Editorials
AFTER THE BUTCHERY IN LEBANON THE right-wing militiamen who carried out the latest in a seemingly endless series of massacres in Lebanon are called "Christian,'' and Menachem Begin was in a...
...However, these and comparable complaints could well be expected of any proposal that, like Mr...
...Begin but that such organizations as B'nai B'rith, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the potent lobbyist group, and other groups have reacted with at least qualified commendations of the Reagan plan...
...It is true that no new national foreign-policy ground was broken in that plan, that in its essential outlines Mr...
...Reconstruction there is an urgent and long-range task...
...King Hassan of Morocco said that the goal of the eight-point peace plan adopted by the Arab leaders was to reach a "state of nonbelligerency" with Israel as a first step toward the eventual normalization of relations between the Jewish state and its Arab neighbors, and true enough, the Arab leaders did call for a UN guarantee for the security of all states in the area...
...Furthermore, some pro-PLO critics say the Reagan proposal was fatally flawed from the start by its very effort to be "reasonable," an effort which meant calling for no bargaining with the PLO and no support for a totally independent state- an effort to be reasonable which predictably failed to placate Prime Minister Begin in any case, as they point out...
...Of the former, no words are strong enough to express what needs to be said about this slaughter of the innocents...
...Reconstruction there is an urgent and long-range task...
...Put forward at a time when Israel has demonstrated that it is militarily superior to any enemy or combination of enemies in the region, Mr...
...It is true that no new national foreign-policy ground was broken in that plan, that in its essential outlines Mr...
...Editorial denunciations of the butchery flooded from the presses all over the world, denunciations of the Lebanese for their actual acts of slaughter and of the Israelis for what were at least sins of negligence and omission...
...determination to begin to face up to the Palestinian problem at last...
...Polls in Israel show that an increasing number of Israelis favor withdrawal on exactly those terms, and the welcome given the Reagan plan by the opposition Labor Alignment, which has always favored a Jordanian solution on the West Bank, guarantees that there will be a national debate on the issue, whatever Menachem Begin says...
...For we have all been made accomplices to the horrible Rosh ha-Shanah massacre in West Beirut...
...Reagan's initiative, of course...
...policy for the Middle East...
...It is the shame of every individual citizen...
...Mario Cuomo is not only a subscriber but has sat down, on occasion, to write this journal a letter...
...The road ahead is long and rocky...
...At this point what is essential is to get the embattled parties in the Middle East to the bargaining table...
...Put forward at a time when Israel has demonstrated that it is militarily superior to any enemy or combination of enemies in the region, Mr...
...Reaction to the Reagan plan was mixed and in some quarters understandably AFTER THE BUTCHERY IN LEBANON THE right-wing militiamen who carried out the latest in a seemingly endless series of massacres in Lebanon are called "Christian,'' and Menachem Begin was in a synagogue commemorating Rosh ha-Shanah when the news broke...
...The Reagan plan provides at least a chance for this...
...The essence of the Reagan proposal is that Israel should withdraw from occupied territory in return for recognition by the Arab nations, peace, and guaranteed security...
...It has long been obvious that biblical fundamentalist Prime Minister Begin wants to annex "Judea" and "Samaria" as soon as possible...
...The Democrats' answer was yes...
...Reagan's plan is an appeal to the Arab world to reject extremism and terrorism and finally to make peace with Israel...
...Reaction to the Reagan plan was mixed and in some quarters understandably the Reagan plan- making it clear through authorized sources that its reaction was "favorable, with reservations about some points that have to be clarified...
...Reagan made plain U.S...
...Nonetheless, pressing as that task is, the Palestinian question remains at the center of the larger Middle East problem, and the key to the Palestinian problem lies in the Israeli-occupied territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip...
...The president's words were tardy but no less welcome for that...
...These two facts should be enough to give religion a bad name for this week and a good many weeks to come...
...Thinking after Israeli success in Lebanon that he now had a green light for annexation, Mr...
...Indeed, many people believe that the war in Lebanon was fought primarily in an effort to destroy PLO influence on the West Bank, thus making it easier to find Palestinians there willing to acquiesce in Israel's takeover plans...
...Reagan's, really represents a starting point for future negotiations...
...of the latter, perhaps the Jerusalem Post expressed it best when it said, speaking for the conscience of Israel: "Rosh ha-Shanah 5743 has become the Rosh ha-Shanah of shame...
...of the latter, perhaps the Jerusalem Post expressed it best when it said, speaking for the conscience of Israel: "Rosh ha-Shanah 5743 has become the Rosh ha-Shanah of shame...
...These two facts should be enough to give religion a bad name for this week and a good many weeks to come...
...In case the whole state agrees in November, we'll be ready to process a change-of-address...
...Reagan speak for the first time of "the legitimate rights of the Palestinians" and of their need "for a just solution of their claims...
...Official Arab reaction at Fez II contained some heartening signs, but it was a long way from representing a position one would have wished for...
...All of this does not guarantee success for Mr...
...Be that as it may, a Commonweal reader emerged from the recent New York primary as Democratic candidate for governor...
...Reagan's proposals represent what has been the taken-for-granted outlook of all U.S...
...Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, on the other hand, attacked the Reagan plan from the opposite point of view, describing the call for a freeze on Jewish settlements on the West Bank as "a very serious mistake" and denouncing the plan for Palestinian autonomy in association with Jordan...
...Not surprisingly, a major isssue in the primary was whether anyone so decent and thoughtful could possibly be an effective politician...
...First, therefore, credit where credit is due...
...Perhaps Moynihan fulfilled his own prophecy, the question being whether, by 1976, he could best be described as a Commonweal Catholic or a Commentary one...
...Refusing to support an independent Palestinian state but calling for an end to Israeli settle, ments on the West Bank and for Palestinian self-determination there with links to Jordan, Mr...
...No one would claim that the Reagan plan is a perfect plan, but it does offer a reasoned proposal for compromise by all concerned...
...Clearly the United States must do all it can to alleviate the ongoing tragedy of Lebanon...
...Not so Israel, of course...
...But in spelling it out explicitly, in calling for a "fresh start," the president has taken a definite step forward...
...For we have all been made accomplices to the horrible Rosh ha-Shanah massacre in West Beirut...
...But in spelling it out explicitly, in calling for a "fresh start," the president has taken a definite step forward...
...AFTER THE BUTCHERY IN LEBANON THE right-wing militiamen who carried out the latest in a seemingly endless series of massacres in Lebanon are called "Christian,'' and Menachem Begin was in a synagogue commemorating Rosh ha-Shanah when the news broke...
...Clearly the United States must do all it can to alleviate the ongoing tragedy of Lebanon...
...determination to begin to face up to the Palestinian problem at last...
...Reagan's plan is an appeal to the Arab world to reject extremism and terrorism and finally to make peace with Israel...
...And they are not alone...
...administrations for the last fifteen years...
...To Arab and Palestinian moderates it provided clear and much needed encouragement to hear Mr...
...Reagan's proposals, and his cabinet unanimously rejected them, announcing immediately afterward official approval for ten new Jewish settlements on the West Bank, Mr...
...The official Israeli reaction was disappointing, but it came as no great surprise...
...It is the shame of the state, of the government, of the army...
...Reagan or no...
...administrations for the last fifteen years...
...Reagan speak for the first time of "the legitimate rights of the Palestinians" and of their need "for a just solution of their claims...
...To Arab and Palestinian moderates it provided clear and much needed encouragement to hear Mr...
...Nonetheless, pressing as that task is, the Palestinian question remains at the center of the larger Middle East problem, and the key to the Palestinian problem lies in the Israeli-occupied territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip...
...Reagan, found some "good things" in the president's proposals...
...Later King Hussein edged closer to actual involvement when he termed the Reagan plan "a very constructive and a very positive move'' and added that he planned to play'' a very active part'' in trying to bring about a federation between Jordanians and Palestinians...
...Reagan made plain U.S...
...First, therefore, credit where credit is due...
...Begin was understandably furious at Mr...
...The memory of this slaughter in the Palestinian refugee camps will not be easily erased...
...Reagan's proposal out of hand, it does not mean that Israeli public opinion is...
...No initiative on the part of the U.S...
...Does even Defense Minister Ariel Sharon imagine that Israel's role in the affair is calculated to turn the PLO away from terrorism in the future...
...Even Yasir Arafat, ignored by Mr...
...ELECTION NOTE Daniel P. Moynihan once suggested that the logical leader for New York Democrats would be a "Catholic liberal," which he defined more or less as a working politician who read Commonweal...
...Now it is crucial that President Reagan- contrary to his past record on such matters- stick to his guns and use both carrot and stick to influence both reluctant Israelis and hesitant Arabs in his direction...
...It is the shame of every individual citizen...
...Before the slaughter in the refugee camps in Lebanon, Ronald Reagan had at long last enunciated what is the beginning of a credible U.S...
...Reagan's proposals represent what has been the taken-for-granted outlook of all U.S...
...Such criticisms are serious and cannot be dismissed out of hand...
...Before the slaughter in the refugee camps in Lebanon, Ronald Reagan had at long last enunciated what is the beginning of a credible U.S...
...Refusing to support an independent Palestinian state but calling for an end to Israeli settle, ments on the West Bank and for Palestinian self-determination there with links to Jordan, Mr...
...it is significant and encouraging that on this issue American Jewish opinion is not lining up monolithically behind Mr...
...Nevertheless, they could have well been more explicit if they intended to include Israel in that guarantee...
...The president's words were tardy but no less welcome for that...
...The memory of this slaughter in the Palestinian refugee camps will not be easily erased...
...And if the Israeli cabinet was unanimous in rejecting Mr...
...Editorial denunciations of the butchery flooded from the presses all over the world, denunciations of the Lebanese for their actual acts of slaughter and of the Israelis for what were at least sins of negligence and omission...
...It is the shame of the state, of the government, of the army...
...Rather than trying to incorporate the 800,000 Palestinians on the West Bank into Israel, with or without citizenship, many Israelis favor what Secretary of State Schultz describes as a Palestinian homeland there that is a "totally demilitarized area...
...Of the former, no words are strong enough to express what needs to be said about this slaughter of the innocents...
...could possible satisfy all parties or resolve overnight the historic impasse between Arab and Jew in the Middle East...
...policy for the Middle East...
...Does even Defense Minister Ariel Sharon imagine that Israel's role in the affair is calculated to turn the PLO away from terrorism in the future...
Vol. 109 • October 1982 • No. 17
