INSIDE WASHINGTON GRAND OPENING DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM 479 SOUTH WOODWARD Financial Efficiency Increases Influence Of Pro-Israel PACS JAMES D. BESSER 47t Washington Correspondent H Welcome To Higher Rates Money Market Rate* 90 DAY HIGH INCOME C D 8.80% 9.16% Annual Percentage Rate Effective Annual Yield Monthly check may be issued or reinvested to another Franklin Savings Bank Account Balance of 510,000 or more. Limited time offer. Early withdrawal subject to penalty. • High Interest Rates — Franklin Savings Bank has offered the highest Money Market rates among Metropolitan Detroit's major financial institutions for over 5 years • Convenient Parking — Free indoor private parking and covered drive-through make your banking quick and easy • Tax Deductible Home Equity Loans — Consolidate your debt in the most cost-efficient way . . . and its as easy as dialing your phone • Extended Hours — Drive-through open Mon.-Thurs. (8:30 am-6:00 pm), Fri. (8:30 am-7:00 pm) and Sat. 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Despite charges by anti- Zionist groups, pro-Israel PACs are not the largest or best funded groups wielding influence through the cam- paign finance process. But according to Ed Rouder, pro-Israel PACs display a remarkable financial efficien- cy that significantly magnifies their clout on Capitol Hill. Rouder is editor of the Sun- shine News Service, a Washington group that analyzes campaign financing issues and maintains a data bank on PACs. "When we look at PACs that focus on ideological issues, pro-Israel PACs outweigh all the others," Rouder said. "They don't spend a lot of money on fund- raising or advertising; they contribute about 90 percent of what they raise directly to candidates." PACs representing far- Right and far-Left causes, Rouder said, typically funnel a large proportion of the money raised into overhead, including advertising and salaries. Pro-Israel PACs, he said, "tend to be not so mercenary or entrepre- neurial; they're run by people who believe in them, and they don't rip the people off." Despite his positive com- ments about the efficiency of the pro-Israel PACs, Rouder remains a critic of the cam- paign financing process. "The business of PACs is to in- fluence elections," he said, "to use private wealth to dilute the power of the ballot box." Currently, Rouder's research shows some 110 pro- Israel PACs. His preliminary data from the 1988 election confirms that the pro-Israel PACs remain a powerful force in the electoral process. "The pro-Israel PACs lost only two major races," he said. "They don't pursue losing causes, they stay out when they know they'll lose." Rouder also offers a kind of backhanded rejection of com- plaints that pro-Israel PACs coordinate their activities in violation of federal laws. "The fact is that the technical requirements of the law are vague, and probably unconstitutional," he said. "And they are enforced by the Federal Election Commission . — and therefore entirely ir- relevant. The FEC is to the industry of buying elections what the NRC is to the in- dustry of producing nuclear power. It's a partner of the in- dustry, a promoter." Groups Quiet - On Appointment Of Michiganian As the controversy rages over the appointment of William Lucas as assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Jewish groups are playing an unusually quiet role in the battle. Recently, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, a coalition of civil rights groups that includes many mainline Jewish organizations, came out against the nomination. But with the exception of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the Jewish groups participating in the Conference abstained. In part, according to sources here, Jewish groups have stayed on the sidelines because of a growing fear that mobilizing their grass-roots networks could jeopardize their tax-free status. Current- ly, the Internal Revenue Ser- vice is reviewing policies that limit tax-exempt organiza- tions like the National Coun- cil of Jewish Women from engaging in certain kinds of political activities. Also, some Jewish groups are reluctant to come out publicly against a black nominee for a high ad- ministration position — especially in view of the small number of minorities current- ly filling high-level posts. And some Jewish groups are remaining on the sidelines for strategic reasons. "We remain strong- ly committed to civil rights enforcement," said a representative - of the American Jewish Congress. "But this is not an issue we feel requires our intervention. There are other places where we can be more effective." Jewish Groups Are Moving On Apartheid The issue of sanctions against the apartheid policies of the South African govern- ment is beginning to heat up again, with Jewish groups poised to play a major role. Last week, several leading African anti-apartheid leaders met in Washington in an effort to rejuvenate the push for a tough new sanc- tions bill introduced by Rep. Ron Dellums, (D-Calif.). At one key session, Ar- chbishop Desmond Tutu, Rev. Allan A. Boesak and Rev. Beyers Naude met with a group including Sen. Frank Lautenberg, (D-N.J.), Rep. Stephen Solarz, (D-N.Y.), Rep. Howard Wolpe, (D-Mich.), and former presidential aspirant Jesse Jackson. - Also present was Herman Cohen, the newly confirmed undersecretary of state for African affairs. "This would have been unheard of during the Reagan years," said Diana Howard Wolpe Aviv, a representative of the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council, (NJCRAC). Aviv was the on- ly Jewish activist present at the meeting. "The fact that an undersecretary of state would be at a meeting of this kind is tremendously signifi- cant." The meetings, Aviv said, gave anti-apartheid activists a badly needed boost. "The fact that this meeting was at- tended by members of both parties, as well as by a top ad- ministration official, suggests that there's a new willingness to develop a coherent strategy," she said. And Jewish groups, in- cluding the National Council of Jewish Women and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations are cranking up their grass-roots resources to take advantage of the new opportunities.