THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Friday, June 8, 1984

77

CAPITOL REPORT

WOLF BLITZER

Conservative opponent of Israel changes tune during election

Washington — Republican Sen-
ator Jesse Helms of North Carolina is
widely regarded in Washington as
one of Israel's most consistent foei.
He almost always votes against Is-
rael. That's why his May 16 letter to
President Ronald Reagan raised
some eyebrows. "We should never
pursue any plan that envisions a sep-
aration of the West Bank from Is-
rael," he wrote, adding: "Given the
deep attachment of the Israelis to
Samaria and Judea, they need, from
the deepest spiritual motives, free
access to those Biblical lands."
The Palestinians, he continued,
"also have a long history with these
lands." So what is Helms' solution?
"The Palestinians either should be
granted full political, civil and eco-
nomic rights, with proportional re-
presentation in the Knesset, and He-

attracting considerable support from
Israel's politically-active friends
around the country. Helms, a
member of the Foreign Relations
Committee, is really feeling the heat.
•
Likud Knesset Member Michael
Kleiner has been in Washington,
seeking to win some additional
• right-wing conservative support for
Israel in recent days. "The conserva-
tive movement of Israel and the con-
servative movement of America will
join together to combat the forces of
totalitarianism and international
Communism around the world," he
told a Capitol Hill news conference
sponsored by the pillars of the con-
servative movment in Washington
—Howard Philips, chairman of the
Conservative Caucus; Richard Vig-
uerie, publisher of Conservative Di-
gest; Paul Weyrich, chairman of
Capitol Coalitions for America; and
Craig Shirley of the National Con-
servative Political Action Committee
(NCPAC).
"We believe it is high time to
unite all the forces who believe in
freedom, democracy, righteousness
and Biblical values," Kleiner was
quoted as saying by the conservative
Washington Times, which is owned
by Rev. Moon's church.
•
Conservative Republican Jesse Helms
Phillip Klutznick, the outspoken
now claims to back Jerusalem as Israel's
former president of the World Jewish
capital.
Congress, is a judge in a contest spon-
sored by the Arab Women's Council
for Research and Education Fund,
brew and Arabic both as -official lan-
Inc. Any sophomore, junior or senior
guages; or the Palestinians could
who is currently-enrolled in one of the
have an autonomous unit within a
114 historically black colleges or
confederal state with an undivided
universities in the United States can
Jerusalem as a common capital.
participate simply by writing an
What we cannot accept is a Soviet-
essay on "The Arab-Israeli Conflict:
backed PLO state in the-heart of the
A Solution." Eighteen finalists will
Holy Land."
receive a free, three-week "study
Helms said in his letter to Rea-
trip" to the Middle East.
gan: "The United States, as a nation,
The Arab Women's Council, by
should recognize Jerusalem as the
the way, is headed by the wife of
capital of Israel." But he went on to
Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the
oppose the legislation sponsored by
United States, Mrs. Nouha Alhege-
Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick
lan. She's also ajudge. The others are
Moynihan of New York which calls
Dr. Michael Hudson of Georgetown
for the transfer of the U.S. Embassy
University's Center for Contempor-
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He cited
ary Arab Studies, a well-known critic
Constitutional reasons. "I believe
of Israel; Democratic Congresswo-
that the proposed legislation would
man Mary Rose Oaker of Ohio, who is
be an infringement upon the
of Arab ancestry; and Dr. Stanley
President's authority to conduct
Smith, president of predominantly
foreign policy, since it mandates an
black Shaw Uniirersity.
action within the President's juris-
diction."
The U.S. Department of Agricul-
The Senator proposed that Rea-
ture has announced that American
gan "consider preempting the mis-
and Israeli researchers are using
chief which this legislation might do
spiders to help farmers increase their
by acting now to recognize Jerusalem
output and cut down on their use of
in the context I have described. The
chemical pesticides. It's all part of the
moving of the embassy obviously
many projects being studied by the
would be a first step in this process."
American-Israeli
Binational Ag-
Why so mud; concern for Israel,
ricultural Research and Develop-
all of a sudden? Left unsaid in the
ment Fund. (And you thought that
letter, of course, is the fact that
the real action in American-Israeli
Helms, an arch-conservative, is cur-
relations involved only military or
rently running for his political life.
strategic coopration.) ,
His Democratic challenger, North
According to a Department of
Crolina's popular Governor Jim
Agriculture press release, certain
Hunt, is ahead in the polls and is

•

spiders were found by American and
Israeli researchers to be effective in
destroying cotton-damaging larvae
and scale insects that attack citrus
fruits. By using spiders as the first
line of attack against these insect
pests, farmers could delay spraying
their fields with chemical pesticides.
Nice work.

•

•

Marie Syrkin, the noted Ameri-
can Zionist author and teacher, was

Jesse Helms: His
turnaround on Israel is a
ploy for the Bible Belt vote.

honored the other day at a beautiful
luncheon celebrating the 50th an-
niversary of the "Jewish Frontier,"
the American Labor Zionist publica-
tion. Professors Irving Howe and Ben
Halpern were among those who paid
tribute to Ms. Syrkin.
She recalled the early days of the
Zionist movement in America. "Our
problem then was to acquaint any
kind of a public with the meaning of
Labor Zionism in that little corner of
the Middle East," she said. "We have
the reverse trouble now; we are
grateful when Israel is not on the
front pages."

•

It's hard for American Jews to
stay out of Israeli politics. Now
"Washingtim, D.C. Friends of Peace
Now" wants to get involved — as
have friends of Labor, Likud, Tami,
the other religious parties, Ariel
Sharon, Rabbi Meir Kahane, Ezer
Weizman and almost every other Is-
raeli party and politician. In' their
own ways, they are soliciting funds
for the current campaigning under-
way in Israel.
"By dramatizing during the heat
of the election campaign the harmful
effects. on the prospect. for peace and
on Israel as a Jewish democratic
society of the government's West
Bank and Lebanon policies, Peace
Now will seek both to restrain those
policies and to embolden the pro-

gressive forces within all of the con-
tending parties," the Friends of
Peace Now said in a letter dated May
11. It was signed by Robert Hausman
and Elliot Lichtman, both of Wash-
ington.
"Those educational efforts will
be costly. Peace Now has asked its
North American support groups to
raise approximately $40,000 wihin
the next two months." The letter
asked that tax-deductible checks to
be made payable to "New Israel
Fund/Peace Now."

•

Peace Now, of course, is not the
only Israeli institution searching for
U.S. funds. "Chai," or Concern for
Helping Animals in Israel, is also
making a major pitch. Joining its
advisory board is Isaac Bashevis
Singer and Democratic Congressman
Tom Lantos of California. Among
those Israelis on the board are Joan
Comay, honorary president of the
SPCA in Jerusalem; Education
Minister Zevulun Hammer; and Dr.
Andre Menache, chief veterinarian
of the SPCA in Tel Aviv.

•

Kudos to:
• Prof. Michael Rabin of the
Hebrew University for winning elec-
tion to the prestigious U.S. National
Academy of Sciences — one of only 14
distinguished foreign scientists to be
so honored this year.
• Maj. Gen. Amir Drori, who
has been named Senior Fellow in
Foreign Military Affairs at the Heri-
tage Founation, a Washington
think-tank. He will spend nine
months writing on "small nation
warfare." From 1981 until late last
year, Drori served as • chief of the
Northern Command.
• Carl Alpert, the just retired
executive vice chairman of the
Technion's International Board of
Governors who was the guest of
honor at a gala luncheon sponsored
by the American Society for Techn-
ion. Alpert, who was born in the
United States, still writes a popular
column on Israel which appears in
many weekly U.S. Jewish newspap-
ers.

New Tel Aviv U. program seeks
to spur students' interest in science

Tel Aviv — Hoping to cur-
tail the declining enroll-
ment of Israeli students in
the sciences on the univer-
sity level and prevent dam-
age to the nation's
technological base, Tel Aviv
University has embarked
on a program to enhance the
interest of children in the
various scientific disci-
plines.
The multi-faceted pro-
gram includes a number of
approaches, such as sending
TAU professors to area high

schools for lectures on their with a shortage of physicist§
respective fields of exper- and impending problems in
tise; holding "open days" at the chemistry and math-
the school so that secondary ematics areas. Lower
school students may get a enrollments in the sciences
preview of university sci- mean fewer outstanding
ence studies; and sponsor- students and eventually,
ing tours of facilities such as fewer top-ranking teachers
the Canadian Center for and researchers, the uni-
Ecological Zoology and the versity said. This could
Botanical Gardens.
make science studies even
less attractive, according to
TAU officials report that academicians, leading to an
a gradual decline in stu- inevitable decline in the
dents enrolled in science scientific capability of the
curriculums has left Israel nation,