ANALYSIS
America's U.N. Signal
To Israel Is Blockbuster
By sending its message through the
United Nations, rather than
communicating directly with Israel, the
Us. may have come down heavier on
Israel than it intended.
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
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evelations last week
that the United
States is working ac-
tively with Arab represent-
atives at the United Nations
to develop a resolution
critical of Israel's policies on
Jewish settlements produced
shock and dismay in Israel.
But in Washington and
New York, Jewish activists
were taking a cautious ap-
proach to interpreting the
unusual action. Specifically,
Jewish activists are trying
to learn the degree to which
the joint U.S.-Arab effort
represented a deliberate
signal to Israel on the issue
of settlements — or a signal
of an even more significant
shift in administration
thinking on the Middle East.
Secret negotiations over
the wording of the U.N. pro-
posal have been under way
for several weeks, according
to Washington sources, in
response to strong Arab con-
cerns that the influx of
Soviet Jews into the oc-
cupied territories could tilt
the demographic balance in
the region.
In part, the administration
may have been responding
to the growing sentiment in
the Arab world that • last
year's changes in U.S. refu-
gee policies, which had the
effect of channeling the mas-
sive exodus of Soviet Jews
into Israel, was a deliberate
bid by Washington to in-
crease emigration to Israel.
The U.S.-Arab cooperation
may also have represented
an administration effort to
prevent an even harsher
resolution.
In fact, a number of provi-
sions considered particularly
offensive by Jewish activists
have apparently been
dropped. In particular, pro-
visions claiming a "right of
return" for Palestinians
displaced after both the 1947
and the 1967 wars have ap-
parently been deleted.
But the final form of the
resolution is far from clear
— and it is uncertain
whether Arab governments
will accept the modified
language.
And for many pro-Israel
activists, while the changes
are welcome, the underlying
message of the joint
U.S.-Arab effort has already
been delivered.
"It is difficult to imagine
that the administration did
not realize from the outset
how this would be inter-
preted," said one leading
pro-Israel activist. "There
may have been a variety of
motives behind this move.
But it's difficult to dispute
the idea that, at some level,
this was intended as a very
frank message to the
Israelis."
The uncertainty over the
administration's motives is
particularly disturbing to
many Jewish activists.
"At this point, we've been
operating very close to the
situation — and frankly, it's
hard to discern if this was
intended as a message to
Israel or not," said Malcolm
Hoenlein, executive director
of the Conference of Presi-
dents of Major American
Jewish Organizations.
"There may well have been
attempts to send a message;
there may also be splits in
the administration over this -
resolution."
Hoenlein expressed satis-
faction that more recent ver-
sions of the "working pa-
pers" for the resolution ap-
parently contain milder
language. But he expressed
concern that the process
itself could be
"inappropriate and counter-
productive."
The real fear among pro-
Israel activists here, accor-
ding to at least one analyst,
may be the fact that the ad-
ministration action
hearkens back to Middle
East policies of the pre-
Reagan era.
"It's often been the case
that we've tried to head off a
U.N. resolution that is har-
shly condemnatory," said
William Quandt, senior
fellow at the Brookings In-
stitution in Washington and
a Middle East specialist.
"This is especially true on
issues where we think there
is a legitimate underlying
point that's going to be lost
by the Arab side pressing for
things we couldn't support."