More than 1,200 people who came to listen to former Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale last night were encouraged to contribute money to be used by Sharon in carrying on a libel suit against Time magazine.
Sharon has filed two suits against Time, one, a $270,000 suit in Tel Aviv shortly after the magazine published its February 21, 1983 issue. The other suit, for $50 million, was filed in New York several months later.
Sharon has charged that he has been damaged by what the suit states is the magazine’s suggestion in that issue that he had encouraged a Lebanese massacre of Palestinians in west Beirut. The massacre in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila took place in September 1982 when Sharon was Defense Minister.
In introductory remarks, Jerry Strober, a member of the executive committee of Americans For a Safe Israel, urged the spirited overflow audience to help Sharon meet the “tremendous” expense of carrying on the suit against Time. If Sharon wins the case, the media in the United States will “think twice before maligning Israel, Israel’s leaders and the Jewish people in general,” Strober said.
Rabbi Avraham Weiss, spiritual leader of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, estimated that the Orthodox synagogue raised “in the thousands of dollars” for Sharon’s legal expense fund last night.
SHARON CITES THREE SECURITY PROBLEMS
Sharon, on the eighth day of his 10-day visit to the U.S., was greeted with a standing ovation as the audience sang a song of welcome in Hebrew. He spoke about what he termed the three security problems which Israel faces. He listed the problems as terrorism, the threat from confrontational states such as Syria, and the Soviet strength backing some Arab nations. He often strayed from the talk’s announced topic, “Israel and the Media,” as he responded to questions posed by Weiss.
Sharon, who was accompanied by his wife Lily, emphasized what he said was the difference between what is at stake for generals in Israel and for generals in other countries, saying that if Israel loses a war, it means its complete extermination.
In talking about Israel’s military strength, and the achievement of the Camp David accords, Sharon asserted that Egyptian President Anwar Sadat “came to Jerusalem (to seek peace) not because he crossed the (Suez) Canal. He came to Jerusalem because we crossed the canal into Egypt” during the Yom Kippur War.
Sharon, who as Minister of Agriculture from 1977 to 1981 was in charge of settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, justified continued settlements. While agreements with other nations are important, he said, they are not as secure as having towns, settlements and cities in these areas.
Sharon, who is currently a Minister Without Portfolio, spoke in the synagogue’s main sanctuary, which, according to Weiss, seated about 600 people. Some of the hundreds who could not be seated in the main room were diverted to a downstairs room where they could watch and listen to Sharon via closed circuit television.
DEMONSTRATORS DISRUPT MEETING
Police barricades kept a crowd of 12 young demonstrators across the street from the synagogue. They carried placards and shouted slogans supporting the Palestine Liberation Organization as the crowd filed into the synagogue before the talk. One large banner carried by the group carried the name of the John Brown Anti-Klan Committee. They refused to reveal any other group identification.
Moments after Sharon began speaking, two young women in the audience disrupted him by shouting “Long live the PLO.” They were quickly led away. According to a police officer at the scene, no arrests were made or charges filed.
In the middle and end of his talk, Sharon urged the audience to “Move To Israel!” He exhorted the audience: “Be Jews, learn the Bible, learn the history of Israel.” After his talk, Sharon was given a plaque by Weiss on behalf of the Institute which reads: “To Ariel Sharon, a lion of strength with whom God talks.” Sharon is scheduled to leave the U.S. tomorrow.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
