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Jews Begin Criticizing Israel
Where The U.S. Leaves Off
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
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34
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 1988
he delicate diplomatic
minuet between Wash-
ington and Jerusalem
has picked up its tempo in re-
cent days. Despite the new
burst of activity, there are
still signs that the Reagan ad-
ministration is anxious to
avoid a more serious clash
with the government of Yitz-
hak Shamir over its handling
of disturbances in the ad-
ministered territories.
But curiously, a number of
major Jewish groups here
have taken on an ad-hoc
diplomatic role in putting
pressure on the Israeli
government at a time when
the Administration would
rather devote its waning
energies to other problems.
The results of that pressure
are already evident in the re-
cent decision to halt the con-
troversial policy of beating
Palestinian demonstrators
and bystanders as a riot-sur-
pression tactic.
One State Department
source indicated that al-
though top Administration of-
ficials have been angered by
Israel's policies in quelling
the disturbances, they remain
sensitive to the problem of
playing into the PLO's hands.
"There's considerable pres-
sure to get tough, at least in
rhetoric," this source said.
"But there is also an aware-
ness that we need a reason-
able balance in order to avoid
awarding the PLO and its
supporters an important vic-
tory in world opinion."
But several major Jewish
organizations have jumped
into the breach. Henry
Siegman, executive director
of the American Jewish Con-
gress, recently took his
message advocating an inter-
national peace conference to
Prime Minister Shamir after
visits to Jordan and Egypt.
Morris Abram, head of the
Conference of Presidents of
Major American Jewish
Organizations, warned that
the American Jewish com-
munity could not support an
official policy of beating
demonstrators. Rabbi Alex-
ander Schindler, president of
the Union of American He-
brew Congregations, echoed
these sentiments in a mes-
sage to the Jerusalem gov-
ernment.
And these criticisms, ac-
cording to analysts here, are
making up for the more
muted response from Foggy
Bottom. In a curious way the
actions of Jewish leaders who
have spoken out on the crisis
have dovetailed with Admin-
istration concerns.
"For the State Department,
there is a concern not to get
into a kind of micro-manage-
ment of Israel's response to
the riots," said Martin Indyk,
director of the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy.
Abram: Ad hoc pressure.
-
"And there is concern about
not allowing the dynamics at
the United Nations to be ex-
ploited in driving a wedge
between the United State and
Israel. The Jewish communi-
ty is responding from a dif-
ferent set of concerns; unlike
the situation we had during
the Lebanon war, a policy of
beatings is very hard to de-
fend. So they are expressing
themselves forcefully to get
Israel to adopt a policy that's
more defensible."
This de facto cooperation
between U.S. policymakers
and Jewish organizations is
proving a potent diplomatic
weapon. "It's important to
stress that it's a de facto func-
tion," Indyk says. "But in a
way it's more effective when
the Jewish community ex-
presses these concerns than
when the State Department
tries to put pressure on Israel;
if Israel can't rely on the
American Jewish community,
they can't rely on anybody."
Another factor in this tur-
bulent brew is this week's
state visit by Egyptian Presi-
dent Hosni Mubarak, who is
viewed by many in the State
Department as a key player
in any attempt to work out an
interim solution to the Pales-
tinian autonomy question.
Seeking Power
By Appointment
Congress is back after its
winter wanderings, with a
full slate of controversial
issues. In the next few
months, legislators will chew
on such complex matters as
the INF treaty, welfare re-
form, campaign reform and
the inevitable conundrum of
the federal budget.
Once again, a battle over a
judicial appointment is on the
schedule, with several Jewish
groups already joining the
fray.
But this time, the fight
won't be over a Supreme
Court nominee. Judge An-
thony Kennedy, President
Reagan's third nominee to fill
the slot vacated by Justice
Lewis Powell, is expected to
be confirmed with very little
controversy.
The nomination in question
is that of Bernard H. Siegan
to the federal appeals court in
California. One major Jewish
group — the American Jewish
Congress — has already an-
nounced its plans to fight the
nomination, joining the rem-
nants of the broad coalition
that came together to oppose
Judge Robert Bork's appoint-
ment to the Supreme Court
last fall. Several other groups
are considering jumping into
the battle.
And underlying it all is the
growing awareness by Jewish
activists that judicial appoint-
ments comprise one of the
major political battlegrounds
of the 1980s.
"The Jewish community is
becoming more aware that
the hard fought gains of all
minorities are increasingly
under attack," said Mark
Pelavin, acting Washington
representative of the
American Jewish Congress.
"And we realize that these
gains have come primarily
through the legal system. So
these appointments really are
important."
According to Pelavin, the
AJCongress will testify in
hearings before the Senate
Judiciary Committee, sched-
uled for the third or fourth
week in February — after ac-
tion on the Kennedy nomina-
tion is completed.
The problem with Siegan,
according to several sources,
goes deeper than his strong
conservatism. "He has a very
interesting interpretation of
church-state relations," said
Leslie Prall, of the Alliance
for Justice, a key group in the
coalition forming to oppose
the Siegan nomination. "He
has argued that the establish-
ment clause — which pre-
vents the establishment of a
state religion — applies only