self could not have asked for more (or demanded less). This joint exercise in self-righteousness and theological justification is an instructive if dangerous failure. First, it proves once again that theology itself is debased when used Mark A. Bruzonsky on to legitimate public political ends. The state has no role THE PARIS DECLARATION dictating the results of theological reflection, particularly in the . Theology grows from communities of belief; and while it frequently leads believers into political On July 2, 1982, during the height of 's massive and engagement, the form of that engagement cannot be im- relentless bombing of Beirut, three of the world's most re- posed by political expedience or design. President Reagan spected Jewish statesmen-, Pierre told the NAE not to "declare yourselves above it all and Mendes-France, and Philip Klutznick-issued a plea for Pal- label both sides equally at fault" in the disarmament issue. estinian independence, mutual recognition of Israeli and Perhaps the recognition of fablt on both sides is closer Palestinian nationalisms, and negotiations between Israel to the theological task at hand. On that score Pimen's letter and the PLO. On July 3, Yasir Arafat sent a thoughtful was a greater failure than the president's speech. The speech response from his bunker in West Beirut. For two days the had the virtue of making the public sit up and take notice. exchange dominated the front page of France's leading Pimen's remarks on religious freedom could be dismissed newspaper, Le Monde. The plea and the response from the out of hand on the basis of years of contradictory testimony chairman of the PLO helped set the stage for direct PLO- from those who have fled religious persecution in the Soviet American Jewish and PLO-Israeli contact. Though largely Union. unreported in the press, there have been exploratory meet- Politically, the president's speech was a failure. It certainly ings between top officials of the American Jewish Congress irritated those outside the Christian faith, and it failed to and the Zionist Organization of America and very high-rank- achieve its short-term political goal-a public anti-nuclear- ing PLO personalities. In March, a delegation of Israelis freeze resolution from the NAE. A significant bloc of the sponsored by the newly created International Center for evangelicals remained committed to a freeze or to other Peace in the attended a dinner in Hungary with disarmament goals. This failure to get public support from the PLO's number-two man, Abu Syad. The most significant the NAE has gone unnoticed in editorial analysis of the contact took place last January, when Arafat, accompanied speech. by senior PLO figures, openly received an Israeli reserve Finally, both the speech and the archbishop's letter mock general, the former director of Israel's Finance Ministry, and the public uses of theology today. When religious language the publisher of one of Israel's leading weekly magazines. degenerates into self-justification, boundaries harden and Two of the July signatories, Nahum Goldmann and Pierre communication evaporates, leaving closed communities and Mend&-France, have since passed away, and their plea, cutting off dialogue. Pimen's letter is full of closed, defensive eventually known as the Paris Declaration,has become their rhetoric; it is little more than Bible bulletsfrom the ramparts. final appeal to the Jewish people. Goldmann was of the It may be that the president's theology was fairly sum- company of Herzl, Weizmann, and Ben-Gurion-a towering marized in his NAE speech. But as much as Americans may figure of modern Zionist history and one who had major want their president to share their religious commitments, influence on Jewish life. It was he who, in order that expres- the nation's pluralism and its post-World War II global lead- sion be given to both the unity and diversity of Jewish life, ership role have rendered explicitly Christian language from inspired and was a co-founder of the World Jewish Con- government officials increasingly hollow and meaningless. gress. Mendes-France, French patriot and statesman of In 1942, Franklin Roosevelt could write to the US. Catholic international stature, combined Jewish values with a so- bishops that the U.N. would seek "the establishment of an cialist outlook: and to his last days he anguished over the international order in which the spirit of Christ shall rule the predicament of the Jewish people. Philip Klutznick, the third hearts of men and of nations." Such an evaluation might be signatory, was secretary of commerce during the Carter possible today from religious leaders, but it would not be administration. A former president of both B'nai B'rith In- tolerated from the nation's chief executive. ternational and the , he was co- Neither democracy, pluralism, nor secularism has dimin- founder, with Dr. Goldmann, of the Presidents' Conference ished inherent tensions between church and state. The late of Major American Jewish Organizations. Anglican leader Max Warren called God and Caesar "be- In retrospect, the Goldmann-Mend&-France-Klutznick loved enemies," and so they remain. When in a secular statement seems to have brought into public view the wid- democracy a president publicly offers theological rationales ening fissure between important segments of diaspora Jew- for national foreign policy, or when in a Communist dicta- ry and the State of Israel over the "Palestinian problem." torship a bishop parrots state-approved fictions, that love- Not until the Israeli invasion of Lebanon had three major hate tension in unproductively eased. Theology becomes Diaspora personalities come together with a statement so militant and nations prepare crusades. critical of the Israeli Government, so publicly in favor of Palestinian independence and of negotiations between Is- Bruce Nichols heads the Project on Church and State rael and the PLO. Why the change? Abroad of the Council on Religion and InternationalAffairs. Simply put, the "Jewish problem" has not been solved by . In some ways it has only been exacerbated. After some three-and-a-half decades of independent existence I in the historic homeland of the Jewish people, Jews remain Change oj/1ildre.s.s of Change of Address! fearful, uncertain, and insecure. Furthermore, there is an I'lcasc note that changes of address should now bc sent uneasy feeling that Israel's current military strength does not in itself guarantee the viability and longevity of Jewish to: Worldview Subscription Dept., P.O. Box 1935, independence in the Middle East: and Israel's attempts to hlarion. Ohio 43305. '1'0 ensure uninterrupted delivery, command the political loyalty of the have it is best to give six-weeks notice of your move and to caused a rebirth of the debate over the meaning and legit- include the ;wlclrcw liihel from il pii\t issue. imacy of Jewish life in the Diaspora. I_.-.I Today, an old and rejected form of Zionism has revived 14 and taken firm hold of political power In Israel. If is the hum Goldmann, Pierre Mendbs-France, and Philip Klutznick Zionism of Begin and Sharon. It is certainly not the Zionism together last July in Pans. Yet this vision cannot be fully of Goldmann, Mend&-France, Klutznick, or large numbers realized unless and until the Palestinian people are treated of Israelis and Jews throughout the world. Israel's greatest with the same measure of justice and compassion we Jews prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, at the time of his death demanded for ourselves just a short time ago. proclaimed that for a true peace with the Arabs he would be prepared to withdraw from the occupied territories. On Mark A. Bmzonsky is a Washington-based political con- the occasion of 's first visit to the United sultant on Middle East Affairs and US. foreign policy. States in 1948, leading -including Hannah Arendt and Albert Einsteiwwrote to I .d to warn against Begin's group, "among the most disturbing THE PARIS 'DECLARATION political phenomena of our time." Begin's group, they main- Peace need not be made between friends, but between tained, bears "the unmistakable stamp of a Fascist party for enemies who have struggled and suffered. Our sense of Jewish whom terrorism (against Jews, Arabs, and British alike) and history and the moral imperatives of this nioment require us misrepresentation are means, and a 'Leader State' is the to insist thrt the time is urgent for mutual recognition between goal." Israel and the Palestinian people. There must be a stop to the Israel's current political leaders have distorted the na- sterile debate, whereby the Arab world challenges the exist- tional movement for which Jews have struggled for so long; ence of Israel and Jews challenge the plitical legitimacy of they have discredited the very concept of Zionism: they have the Palestinian fight for independence. dangerously isolated Israel and squandered Israel's moral , The real issue is not whether the Palestinians are entitled claims; they have, finally, begun to unravel the ideological to their rights, hut how to bring this ahout while ensuring and social compact that bound the Diaspora and Israel with- Israel's security and regional stability. Ambiguous concepts out either dominating the other. They assert openly and such as "autonomy" are no longer sufficient, for they too often contrive privately to control the public utterances of Jews m used to confuse rather than to clarify. Necded now is the in the Diaspwa. And, demogogically, they insist that fealty determination to reach a political accommodation between to Israeli policies is the primary test of contemporary Jewish ' Israel and Palestinian nationalisms. authenticity. They have taken Israel and Zionism down a The war in Lebanon must stop. Israel must lift its siege of path of militarism and political fanaticism, transforming the Beirut in order to facilitate negotiations with the PLO, leading Zionist tradition of broad humanism into a narrow, nation- to a political settlement. Mutual recognition must be vigor- alistic xenophobia, reminiscent of the European ghetto. ously pursued. And there should be negotiations with the aim Israel must return to its original vision, to become a light of achieving eo-existence between the Israeli and Palestinian unto nations and a source of spiritual pride to Jews all around peoples based on self-determination. the world. That was the central message that brought Na- NOW SUBSCRIBING TO WORLDVIEW IS AS EASY AS DIALING THE PHONE! SIMPLY CALL TOLL FM- DATATELTM800-341-1 522 In Maine, call collect 236-2896 (Weekdays 6 AM to 9 PM, EST, Friday Till 5 PM) A FULL YEAR OF WORLDVIEW FOR ONLY $15.00! (Special Student Price, only $8.75!) Use DATATEL"" to or6er a new sub- .scription for yourself or a friend, or to renew your current subscription. Remember, the call is free.

15