I INSIDE WASHINGTON
I'
Senator Jesse Helms Helps Kill
Hate Crimes Statistics Bill
nett Johnston of Louisiana
and Sen. George J. Mitchell of
Maine, both of whom have ex-
cellent records on Israel.
And many pro-Israel acti-
vists have come down on
Inouye's side — leading to
fears that an Inouye loss
might produce an uncomfor-
table backlash.
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
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fter countless hours of
effort by Jewish activ-
ists and a broad coali-
tion of civil liberties groups,
the Hate Crimes Statistics
Bill fell victim to a last-
minute maneuver by Sen.
Jesse Helms, R-N.C.
The measure, which man-
dates the collection of
statistics on crimes based on
race, religion or sexual
preference, was a favorite
target of conservatives
because of its inclusion of
crimes against homosexuals.
lb complicate matters fur-
ther, the bill was grafted onto
the amendment-cluttered
Omnibus Drug bill, a legisla-
tive mutation that developed
during the election-year rush
to adjournment.
On Thursday night, Helms
surprised Jewish activists by
proposing a new series of
amendments to the statistics
package that would condemn
homosexuality as undermin-
ing the fabric of family life —
and put the Senate on record
against new laws to protect
homosexuals.
Jewish Groups
Celebrate OK Of
Genocide Bill
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34
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1988
354-6060
Jewish activists here were
exhilarated over last week's
passage of the Genocide Con-
vention implementing
legislation — the last skir-
mish in the battle for a trea-
ty first submitted by Presi-
dent Harry Truman.
Just about every major
Jewish group had a hand in
the negotiations leading up to
the final approval of the bill,
led by the Anti-Defamation
League of the B'nai B'rith,
the American Jewish Com-
mittee and B'nai B'rith
International.
Dr. William Korey of B'nai
B'rith was singled out for his
support of the Convention
since the 60s — as well as
Hyman Bookbinder, formerly
of the American Jewish Con-
gress. Warren Eisenberg of
B'nai B'rith, David Harris of
the American Jewish Com-
mittee and Jess Hordes and
Mark Medin of ADL played
active roles in the trenches.
The legislation, which has
long been opposed by conser-
vatives as a threat to
American sovereignty, faced a
wild roller-coaster ride in the
closing moments of the 100th
Congress, as conservative
Is Glastnost
Changing
Soviet Jews'
Movement?
Sen. Daniel Inouye
senator Strom Thurmond
tried to tack on death penal-
ty language to the bill — and
as some Republicans, angry
at the holdup in administra-
tion judicial appointments,
used the bill as a lever to
break the Democrats' ham-
merlock on the nominations.
Praise was also abundant
for retiring Sen. William
Proxmire, who has been
almost obsessive in his sup-
port for the Genocide Conven-
tion. For 19 years, Proxmire
opened every Senate session
with a speech on the
Genocide Convention.
Inouye Tops List
To Head Senate
Majority
While the presidential can-
didates monopolize the atten-
tion of the nation, another
political battle with tremen-
dous significance for the pro-
Israel community is shaping
up in the backrooms of the
Senate.
The struggle involves the
race to replace Senate Majori-
ty Leader Robert Byrd, who is
stepping down from that key
post after a 10 year run. In
the past, Byrd has had more
than his share of problems
with the pro-Israel
community.
The leading contender to
fill Byrd's shoes is Hawaii
Sen. Daniel Inouye. The pros-
pect of Inouye in the key post
delights Jewish activists
here; Inouye's support for
Israel is seen as deep and gen-
uine. "This is a man with a
real rapport with the Jewish
community," said a Washing-
ton representative for a major
Jewish organization. "It's
more than a political position
with him."
But Inouye is facing a two-
fold challenge from Sen. Ben-
Last weekend's annual
meeting of the Union of Coun-
cils for Soviet Jews had all the
usual elements of a Soviet
Jewry convention — ad-
ministration officials pledg-
ing continuing support,
former refuseniks telling
their dramatic stories,
workshops on grass-roots
political action.
But below the surface was a
growing sense that the move-
ment is at a crossroads — and
that different organizations
are moving in different direc-
tions.
"What we're seeing is a
movement in transition," said
Micah Naftalin, the Washing-
ton-based national director
for the group. "The situation
has changed in some fun-
damental ways; the numbers
are up, but the structural bar-
riers to emigration have not
been removed."
Some Soviet Jewry activists
are responding to the swell-
ing numbers by refocusing
some of their energies on the
problems of resettlement —
including the vexing dilemma
of how much of the resettle-
ment cost should be borne by
the federal government.
Rumors continue to swirl
about possible changes in
government policies that
would place more of the
burden on immigrants
themselves. And many ac-
tivists are worried that
money currently ap-
propriated for refugee pro-
grams will not be nearly
enough to cope with the swell-
ing numbers.
But at its meetings, the
Union of Councils took a dif-
ferent tack. "We see ourselves
in a very unique position,"
Naftalin said. "The Soviet
economy is falling apart; Gor-
bachev needs help fast. If we
keep up the economic pres-
sure — if we find ways to
negotiate, not just raise the
issue — we may be able to
raise them to the next level of
performance."