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SHIPPING AVAILABLE — COUNTRY RIDGE COMMONS 31150 HAGGERTY RD. AT 14 MILE RD. FARMINGTON HILLS 661-9100 28 FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 1988 Washington Rally, Stock Crash Were The Big Stories Of 1987 JAMES DAVID BESSER Washington Correspondent S enators and congress- men are off for the hol- idays, and the staffers who do the grunt work on the Hill are taking a breather after the last-minute legislative frenzy caused by the rush to pass a budget bill. Political observers here in Washington are standing back a little and looking at the curious twists and turns of events that characterized 1987—many of which will comprise the controversies of 1988. _ The big story of 1987, from the point of view of Jewish ac- tivists here, was the Mobiliza- tion for Soviet Jewry, which brought a quarter-million Americans together on the Mall to protest continuing human rights abuses by the Soviet government. But beyond the success of Freedom Sunday in generat- ing a new feeling of activism, 1987 was a year of changing expectations for the activists who do daily battle in the trenches of human rights diplomacy. "Glasnost" became a household term in 1987, and Soviet Jewry activists have been forced to deal with the gap between Mikhail Gor- bachev's successful public relations campaign and the realities of many thousands of Jews still forced to remain in- side the Soviet Union. Under the leadership of Secretary of State George Shultz, the United States made Soviet human rights policy a major topic at the year's landmark arms reduc- tion talks. But it is unclear whether the new visibility of the issue will result in changes to the Soviet policies that have caused the long- standing problem. "There's no doubt that emigration figures have picked up," said Mark Levin, Washington representative of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ). "But they remain well below the numbers during the peak years in the late '70s. We don't have a good sense yet of which way things are going, despite all the speculation." The task now, Soviet Jewry activists here say, is to move beyond the exhilaration of Freedom Sunday and find new strategies to press the human rights message with the Soviets. Black Monday, Oct. 19: Was the crash a harbinger of more serious economic woes? Implications Of The Crash The impact on the Jewish community of the other domi- nant news story of 1987 is far from clear. The dust has not yet settled from the stock market crash of October 19 and the resulting chaos on world financial markets. Shortfalls in contributions to Jewish organizations have not materialized, despite ear- ly cries of alarm. Israel's $3 billion in foreign aid for this year is secure despite the chaotic, last-minute effort to cut the U.S. budget deficit. But the long-range implica- tions of these economic dislo- cations are disturbing. If this fall's economic woes prove to be more than just a "correc- tion," it may become increas- ingly difficult to insulate Israel from cuts in aid as Con- gress and the Administration renew their efforts to cut the bloated federal deficit. And if a serious recession suddenly clouds the domestic horizon, the kind of wholesale panic that characterized the last days of the recent con- gressional session could mean slashes in a variety of pro- grams, including the military projects that Israel is count- ing on to fill the gap left by the demise of the Lavi. Israel continues to have staunch defenders in Con- gress, and groups supporting close ties between the two countries are stronger than ever. Any attempt to cut aid in next year's budget discus- sions will be vigorously re- sisted. With elections in the offing, cuts to Israel may prove unattractive to many key legislators. The issue of possible declines in contributions to Jewish organizations remains a strong concern, discussed mostly in nervous whispers. After some initial panic following the October 19 crisis, the level of contribu- tions to various groups ap- parently settled down. But Jewish communal leaders re- main edgy; if the Crash was a harbinger of more serious economic woes to come, what will happen to the groups that comprise the backbone of the formal Jewish commu- nity? And what will happen to Jewish political influence here in Washington if the groups at the cutting edge of Jewish political participation experience cuts in their war chests? "It's too early for panic," said the director of one Jewish organization active in Washington. "The trend isn't clear yet. But you'd have to say that we're all watching economic developments with concern. It would be fair to say that we're nervous." The PLO Bill's Journey On the Hill, a number of issues dear to the hearts of Jewish activists journeyed through Congress in 1987, with varying degrees of success. The most peculiar legisla- tive odyssey has been that of the bill intended to close down the U.S. information of- fices of the Palestine Libera- tion Organization. Legislation to close both the New York and the Washing- ton offices of the terrorist group was introduced in the spring by Rep. Jack Kemp and Sen. Robert Dole, against