Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 39, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 15, 1988 Page: 6 of 40
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Jewish Herald /Jewish Herald /Jewish Herald-Voice and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Page SIX
THE JEWISH HERALD-VOICE
1
it?s about time
By Dr. Ariel Bar-Sela
\
~TA©
\
\
. does the U.N.
/ •
c.c. The Hon. George Shultz, Secretary of State.
□
From Page Three
estinian Arabs residing in these education. Under this project,
Mesches consults with Jewish
territories.
- JOSEPH POLAKOFF school directors to identify
□
Mesches at the bureau.
T
RMB
Ie)
V#
:2r2::zd
U.S. rebuffs Arafat for third time; Shultz
stays firm on the issue of clear language
Susan Mesches is
named consultant
with Bureau of
Jewish Education
P.S.: As a columnist in the Jewish Herald-Voice, I plan to make
public this letter. I shall yield my column to your answer.
Mesches has a background in
public and congregational reli-
gious school teaching and is cer-
tified and experienced in special
Sincerely yours,
Ariel Bar-Sela, M.D.
The Honorable Javier-Perez de Cuellar
Secretary-General of the United Nations
The United Nations, New York, N.Y.
Dear Mr. Secretary:
had spoken were acceptable or
unacceptable to the U.S. He re-
jected Arafat's use of the words
"Jewish state" and "Israel" as
adequate, saying the U.S. needed
language that is "clear, explicit,
unambiguous. These are key
words." While, he said, there was
"overall tone improvement" and
"some movement" by Arafat on
242 and 338, "in the end, the lan-
guage remained undear".
Redman was pressed on wheth-
er the U.S. had communicated to
the PLO what language it required.
He acknowledged that the U.S.
and "third parties", which he did
not identify, were in contact on
how the PLO language could meet
the required conditions. He point-
ed out in another context that
those were conditions for a dia-
logue and not in resped to PLO
participation in an international
conference which Arafat de-
manded.
Asked if the U.S. were "disap-
pointed" with Araftat's speech,
Redman responded, "It's hard to
say," adding, "we don't know
what's coming down the road."
- JOSPEPH POLAKOFF
to the Covenant and its objec-
tives.
"This speech was a crude at-
tempt to distort the history of the
past 40 years and of the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict. Those who
expected a dear and moderate
message from Genenva should
be disillusioned."
• The PLO Chairman repeated
his qualified rejection of terror- •
ism, referring to the Cairo Decla-
ration, and gave himself a license
to continue his policy of violence
and terror against Israel.
• There was no explicit recog-
nition of Israel's right to exist.
• In referring to negotiations,
Arafat again spoke of UN relevant
resolutions such as Resolution
194 (the right of return) which
amounts to the dismantling of
the Jewish state.
• His declaration of a Palestin-
ian state with Jerusalem as its
capital is a unilateral attempt to
* circumvent negotiations and to
ignore reality.
In short, we have not seen any
new elements beyond the PNC
resolution in Algiers. Israel con-
tinues to believe that in order to
achieve peace in the region, the
inhabitants of the territories
should fully participate in the
process. For that purpose, the
Government of Israel will contin-
ue to search for a peaceful solu-
tion through a dialogue with Pal-
WASHINGTON, - Yassir Arafat
failed for the third time within a
month in full view of a world au-
dience to persuade the United
States to join with his Palestine
Liberation Organization for sub-
stantive talks regarding the Is-
raeli-Arab conflict.
As a result, the PLO doubtless-
ly will not meet the three condi-
tions set forth by the Reagan ad-
ministration, backed by U.S. law,
before the executive branch pass-
es into the hands of President-
elect George Bush and his desig-
nated Secretary of State, James
: Baker, who enters the situation in
succession to the indomitable
George Shultz, who barred Ara-
fat from entering the U.S.
Addressing the United Nations
General Assembly gathered in an
unprecedented special three-day
session in Geneva to hear his po-
sition and consider his own pro-
posals for an international confer-
ence, Arafat was rebuffed again
by the U.S. as being unclear and
ambiguous.
Arafat had sought to persuade
the U.S. at the Palestine National
Council's meeting in Algiers in
November and again earlier this
month in Stockholm after meeting
with five American Jews who were
roundly repudiated by most Amer-
ican Jewish organizations as not
representative of Jewry.
Reacting to the Arafat speech
in Geneva, the State Department's
chief spokesman, Charles Red-
man, said it offered "some inter-
esting and positive developments
but it continued to be ambiguous
on the key issues which must be
dearly addressed in order for the
U.S. to enter into substantive dia-
logue with the PLO".
Repeating the conditions of ac-
ceptance of UN Security Council
Resolutions 242 and 338, Israel's
right to exist and "rejection of ter-
rorism in all its parts", Redman
said, "these issues must be ad-
dressed dearly and squarely with-
out ambiguity. That did not hap-
pen. As a consequence, the speech
did not meet our conditions."
Redman added that "dearly
there are some in the PLO" who
are "trying to move in a construc-
tive way so we encourage devel-
opments in that direction".
Redman refused to identify
what elements of the three con-
ditions about which the PLO chief
Together with some of my friends and neighbors, I seek the
status of an Observer at the United Nations with the privilege of
addressing the General Assembly of this august body.
A review of the charter and the history of the U.N. yielded only
one precedence relevant to this request, that of the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO). But, after studying the history of
the PLO and the actions of the PLO which merited such recogni-
tion from the U.N., we find ourselves in need of your guidance
and advice.
For instance, we have some questions regarding attacks on
schools and school buses. Although we have different school
buses running through our neighborhood, and although we could
ambush and attack any or all of them, we cannot determine what
will satisfy the U.N. Will one school bus be acceptable and if not,
, what is the minimal number required for recognition by the U. N.?
Furthermore, will any school bus do, or must we attack a bus of a
religious Jewish school as did the PLO in Belgium?
Similar questions arise as we consider cruise ships. Such ships
or civilian passenger ships do not frequent our port. Will an
attack on an unarmed Merchant Ship be acceptable to the U.N.? A
private yacht? Again, can we satisfy the U.N. by shooting and
throwing overboard anyone at all, or must we murder and throw
overboard an elderly American confined to a wheelchair, as did
the PLO aboard the Achille Lauro?
Regrettably, hijacking airplanes is out of the question because
of the tight security at our airports. We consider this a living
tribute to the accomplishments of the PLO and the exacting stan-
dards required by the U.N. before granting an Observer status.
Will you disqualify us on just this requirement or will you accept a
hijacking of a private plane as meeting the standards set by
the U.N.?
There are several churches and one Jewish house of worship - a
Reform Temple - in our neighborhood. We could open fire on
people leaving or entering the services as did the PLO in Vienna
and Rome. Or, must we murder all those attending the religious
service as did the PLO in Istanbul? Will any church do, or must it
be a Jewish house of worship? If the U.N. requires the latter, will
you accept a Reform Temple, or must it be an Orthodox Syna-
gogue? Do you, with regards to such matters, take a position as to
Who is a Jew?
As you must know, Houston has only a limited diplomatic com-
munity. Will a Consul General do, or must we bludgeon to death
an American Ambassador as did the PLO in Khartum?
Lastly, there are many joggers around the university campus
nearby. Will it meet the requirements of the U.N. if we waylaid
some of them, or must we attack an Olympic team as did the PLO
in Munich?
As you must realize, Mr. Secretary, it is not easy to emulate the
PLO and equal the performance which brought it such recogni-
tion by the U.N. with an Observer status, not to mention the
privilege of addressing the General Assembly. We therefore need
your help and guidance if we are to gain such recognition and
acclaim from the U.N.
We also need ask you to intercede on our behalf with the Secre-
tary of State, Mr. George Shultz, who apparently has no appre-
ciation of terrorist activities and does not view such matters as
youngsters with special needs,
conducts teacher workshops,
helps teachers to locate and de-
velop appropriate materials and
works with schools to develop
strategies to more effectively
accommodate learning disabled
students. She also serves as a
community resource, meeting with
parents and interested groups.
Through this program, the BJE
hopes to assure every Houston
Jewish student, regardless of
special needs, the opportunity
for an approrpiate Jewish educa-
tion. For information, contact
Reaction to Arafat’sspe^h in Genera
‘Ambiguity and more ambiguity’,
Israel says about Arafat’s address
WASHINGTON - israel re-
sponded swiftly and unequivocal-
ly in rejecting. Yassir Arafat's Ge-
neva speech attempting to per-
suade the United States to enter
into dialogue with his Palestine
Liberation Organization.
Israel's ambassador to the
United States, Yohanan Bein, said
in Geneva, "He saw nothing new
in Arafat’s remarks" to the special
meeting of the General Assembly.
"There was more ambiguity in
this speech than in Algiers," Bein
said. That was in reference to his
address to the Palestine National
Council last month. "I do not see
any major departure," Bein add-
ed. "Ambiguity and more ambigu-
ity."
In Jerusalem, Israel's Foreign
Ministry spokesman, Moshe Ra-
viv, was quoted as characterizing
Arafat's speech as "evasive rhet-
oric". Raviv emphasized Israel's
position that an independent Pal-
estinian state is an obstacle to
peace.
In Washington, the Israeli Em-
bassy said in a statement, the
Government of Israel will contin-
ue to search for a peaceful solu-
tion to the Arab-Israeli conflict
through a dialogue with Palestin-
ian Arabs residing in the territo-
ries. The embassy's Statement
follows:
"The speech by Yassir Arafat in
Geneva is a continuation of an
effort to create a perception of
change in the PLO's position. The
speech proves that the PLO and
its Chairman continue to adhere
c
A
E‛
I
l '
SOMEHHNGSIRWNGEWPPENE ON RE WAYTTEUN.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Samuels, Joseph W. & Samuels, Jeanne F. Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 39, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 15, 1988, newspaper, December 15, 1988; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1582868/m1/6/?q=%22%22~1&rotate=270: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .