Jewish Groups
Forget Chemical
Warfare Issue
/
It's no surprise to Capitol
Hill observers that public opi-
nion is a capricious thing. But
sometimes, the public's short
attention span — and the cor-
responding fickleness of Con-
gress — surprises and
frustrates even veterans of
the Washington scene.
A case in point is the spread
of chemical and biological
weapons throughout the
Third World. Last fall, public
interest in the subject surged
in the wake of disclosures of
a Libyan chemical weapons
factory, especially among
Jews concerned about Israel's
precarious position in the
Middle East.
But according to several
Capitol Hill observers, the
public already has started to
lose interest in the issue.
One Jewish organization
had a record-breaking
response to a direct-mail
fund-raising letter last fall
that stressed the dangers to
Israel posed by the spread of
these weapons.
Several months later, an
almost identical letter to a
similar audience was a fund-
raising disaster for the group;
in just a few short months, an
official of the organization
complained, interest in the
Jewish community seemed to
have evaporated.
A congressional staffer in-
volved in pending legislation
on chemical weapons put it in
stronger terms.
"I am deeply involved in
evaluating the evidence, and
I am terrified by what I see,"
the source said. "If someone
wants to sell F-16s to Syria,
you can get 65 senators to
sign a letter to the president
in less than an hour; you have
Jewish groups lined up to ex-
press their concern.
"But if you talk about the
most wacko regime in the
world, a regime that hates
Israel and has produced a ma-
jor gas plant, I don't see lines
of people urging action.
Where is the Jewish com-
munity? I -find it just in-
conceivable that they are not
beating down the doors on
this issue."
At recent hearings on the
subject, CIA Director William
Webster gave dramatic
evidence of how the spread of
chemical technologies was
changing the strategic
balance in the Middle East.
But attendance by legislators
was sparse, and Jewish
groups were poorly
represented.
"I think there's an element
of fear in this," said. Shoshana
Bryen, director of the Jewish
Institute for nation Security
Affairs (JINSA). "There's a
real horror of the subject. But
I think it would be a tragic
mistake to bury our heads in
the sand on this issue."
Jewish Groups
Boost Efforts
Favoring Abortion
With briefs due in the land-
mark Webster V. Reproduc-
tive Health Services case now
before the Supreme Court,
Jewish groups are stepping
up their activity in defense of
the pro-choice position.
On April 9, a number of
Jewish groups will par-
ticipate in the "March for
Women's Equality/Women's
Lives," including the Na-
tional Council of Jewish
Women, the American Jewish
Congress, the Union of
American Hebrew Congrega-
tions, the American Jewish
Committee, the Council of
Jewish Federations and the
Synagogue Council of
America.
The march will begin at
noon on the Washington
Monument grounds, and pro-
ceed to the Supreme Court.
Planners expect a minimum
of several hundred thousand
participants.
Most of the Jewish groups
involved in the march will
participate in a Capitol Hill
lobbying blitz the following
day. These groups, along with
the National Jewish Com-
munity Relations Advisory
Council (NJCRAC) also sign-
ed on to an amicus brief to the
court.
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
31