Hill look to them for leader-
ship on Mideast issues."
Jewish leaders like Hyman
Bookbinder continue to
criticize the new dominance
of single-issue politics. "Our
effectiveness as advocates for
Israel is enhanced when we're
seen by our coalition partners
as concerned with the
broader agenda," he says. "I
don't think the Jewish in-
terest is well served, and the
pro-Israel community, when
the American public thinks
that our only criterion for
choosing candidates is their
position on Israel. It makes it
appear to the other groups
that as far as Jewish strength
in society goes, we use it for
only one purpose."
A broader approach to in-
fluence, Bookbinder argues,
translates directly into
political credibility. "It's
because our whole Jewish
community is active — not
only in its pro-Israel ac-
tivities, but on the civil rights
front, and the social justice
front — that we have such
tremendous credibility.
Because we've achieved credi-
bility on the other issues,
we've achieved enormous
credibility on the issue of
Israel."
As examples, Bookbinder
points to his recent participa-
tion in hearings on the prob-
lems of Cuban refugees. Part
of this involvement, he sug-
gests, is moral — and part of
it is just good politics. lb-
day's coalitions may pay
dividends tomorrow, when
issues of special concern to
the Jewish community are
brought up. Chits are being
distributed to other political
groups, with the expectation
that someday they will be
called in.
Bookbinder also objects to
the marriages-of-convenience
that are a by-product of the
single-issue approach. "What
I'm talking about is the ex-
tent to which the pro-Israel
lobby tends to cozy up to any
legislator who's right on the
Israel issue, no matter where
he stands on other issues, like
the separation of church and
state."
The alliance between pro-
Israel forces and Sen. Jesse
Helms in support of legisla-
tion to close the U.S. informa-
tion offices of the PLO, he
suggests, is an example of
this kind of shortsighted
arrangement.
It's almost a law of nature
that single-interest groups
gravitate to the party in
power. Jews may be more
liberal than the average
American on a wide array of
social issues, but groups that
focus exclusively on Israel
can maintain equally close
ties with legislators of every
political stripe — as long as
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