November 1989, Page 4, 46

Letters To (and From) The Editors

Thanks for Iraqi Coverage

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to you for your articles on Iraq. They were presented in a positive light, which is a welcome change from typical Zionist-inspired media campaigns of distortion and disinformation about the government and peoples of Iraq. The Iraqi peoples have struggled for almost a decade to defend their land, their honor and dignity, and their revolution from Iranian attempts at destabilization. Unfortunately, many people in the West, and even many Arabs were confused about the nature of the war-and this is why your magazine is so important.

It is vitally important that people interested in Middle Eastern affairs should have a clear, unbiased source for news. As an Assyrian-American I feel that your articles about Iraq will help to give the American people a more balanced portrayal of Iraq and its history. I also appreciate your discussion of ancient Iraqi history, although I believe you are mistaken when you said Nebuchadnezzar enacted the world's earliest known legal code; I believe that you are referring to the Codex Hammurabi, enacted by Hammurabi (also a Mesopotamian ruler) over a millennium before the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.

As you know, modern day Iraq is located in Mesopotamia, the eastern flank of the Fertile Crescent. Greater Mesopotamia is bounded on the west by the Euphrates River, on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the east by the Zagros Mountains, and on the south by the arch of the Arabian Desert. Thus it includes the state of Iraq, as well as Diyarbakir, Mardin, Siirt, Hakkari in the north, Kuwait in the south, as well as Arabistan in the east. The western half of the Fertile Crescent is the region traditionally referred to as Greater Syria. The unity of the two regions (greater Syria and Mesopotamia) forms the basis of one of the greatest nations in history. This nation has been the fountainhead of Mediterranean culture, the birthplace of Western civilization, the defender of the Arab world, and the cornerstone of the Middle East. Let us all hope that the leaders of the states of the Fertile Crescent will put aside their petty differences and will cooperate with one another for the greater national good.

Stan Shabaz, Washington, DC

We share your hopes for the peoples of the Fertile Crescent, birthplace of agriculture, writing, and the world's first cities and thank you for setting the record straight on Hammurabi of Babylon's formal codification of the laws of this land, which has been the scene of many momentous chapters of human history.

Taking Issue with Jerome Segal

I find disturbing Jerome Segal's column in the August issue, opposing a cut in aid to Israel, especially since it comes from someone who has offered some wonderful ideas in prior articles. His argument seems to boil down to the proposition that we should allow ourselves to be held hostage to real and imagined Israeli psychoses, and should become schizophrenic ourselves by failing to take forceful action to stop Israel's human rights abuses and stop its sabotage of the peace process; that we should fear the possibility that Israel might throw a temper tantrum, therefore we must provide the fuel for the actuality of a spiraling temper tantrum against Palestinians; that action on our part may make Israel suddenly swing toward extremism; that Israel is a spoiled child, therefore we should pamper and coddle it in the hope that this will make it less spoiled than it has already gotten as a result of our past pampering and coddling; that Israel may be crazy enough to bring armagaddon to the Middle East, therefore we should be crazy enough to give it the means to bring armagaddon to the whole world instead. I'm afraid this poor little mind is having big trouble understanding how this can be considered a prescription for peace.

Walter Epp, Oakland, CA

Wolf Blitzer Responds

I have just read Dr. Lilienthal's review of my book on the Pollard spy case in your September issue. In it, he says that I have "adopted Israeli citizenship." Like so much else that he has written over the years, that is untrue. I do not have Israeli citizenship. I have only American citizenship.

Dr. Lilienthal is also mistaken in his assertion that I was "subtly trying to exculpate Pollard." What I tried to do in the book was to lay out the facts-as honestly and as responsibly as possible. Some have criticized me for being too sympathetic to Pollard; others have gone after me for being too harsh.

Fortunately, most people who have read the book, including nearly all the reviewers, have seen it as a thorough and fair account.

Wolf Blitzer, Washington, DC

The reference to Israeli citizenship was not in Dr. Lilienthal's original manuscript, but was inserted by the editor of the Washington Report, based upon an obviously mistaken recollection from a conversation with you several years ago. Therefore the error is not Dr. Lilienthal's. As for the book, Washington Report readers can judge for themselves. It is available from the AET Book Club at the usual discount.

The Importance of Semantics

In the semantic battleground of the Middle East, to use the terms "deport" and "expel" synonymously is at best incorrect, and at worst, tacit acceptance of Israeli newspeak. The Standard College Dictionary defines deportation as "the banishment of an undesirable alien to his native country," and expel as "to drive out by force; force out; eject." Reporting that Palestinians have been "deported" (as in Sally Clark Nyhan's report in the Sept. 1989Washington Report) reinforces the false notion that Palestinians in the occupied territories are somehow "undesirable aliens" in a foreign country. While the point may be merely semantic, it is important.

Dion Nissenbaum, Oakland, CA

You'll probably find some losse usage in this issue as well. However, we'll watch it in the future and hope that next year we won't be using the words "transfer" and "murder" interchangeably while discussing Likud policies against residents of Israeli-occupied territories.

Israeli Aggression Against the US?

It would be very helpful for those of us who advocate fair treatment for the Arabs and Palestinians for you to publish in a future issue a report giving the date, place and, if possible, names of those responsible for attempts by Israelis to destroy American personnel, buildings, etc.

An example of what I am talking about would be the Israeli agents' attempt to bomb the American Embassy in Egypt in the 1950s which caused the resignation of David Ben Gurion, and the USS Liberty incident. The sooner such information could be printed in a future issue the better.

Please don't suggest a book becayse as you well know the American people have been conditioned over the years not to read books. But they will read three of four pages in a magazine.

Willie Martin, Paducah, TX

The assault on the USS Liberty, a US Navy intelligence ship, by Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats on June 8, 1967, in which 34 Americans were killed and 171 wounded, was covered in articles in the Washington Report by James Ennes (author of the book Assault on the Liberty) in the June 1986 and June 1989 editions, and by Richard Curtiss in the June 1987 and Sandra Sullivan in the June 1988 issues. Copies of those issues are available at $2 each, or photocopies of the articles at 50¢ each.

The Lavon affair, in which Israeli-recruited Egyptian Jews set firebombs to explode July 14, 1954 in US Information Service libraries in Cairo and Alexandria, is described in detail in Chapter VI of A Changeing Image: American Perceptions of the Arab-Israeli Dispute by Richard Curtiss. So far as we know there has been no recent article on the incident, which eventually led to the fall of an Israeli government, the 1956 Israeli-French-British attack on Egypt, and the withdrawal of Israel's first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, from public life. The Washington Report will publish an article on the Lavon affair in an upcoming issue.

One purpose of both incidents was to drive a wedge between the US and Egypt. One Israeli involved in both was General Moshe Dayan, who approved the Israeli army intelligence order to its Egyptian sabotage ring and who, 13 years later, authorized the attack on the USS Liberty.(The Ennes and Curitss books are available through the AET Book Club.)

Congressional Subscriptions to the Washington Report

Recently Ohio Congressman Edward F. Feighan sponsored HR 3005, which would severely restrict US-PLO dialogue. The Rev. Bert Frye, a Lutheran pastor, told me that when a group of clergy and others called on him to discuss it, it arose in the conversation that Congressman Feighan has not seen the Washington Report. I was certain that the Washington Report was being sent to all congressional representatives and senators. Is it possible that the magazine never makes it to the congressman's desk?

Georgene M. Cooper, Rocky River, OH

The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs has provided monthly issues continuously since 1982 to the Washington office of every member of Congress. Frequently constituents donate additional copies for named members of congressional staff, home offices or residences of members. These go out in addition to the basic copy. The saying that "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink" applies equally to other species of the genus equus.

Readers Asked For Info on Mideast Volunteer Opportunities

Food First is updating its popular booklet Alternatives to the Peace Corps: Gaining Third World Experience. I am writing to ask if you or your readers are aware of any organizations in the Middle East that sponsor volunteer service programs in which Americans can participate. The work opportunities may involve specific skills, language abilities, provide some or no compensation-just so long as the specific needs are included in the listing.

We believe that people-to-people contact is an important step down the road to mutual understanding and peace. I hope you know of some organizations that sponsor this kind of opportunity and are in a position to share that information with us.

Katherine Castro, Coordinator, Alternatives Project, Food First, 145 Ninth St., San Francisco, CA 94103

Breath of Fresh Air

What a breath of fresh air it was when I accidentally discovered the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs while browsing in the Sumter, SC County Library. I had almost despaired of finding anyone out of our 250 million population who would try to discuss publicly and express anything close to an objective view of "the Mideast situation." For so long we have been in the nauseatingly intimidating and hushed atmosphere of cautious restraint in any discussion-any at all-of Israel, her politics, and our relations with her.

I hope and pray that you are doing well and that you will continue to try to let the light of truth and a sense of justice and rationality prevail in expressing views of the Mideast. You simply must survive and fight to release this country from its shameful intimidation and subservience to the interests of Israel!

You asked in the August issue why the editors of the "little dailies" don't know about the real story in the Middle East. I suggest that it is also because they must depend upon the centralized international news agencies for their international news. They, therefore, must take what is "fed" to them, with all the frightening prospects that presents for "getting the truth!"

In response to your offer regarding ex-Congressman Findley's book, I am enclosing $20 for which I request that you send one copy of They Dare to Speak Out to each of the four names attached.

Ralph D. Morrow, Sumter, SC

Favorable Response to "Days of Rage"

The final tallies of messages to northern California PBS stations on their airings of Jo Franklin-Trout's Days of Rage: The Young Palestinians came out too late for inclusion in the roundup of nation-wide reaction in your October issue. I know you'll be interested in the results, however, as reported in the Northern California Jewish Bulletin's Sept. 15 issue. They were very encouraging and sort of surprising.

Calls to KQED-TV ran 3-to-1 (621 to 181) in favor of the show. An additional 45 letters supported the show, compared to only 8 in opposition. A rebroadcast on KQEC-TV yielded another 90 letters in favor, 25 against, with 11 opposed to the "wraparound" and 1 in favor. A broadcast on San Jose's KTEH-TV brought in 6 calls in favor of Days of Rage and one against.

Rachelle Marshall, Stanford, CA

Middle East Job Opportunities

I'm a subscriber to your magazine, very interested in the Middle East and want to explore potential job opportunities with different research institutions or "think tanks" dealing with Middle East issues. Does the AET have a listing of all such organizations?

Mark R. Schlicht,, Chicago, IL

The Middle East Institute, 1761 N St., NW, Washington, DC 20036, publishes an annual directory of institutions in the national capital area concerned with Middle East Affairs.