ELECTIONS
JAMES DAVID BESSER
Washington Correspondent
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o intense is the media hype a-
round the battle for the Oval Of-
fice that the glare obscures
many smaller elections that will
do just as much to shape public
policy in this country for the next few
years.
For the Jewish community, the
1988 House and Senate races present
some curious choices. As usual, the
between-the-lines content of these
contests may have more significance
for Jewish voters than the rhetoric
that floats to the surface like so much
industrial waste.
Israel remains a dominant con-
cern of Jewish voters — and yet the
Middle East has been an almost in-
visible issue in the 1988 election. In
very few elections is the pro-Israel
consensus being challenged directly.
Few candidates — except those in
heavily Jewish districts — are talking
about Israel and her Arab neighbors.
The dozens of pro-Israel PACs
have been in the enviable position of
finding numerous races with can-
didates on both sides of the partisan
divide who are equally positive about
the U.S. —Israeli relationship.
Democratic gains on Capitol Hill,
coupled with a Republican victory in
the presidential race, could intensify
the debate over U.S. policy towards
Israel and her neighbors, and com-
plicate any U.S. effort to bring all
sides to the negotiating table.
This kind of partisan chasm could
also vastly increase the kind of social
issues stalemate that has frustrated
Jewish activists in the past year.
On the other hand; there are con-
cerns that a victory for Michael
Dukakis, coupled with a strong
Democratic showing in House and
Senate races, could introduce an
unstable element into the "strategic
relationship" that has been the
hallmark of Reagan-era Middle East
policy.
The Senate
A number of favorites of the pro-
Israel community are locked in very
tight races. Some Senate veterans
who are less popular with Israel's sup-
porters are facing spirited challenges
from politicians with impeccable pro-
Israel credentials.
In two key races, Jewish senators
have staged impressive recoveries
after early predictions of serious trou-
ble. In both cases, the senators
reportedly were facing retaliation
from Jewish contributors and pro-
Republican Chic Hecht of Nevada
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But his pro-Israel credentials are very
strong — so strong that he has receiv-
ed some $142,000 from pro-Israel
PACs, more than any other candidate.
Metzenbaum also enjoyed an ap-
parent backlash from a report issued
by the Republican National
Senatorial Campaign Committee,
which linked Metzenbaum to com-
munist causes. Despite the party's
later repudiation of that statement,
the outrageous charges seem to be
working in Metzenbaum's favor.
Metzenbaum has worked effec-
tively with Jewish groups in Wash-
ington on a number of issues. He has
taken the lead in opposing several
major arms sales to Arab countries,
and he was a key Senate sponsor of
the recently passed "hate crimes" bill
which made certain kinds of violence
and vandalism based on the victim's
religion or ethnic heritage a federal
crime.
RHODE ISLAND: The race for
the seat now held by Republican John
H. Chafee has taken on some intrigu-
ing qualities. According to some
observers, the contest represents one
of the most clearcut races in the up-
coming election in terms of the pro-
Israel agenda.
Chafee, who has frequently had
problems with the pro-Israel com-
munity, is being challenged by Lt.
Gov. Richard A. Licht. Licht, who is
Jewish, has been closely identified
with pro-Israel groups — so much so
that election-watchers in the tiny
state are now talking about a back-
lash.
Both candidates are oddities in a
state with a heavily ethnic working-
class population — Chafee the patri-
cian, old-line politician, Licht the
hard-campaigning Jew.
At last spring's AIPAC policy con-
ference, Licht's forces were working
the crowd in strength. In last Sun-
day's "Sixty Minutes" segment on
AIPAC, the Licht-AIPAC relationship
And Dawkins made early inroads was a major theme, and Licht himself
with a pro-Israel community that was appeared on camera defending the
still seething about Lautenberg's par- relationship.
The problem is that Rhode Island
ticipation in the Letter of Thirty, a
fact that he was able to exploit has a tiny Jewish population. Chafee
through his good ties to the New York- forces have effectively portrayed Licht
as the tool of special interests in
New Jersey Jewish communities.
But the Dawkins campaign has Washington; Licht's ties to AIPAC,
failed to live up to early expectations. helpful in the early stages of the cam-
OHIO: A similar battle is taking paign, may prove a liability as elec-
place as Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, tion day approaches.
Licht has one important advan-
who is Jewish and another in the
Senate's shrinking army of liberals, tage: Rhode Island is a heavily
hammers away at Cleveland mayor Democratic state. As the election
looms closer, the race is considered too
George Voinovich.
Metzenbaum also earned the close to call.
CONNECTICUT: Attorney Gen-
anger of some pro-Israel groups for his
participation in the Letter of Thirty. eral Joseph Lieberman, an observant
The Jewish Senator
Pro-Israel
Groups Oppose
. . . and other intriguing
and important — U.S. Senate and House
races around the country
Israel groups angered by their par-
ticipation in the so-called Letter of
Thirty, the missive that was seen as
criticism of the Jerusalem govern-
ment's handling of the disorders in
the territories.
NEW JERSEY: Sen. Frank Lau-
tenberg, a former national UJA chair-
man, is apparently leading his
Republican challenger, Pete Dawkins,
a former West Point football star and
Rhodes scholar.
Early in the campaign, Dawkins
was seen as something of a "Bill
Bradley" clone — someone who could
effectively counter Lautenberg's im-
age as a member of the Sdnate's se-
cond team and a ho-hum campaigner.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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