BACKGROUND BEVERLY HILLS • LONG BEACH • BIRMINGHAM WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE NOT REAL? Yitzhak Shamir Visits D.C.: Is The Honeymoon Over? HELEN DAVIS Foreign Correspondent T Perfect Copy Diamonds and Precious Stones Set in 14K Gold (Yellow • White • Platinum) EVEN YOUR JEWELER WON'T KNOW! • Replica • Hand- Designer Knotted Watches Pearls il • Copy Colognes . . . . . . 1..._ ,... .... rujesTic couoTERFEIT JEPIELS HOURS: Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri., Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m • Thursday 10 a.m.-9 p.m • Sunday 12 noon-5 p.m • - tgerie ..E Place rrghe Offering a Full 20% Discount At MC Times 244 E. MAPLE BIRMINGHAM 540-3338 Rochelle Imber's Knit, Knit, Knit Full Service Yarn Shop 855-2114 Accents in Needlepoint Full Service Needlepoint 855-2772 626-3042 All Under One Roof in the 0 rchard Mall, West Bloomfield LEARNING DISABILITIES CLINIC • Private Tutoring • Evaluation • Therapy LYNNE MASTER, M.Ed Director 545-6677 433-3323 25201 Coolidge, Oak Park • 4036 Telegraph, Bloomfield Hills 34 FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 1989 he high tension build- up to this week's en- counter in Washington between Prime Minister Shamir and President Bush has concentrated the collec- tive Israeli mind as never before in recent history. After eight years of Presi- dent Ronald Reagan's generous indulgence, Israelis are now confronting the chil- ly prospect of an administra- tion that appears determined to keep the Jewish state at arm's length and a Congress that is increasingly uneasy about Israeli actions and reactions. President George Bush, anxious to find his way out of the Reagan shadow and stamp his own style on inter- national affairs, might not necessarily view the world in two-dimensional, Cold War terms. Ultimately, the Israelis believe, pragmatism will prevail. Israeli leaders know that they cannot, because of inter- nal political constraints, deliver what President Bush and Secretary of State Baker are demanding; that they cannot rewrite the old uncom- promising script; that their options are closing (see box). They know, too, that whatever soothing public gloss the American leaders may place on the growing rift, Washington's impatience is mounting and that the count- down to a potentially bruising showdown is underway. The clock has started to tick. For the first time in a long time, Israelis are facing the specter of total diplomatic isolation, with the United States lining up alongside the Soviet Union — some say as soon as September — in com- pelling Israel to attend an in- ternational peace conference, even imposing a settlement. And, perhaps for the first time ever, they are recogniz- ing the value of those American Jews who faithful- ly, valiantly carry the Israeli flag through the U.S. political arena. Just as Israelis privately ridiculed what they once perceived as self-important posturing by American com- munal leaders, so they are now turning to the "Jewish lobby" to pull their irons out of the fire. While their current expec- tations may be just as unrealistic — and unfair — as their past disdain, they are pinning extravangant hopes on the ability of American Jewish leaders to bend those increasingly resistant political arms in the White House, the State Department and Congress. One highly public indica- tion of this desperation was evident at last month's Con- ference on Jewish Solidarity with Israel, when Shamir summoned Jewish leaders — and any other warm bodies he could muster — to demonstrate their loyalty and support in Jerusalem. Israeli- analysts, however, are skeptical that American Jews can or will provide the The constant, numbing television pictures of well- armed Israeli troops confronting Palestinian youths has seriously eroded sympathy for the Jewish state. "The truth is that Israelis don't understand the concept of loving criticism." sort of blind, uncritical sup- port that Shamir appeared to be seeking. Indeed, this week's en- counters in Washington, they say, could mark a watershed not only in relations between Israel and America, but also between Israel and American Jewry. Professor Gabi Sheffer, a specialist in U.S.-Israeli rela- tions at the Hebrew Univer- sity of Jerusalem, does not ex- pect the eruption of a sudden crisis between Israel and the American Jews. "Rather," he says, "there will be a process of attrition, of growing apathy, of people drifting away. This is the problem." Dr. Arye Carmon, who heads the Israel-Diaspora Institute at Tel Aviv University, believes that American Jews have become increasingly alienated as a result of Israel's handling of the in- tifada and its cynical political manipulation of the Who-is-a- Jew issue. American Jewish leaders, he told me, have signaled clearly that they want to be involved: "They support Israel, they care about Israel, but they want to see their values and concerns reflected in Israeli policy-making." Israelis, for their part, find it difficult to invite Diaspora leaders into a genuine part- nership: "The truth," said a senior official in Jerusalem, "is that Israelis don't unders- tand the concept of loving criticism. "They find it very difficult to handle dissent from abroad. They just don't know how to invite people into effec- tive involvement. "Everyone knows that the Israeli government must ultimately make its own deci- sions, but at least there should be Diaspora input on the basis of an honest dialogue. It is simply in- sulting to treat Diaspora leaders to something super- ficial and largely mean- ingless, such as the solidari- ty conference." Israelis now recognize the extent of the public relations damage they have sustained as a consequence of the 16-month-old Palestinian uprising, which has produced a stunning role reversal for the Davids and Goliaths of the Arab:Israeli contest. They recognize that the con- stant, numbing television pic- tures of well-armed Israeli troops confronting Palesti- nian youths has seriously eroded sympathy for the Jewish state and raised troubling questions in the minds of once-unquestioning supporters. Above all, they know that the cumulative effect of all this has left Israel exposed, alienated and, therefore, dangerously vulnerable. Israelis draw comfort from the intricate network of strategic alliances which were put in place by the Reagan administration, but _ they remain uncertain about the durability of such pacts in the face of a potentially hostile administration. They would like to believe that this strategic alliance translates as American reliance, and they would like to believe that this alliance has been institutionalized and set in concrete. At the same time, however, they recognize that it has not faced any serious tests; that the diplomatic, economic and military carrots contained in the various memoranda of agreements could rot. ❑