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FOCUS OF AITENTION
(Continued from page 2)
dent -elect Bashir Gemayel, their
fallen chief.
The lsraelis are no longer seen as
underdogs in the Middle East as
they were in the 1967 war, or even
in 1973. They are now Goliath
instead of David.
Worse yet, they have been com–
pared with a most ignominious
event in Jewish history. President
Francois Mitterrand of France, for
example, an earlier supporter of
Israel, described Israel's actions in
Lebanon as similar to those com–
mitted by the Nazis in Occupied
Europe. And he said this befare the
dreadful events of West Beirut
were known.
Wes t German news sources have
been exceptionally strong in their
opposition to Israel' s campaign
against the PLO, employing heavi–
ly emotive words and phrases such
as "war of extermination" and "fi–
nal solution."
One West German official said
that because of the Beirut siege,
" Is rael has done a lot to remove
itself from its pedestal of high mor–
al standing. l t has lost-call it-its
virginity."
For lsraelis, the entire Lebanon
campaign has turned out to be a
very agonizing experience. With
the ouster of the PLO gunmen
from West Beirut, Prime Minister
Menachem Begin proclaimed that
"there is reason to
S!\Y
'and the land
was tranquil ' for sorne years- per–
haps 40 years, perhaps 80, perhaps
a generation."
Then the "roof caved in" for
Is rael, and with it her moral stand–
ing even among her supporters.
PLO Galns Acceptance
More than ever, the "underdog"
PLO is receiving favor in Europe.
Even the Vatican has extended a
cautious welcome.
On September 15, PLO chai r–
man Yasser Arafat was granted a
20-minute prívate audience with
Pope John Paul
II
in Rome. The
r ecept io n under s tandably un–
leashed a storm of protest in J eru–
salem.
After the meeting the Vatican
released a communique saying that
January
1983
by granting the audience the Pope
" demons trated hi s benevolence
toward s the Pal estin ian people
... expressing the wish that an
equitable and 1asting solut ion be
reached as soon as possible to the
Middle East conflict, which would,
excluding recourse to armed vio–
lence in any form and above all to
terrorism ánd vengeance, lead to
the recognition of the rights of all
people, in particular to those of the
Palestinians, to a homeland of their
own-and of Israel to her securi–
ty."
Thus the Pope carefully dis–
tanced himself from the PLO's ter–
rorist . methodology. But he once
WEST GERMAN Chancellor Helmut Koh/,
in one of his first official statements,
declared: " We want to open up newpaths
toward the unification of Europe."
again carne down squarely on the
side of a bomeland- he has used
the Latín word
patria
in the past–
for the Palestinians, not sorne sort
of vague, nonsovereign self-rule.
The Vatican an d Is rael hold
e ntirely di f ferent views on the
future course of Middle Eastern
affairs. The Holy See stands firm
against Is raelí claims, based on bib–
lical references, to the West Bank
(what most Israelis call Judea and
Samaria).
The Vatican is openly opposed to
Is raelí claims that J erusalem is the
"eterna! and undivided" capital of
Is rael. J ohn Paul supports the idea
of Jerusalem as a free city under
international rule.
For the PLO chai rman the papal
visit represented yet another diplo–
matic triumph following the PLO's
military setback in Lebanon. After
being ousted from bis besieged
beadquarters in Bei rut , the PLO
chairman met with Greek Pr ime
Minister Andreas Papandreou, re–
ceiving full military honors. In Ita–
ly, Yasser Arafat was guest of hon–
or at a luncheon given by Italian
President Sandro Pertini in the
official presidential Quirinale pal–
ace. His reception by President
P ertini was viewed as another
wedge in opening the doors of other
Western European leaders to the
PLO leader's personal diplomacy.
European Forces for Middle East
Tbe two trends detailed above-the
change of power in West Germany
and the change in ls rael 's fortunes
in the Middle East- are even now
leading to a new orientation for
Europe in world affairs.
In the wake of the Beirut mas–
sacre, the
1O
nations of the Com–
mon Market unitedly expressed
" profound shock and revulsion"
and offered to increase participa–
tion in a new peacekeeping force,
caBed for by U.S. President RonaJd
Reagan. Such a strengthened force,
ª
they said, would show "a will of
"' peace" in the region.
~
One detects, for the first time, a
genuine unified European desi re to
~
act in the Middle East. Troops sent
to Beirut are being dispatcbed in
tbe name of the individual Euro–
pean nations comprising a multina–
tional force, not on behalf of the
United Nations, whjch is being
totally bypassed in this case. U.N.
forces have proven to be totally
ineffective in Lebanon for the pas t
four years.
The U ni ted S tates is a l so
involved . But American politicians
are showing hesitance at the U.S.
commitment. The U.S. Senate may
someday force the President to
remove U.S. troops if the situation
heats up further- leaving the field
to Europe.
Further down the road tbe Euro–
peans might also insist on the right
to move into the West Bank area to
enforce a homeland for tbe Pales–
tinians. Such a military presence
will eventually be sent to the vicin–
ity of Jerusalem itself (Luke
21:20).
Europe Must Be More Unified
To be in command of events affect-
43