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I ANALYSIS

Shamir's
Jewish Love•In:
Solidarity Or
False Front?

The Prime Minister's Conference
on Jewish Solidarity With
Israel featured more than 1,500
delegates from 50 countries
pledging support for his
government. But who were these
"leaders," and did they
represent the true feelings of
Diaspora Jewry?

HELEN DAVIS

Foreign Correspondent

erusalem — When
he steps into the
White House for
his first meeting
with President
Bush next week, Israeli
Prime Minister Yitzhak
Shamir can honestly say that
more than 1,500 Jewish men
and women from nearly 50
countries came to Jerusalem
in late March to participate
in his two-day Conference On
Jewish Solidarity With Israel
and pledge support for his
government. Indeed, that was
the primary purpose for the
gathering.
But he would be hard-
pressed to say that the majori-
ty of participants were au-
thentic leaders, that they were
truly representative of a cross-
section of world Jewry, or that
Diaspora leaders will con-
tinue to support indefinitely
his policies of hanging tough.
In a sense, there were two
distinct conferences that took
place here last week. One was
an impressive public gather-
ing, a valiant display of uni-
ty among both Labor and
Likud leaders appealing from
the same platform for Jewish
support, understanding and
sympathy in the face of in-
tense international pressure,
and some 1,580 delegates
renewing their commitment

40

FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 1989

and offering unswerving, un-
wavering love for Israel. In
all, it was an emotionally stir-
ring and uplifting exhibition
of unity and commitment.
But there was a smaller,
more private conference as
well, several steering commit-
tee sessions of some 200
leaders meeting with Shamir
that were officially closed to
the press. And it was during
these sessions that even the
most mainstream of represen-
tatives urged the prime
minister to come to Washing-
ton with an initiative — any
kind of initiative — to change
his image from a stubborn

In a sense, there
were two
conferences in
Jerusalem — one
public and one
private.

nay sayer to a reasonable
diplomat seeking peace. The
strong sense was that these
leaders needed some positive
sign of flexibility and accom-
modation from Israel's
leaders to take home to their
constituents, that it was
becoming increasingly dif-
ficult to rally the troops
around Israel's position of
refusal to trade land for peace
or to talk to the Palestine
Liberation Organization.