Lessons of

the Iraq Crisis

(Continued from p.8)

East? And, what of France's new prestige in the region? France, it should be recalled has virtually institutionalized anti-Israel bias in all of its political parties, left and right, alike. As the song says"the answer is blowing in the wind," i.e. the hot air that emanates from those, in Israel and in the diaspora, who continue to promote Oslo and its evil progeny.

Serge and Bibi

In the New York Times Magazine of November 23rd, Bibi Netanyahu dominates the cover. The theme of the lead article, "How Bibi Stays Afloat" is accompanied by a picture of Israel's Prime Minister, and the sub-heading "The West may sneer, but Benjamin Netanyahu understands Israel's hard new political reality: resentful outsiders determined to humble the old elites."

Schmemann makes little effort to control his bias

against Bibi and the coalition of "Sephardim, Russians, settlers, ultra-Orthodox", those he calls "outsiders" who support Bibi. Indeed, given the ultra PC Orthodoxy of the New York Times with its dogma of holy multiculturalism, it is surprising that Schmemann feels free to exhibit such contempt for Israel's low-on-the-totem-pole groups, whose counterparts here the Times would never dream of describing in such a way. The Russians, for example are portrayed as members of the Mafia and prostitutes.

It quickly becomes obvious that Schmemann's sources are from the left--those members of the "elite" who cannot abide their loss of power and control. Schmemann quotes Uri Avnery who can't decide whether Bibi is a "snake or idiot"; and a journalist for Ha'aretz, Yoel Marcus, who writes, "Bibi's regime is a rare breed of totalitarianism. He does not rely on bayonets or secret police or mass arrests. He leans towards the Peronist technique of a regime built on demagogic populism that claims to be for the people and to work on their behalf but which, in reality, has as its central goal the concentration of power and, under which, the people are

the primary victims."

The hilarious part about this description of Bibi is that it so fittingly applies to the Labor "elites" that Schmemann and other media mavens are so nostalgic about. While the Labor party is to be commended for the heroic ingathering of millions of refugees, the fact remains, that from Israel's statehood until the advent of Menachem Begin, Labor ruled exactly like Peronistas. Labor controlled housing, transportation, health care, employment and even recreation. It sneered at and repressed the ambitions of Jewish refugees from Arab nations, and practiced, perfected and institutionalized a smarmy system of bribery which was known as "protektsia." They were indeed elitists, pretending that their iron rule, unseen in any Western democracy, was to benefit the people. Unfortunately, Schmemann, who has written an excellent historical memoir of the life of his Russian forebears, has no inkling of the pre 1967 history of Israel.

On a personal level, I'd like to comment on Serge Schmemann's silly psychobabble references to the relationship between Bibi and his father, the historian and prominent ally of Jabotinsky. I happen to have known Schmemann's mother Julianna, very well. She was both the teacher and headmistress of the school my daughters attended in New York. "Madame", as my daughters and all her loving pupils called her, was also a confidante of one of my daughters. In a Russian tutorial which consisted of only three participants, they discussed many issues- especially Israel and the Jewish people. Madame Schmemann was a great admirer of Zionism and its imperative in Jewish history. She was fair minded, lovely, intellectual and honest. Sadly, both apples, Serge and Bibi, have fallen far from their trees.

Ruth King is a member of the Executive Committee of Americans For a Safe Israel.

AFSI and Chizuk Are

Going to Israel Again!

Following the great success of the Chizuk Mission to Israel sponsored by Americans For a Safe Israel and Yeshivat Kiryat Arba last July, we are pleased to announce another joint mission, scheduled for February 15-23, 1998.

The itinerary will include visits to families and communities in Judea, Samaria, Gaza, the Golan Heights, and Jerusalem; Shabbat in Hebron; meetings with dignitaries, Knesset Members, and many others. Rabbi Eliezer Waldman, head of Yeshivat Kiryat Arba, will serve as spiritual leader of our group.

For information, contact Helen Freedman at AFSI, 212-828-2424, or Bruce Rudolph at the Chizuk office, 212-967-5300, ext. 223.