OPINION CONTENTS Jackson-Vanik Waiver Worries Soviet Jews AVRAHAM WEISS T he most potent tool in the arsenal of the Soviet Jewry move- ment is in deep trouble. The Jackson-Vanik Amendment which links trade benefits for . Communist countries with freer emigration, may soon be waived. On June 15, several members of Congress in- troduced for the first time a non-binding resolution declaring that Congress will support easing trade limits "at such time as the president has received appropriate assurances that the Soviet government is firmly on a course toward sustained high levels of emigration." The legislators took their lead from the National Con- ference on Soviet Jewry which, two days before, urged A list of conditions by refuseniks has not been met by the Soviets. similar action. Congress can- not be expected to do more than American Jews demand. The legislators were snowballed. The NCSJ vote contravenes the wishes of the Soviet Jews and does not reflect a consensus in the Jewish community here. In a Moscow "freedom of movement" legal seminar which I attended in May, a seminar undertaken with potential danger for its organizers, speaker after speaker expressed an utter lack of faith in Soviet pro- mises. In a document distributed at the conference, the activists stated: "We ap- peal to Congress and the American Government to refrain from waiving Jackson- Vanik until all our demands are fulfilled." They listed their conditions in a May 25 letter to Presi- dent Bush: • Exit visas, immediately, for all "secrecy" refuseniks who did not work in secrecy jobs for more than three or five years. • To solve immediately, within three months, the exit problems of all members of the "poor relatives group" (those denied parental con- Rabbi Auraham Weiss is national chairman of the Center for Russian Jewry and the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry. cent to emigrate) and for their receipt of exit visas. • The amount of Jewish emigration must not be less than 60,000 people per year. • A new emigration law should be in successful prac- tice for one year. In what can only be con- sidered a betrayal of Soviet Jews, the NCSJ rejected the refuseniks' demands. I cast one of three dissenting votes at the NCSJ conference. Dur- ing the deliberations, I saw images of those heroic Soviet Jews with whom I spoke at the Moscow emigration con- ference and at the Jewish cultural conference in Riga two days later: Images of refuseniks rejec- ting the theory that a waiver now on the amendment is an incentive for more Soviet Jewish emigration. The Kremlin, they argued, has already been granted conces- sions such as the White House assent to a 1991 inter- national human rights con- ference in Moscow. Images of refuseniks dismissing the notion that the waiver could always be reversed after a year as prescribed in the Amend- ment. Once waived, they maintained, it might never be changed. Their concern is legitimate. After Jackson- Vanik was waived for Romania it remained that way for 13 years, despite Bucharest's terrible human rights record. Large American corporations eager for Soviet trade would expend huge resources to block a reversal. Images of refuseniks em- phasizing that Kremlin assurances alone are not enough to waive the amend- ment. For the refuseniks, the only assurance is a Soviet law which allows emigration to be enforceable, standardized and sustained at minimally 60,000 per year. Images of refuseniks assail- ing Soviet anti-Semitism. At the Riga cultural conference, Moscow activist Victor Kret- sky stated: "Today, in the USSR, anti-Semitism has reached a higher level in society than in Germany before the Nazis came to power. In the USSR today, anti-Semitism has pierced all levels of society and state ap- paratus. It is practically total." Soviet assurances on emigration are difficult to believe while anti-Semitism — often state sponsored and Continued on Page 10 24 CLOSE-UP Paradise Found HARVEY GOTLIFFE Former Detroiters have found the good life on Maui. 32 BACKGROUND Raising Hackles LOUIS RAPPOPORT 24 David Levy's ideas on Soviet Jews have stirred a storm in Israel. 42 BUSINESS The Big Push KIMBERLY LIFTON Israel's free trade agreements may stimulate some U.S. business. 44 SPORTS Hanging It Up 57 MIKE ROSENBAUM Sam Taub has retired after 24 years at Mumford High. ENTERTAINMENT 10 Seconds To Air 57 ADRIEN CHANDLER Broadcaster Michael Freedman gets a plum job at UPI. FINE ARTS Sculpting Allegory 67 67 JUDY MARX Community activist Jerry Soble concentrates on sculpture. 71 SINGLE LIFE Summer Breeze SUSAN LUDMER-GLIEBE Ann Arbor singles set sail during the simmering season. DEPARTMENTS 26 35 36 74 Inside Washington Community Synagogues Engagements 80 82 84 105 Teens Births Classified Ads Obituaries CANDLELIGHTING 7 8:54 p.m. July 7, 1989 10:04 p.m. Sabbath ends July 8 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 7