1 Friday, kw 1, 1918
THE DETROIT JEWISH
ors
Purely Commentary
All the Notoriety About the Lobbies and the One
Labelled 'Jewish' . . . When Human Factors Demand
Recognition of Justice in the Defense of Israel
A New Daniel (Andrew Young)
Come to Judgment
and Good Sense of Americans
American Jewry recognizes its obligations to assist in jus-
tifying the roles that were played by the 44 who included
Sen. Riegle.
The best interests of the American-Israel relations must
Andrew Young, the U.S. ambassador to the United Na - be assured of triumph and American Jewry has an impor-
tions, is the newest oracle on the interpretive world scene .- tent role to play. The aim is for courage when there is need
He emerges as a new Daniel come to judgment about to challenge even those in the highest quarters and for
Egypt's President Anwar el-Sadat, who now has all the dignity in striving for justice in defense of a humane ven-
powers of a supreme ruler: he can oust from his midst any ture.
one who opposes him, from the Right or the Left. (He claims
The role played by the Detroit Round Table, the local arm
he had 98.2 percent of a 9,500,000 vote giving him that of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, is espe-
power, but foreign observers contend that less than cially heartening. The Round Table executive director,
2,000,000 exercised their voting powers at Sadat's com- Charles Benham, would not be silenced. He was among the
mand last week).
first to register protests against the Nazi presence among
What does Young believe? He told the London Middle civilized people.
East magazine that Sadat is more popular in the U.S. than
Detroit is reacting well. It echoes the spirit of a nation
even his boss Jimmy Carter, that his trip .to Israel and his that will not condone haters who would destroy their fellow
peace offers (sic!) made him most popular with the Ameri- men because they don't like their origins.
can people.
Is it the American people who popularized Sadat, or his How the Term 'Lobby'
chief lobbyist Jimmy Carter? Is it the American people who Is Abused vis-a-vis Israel
glorified Sadat, or the media who have boosted him into
"Jewish Lobby" has become a title selected for abuse in
unprecedented notoriety?
the media and on the American political scene when deal-
Here is one guy who says to Andy Young that his views
ing with Israel.
are full of malarky. Here is a Commentator who says to the
Granted: there is a Jewish lobby. This has become neces-
American ambassador at the UN that he has more confi-
sary in view of the serious issues affecting Israel. They
dence in the common sense of the American people than the
affect Jews everywhere who will not permit the destruction
ambassador who represents them and now assumes to
of Israel. Therefore, in matters involving the security of
speak for them.
3,000,000 Jews and their 560,000 non-Jewish fellow citi-
Ambassador Young's office may have been a bit embar-
zens in Israel, every Jew becomes a lobbyist. Is there any-
rassed by the sensational story. After all, it belittled
thing new in this?
Young's boss. His staff says Young didn't mean just what
An article in the Wall Street Journal, headed: "Business
had been publicized. But the meaning is clear and the Sadat
Lobby
Gains More Power as It Rides Anti-Government
image must be treated in the context of what London's
Tide," went into the subject at great length and contained
Middle East has published. Therefore, the interpreter of
the following:
American public opinion must accept the consequences.
When business groups began roaming the halls
This business of Sadat being the idol of the American
of Congress in search of help in killing the labor-
people is baloney. Who would maintain that you can pull
law-revision
bill now before the Senate, they soon
the wool over the eyes of Americans who have good horse
discovered the wavering vote of Florida's Democ-
sense about matters affecting their government's policies?
ratic
Sen.
Lawton
Chiles. Sen. Chiles doesn't like
Sure, Sadat became popular: it's all our and Menahem
the bill, which is designed to ease the way for
Begin's fault. We made a hero of him. He went to Israel to
unions'
efforts
to
organize
workers. But neither
demand everything he had been advocating since he as-
does he like the filibuster technique, which is the
sumed power upon the death of Gamal Abdel Nasser, the
way the bill's opponents aim to kill the measure.
would-be destroyer of Israel: making demands that Israel
Like about 10 other Senators whose votes are
give up everything (just as his predecessor Nasser did), and
still considered question marks, Sen. Chiles has
Israel was caught in a trap by a foxy politician who makes
been
the object of an intense lobbying campaign.
demands but yields on nothing.
At one point, he mentioned to a group of corpo-
Sure, it's Begin who is the hard guy at fault, the an-
rate executives — "just in passing," according to
tagonist who is inflexible because he would not subscribe to
an aide — that he had heard from more big-
a suicidal pact. It is on this score that many Americans fail
business leaders than small-business entrep-
to recognize the existing faults — because there is an an-
reneurs. The result was immediate.
tagonistic set of commentators and news analysts in the
"As if by magic"—in the wo'-ds of one business
media who, with a very few exceptions, refuse to recognize
lobbyist — the big companies stopped sending
where the hard line is to be located.
their
executives to Sen. Chiles's door. In their
Did Sadat offer anything flexible, did he make a single
stead came a stream of small Florida entrep-
offer for continuing peace talks after he had withdrawn his
reneurs,
appearing in groups of 25 and carrying
representatives from Jerusalem, at their surprise as well,
dire arguments about the measure's threat to
when they were ready to make an accord with Israel?
their livelihoods.
Has Sadat made a single move in the direction of liberat-
ing Arab refugees from camps by settling them in Arab
lands that are in dire need of laborers? Has he honestly
rejected terrorism? Did he ever condemn hijackings and the
murder of children in Israeli schools by terrorists?
By BEN GALLOB
tion of American Jews
The bill of complaint is a long one: if ever there was guilt
(Copyright 1978, JTA, inc.)
may be only two-thirds of
for failure to pursue peace it is at Sadat's desk, and if ever
Declaring that there are
the present population of
there was blame for errors in dignifying him without jus- currently more Jewish
5.5 million to six million.
tification it is at our desks.
deaths than births in the
Rabbi Ofseyer cited data
Sure, Sadat is popular: thanks to the media. Are the United States, a Conserva-
on the Houston Jewish
American people fooled by the wool Sadat has available to tive rabbi has asserted
community and on his own
pull over their eyes? Please have more confidence in the there is "strong evidence"
congregation, Beth El. He
American people.
that the American Jewish
reported that the Houston
Meanwhile, here comes the judge, Andy Young, boosting population has started to
Jewish community has a
Sadat into popularity. He'll have an easier time for success decline "significantly," not
fertility rate of 9.4 babies
only on a percentage basis,
with concessions to the Arab-Soviet bloc at the UN.
per thousand population, a
"but absolutely as well,
rate not only lower than the
perhaps by as much as
The Battle for Justice
national average but also
100,000 per year."
lower than that of West
in American-Israel Relations
During the past 20 years,
Germany which, with 10
In the aftermath of a sad situation that was created in a
he declared, in the Fall,
babies per thousand, "has
conflict between Israel and her chief backer, the United 1977 issue of the United
the lowest proportion of
States, it has become apparent that a stiff refusal on the Synagogue Review, the
births in the world."
part of the President of the United States to approve con- number of children in
He reported that in his
cessions to Israel may have been responsible for the 54-44 American Jewish families
congregation, membership
vote in favor of arms for Israel and her Arab adversaries.
dropped rapidly "from a
has increased during the
The decision, as it is now generally acknowledged, is inter- high point in 1957 to the
last seven years at an an-
preted as detrimental to Israel's security.
current low level of fewer
nual average of about 20
It is distressing, of course, that the support for Israel births than deaths." He also
families per year, the differ-
should have waned, that so much should have been made
asserted that the total
ence between new members
over "the Jewish lobby," that the latter should have been number of children in
and those who leave the
judged as something sinister.
Jewish schools "has fallen
community or die.
It is not such an overwhelming triumph for the Presi- by 40 percent in the last 12
But duripg the same
dent and for the challengers to Israel. The 44 losers are as years."
time, he added, though the
concerned about American foreign policies and national
He cited an estimate by
congregation has grown by
security as the 54 who created a stumbling block for Israel.
Dr. Sidney Goldstein of
15 percent, "the number of
Fences will have to be mended. The U.S.-Israel friend- the Population Study
children has decreased by
ship must be strengthened. Friends like Michigan's Center at Brown Univer-
almost 40 percent, the na-
Senator Donald Riegle fully understand the issues and sity that the next genera-
tional average."
By Philip
Slomovitz
But is wasn't magic that carried those small-
business representatives to Washington. It was
the corporate jets of Florida's big businesses —
which, like businesses large and small through-
out the cotintry, are involved in a lobbying cam-
paign that is more sophisticated, better coordi-
nated and more extensive than any other in recent
memory.
"I can't remember when we last experienced a
lobbying effort like this," a Chiles aide says. "It's
so well-structured, so well-organized, and I don't
think they missed a single possible opponent of
that bill in our state."
Sen. Chiles's experience, duplicated in scores of
other Senate offices in recent months, focuses at-
tention on a business lobbying machine that
seems more adept than ever at marshaling its ar-
guments, presenting them forcefully to Congress
and turning them into legislative victories.
Much of business's success results from sophis-
ticated techniques that mobilize small-business
troops in the hinterlands, riding a wave of anti-
government sentiment in the country. Whatever
the cause, during the 95th Congress business has
scored a number of impressive victories that
seemed impossible 16 months ago, when Jimmy
Carter moved into the White House and Congress
began its work dominated two-to-one by Democ-
rats.
So, lobbies are common grounds for many and they are
not necessarily sinful. As a matter of fact, President Jimmy
Carter was the chief lobbyist for his packaged jet sale to the
Arab states and Israel. The President is perhaps among the
chief lobbyists for Sadat.
How are people to judge the Jewish lobby? Let there be a
sense of fairness and justice. For the security of Israel, let it
be repeated, every Jew is a lobbyist. It is a lobby for decency
in the Middle East, for peace and security for Israel. Need
anyone apologize for such humane efforts?
The Lesson for the Nazis:
No Place for Them in the U.S.
Detroiters of all classes, all ages, reacted with a firm NO
to any effort by Nazis or neo-Naris to establish themselves
in this country.
They may march in Skokie where they will surely meet
their fate with a resounding expression of contempt, in
spite of court rulings permitting them to enjoy America's
freedoms. But the people's voice asserts that no one has the
right to have the freedom to rob others of their freedoms.
In this community, the outrage over the emergence of a
Nazi gang included a public reaction that will not tolerate
barbarism and savagery.
The attitude of merchants in areas where Nazis are seek-
ing headquarters is especially noteworthy: they and the
people in the neighborhoods the Nazis would invade want
no part of them.
U.S. Jewry Declining by 100,000 Per Year
He cited a debate in the
ORT Reporter between
Mary Gendler, described
as a writer on the role of
women in Judaism and
Rabbi William Berman, a
Conservative rabbi who
is founder of the Jewish
Population Regeneration
Union.
Rabbi Ofseyer quoted Ms.
Gendler as arguing that the
real issue was not quantity
but quality and that Jews
must turn their focus "to-
wards improving., the qual-
ity ofJewish life.
Rabbi Berman, in strong
disagreement, rejected ap-
plication of the zero popula-
tion growth concept to Jews,
saying there are now so few
Jews — "a tiny fraction of
one percent of the world's
population" — that the
self-elimination of Jews
"would do virtually nothing
to alleviate the world's
over-population problem."
Rabbi Ofseyer, comment-
ing on the debate, said that
"the central fact", is that the
issue of Jews having more
children than other groups
was meaningless because,
as a group, American Jews
now "are having less chil-
dren than practically any
other group" in the U.S. He
noted that the total world
population has doubled
since the start of World War
II while 'the world's Jewish
population, afflicted by the
Holocaust, a falling birth-
rate and assimilation, "has
decreased by more than 20
percent"
He declared that to
maintain its numbers any
group must average
about 2.5 children per
family — a figure some-
what higher than the
usual estimate of 2.1 chil-
dren as the replacement
level — and that the
Jewish birthrate is esti-
mated at about 1.5, which
is lower than the general
estimate of 1.7 children
per Jewish family in this
country at present.
Among the results al-
ready evident, he declared,
"is the trend toward an
older population with less
resources to provide for
Jewish community ser-
vices."