European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 23, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes wednesday. October 23, 1985 columns & comments Flora Lewis Middle East woes comp Ica fed by i Ackers capture portent in the meantime to be aware thatt s important n t meantime e to Pood Deal of crucial information is being withheld. He political consequences will escalate As govern its consid the in libations. Center Between the two bi1 parties. Lin Tun democrats and communists but Llau s Middle fast Pulio remains an irritant apparently. Praxi let Mohammed Abbas who a is obvious involved in the hijacking escape Paris to protect his relations with the  and other arabs. Partly in fear that keeping him would provoke More terrorist incidents in Leal there is indirect confirmation by Ond the re corded conversation published b Israel that Abb is was in league with the hijackers and that the rep resented Yasser Arafat s  it comes from s\ri.i. Which has been conducting in All out Campaign o destroy Arafat s leadership. Syria has never shown urn qualms about error ism hut the ship was refused enter to a s Han port and even More surprising is the fact that Syria delivered the Bod of Leon Kling Hollcr when it washed ashore. This makes Clear thai the i ickers were not part of pro syrian  factions. Damascus acted As Luiel against its us n foe in the Circum stances. I r Idem Unni sub my i l vat has come Oul i Vine Well Mil indecisive. Whether he deliberate i med to mislead the United states by saying the Iii to Kors had been Flo a away Ell before the fact i minor matter. Much More important he has Stirn a emotions and Ami Muncan demands i a set that he May not be Able to control. He it i,.sine suture in his own country but there is no one Sib la to replace him and keep l p of peace with Israel and its ties with the United states on a steady l during ill the excitement a soviet Diplomat urged the i up trans to break relations with America. He vis rebuffed by a  question about who would then finance to Gyps flagging Economy. But the incident shows How much is at stake and How precarious is Middle ast stability. President Labib  of Tunisia a fragile old Man. Is quarrelling with is advisers about expel Ling Arafat and his i to. He is certainly right that the palestinians have brought his country nothing but trouble but his associates  even More trouble if Tunis gets Tough. Of it has shown once again that he can t decide on a policy. His idea of Irving to persuade the United states to talk to him Anil still continue what he Calls armed struggle that is terrorism cannot work. He has reinforced the israeli Point that the  is an irresponsible partner for peace talks. So president Reagan s Middle last peace Initia live which seemed to be advancing albeit slowly and painfully has almost certainly collapsed. This makes Mubarak s situation even worse and undermines Jor Dan s King Hussein. Mubarak should have thought of that before he sounded off. Israel s prime minister Shimon Peres May feel Shari term satisfaction with All this but it undercut his future too. In less than a . He will either have to hand Over the government to t reign minister Yit Hak Shamir s liked or break the coalition and to for a majority of his own. Mis Chance depend or much on whether some hopeful looking peace talk s Start. Hut talks with whomever the Sears both labor and 1 Skud governments in Israel have wiped out what possibilities my have existed Tor emergence of a credible palestinian leadership on the West Bank. King Hussein cannot create it. And much As he would like a settlement he in t  to act alone. Itching the hijackers did t create these tangles but he results catalyse the problems for american policy. Catching criminals is Good but no More than that. Nothing has been made easier the complications Are still coming. Cd new a a t,.- James Kilpatrick . Could earn something in japanese schools Tokyo i got up Early one morning and went with an interpreter to if Ibiza senior High  in Down town Toko. Two hours of observation left this Ameri can visitor much sobered. If Hibiya is typical of Japa Nese education we Are in for an internationally rough time in the decades ahead. Comparisons Are odorous As Constable do Berry said. But for a moment let us be odorous. American High school students go to school five Days a week for about six hours a Day. The Uzieal school year is 180 a s. A 1980 Survey found that not a single state required credits in foreign language As a condition for graduation. Thirty five slates required Only one ear of math and 36 Stales required Only one end of science. In the past couple of ears some states have toughened their requirements but the picture has nut greatly changed. By contrast the japanese High chix l Murdent goes to school six Days a week. On monday through Friday the school Day begins at 8 30 and ends at 5 o clock on saturdays students attend classes from 8 30 to 12 25. The school year begins in april suspends for a vacation in summer resumes in september lakes a couple of weeks off at Christmas and continues unlit a Spring break in March. This adds up to 240 Days of instruction. The Lois Prader at Hibiya must take daily courses in japanese. English social studies mathematics and a science he has a Choice of cd actives in music Art and japanese calligraphy. Eleventh graders must take Japa Nese English higher mathematics chemistry and a Choice of elective in humanities. German and i ranch at the 12th Grade students choose Between majors in humanities or science. One path to graduation includes a Choice of Cle Clives in history classic literature ethics music politics and economics. The alternative offers classes in advanced mathematics and science the other 45 percent in literature and the humanities. I forgot to mention physical education the girls must gel into such sports As basketball volleyball and gymnastics livery boy has to Lake either judo or fencing. Nei ther did i mention the ctr Curri afar activities from 3 10 to 5 o clock. On different Days the Hibiya students have a Choice of faculty led seminars ranging from ancient japanese poems to carbonic  the most popular late afternoon courses Are in English conversation. It sounds heavy and it is Cha but the Hibiya Stu dents did t look inc least bit oppressed to me. Between classes they were As noisy and As bubbling with Energy As any american to nagers. The school boasts its own or Chestra its athletic teams win trophies. I asked an assist ant principal Aboul disciplinary problems i in said he has none. In the five years he has been at Hibiya. Only four students have been caught smoking. No girl has been known to be pregnant. Though japanese Law requires school attendance Only through the year one reaches 15, no one drops out Al Hibiya. Barring misfortune All 430 seniors will be graduated next March about 160 of them with go at once to College. Hibiya s record in these areas is better than average. In the nation As a whole virtually ency child makes it through Junior High school 94 percent go to a senior High school and about 90 percent of them graduate. A Start ing teacher is paid about  a year a senior teacher s25.000. The sums arc not Large a  standards but they Are quite High in Japan. I asked if Many highline Nign t Aske i schools Losi science and math teachers to private in try on the contrary. I was told so great is the respect teaching in Japan that there is More movement throw a \. To for a the other a Muni minor Hilly. The uniformity certainly is there starting in Kinder in Irton. The girls Wear Blue or Gray jumpers Over while houses the to s Wear while shirts and Navy Blue pants