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Higher rates may be available for larger deposits. Franklin Savings Ask About Our Other Full Service Products 26336 Twelve Mile Rd. • Southfield (At Northwestern Highway) Equal Housing Lender (313) 358 - 5170 20247 Mack Avenue • Grosse Pointe Woods (313) 881.5200 New AJCongress President Makes High-Profile Appearance JAMES D. BESSER Washington Correspondent R obert K. Lifton, the new president of the American Jewish Congress, made a whirlwind pass through Washington this week, signaling what may be a new emphasis on high- profile political action for the liberal Jewish group. Lifton, a New York bus- inessman, met with a long list of political bigwigs, in- cluding House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Dante Fascell (D- Fla.), Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd (D-WVa.), and Maryland's Paul Sarbanes. The Jewish leader was also trying to arrange a meeting with Secretary of State George Shultz. Lifton carried to the Hill a handful of resolutions passed at the Congress's recent an- nual meeting — including a measure supporting the Shultz Middle East peace in- itiative, a call for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Honduras and a resolu- tion that provoked ferocious controversy at the congress' meetings in Philadelphia — a formal condemnation of the" Jewish-American Princess" designation. 1990 Census Causes Concern Wth all the other problems in the world, it's a little sur- prising that some political groups are worried about the 1990 census. But according to the Amer- ican Jewish Committee, the current controversies swirling around the procedures for the upcoming headcount will have important implications for all minorities in this coun- try — including Jews. "It's a high stakes game, because the numbers are us- ed to determine reapportion- ment, to calculate legislative grants, and so on," said Judy Golub, the assistant Washington representative for the AJCommittee who is in the thick of the census fight. "Specifically, there are con- cerns that minorities in the big cities of five states — Cal- ifornia, New York, Texas, Il- linois and Florida — and poor minorities in particular, may be seriously undercounted." And if the government un- dercounts minorities in the states with the most Jews, it could have a direct bearing on Jewish political clout in the upcoming decade, although the Jewish component of the bill is by no means the most prominent one. According to an aide to Rep. Merwyn Dymelly (D-Calif.), more than $30 billion of federal money is allocated each year on the basis of cen- sus counts. What the AJCommittee wants is for the Census Bureau to implement pro- cedures already developed to correct for these expected in- accuracies. There have been strong indications of resistance within the Com- merce Department, the Cen- sus Bureau's parent agency, based on a simple fact: under- counting minorities always works to the advantage of Republicans. lb nudge the people at Cen- sus along, bills have been in- troduced in both Houses of Congress requiring the Bureau to adjust its pro- cedures. The House bill is be- ing sponsored by Rep. Dymal- ly; the Senate version is being pushed by Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.). Coincidence Aids Demonstrators lb some, it may have look- ed like shrewd planning. But Micah Naftalin, the national director of the Union of Coun- cils for Soviet Jews, confessed: it was a fortunate coincidence that gave the group's demonstration at the Soviet Embassy last week its added punch. "Actually, we had the dem- onstration planned a long time ago," Naftalin said. "We planned to do it when we knew Shevardnadze would be in town. Then the Supreme Court made its decision — a lovely coincidence for us." The Supreme Court deci- sion overturned a D.C. law prohibiting demonstrations within 500 feet of foreign em- bassies. The measure has kept the daily vigil for Soviet Jews — a demonstration that has been going on for 18 years — across the street from the Soviet embassy. It has also resulted in hundreds of ar- rests at the South African embassy. The State Department and the D.C. police have opposed any change in the rule requir- ing a buffer zone between demonstrators and embassies on security grounds. AT the demonstration last week, both police and the demonstrators cautiously tested the uncertain guidelines resulting from the court decision. There were no arrests and no incidents. "It was a wonderful oppor- tunity for us to make several important points," said a jubilant Naftalin. "The Supreme Court ruling have us a chance to make a power- ful analogy directly to Shevardnadze — that here, the rule of law reigns. People can appeal the laws, people do have access to the courts — even when the State Depart- ment opposes something." Tank Deal Riles Auto Workers Egypt still wants American M1A1 tanks — the state-of- the art main battle tanks that have been plagued with mechanical problems throughout their develop- ment. Among the tank's pro- blems — corrected now, accor- ding to Pentagon officials — is a problem operating its ad- vanced turbine engines in sand. Last year, it was announc- ed that the U.S. government will allow Egypt to co-produce these advanced weapons. There has been speculation since then that Egypt, which has been working furiously to develop an arms-export in- dustry, would sell the tanks to other countries; at least one Egyptian official has backed down from earlier sugges- tions that some of the tanks, produced in Egypt, might end up in Iraq. Recently, Rep. Larry Smith (D-Fla.) sent a letter to the State Department, asking for a legal opinion about whether such third country transfers would be subject to Congres- sional disapproval; according to sources here, State Depart- ment legal advisor Abraham Sofaer has drafted a letter indicating that the Arms Ex- port Control Act would, in fact, give Congress a chance to veto the sale of M1A1 tanks produced in Egypt. A number of staunchly pro- Israel legislators have hinted that they will not oppose the co-production arrangement. And pro-Israel lobbying groups, led by the American Israel Public Affairs Commit- tee, are taking a somewhat detached view of the deal. Interestingly, the most vocal opposition to the plan comes from auto workers in Detroit — who stand to lose a number of jobs if the deal goes through.