In a recent column, Thomas Friedman, that stalwart friend of Israel, decides to scold Barak, Assad and Arafat. Barak, we are told, does not seem to be in the "Rabin mold." Assad and Arafat are naughty because they refuse to use the language that Friedman thinks they should use in order to fool Israel into making dangerous concessions. One of our supporters sent us his thoughts on the subject, which we believe is right on target:
"So where does that leave us with Mr. Friedman's analysis? Nowhere. Because he still can't quite get to the reality of the situation. The Arabs don't intend peace. They say so openly. They even talk about the phased plan for the destruction of Israel. But Mr. Friedman simply refuses to get it. He keeps saying the Arabs have got to get real about peace or Israel can't deal. Problem is that when they say they're serious, Mr. Friedman will lead the charge to give them everything when what he should be saying is that it is now abundantly clear that Israel's intense desire to live in peace with its neighbors is destined to be unrequited for now. We'll know when they've changed their minds about it because we'll see them teaching their kids that the Jews are people like everyone else and they've got to learn to live side by side with them. When the Holocaust denial stops. When the Jew hatred and anti-Semitism stops. When they start telling the Arab street the truth. And that will take a couple of generations at least. Meantime, Israel should give nothing which makes it less defensible because its neighbors admit that they intend to destroy it. When you give in to those kinds of people, it's called appeasement and that has never worked in the history of the world.
"Disappointed? You betcha. Will Israelis be unhappy to learn that all their yearning for peace is unreciprocated? Absolutely. Will they be miserable when confronted with more generations of possible war and endless terrorism? I would be. But what's the alternative? Capitulate? Kid themselves into believing that the Arabs really want peace even when they say they don't? I hate to be the messenger with the bad news but if we wait for Tom Friedman to tell us the truth, we'll all need hearing aids to hear him! Don't be fooled. When Tom Friedman starts to sound tough on the Arabs, that's when you've got to be most on your guard because, sure as God made little green apples, he's about to pull a fast one on you! This column was a good try but, sorry Tom, it didn't fly."
The Jewish Council on Public Affairs held its annual "plenum" the last week of February. This included representatives of 122 local Jewish community relations councils and 13 national agencies. According to the March 3 edition of the Forward (AFSI is mercifully never invited to these great events), the JCPA voted down aid for private schools (read Jewish schools), even when such aid is earmarked for "extant court-approved non- sectarian benefits."
However, while this fortress of separation between church and state was erected in one brief, laconic sentence, the group devoted far more attention to other grave Jewish issues: The threat of "acid rain" merited two full sentences. Racial profiling by police departments got two full paragraphs; four paragraphs went to a call for a moratorium on the imposition of the death penalty; the Pope's forthcoming visit to Israel rated three paragraphs urging an enthusiastic welcome; and, most important for Jewish survival, three full paragraphs "regarding athletic team names, mascots and logos."
The last pressing problem was addressed in a resolution which states that team names such as the Cleveland Indians, Washington Redskins and Atlanta Braves "trivialize and demean native Americans, their religious beliefs and symbols, promote insulting and harmful racial and ethnic stereotypes, and perpetuate cultural bias and prejudice."
Remember that a plenum is also defined as "a space, usually in the ceiling reserved for air that has been heated." How apposite regarding the JCPA's recent meeting.
The editorials of the Connecticut Jewish Ledger, published in Hartford, are arguably the best in all the Jewish community journals and a balm to those of us who are continually battered by anti-Israel rhetoric so prevalent in all media. The Ledger also boasts some excellent op-eds. In the February 25 edition, an op-ed
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Outpost - 10 - March 2000