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For more information and a prospectus for any of the securities described above, call: Al Schonwetter Representative, Ampal Securities Corporation (313) 353-6363 or 1-800-445-6508 operator 903 Member NASD and SIPC This is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. The offer is made only by the prospectus which may be obtained in any state wherein the underwriter may lawfully offer the securities. FIRMLY ROOTED IN ISRAEL, . BRANCHING OUT IN NEW DIRECTIONS a process that encourages a feeling of participation among Arab-Americans — and lays solid foundations for action on national issues. At the same time, there is growing concern that pro- Israel grass-roots activity has gone flat in recent years as the community's political focus shifts to Washington. "We've become much more of a 'delegating community; says Marc Pearl of the Americans for Democratic Ac- tion. We delegate more of the responsibility for action to our Washington and New York representatives, to the staffs of the big organizations. Other than an occasional Super Sunday, there isn't a need to stuff envelopes. It is more difficult to motivate peo- ple; on a day-to-day level, political participation has dropped off in American society as a whole — and in the Jewish community." This shift, Pearl argues, has weakened the "political infra- structure" of the Jewish com- munity — a fact, he says, that was particularly apparent during the traumatic debate at last summer's Democratic convention over the issue of a Palestinian state. "The Arab groups did their homework," he says. "They had their people mobilized. It seemed like the Jewish groups just didn't want to get their fingers dirty." Other observers point to the fact that pro-Israel political activity is turning more towards an emphasis on cam- paign financing and profes- sional lobbying — and away from large-scale grass roots activity. But the political action committee system has its own vulnerabilities. "And Con- gressmen still look at their mail," said an aide to a Jewish representative. "We have some really terrific Washington representatives for Jewish organizations — but without the calls and let- ters from constituents, the reps are hobbled." "The point is that we can't just rely on the power we've accumulated," says Marc Pearl. "We have to keep building our foundation, keep revitalizing. If we don't rebuild and reinvest in our in- frastructure —educating and motivating people, developing a vision for tomorrow —there will be nothing for the Arab community or the right wing to pick off. " The growing competition facing Jewish activists is not confined to the are a of foreign affairs. Another shock in 1988 was the increasingly ferocious _ AMERICAN ISRAEL CORPORATION 22 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1989 Bush: Owes few debts to the Jewish community. competition among American minorities for shares of a shrinking federal pie — a competition that threatens to cut to the heart of the coali- tions that have long been a pillar of Jewish political power. The problem is compounded by the fact that Jews have traditionally shunned federal help for their own domestic programs. Now, in response to shrinking voluntary con- tributions and the vast new economic strains caused by the rise in Soviet immigra- tion, Jewish groups are in- creasingly entering the corn- petition for scarce federal dollars — in some cases find- ing themselves pitted against their traditional coalition partners. Jews, according to some observers, have also been slow to forge new relationships with groups that are emerg- ing as new forces in the political process — including Hispanics and Indochinese Americans. "We tend to forget from whence we came, and we get upset when we see other groups trying to elbow us out of the way," says Mark Talisman, Washington representative for the Coun- cil of Jewish Federations. "One of the things that's wor- ried me is the turning inward of our community, as a defense against the kind of competition we're talking about. That's the wrong answer; there are people who need our help to come along the way we came along, and we need to give that help." Coalitions, Talisman em- phasizes, are "movable rela- tionships." New ones need to be formed — both out of a moral obligation, and as more practical matter; the power of any small minority will Continued on Page 24