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 33