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PORTLAND OBSERMER
September 29, 1962
Volume XII, Number 51
25C Per Copy
Two Sections
USPS 959-680-855
Israel in Lebanon: An Israeli opposition view
(The following article la from
tha Israeli journal. New O u tlo o k.
which for 25 years has spoken
out within Israel for a peace
based on mutual recognition of
tha national rights of Palestin
ians and Israelis. Aria Ya'arl. tha
author. Is a member of New Out-
lo o k '* editorial board. Tha article
waa written In August, prior to
tha massacre two weeks ago of
Palestinian civilians by Israel's
Lebanese Christian allies. 1
by A rie Ya'ari
This war was fundam entally d if
ferent from all the others. Not in the
extent o f its v ic to ry . We have
kn o w n , in the past, w a itin g v ic
tories in far more d iffic u lt circum
stances. What is unprecedented, how
ever, is that this country [Israel) has
been led into a war that was not in
evitable: not a war o f defense, but a
war o f conquest. A war that was
planned and carried out by, and to-
wards, p o litic a l ends, w hich were
not endorsed by a national consen
sus. A few m onths ago, a vig ila n t
opposition managed to prevent the
launching o f this a tta c k — in fa ct,
Begin and Sharon then constituted a
m inority in the government—fo r no
incidents had troubled the Galilee
region since the July 1981 cease-fire.
This time, using as a pretext the as
sault in L o n d o n , perpetrated by
Abu Nidal (on Iraq’ s payroll), Sha
ron was able to carry out his plan,
and B egin— once the attack had
been launched—gained the support
o f the Labor Party, on the strength
o f his solemn pledge not to extend
the operation, known as “ Peace for
Galilee,” beyond 40 km s___
We know the rest. The opposition
has been flo u te d , the consensus
m ocked. The w o rld has witnessed
the unleashing o f Israeli forces in
Lebanon, leaving in their path thou
sands o f dead, hundreds o f th o u
sands o f refugees, and a devastated
country. To what end? A bitter vic
tory enshrouded by hundreds o f our
dead and wounded sons; a victo ry
which w ill grant us nothing but yet
another short respite. U n til when?
Once again, it is the extent o f our vic
tory and the depth o f Arab hum ilia
tion that are paving the way fo r the
next war. W ho can believe that the
routing o f the P.L.O . w ill "resolve”
the Palestinian problem “ once and
fo r a ll” ? The P .L .O . had already
been wiped out by Hussein in 1970,
by Assad in 1976. C e rta in ly , the
P.L.O. bears a heavy responsibility.
Its obstinate and suicidal steadfast
ness has obstructed all po litica l av
enues and generated the L ikud [Be-
g in’ s ru lin g c o a litio n — Ed.) ideol
ogy in Israel. But the failure o f the
P .L .O . does not im p ly the disap
pearance o f 4 m illio n Palestinians;
nor w ill it put an end to their aspira
tions and their right to national in
dependence.
The immediate result o f the dis
mantlement o f the P .L.O . can only
be its dispersal in to innum erable,
isolated and desperate groups,
which w ill have to resort to the only
means left to them in the pursuit o f
their struggle: blind, chaotic terror
ism throughout the w orld, striking
Israelis, Jews, and anything. Must
this be Israel’ s ultimate objective?
W hat is, in fa ct, the to ll o f this
war? On an international scale—al
beit this war and the defeat o f the
Syrians have contented a great many
people (the U .S., Iraq, Saudi A ra
bia, as well as some European coun
trie s )— Israel w ill not see its con
de m n a tio n , by the in te rn a tio n a l
com m unity, the A rab and Islam ic
w o rld , m itig a te d . We have pulled
somebody else’ s chestnuts from the
fire, but it is our fingers that w ill get
burnt. The precedents o f Iran and
Taiwan should have inspired Israel
to adopt a more cautious and pre
ventive policy: not to rely on a sin
gle, d ista n t a lly in the face o f the
w o rld , and against its own neigh
bors. And.whereas the m orality o f
international institutions can be put
in question, the same is not true o f
public opinion. The w orld has w it
nessed the scenes o f this w ar w ith
horror and indignation. The suffer
ing o f the popula tion and the des
perate resistance o f the P.L.O. have
spurred pity and compassion which
the Palestinians had never know n.
I f , in the past, the w o rld has ap
plauded the courage o f o o r sm all
nation in the face o f an Arab m u lti
tude out to destroy her, today, the
roles are reversed, and so are the
feelings.
Analysis
M oreover, a people o f which the
great m ajority is dispersed into m i
norities throughout the w orld, can
not waive the sympathy and friend
ship o f those in the midst o f which it
is living. Already, the various cu r
rents o f anti-semitism are exploiting
the advantages o f the situation, and
fueling the indignation. A revealing
sign: the Jews are divided and te r
rib ly perplexed. Far fro m " ju b ila t-
(Please turn to page 2 col. 3)
Blacks lose home ownership
G e n trific a tio n , the replacement
o f black residents o f predom inantly
black neighborhoods by whites, is a
relatively new phenomenon brought
about both by lower housing costs
in the inner c ity as com pared to
those in the suburbs and by the de
sire o f many white families to live in
racially diverse communities,
communities.
Gentrification has been a topic o f
serious concern to black organiza
tions and spokesmen in eastern
cities but little inform ation has been
available in P o rtla n d . A recent
study by Scott W . C lem ent and
Jerry Zanzalari o f the Institute for
Oregon Policy Studies o f Portland
State U n iv e rs ity , dem onstrates a
high rate o f gentrification in P ort
land neighborhoods. The study also
questions the role o f federal H C D
funds in the changing ow nership
statistics.
The study o f 28 neighborhoods
shows an overall decrease in the per
centage o f owner-occupied homes
during the period from 1970 to 1980
with the greatest losses (10 per cent)
in Portsm outh and C reston-K enil
worth. Additional areas o f high loss
are St. Johns (8 per cent), Vernon (9
per cent), and in Southeast
Portland, Lents (9 per cent), Brook
lyn (8 per cent) and Sellwood-More
land (8 per cent). The average loss
was 4.3 per cent.
There was an even greater de
crease in the percentage o f black-
ow ned, ow ner-occup ied, homes,
reaching as high as a 34 per cent loss
in Boise n e ig hb orhood. The p er
centage o f black households that
own th e ir homes also decreased,
w ith the high o f 70 per cent loss in
the Richmond neighborhood.
In neighborhoods that have 10
per cent o f more black households,
there is a strong re la tio n s h ip be
tween gain by whites and loss by
blacks. Large increases in w hite
ownership are associated w ith large
decreases in black ownership.
The Boise neighborhood has had
a 34 per cent loss in homes owned by
black residents between 1970 and
1980, and a 59 per cent gain in white
resident-ow ned houses in Boise,
there was a 34 per cent loss by
blacks and a 30 per cent gain by
whites.
In K ing n e ighb orhood black
households that own th e ir own
homes decreased by 20 per cent
w hile w hite households'w ho own
th e ir homes increased by 27 per
cent. The percentage o f owner-occu
pied homes owned by blacks de
creased by ten per cent while those
owned by whites increased by 20 per
cent.
E lio t had a loss in black house
holds who own their homes o f 2 per
cent and a gain by w h ite house
holds o f 7 per cent. O f the owner-
occupied homes in the n e ig h b o r
hood, blacks had a 13 per cent loss
and whites a 13 per cent gain. Eliot
is one o f the few neighborhoods
where to ta l home ow nership in
creased.
Humboldt had an 11 per cent loss
in black households who own their
homes and a 1 per cent loss o f white
households. O f the owner-occupied
homes, blacks lost 1 per cent and
whites gained 1 percent.
Irvington had a 22 per cent loss in
black households who own th e ir
homes and a 12 per cent gain in
w hite onwers. O f the ow n e r-o c
cupied homes in Irv in g to n , blacks
(Please turn to page 8 column I)
Charlea Kane diacuaaaa tha problema of pan-
manahip with volunteer tutor Paul Knaula. Volun-
teera are needed for King Elementary School’e
HOST program. (Pleaee eee story on page 5.)
Ed Leek explains District 1 candidacy
by C. Eddie Edmondson
East week the Portland Observer
published a story on the three A f r i
can-American candidates hoping to
upset E d Leek in the 18th D is tric t
State R epresentative race. They
shared one o v e rrid in g concern:
Leek, the D e m o cra tic candidate,
they said, was unacceptable. In last
M ay's p rim a ry race, Leek received
about 5 per cent o f the votes in pre
cincts w hich are p re d o m in a n tly
black. In areas which are predom in
a n tly w hite, he had m a jo ritie s as
high as 36 /ter cent. Leek lives in and
is active in com m unity and p o litic a l
affairs in inner Northeast's predom
inantly black community.
By his own admission, Ed Leek is
an a m b itio u s , p o litic a lly -m in d e d
person Resides p o litic s , his o n ly
other interests seem to be his jo b ,
his fa m ily and perhaps some neigh
bors.
Ed and M indy Leek met in Chica
go in 1972 while both were involved
in George M cG overn’s presidential
campaign. Before com ing to P o rt
land in 1976, the couple, who had
married in 1973, moved to the Dis
tric t o f C olum bia where Leek says
he remained inactive in politics, in
stead concentrating on his jo b as a
fe d e ra l bureaucrat, as he described
it.
Leek said he had liked P ortland ’s
inner N ortheast neighborhoods in
1968 while he was in P ortland help
ing to organize the late Senator
Bobby Kennedy‘s presidential cam
paign. The neighborhood to which
they re tu rn e d was p re d o m in a n tly
black when they m oved in to th e ir
large, handsome house tw o blocks
o f f N.E. Union. Whatever p o litica l
plans or intentions the Leeks shared
in coming to inner Northeast P ort
land w ould necessarily involve ac
tive p a rtic ip a tio n and relationships
with those who were his neighbors.
F o llo w in g are excerpts fr o m a
lengthy interview with Leek.
Leek: I ’ ve been involved in 16 or
17 p o litic a l cam paigns. W hy? I
don’ t know. I t ’ s a sickness. Politics
is my hobby, avocation, whatever.
Observer: What has been your in
volvement in this com m unity since
you all came here from D.C.?
Leek: I got involved in the King
Neighborhood Assixiation first o ff.
I f you just know how to exert just
a little b it o f pressure at ju s t the
rig h t tim e, it can be done, this
shepherding the th in g s [y o u want)
through the m achinery o f govern
ment.
[Leek described his w ork in the
Association which began w ith him
and form er chairm an O tto Ruther
ford w orking against PD C ’ s N o rd
strom project, which the Associa
tion felt w iuld displace more homes
and fam ilie while providing fewer
jo b s. He described his w ork w ith
helping Bruce Broussard in obtain
ing funds to b u ild a senior citizen
center back o f the Fred Meyer Wal
nut store on land donated to the city
by Fred Meyer.)
[Leek was asked about his e ffo rt
to attend the Black United Front po
litical convention last year when he
was turned away. Ron H e rn d o n ,
whom Leek insisted on talking w ith,
made it clear that the co n ve n tio n
was only for black folks. Leek said
he was offered the o p p o rtu n ity to
jo in and work with the BUF support
committee, which is predominantly
w hite.1
Leek: I said 1 didn’t belong to any
group like that and never w o u ld .
About a month later Amy Godinc, a
W illam ette Week re p o rte r, co n
tacted me to co n firm the incident.
Out of the story developed the belief
I had filed a com plaint against the
BUF. It had kind o f hurt |being re
jected from participation ], I was a
little bit upset I couldn’ t get recog
nized as a member o f this com m u
nity. And that is a problem that per
sists even today. That is, that be
cause I'm not black. I ’ m not a fu ll
fledged member o f this com m unity
in the eyes o f some people.
Observer: Had you heard charges
by blacks o f this nature before?
Leek: N o t in the p rim a ry . They
would ask me, "W h y should you as
a lib e ra l ru n in a seat they w ould
th in k was established fo r a black
person?" I ’d answer, "T h e seat was
established fo r the purpose o f re
flecting the interests o f the people in
D istrict 18, and, I thought 1 could
do th a t."
[Leek was asked about the Legis
lative hearings preceding the form a
tio n o f D is tric t 18 to determ ine i f
the com m unity should be one dis
trict or part o f several districts.]
Leek: I was sitting in the back o f
the room keeping my mouth shut. I
was considering ru nning fo r state
representative and 1 didn’t want any
particular position 1 m ight have to
be misconstrued in the d is tr ic t.. . .
The substantial argument in those
hearings was whether to have a large
piece o f one legislative d is tric t or
(Please turn to page 5 column I)
ED LEEK