Fisher Says U.N. Crucial in Mideast

The United Nations Security Council must step in to halt the fighting in the Middle East because neither the Israelis nor the Arabs will do so, a Harvard Middle East expert said here yesterday.

Roger D. Fisher '43, professor of Law, told an International Law Society forum that "neither protagonist can suggest the stop of the fighting as it would result in a high political loss. Rather a third party must intervene."

Richard R. Baxter, professor of Law, told the forum that the war was operating in a legal vacuum due mostly to the Arab failure to recognize the Israeli state.

"If the Arabs had recognized the existence of the Israeli state many war and boundary laws would fall into place," he said.

Fisher said that unless there is a third party peace proposal, a halt in fighting will come through a military victory one way or the other. But, he said, "This is a wild expectation to produce peace."

Fisher said he thought the purpose of the Egyptian and Syrian attack was not to obtain a better negotiating position. "It is more elemental," he said. "They have tried peace for six years and it hasn't worked. Their only alternative to gain back what they want is through war."

Soviet Role

The Soviet Union will have to play an effective role in bringing peace in the Middle East, Fisher said. He explained that "if the Soviet Union has sent arms and encouraged the remaining Arab countries to fight it is an attempt to show that this war is more serious than past conflicts and it would be of interest to the United States and Israel to accept something less than full victory."

Fisher said he thought the big Israeli victory in the 1967 war hurt the chances of peace.

Fight and Lose

"The Arabs would rather fight and lose a war every ten years in an attempt to get back what is theirs," he said.

In response to the Middle East crisis the Israel Emergency Fund at Harvard has begun collecting funds under the direction of Fund Chairman David Trachtenberg '76.

The funds collected are for humanitarian purposes only, Trachtenberg said yesterday, and the money collected will not be used for military purposes. "It is connected to the war in that the money will be used to assist in the results of the war," he said.

Six Meals

The fund drive will terminate in four days. The Fund plans to collect for six lunches and dinners at each of the House dining halls and at the Freshman Union. Students have the option to give money, make a pledge, or sign up as a potential blood donor should the need arise.

Trachtenberg said he considers himself more of a coordinator than a chairman. "Our experience has been that a lot of people have already begun working on their own," he said. "I view my role as coordinator for these actions."

The organization has set no monetary goal. However, Trachtenberg hopes that there will be a substantial increase over last year's donation of $4000 to the Combined Jewish Philanthropies.

All student funds collected will be brought to the Hillel House and from there delivered to the central Israel Emergency Fund office in Boston. Trachtenberg said the money will be immediately sent to Israel.