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32
FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 1988
Levin's Letter Of Thirty Prompts
Six Congressional Responses
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
I
n the wake of the now-
famous "Letter of Thirty,"
the Senate missive that
touched off a firestorm of
Mideast controversy several
weeks ago (when 30 senators
included criticism of Israeli
Prime Minister Shamir's
policies in a letter of praise for
Secretary of State Shultz), at
least six new congressional
letters surfaced in the rushed
days before the spring recess
last week.
Several urged Shultz to
take a few steps back from
his recent meeting with
Palestinian-Americans asso-
ciated with the PLO. One,
sponsored by Sen. Dennis
DeConcini (D-Ariz.) and Sen.
Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) gath-
ered 20 signatures in less
than four hours as senators
raced to complete their
business in time for the
holidays. •
According to several Senate
insiders, the somewhat mili-
tant tone of the letter's first
draft was muted by Sen. Carl
Levin after what was termed
an intense round of nego-
tiations.
A similar letter in the
House, circulated by Rep. Mel
Levine (D-Calif.) gathered
more than 135 signatures.
In the House, Rep. Jack
Kemp (R-N.Y.) was busy col-
lecting signatures from fellow
conservatives opposing a key
plank of the Shultz plan for
the Middle East — an inter-
national peace conference.
And at least two letters
have surfaced on the issue of
intermediate range missiles
in Saudi Arabia — a Senate
letter, authored by Sen. Ho-
ward Metzenbaum (D-Ohio)
and Sen. Bob Packwood (R-
Ore.), and a House version,
pushed by Rep. Larry Smith
(D-Fla.).
Finally, arch-conservative
Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) is circu-
lating a letter calling on the
chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee
to open hearings on the
Saudi's deception in acquir-
ing Chinese missiles.
Brookings Report
Recommends
Peace Process
The long-awaited report on
the Middle East by the Brook-
ings Institution was released
last week — a 40 page docu-
ment representing the work
of a panel that included
Sen. Carl Levin: Muted.
scholars, former government
officials and representatives
of both the Arab and the
Israeli point of view.
Observers of U.S. Middle
East policy were waiting for
the report with great interest;
the think tank's last major
work on the conflict, released
in 1975, was widely regarded
as the working outline for the
Carter administration's Mid-
dle East policy.
"This report differs from
the 1975 report in that we
focus more on procedural mat-
ters," said William Quandt,
the man behind the massive
undertaking. "The earlier
report tried to sketch an
outline for a peace settle-
ment; in this report, we tried
to establish the prerequisites
for the kinds of negotiations
that might lead to a com-
prehensive peace settlement."
Among those prerequisites,
according to Quandt, is some
kind of international frame-
work for the • initial
negotiations.
"We took a pragmatic at-
titude on this issue: will it
solve more problems than it
causes? No one was inherent-
ly interested in such a con-
ference. We argue that it
seems to be necessary
primarily because the Jorda-
nians are unwilling to
negotiate bilaterally outside
of an international umbrella."
On the question of the role
of the PLO, the Brookings
panel expressed its strongest
disagreement with current
Administration policy. "As a
practical matter," Quandt
said, "we recognize that
Palestinian representatives
are not likely to come forward
without the implicit endorse-
ment of the PLO."
. The most controversial part
of the document is apt to be
the section describing what
Quandt referred to as a
"broad sketch of a possible
final peace arrangement."
The plan would involve a
kind of confederation of
nations, including Israel, Jor-
dan and some Palestinian en-
tity, with closely tied
economic policies and securi-
ty arrangements that would
preclude the use of force to
settle disputes. "Under this
kind of confederation ar-
rangement, borders basically
wouldn't mean much in terms
of the movement of goods and
people," Quandt said.
So far, Quandt said, the
report has received scant at-
tention in the U.S. press —
but has made front-page
headlines throughout the
Middle East.
Lubavitchers On
The Hill
It was one of those scenes
that makes it impossible
to repress the old "only in
America" cliche.
The setting was the ornate
Senate Caucus Room on Capi-
tol Hill, and the cast of
characters included a long list
of senators and congressmen
and about 200 bearded, dark-
suited Chasidim.
The meeting was the Luba-
vitch group's regular foray to
Washington, this time to
celebrate "Education Day,
U.S.A," — and to firm up con-
tacts with the nation's
political elite.
Sen. Jesse Helms, sporting
a yarmulke and an accent
that hinted of a non-Brooklyn
background, described the
pivotal role of his trip last
year to Israel — and the per-
sonal importance of his visit
to a Lubavitch community
there.
Sen. Chic Hecht, the em-
battled Republican from
Nevada who has been criti-
cized by a number of Jewish
political groups, spent a good
part of his time before the
Lubavitchers praising Helms.
And, getting to the day's
main point, Education
Secretary William Bennett,
who enjoys strong support in
many segments of the Or-
thodox community, praised
the Lubavitchers for their af-
firmation of traditional
values. "There is a growing
consensus on the need to in-
crease the moral education of
our young people," Bennett
told the group. "We under-
stand, as you do, the impor-
tance of these basic values."
The reception given to the
two originators of the contro-