INSIDE WASHINGTON
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
Jewish Groups Backing
Immigration Reform Bill
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
S
everal Jewish groups
have teamed up with a
broad religious coali-
tion to press for little-known
provisions in the House ver-
sion of an immigration
reform package.
The issue involves re-
ligious workers who want to
enter this country, either as
visitors or as immigrants.
The Senate, in passing
their version of the bill, put
a cap on the number of min-
isters who could enter this
country as special immi-
grants. But the House im-
migration subcommittee re-
cently hammered out a bill
without the cap. More im-
portantly, the House version
would expand the category
admitted under these provi-
sions to include "other re-
ligious workers."
"In our community, this
might include teachers or
mohels," said Abba Cohen,
Abba Cohen: Backing change.
Washington representative
for Agudath Israel of
America, one of the groups
pressing for retention of the
provision. "The legislation
also provides for a new visa
category called a 'temporary
religious workers visa.' So if
a person wants to come to
the United States to work
here temporarily in a re-
ligious occupation — up to
five years, according to the
bill — they can come under
provisions of the legisla-
tion."
The obscure provisions are
important to the Jewish
community for two reasons,
according to Cohen. "First,
they would allow people to
come in from places like
Israel to meet the religious
needs of Jews here. More
importantly, the bill would
allow people to come here
and train, then go back and
serve their own com-
munities. Until now, you
had to come on a student
visa — which was often-
problematic."
This provision is especially
important as Jews in East-
ern Europe begin to develop
their own local Jewish in-
stitutions. "Under the provi-
sions of this bill, it would be
far easier for them to come to
this country to obtain the
training they need," Cohen
said.
Currently, a coalition that
includes Agudath Israel of
America, B'nai B'rith Inter-
national, the Union of
American Hebrew Con-
gregations, the U.S. Catholic
Conference and organiza-
tions representing Seventh
Day Adventists and Chris-
tian Scientists is supporting
the measure.
Bush Agrees To Formal
Hate Crimes Bill Signing
This week, the White
House reversed an earlier
decision and decided to hold
a signing ceremony for the
Hate Crimes Statistics Act,
after all.
;-=
Last week, it was reported
that the administration had
rejected a formal signing
ceremony for the bill, which
mandates the collection of
data on crimes based on the
victims' race, religion, na-
tional origin or sexual orien-
tation. In part, the rejection
was based on political con-
siderations; a key sponsor of
the bill was Sen. Paul Simon
(D-111.), who is in a heated
battle for re-election against
Republican Rep. Lynn Mar-
tin.
But Jewish groups, lead by
the Anti-Defamation
League, began urging
Republican legislators to
press for a signing ceremony
that would give some added
prominence to the issue of
hate crimes.
Also, the White House of-
fice of liaison, under the
direction of Bobbie Kilberg,
waged an active campaign
for a formal ceremony.
The ceremony, which was
held in the Old Executive
Office Building, included
more than 200 Jewish ac-
tivists, black and gay rights
leaders and law enforcement
officials.
But in the midst of the
celebration, there was a
cloud over the new legisla-
tion. In congressional
testimony last week, it was
revealed that the Federal
Bureau of Investigation was
considering cutting its
Uniform Crime Report
(UCR) as a cost-cutting mea-
sure.
The hate crimes legisla-
tion does not specify exactly
how the data will be col-
lected. But there was a wide-
spread assumption that it
would be done through the
mechanism of the UCR. If
the data-collection program
is cut, it could cripple the
collection of data on hate
crimes as mandated in the
act.
Chris Gersten Heads
HHS Refugee Office
As Jews continue to pour
out of the Soviet Union at an
unprecedented rate, the
unique partnership between
voluntary Jewish groups
and the federal government
in resettling refugees has
moved into the limelight.
And the government offi-
cial at the center of that re-
lationship is a former Jewish
Republican activist whose
job has suddenly taken on
dramatic new importance.
Chris Gersten, formerly
director of the conservative
National Jewish Coalition,
was appointed late last year
as director of the Office of
Refugee Resettlement in the
Department of Health and
Human Services.
"Basically, our work
begins when the refugees get
here," Gersten said in a re-
cent interview. "We have
worked out a tight, com-
plicated contract with the
Council of Jewish Federa-
tions, HLAS and the State
Department."
That contract provides
government matching
grants for money raised by
the private groups for refu-
gee resettlement.
Report Says Palestinian
State 'Unthinkable'
The Simon Wiesenthal
Center continued its effort to
carve out a niche for itself in
Washington with a news
conference this week to
unveil a new study, "Can
Israel Survive a Palestinian
State?"
The 164-page study, which
takes a dark view of the
military risks of an indepen-
dent Palestinian state, is be-
ing distributed widely on
Capitol Hill. Rabbi Marvin
Hier, the dean of the Center,
also met with Senate For-
eign Relations Committee
chairman Claiborne Pell
(D-R.I.) to discuss the report.
The study was conducted
by the Institute for Advanc-
ed Strategic and Political
Studies in Israel. The
Wiesenthal Center funded
the project.
"Basically, the study does
not focus on the question of
land for peace," said Rabbi
Abraham Cooper, associate
dean of the Center. "It posits
the existence of a Palestin-
ian state on the West Bank
and Gaza; starting from that
point, it asks the question of
what the impact would be on
the state of Israel."
That impact, the study
concludes, makes the pro-
spect of a Palestinian state
"unthinkable."
"It is a prescription for
Israel's national suicide,"
Cooper said. "What this
study does is reflect what
most Israelis know they
Rabbi Hier: Report in hand.
cannot do. Israel, both Left
and Right, has done a very
poor job of explaining what
the realities are, and what
can and cannot be discussed.
By taking the maximal view
of what's being bandied
about out there, and focus-
ing on what the price tag
might be for a Palestinian
state, we think it's a very
important report."
Barney Frank May Face
Challenger In Election
Recently, this column re-
ported on the apparent res-
urgence of Rep. Barney
Frank, the Massachusetts
Democrat who has been bat-
tered by newspaper reports
about his relationship with a
male prostitute.
Now, it appears that
Frank, who recently an-
nounced his intention to
seek a sixth term, may be
facing a challenger who
wants to take the battle for
money and votes into the
Jewish community.
Matthew Brooks, political
director at the National Jew-
ish Coalition, has taken a
leave of absence to run the
campaign of Jim Nuzzo, a
neurologist and political ac-
tivist who is waging an ac-
tive campaign for the Repub-
lican nomination to the
Massachusetts seat.
Brooks indicated that his
presence in the campaign
will give it a distinctly Jew-
ish flavor.
"We are not going to con-
cede to Barney Frank any of
his Jewish base," Brooks
said. "I'll be happy to match
Jim Nuzzo's positions on
Israel point by point with
Frank's. We're planning to
work the local and national
pro-Israel PAC community,
to speak before brotherhoods
and sisterhoods. We're going
to make Barney Frank real-
ly work for the Jewish vote."
Nuzzo, who spent time as a
White House fellow when
George Bush was vice-
president, has taken liberal
positions on issues like abor-
tion.
Brooks echoed one of the
campaign's themes when he
described his candidate's
advantages in the realm of
Middle East foreign policy.
Brooks also confirmed that
Nuzzo, who is married to a
Jew, is considering conver-
sion.
"In this time of uncertain-
ty and crisis for Israel, Jim
Nuzzo is someone who will
have input with the people
making the decisions; unlike
Barney Frank, he'll have his
calls returned." ❑
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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