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*UR CL

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• YOUR CLEANERS • YOUR CLEANERS •

Arab Group To Hit Subways
In D.C. With New Ad Campaign

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OUR CLEANER

Washington Correspondent

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1 • YOUR CLEANERS • YOUR CLEANERS •

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28

FRIDAY, JULY 1,4,1989

I

t's like deja vu all
over again. Arab-Ameri-
can groups are once again
putting their Jewish counter-
parts on the spot with a ma-
jor advertising campaign in
Washington's subways.
And once again, the ex-
pected reaction from Jewish
groups is a key part of the
Arab group's strategy.
Last week, it was learned
that the American-Arab Anti-
Discrimination Committee
(ADC) was preparing a series
of posters to appear in 370
subway cars.
Early versions of the ad
showed Palestinian and
American flags, and com-
pared the intifada to this
country's struggle for in-
dependence. But recent sen-
sitivities over the American
flag led to fears that the cam-
paign could backfire, and the
design was dropped.
ADC sources indicate that
new posters are in the works,
and are expected to appear in
early August, and that, so far,
there has been no resistance
from Washington transporta-
tion authorities.
Jewish groups here are in a
quandary. Some groups, like
the Committee for Accuracy
in Middle East Reporting in
America (CAMERA) are ex-
pected to stage a vocal
counterattack.
But some Jewish activists
worry that any strong reac-
tion will again serve to focus
broad attention on what
would normally be a local
issue.
"We're caught between a
rock and a hard place," said
an official with a major
Jewish organization. "On one
hand, we feel a natural desire
to respond to what we see as
a slander of Israel — especial-
ly a slander that will be seen
by both policy-makers and
thousands of tourists. On the
other, it's clear that our pro-
tests will give the ADC more
attention than they would
otherwise get."
This view was confirmed by
an ADC spokesman, who con-
fidently predicted an uproar
by Jewish groups that would
multiply the effect of the
group's ad campaign.
The ADC has been active
on another front. Last week,
the group stepped up its ef-
forts to force an investigation
into alleged abuses of Palesti-
nian workers in Gaza and the
West Bank.

Several weeks ago, the
group sent a letter to U.S.
Trade Representative Carla
Hills urging her to reverse an
earlier decision of an in-
teragency panel not to look
into Israeli labor practices.
Last week, in a letter to
Hiram Lawrence, executive
director of the General
System of Preferences pro-
gram, the panel that grants
favorable trade status to
selected countries, the ADC
pointed to the recent deporta-
tion of eight Palestinians, and
argued that since_ several
were labor leaders, the action
was further evidence of a pat-
tern of labor abuses.
The letter also complained
of the growing use of labor
camps by Israel, and the con-
troversy over requirements
that some Palestinian
workers wear identifying
badges.
So far, there is no evidence
that the USTR is interested
in reopening the matter. Still,
several Jewish groups here
are working quietly through
State Department policy
planning chief Dennis Ross to
weigh in against an
investigation.

assistant
Washington
representative for the
American Jewish Committee.
"So this is legislation with
double importance; it protects
those with traditional han-
dicaps, but it also protects
people with AIDS, who have
been the focus of considerable
discrimination."
But another Jewish group
is keeping a wary eye on
ADA. Agudath Israel of
America, which represents
many Jewish parochial
schools, is concerned that the
bill could force big expen-
ditures for things like
wheelchair ramps and bus
lifts.
The Agudah is also concern-
ed about the extension of civil
rights protections to people
with AIDS, an element of the
bill that could have the effect
of forcing religious institu-
tions to hire gay job
applicants.
ADA is being sponsored by
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.; on
the other side of the Capitol,
key sponsors are Rep. Steny
Hoyer, D-Md., and Rep. Nor-
man Mineta, D-Calif.

AJCommittee
Other Groups
Fight For Disabled

The Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) is ex-
pected to shift to the congres-
sional fast track in the next
few weeks, and Jewish groups
are playing an important part
in the fight.
ADA is designed to ban
discrimination against
disabled people in govern-
ment services, employment,
transportation and accom-
modations, but the bill has
also become a major arena in
the fight to protect people
with Acquired Immune Defi-
ciency Syndrome (AIDS) from
discrimination. Recent court
decisions suggest that the
bill's protections would apply
to people afflicted with the
disease.
AIDS activists, who have
taken a low-profile approach
to civil rights legislation this
year, see ADA as a way of
limiting discrimination
without making AIDS — and,
by extension, homosexuality
— a major focus of debate.
"While AIDS is not
specifically covered, the bill's
definition of the disabled —
people whose condition limits
one or more life activities —
would extend to people with
AIDS," said Judy Golub,

Sen. Mikulski:
Writing law.

AJCongress
Supports Idea
Of National Service

When the American Jewish
Congress governing council
met recently in Washington,
it passed a resolution suppor-
ting the concept of a "na-
tional service" proposal,
although they held back from
endorsing any of the plans
currently in the congressional
hopper.
Major proposals are in the
works by Sen. Barbara
Mikulski, D-Md. and Sen.
Sam Nunn, D-Ga. The
Mikulski plan would provide
loans for higher education or
for the purchase of a first

