower levels.

The results of the poll were published in the Aug. 15 issue of the CAABU Bulletin, published by the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding.

Gazans Polled:

A poll conducted by the bimonthly East Jerusalem magazine AlUsbu AlJadid (The New Week) shows that 54 percent of Gazans believe it is possible to coexist with Israel as a neighboring state.

The poll, as reported in Al Fajr, also shows that 68 percent of the Gazans support a "completely independent" Palestinian state, and 94 percent do not believe in an "American" solution because of the United States' pro-Israel record.

On the internal situation, the vast majority of Gazans (71 to 88 percent) said economic, political and educational situations are deteriorating.

The magazine polled 495 people chosen at random from various areas of Gaza.

Pakistan Losing Control of Western Border:

Widespread violence between tribes and armed gangs on Pakistan's western border has prompted the central government to crack down on the freewheeling use and ownership of weapons, the Middle East Times reported.

Rising violence on the western frontier, much of it involving Afghan refugees and Pushtun tribes, has resulted in the deaths of several people. Participants are armed with mortars, rocket launchers and machine guns.

Many of these tribes and gangs obtained the weapons from corrupt Afghan leaders and Pakistani officers who illegally sold US weapons provided to the Afghan resistance. Local families and tribes fearful of being left defenseless are expected to resist government efforts to confiscate unlicensed guns.

Turks Crack Down on Kurds:

More than 90 people, including 65 Kurdish rebels, have been killed in recent weeks as a result of clashes between Turkish troops and members of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), Reuters reported in the Saudi Gazette.

Kamuran Erbuga, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said operations against the Marxist PKK had been carried out in rebel strongholds in the southeast and northern and western Turkey. Government sources also reported raids into northern Iraq.

In addition to the rebels, 24 Turkish soldiers and two police officers have been killed. Another seven Turkish soldiers had been reported missing. In all, 3,300 people have been killed since the PKK launched its struggle for independence, the report said.

The Turkish government also has detained 326 Kurds and confiscated large amounts of weapons and ammunition during the raids.

From the Jewish Press:

"60 Minutes" Vindicated:

Mike Wallace, Don Hewitt and the 60 Minutes" crew—as usual—got the last word on the issue of their reporting of the Haram AlSharif/Temple Mount massacre. Abraham Foxman, executive director of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, has sent an apology to " 60 Minutes," the Washington Jewish Week reported.

In that July 22 apology, Foxman acknowledged that the news program's critical reporting on Israel's role in the massacre had been vindicated by the findings of Israeli Judge Exra Kama.

"The facts are now in regarding the Temple Mount incident," he wrote. "Judge Kama rejects some of the claims the Israeli officials made and came closer to some of the conclusions reached by 60 Minutes. "

"On that basis, while I still have some problems with the methodology '60 Minutes' used, I want to publicly apologize to you, Mike and the staff of '60 Minutes.' I hope we can put this long and difficult situation behind us."

The judge found that Israeli police had overreacted and attacked Palestinians with deadly force that was not required to restore order. A key finding was that the Palestinians did not initiate the violence in a premeditated way or deliberately seek to attack or scatter Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall.

Hewitt was gratified to get the apology.

"Apologies are few and far between, and so are class acts like Abe," he said in the WJW. "We knew our reporting was sound."

Israeli police killed 17 Palestinians during the incident. When 60 Minutes" aired a critical story on Israel's version of events, Foxman responded by accusing the CBS show, one of the most widely viewed news shows in the United States, of biased and unprofessional reporting.

Wallace said he felt confident his reporting would be vindicated. He added: "I'm as dedicated to the safety and integrity of the State of Israel as anyone."

New Pro-Israel PAC:

A new pro-Israel PAC has been formed in Washington, Forward reported.

The new PAC, ActionPAC, will not focus on channeling money to candidates but rather will train young pro-Israel activists in the arts of politics, said Robert Bassin, creator and founder of the new PAC.

Bassin, who began his career in Washington as an intern with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, worked for Senator Kent Conrad (DND) before starting a political consulting firm.

He told Forward that he hoped to recruit 10 recent college graduates who have demonstrated pro-Israel activism while on campus. Their first test, he said, will be the 1992 elections.

Pryce-Jones Good Reading?

Leaders of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America were looking for benefactors to help the group distribute copies of a book about Arab culture to every member of the House and Senate, the Queens (NY) Jewish Week reported in August.

The book, The Closed Circle: An Interpretation of the Arabs, written by David Pryce-Jones, has been criticized by American Middle East specialists.

"It gives a whole analysis of the Arab world, and the way one rises to power in Arab societies," a spokesman for the Jewish Orthodox group said. "We can't pick (the Arabs') leaders for them, but American officials and members of Congress have to understand who they're dealing with when they're dealing with this part of the world. "

One quote from the concluding chapter is typical of the book's approach: "A handful of absolute despots oppress and attack with every available strategem all those within reach. The rich and strong mercilessly bully and exploit their inferiors. Fathers subjugate wives and children. From the proudest power holder down to the humblest family, all are engaged in pillaging whatever they can for themselves, or at best for their tribe and religion, rather than considering the public interest. . . . " Palestinian born Professor Edward Said of Columbia University mentioned Pryce-Jones's book a year ago during a public appearance in Washington.

"I'm not advocating banning of books, but ... public discourse has been contaminated by the most virulent, racist attacks upon Arabs, the Islamic world, the whole culture and civilization of an entire people ... A book last year was published called The Closed Circle, by David Pryce-Jones, which makes anything that is said about Salman Rushdie look like a picnic. "

Charges Reduced for Israeli Settler:

A West Bank Jewish settler charged with killing an Arab youth could serve as little as six months in jail, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.

Pinchas Wallerstein was charged three years ago with killing one Arab boy and wounding another outside the village of Beitin near Ramallah.

Wallerstein, the JTA reported, opened fire when his car reached a roadblock the youths had built with stones and a burning tire. Wallerstein believed his life was in danger because the youths approached his car even though he had fired the gun once in the air, the JTS reported.

Wallerstein has admitted he used the gun "irresponsibly." A plea bargain agreement will reduce the charge against Wallerstein from "killing" to "causing death and damage out of negligence. "

Palestinians and the Coup:

US media published contradictory reports of Palestinian reaction to the aborted coup against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. ABC News and The Washington Post reported that Palestinians had supported the coup, although ABC quoted only a single Palestinian, who did not hold any official position. The Post reported that Hanan Ashrawi, a prominent West Bank spokeswoman, welcomed the coup in the hope it would lead to a more balanced Middle East peace conference.

But the Washington Jewish Week had this to say about Ashrawi's reaction: "She expressed regret over the regression from democracy in the Soviet Union."

Syria, WJW went onto report, expressed concern that the coup would provide Israel with an excuse to back out of a peace conference. Those Palestinians quoted as supporting, the coup did so in the hope that US influence in the world and in the region would be balanced, the WJW reported.

An Aug. 20 statement released by the Palestine Affairs Center in Washington, DC, which speaks officially for the PLO, called the events in the USSR "an internal matter. "

"The PLO hopes for the speedy return of political stability in the Soviet Union and the preservation of internal security through the state institutions and the Soviet people, since this will have a great impact on international stability and security, in a way that will serve the peace process in the Middle East."

Israel Wants One Million Jews in Jerusalem:

The Queens (NY) Jewish Week reported that Israel hopes to settle one million Jews in the greater Jerusalem area.

That, at least, is the stated goal of Housing Minister Ariel Sharon. "Israel has no plans to leave Judea, Samaria and Gaza, nor will it ever have such plans, " Sharon said.

The paper reported that a massive building effort is already underway in the town of Ma'aleh Adumim, where Sharon was greeted by several thousand people. The town's population of 15,000, is expected to double within three years.

Sharon added: "During our days, we will see one million Jews in greater Jerusalem, the capital of Israel." There are just over 350,000 Jews now living in Jerusalem, Sharon said.