One Minute to Midnight Dr. Irving Moskowitz THE SAUDIS SHOW THEIR TRUE COLORS Louis J. Freeh, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced on November 1 that he is "exasperated by the lack of cooperation from Saudi security officials" in the investigation of the recent bombing that killed 19 American soldiers in Saudi Arabia. Freeh is so frustrated by the Saudis' behavior that he has "pulled out a team of agents sent to investigate the bombing,"

the New York Times reported. The latest problem with the Saudis is typical of what happens when the U.S. seeks help from its "moderate" Arab "allies" against Arab terrorists. No matter how many billions of dollars worth of military and economic aid the U.S. gives Saudi Arabia, no matter how many American soldiers died defending the Saudis from Iraqi invasion during the Gulf War, the Saudis will not cooperate with the U.S. against its "brother" Arabs. Similarly, even though the U.S. is giving the PLO $500-million in aid, the PLO refused to let FBI agents enter Gaza last year to investigate the murder of Brandeis University student Alissa Flatow. Will the U.S. ever learn that Arab dictators simply don't make reliable allies?

HECHT (Continued from p.6) had already been murdered, and that the Germans planned to kill the four million still left breathing in Europe, and that most of these still-breathing Jews could be saved if the ports of Palestine were opened, the British, fine, decent people that they were, would certainly not continue to collaborate with the Germans on the extermination of the four million surviving Jews. There was no applause when I stopped talking. Not that I expected any. The authors of hit plays and novels are more interested in receiving applause than in giving it. But the nature of the silence was revealed to me when a half-dozen of the guests stood up and without saying "Boo" walked out of the room. "It looks like I struck out," I said to my hostess as the silence kept up. Edna Ferber's voice rose sharply. "Who is paying you to do this wretched propaganda," she demanded, "Mister Hitler? Or is it Mister Goebbels?" Her query started irritated and angry talk. The anger and irritation were against me. In the vestibule, Beatrice said to me, "I'm sorry it turned out like this. But I didn't expect anything much

different. You asked them to throw away the most valuable thing they own--the fact that they are Americans." How argue with Beatrice, a fine woman with as bright a mind and as soft a heart as anyone I knew? How convince any of her high-faluting guests that they had not behaved like Americans but like scared Jews? And what in God's name were they frightened of? Of people realizing they were Jews? But people knew that already. Of people hearing that they had Jewish hearts? What kind of hearts did they imagine people thought Jews had, non-Jewish hearts? Or did they think they would be mistaken for "real" Americans if they proved they had no hearts at all? Two of the thirty guests came into the vestibule to say good night to me. "I thought I'd tell you that if I can do anything definite in the way of Jewish propaganda call on me," said Moss Hart. Kurt Weill, the lone composer present, looked at me with misty eyes. A radiance was in his strong face. "Please count on me for everything," Kurt said. (Hecht, Moss and Weill would cooperate in creating the pageant "We Shall Never Die" which was staged in Madison Square Garden. The three were joined by showman Billy Rose of whom Hecht writes "A third Jew soon joined us--Billy Rose. He needed no briefing. He came under his own steam, which was considerable.")

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Outpost               - 12 -               November 1996