Faculty Opinions Conflict On Arab-Israeli Question

The blame for the outbreak of hostilities in the Mid-East belongs partially to those Americans who called upon the U.S. to adopt an "even-handed" or even pro-Arab policy towards Israel, Martin Peretz, lecturer on Social Studies, said yesterday.

Peretz, contacted in a telephone survey taken yesterday, said that the way to long-lasting peace in the area is through direct negotiations between the Arabs and the Israelis.

The telephone canvass of Faculty members revealed general surprise at the renewal of Mid-East fighting, as well as conflicting opinions and analyses of the outbreak.

"I can't believe it," Albert J. Meyer, professor of Middle Eastern Studies, said yesterday. "The Syrians and Egyptians are not equipped to take on one of the major military machines in the world," he said.

Nur Yalman, chairman of the Middle Eastern Studies Department, said yesterday he is "terribly sorry and disappointed" by the conflict.

"The Mid-East is like a can of gasoline--it can explode at any time," Yalman said.

Nedav Safran, professor of Government and an expert on the Mid-East, said yesterday, "The war-tide is turning in favor of Israel and I expect the Arab attack to be totally displaced within 24 hours."

Safran said that a rout for Israel in the new war could topple the Sadat government and bring to power a group more willing to negotiate with Israel.

If the victory is less than total, Safran reasoned, there will be a return to pre-war conditions, with each side toughening its negotiating stance. "The Israeli position will harden as a direct consequence of its loss in blood," he said.

Other professors were less certain of the alternatives in the Mid-East and refrained from analyzing the conflict until they learn more about it.

Roger D. Fisher '43, professor of Law and a former negotiator in the Mid-East, said he is still analyzing the situation. He added, however, "There is a tendency that whatever happens now will bring out the worst in the parties.

U.N. "Totally Unsatisfactory"

All the faculty interviewed were pessimistic about the capability of the United Nations to resolve the Mid-East's problems. Peretz said. "The United Nations has already demonstrated that it is a totally unsatisfactory arena for discussing it {the Arab-Israeli conflict}. Its decisions are altogether predictable."

Safran, however, saw the U.N. as a useful face-saving tool. He noted that a U.N. declared cease-fire allows the losing side to stop fighting and to show the world community that it obeys the U.N.

Seymour M. Lipset, professor of Government and Social Relations, said yesterday that peace will not come to the Middle East until the U.S. and Russia intervene diplomatically. Lipset said the two great powers should act as lawyers for the combatants to arrive at a "semi-imposed" solution