I INSIDE WASHINGTON
Nothing
held back .. .
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NOW!
2 Key State Department Posts
Are Filled By Israel Supporters
JAMES D. BESSER
Special to The Jewish News .
p
resident-elect George
Bush put an end to
speculation about
possible jobs for Dennis Ross,
the former National Security
Council stafferm on the same
day that Lawrence S. Eagle-
burger won the second-in-
command post at the State
Department.
Ross's appointment as
director of the State Depart-
ment policy planning staff
will provide a clear pro-Israel
point of view in a top State
Department staff that has
generally not won rave
reviews from Israel's sup-
porters in Washington.
Ross, who advised Bush on
foreign policy during the cam-
paign, has been associated
with the Washington In-
stitute for Near East Policy, a
pro-Israel think tank. Most
observers consider Ross the
person most responsible for
the strong Middle East plank
in last summer's GOP plat-
form.
As for Eagleburger, the
long-time associate of former
Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger is a career
diplomat who has experience
in working with pro-Israel or-
ganizations.
"For Soviet Jewry activists,
this is a person who provided
a sympathetic ear, and who
served as a strong advocate
for Soviet Jews," said David
Harris, Washington represen-
tative of the American Jewish
Committee. "I think people
are pretty satisfied with both
of these appointments."
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32 FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 1989
-
(Masierbord)
••• •
When Agudath Israel of
America opened its
Washington office last fall,
there was speculation that
the Orthodox group would
bring a new dimension to ac-
tivism in this town. A recent
tug-of-war between Agudah
and the Czech embassy here
apparently confirmed these
predictions.
Stephen Kasnett, Agudah's
new Washington represen-
tative, has been working with
the Czech government on sav-
ing a Jewish cemetery in Lip-
nick. The cemetery, which
was almost destroyed by the
Nazis, was sold to the
municipal government in
1985 to make a park.
The group offered to pay the
cost of relocating the cem-
etery and for its perpetual
upkeep. When their appeals
were turned down, Agudah's
leaders met in the offices of
Rep. Stephen Solarz (D-N.Y.)
and attempted to negotiate
with the Czech government.
Then, last week, Kasnett
met with a high official with
the Czech embassy, Dr.
Gabrial Brenka.
"Our discussion turned to
the question of the rights of
the living versus the rights of
the dead; as an atheist, he did
not believe in the concept of
the soul, so he did not believe
in the rights of the dead. This,
of course, did not agree with
my religious perspective. We
got into an hour-long dis-
cussion of metaphysics; I tried
to convince him he had a soul.
It was fun."
Despite Kasnett's Yeshiva-
honed skills, the cemetery
issue is still up in the air. Ac-
cording to Czech officials,
there is no room for a ce-
metery in the neighborhood,
and the final decision is in the
hands of the municipal
government in Lipnick.
New Health Bill
May Be
Challenged
During the last congres-
sional session, Jewish groups
celebrated the July 1 passage
of the landmark catastrophic
health insurance bill, a
measure designed to protect
Americans from the
sometimes crippling financial
consequences of major illness.
Now, the organizations that
played a key role in the bill's
passage are hearing from
angry members about the
program's costs to potential
beneficiaries.
"What we heard is that peo-
ple are up in arms because
they didn't realize they were
going to have to pay for this
coverage," said Sammie
Moshenberg, Washington
representative for the Na-
tional Council of Jewish
Women. "Some of the groups
that have opposed this
legislation all along have in-
accurately portrayed the
benefits recipients might get;
they're telling people that
they're not going to get
anything for their money,
which is not true."
The Jewish groups that pro-
moted the catastrophic health
bill, Moshenberg emphasized,
never attempted to hide the
fact that the program was
designed to be self-financing.
But opponents of the
original bill have been quick
to exploit the initial shock of
elderly taxpayers, some of
whom may pay up to $800 a
year for the additional
coverage. Now there is a move
afoot in Congress to repeal
the legislation or to sig-
nificantly reduce its costs —
and benefits.
"We're urging people to sit
tight and see how it works
out," Moshenberg said. "We
still think it fills an impor-
tant need for people facing
acute care problems. We
never said it was going to be
the best thing since sliced
bread — but it fills a critical
need, and we should give it a
chance."
I
Congressmen
Are Wrestling
With PLO Move
Pro-Israel congressmen con-
tinue to grope for ways to
signal their concern over the
administration's decision to
open a dialogue with the
Palestine Liberation
Organization.
Generally, even staunchly
pro-Israel legislators gave
cautious approval to last
George Schultz
month's bombshell by Secre-
tary of State George Shultz.
But with Congress gearing
up for its new session, there
are rumblings from Capitol
Hill. Several legislators have
been wrestling with "dear col-
league" letters defining the
conditions under which the
United States might break
contact with the PLO.
But these efforts are being
hindered by the thorny pro-
blem of defining terrorism
and the problem of spelling
out the conditions under
which Yassir Arafat might be
held responsible for acts of
violence by fellow Pales-
tinians.
Currently, Rep. Charles
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