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36

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1989

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Religious Rights Of Prisoners
Is Objective Of Jewish Groups

JAMES D. BESSER

Washington Correspondent

A

merica's prisons are
not exactly bulging
with Jewish inmates.
But that fact has not stopped
Jewish organizations here
from participating in a
legislative effort to make it
easier for all prisoners to
meet their religious needs.
And in the process, these
groups are learning some
lessons about the difficulty
of writing legislation protec-
ting specific religious rights,
while not crossing the
unclear boundaries of chur,
ch-state separation.
At issue is an effort to
create a national board
within the Bureau of Prisons
to oversee appeals by
prisoners for special treat-
ment based on their
religious needs.
- "Now, if an inmate needs
kosher food, for instance, he
may have to litigate," said
Eric Mazur of the American

Jewish Committee, a group
that is working closely with
Congress to develop ap-
propriate legislation. "This
board would ensure a more
specialized hearing of the
grievance, and would have
the power to order these
needs met."
But there are problems.
An early version of the bill
sponsored by Sen. Jesse
Helms, R-N.C., passed by the
Senate several months ago
and mandates a board com-
prised of representatives of
the five "major" religions.
"The 'five major religions'
component of the bill is a
constitutionally imper-
missible religious test for
public office," said Mark
Pelavin, Washington repre-
sentative for the American
Jewish Congress, another
group involved in the
debate. "And I'm somewhat
confused about what the
`major' faiths are. Part of the
problem is that people who
needthe protections (sic) of
this board are going to be

members of minority
faiths."
In a series of quiet
meetings with Hill staffers,
Jewish activists have been
pushing for an alternative
bill by Rep. Stephen Solarz,
D-Brooklyn, which retains
the concept of the board but
does not mandate its com-
position.
But there are concerns
that such an open-ended ap-
proach also might not ade-
quately represent minority
religions.
As for Jewish prisoners,
the need for special religious
allowances is small but per-
sistent.
"We get letters all the
time from Jewish prisoners
about their problems in ob-
taining kosher food or in
wearing kippah," said Betty
Hilton of B'nai B'rith's In-
ternational Coalition for
Jewish Prisoner Services.
"Another resource like this
board would almost certain-
ly be an improvement."

1

1

AJCommittee Monitors
East Bloc Activities

Jewish groups here con-
tinue to maintain close con-
tact with the dissidents who
are changing the face of
Eastern Europe.

Staffers from the
Washington office of the
American Jewish Com-
mittee recently met with
representatives of FIDESZ,
the Hungarian Association
of Young Democrats, one of
the groups that has pressed

for fundamental changes in
that country.
At the top of the agenda for
the AJCommittee delegation
was the question of anti-
Semitism in the emerging
reform movement there.
"It was remarkable that
these 20- and 30-year-old
kids were so knowledgeable
about Hungarian Jewish
history and so interested in
finding ways to reach out to
the American Jewish com-

munity to fight anti-
Semitism and encourage
pluralism in their country,"
'1
said Nisha Abkarian Shrier,
legislative assistant for the
Committee.
Several members of the
Hungarian delegation
discussed their visits to
Israel and indicated support
for the renewal of diplomatic
ties between Israel and
Hungary. 41
Mark Talisman,

