By agreeing to the release of a large
number of Soviet Jews and by holding out
the promise of diplomatic relations with
Israel — albeit unofficial and at a low
level — the Soviet leaders have probably
done enough to restore themselves to a cen-
tral position in Middle East affairs.
Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres
initially insisted on the resumption of full
diplomatic relations as the price for Soviet
participation in any Middle East peace
process, specifically an international Mid-
dle East peace conference. He later soft-
ened his position, demanding instead a
return to substantial Jewish emigration.
When Peres made his offer last year, it
seemed almost too fanciful to merit serious
consideration. The advent of Mikhail Gor-
bachev, however, appears to have changed
all that: now the Soviet Union seems to be
on the verge of taking up his offer.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, mean-
while, is playing a cautious wait-and-see
game.
On the one hand, he cannot derive any
satisfaction from the prospect of a rap-
prochement with Moscow, which would
allow the Soviets to return to the Middle
East diplomatic process and could clear
the way for an international peace con-
ference, which he opposes.
On the other, he would find it extremely
difficult to say no to the release of 12,000
Jews from the Soviet Union.
The Israeli media has also reacted guard-
edly to news of the reported deal, but for
different reasons.
The mass-circulation Hebrew-language
daily Yediot Aharonot this week called for
"a careful reaction to everything connected
with the recent turnabout in the Kremlin's
attitude towards Israel and Soviet Jewry.
"We are sufficiently strong not to test
our strength by dictating conditions to
Moscow," said the paper. "Nor should we
forget that the opening of the gates is of
the utmost importance to Israel and the
Jewish people.
"We must not allow this potentially his-
toric hour to slip by because of a policy
lacking in perspective and caution."
Another Hebrew-language daily, Hada-
shot, noted that Gorbachev, unlike
previous Soviet leaders, "understands that
without Israel there can be no diplomatic
process in the Middle East.
"He symbolizes a new Soviet era. He is
prepared to meet Israel and Soviet Jewry
halfway, while glancing in Washington's
direction, to restore the Soviet Union to its
natural place in the world in general and
the Middle East in particular."
But the reported deal between the
American Jewish leaders and Soviet of-
ficials has not been greeted with universal
optimism or even guarded caution.
Surprisingly, the most vocal opponents
of the deal are Soviet Jewry activists
themselves, who are drawn largely from the
emigres who settled in Israel during the
days of mass Soviet emigration in the
Seventies (see box).
Gorbachev and his Kremlin colleagues
may, as the activists claim, have got more
than they were counting on — or at least
at a far lower price than they were expect-
ing to pay.
The men in the Kremlin will no doubt be
counting on the American Jewish leaders
to rally support in Congress for the repeal
of legislation that inhibits Soviet trade
with the United States and restricts finan-
cial credits to Moscow.
Thus fortified — and assured of a com-
fortable seat at the center of Middle East
diplomacy — the Kremlin may emerge
ahead of the game.
Soviet Jewry activists are probably cor-
rect in claiming that they have been dealt
a cruel stab in the back. For the West, they
say, has abandoned its most important
bargaining chips in exchange for just
12,000 exit visas, leaving Moscow with lit-
tle incentive to open the gates to a further
embarrassing round of mass emigration.
But the imperative of the moment is ab-
sorption — how Israel will integrate and
assimilate 12,000 new immigrants from the
Soviet Union, many of whom might be ex-
Representative of the
emotional results of
the Soviets' more
relaxed policy toward
Jewish emigration, a
Russian woman is
reunited with her
brother in Israel after
39 years of
separation.
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