INSIDE WASHINGTON
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
W
ith the world's at-
tention riveted on
the dramatic events
in Eastern Europe, Jews in
Latin America are increas-
ingly worried that their own
precarious situation may
worsen as the focus of U.S.
policy shifts.
Warren Eisenberg, the
hard-traveling director of
B'nai B'rith's International
Council, recently returned
from a meeting of the
group's Latin American
division in Buenos Aires, at
which these concerns — and
fears that the region's dire
economic problems could ig-
nite a new round of anti-
Semitism — were major
topics.
"There is a great fear that
so much attention is being
paid to Eastern Europe that
the Third World could get
Warren Eisenberg:
Are Jews at risk?
lost in the shuffle,"
Eisenberg said. "There's
worry that if these countries
don't make it economically,
it could result in
scapegoating against the
Jews."
U.S. economic develop-
ment programs are vital for
these economies, Eisenberg
said, along with expanded
trade. But as the tremen-
dous needs of the new
democracies in Europe ab-
sorb a growing proportion of
U.S. aid, there are fears that
Latin American economies
could suffer.
"From our point of view,
we have to remember that
the fate of the Jews in these
countries is tied to the fate of
their economies," he said.
On a positive note,
Eisenberg reported strong
Jewish input in the national
affairs of these countries.
"The healthy thing is that
there's a fair amount of dia-
logue between Jews and
government officials," he
said. "And there is dialogue
between Jews and the
press."
Senate Okays $5 Million
For Wiesenthaf Museum
In Congress, the preferred
mode of communication gen-
erally involves something
close to a shout.
But when the Senate gave
its approval recently to a
measure providing $5 mill-
ion for a new Holocaust mu-
seum in Los Angeles, the
legislation was accomplish-
ed with more of a whisper.
The full Senate approved
the measure by unanimous
consent after a bare
minimum of public debate.
The bill provides funds to
the Simon Wiesenthal
Center for the group's Beit
Hashoah-Museum of
Tolerance, and specifically
for the development of edu-
cational materials that
teach tolerance using the
Holocaust as a frame of ref-
erence.
There is a catch: Like
many provisions in this era
of budget austerity, the
measure is subject to the
availability of funds. But a
spokesman for the Wiesen-
thal Center was not par-
ticularly worried.
The measure still has to
make it through the House,
where it has been introduced
by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-
Calif.).
The bill has provoked some
quiet grumbling from sup-
porters of the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum, which is
currently under construction
on the Mall in Washington.
Specifically, objections have
been raised to the fact that
the Washington museum is
being developed with pri-
vately raised money,
although the land for the
museum was donated by the
federal government.
The Wiesenthal Center
argues that there is room for
more than one Holocaust
museum — and that its
effort to use the Holocaust as
the lynchpin for a broader
educational effort deserves
federal support.
Last year, a similar mea-
sure was tacked on to a do-
mestic appropriations bill
that withered and died after
millions of dollars of extra
allocations were tacked on;
this time, the Wiesenthal
Center and its chief Senate
supporter, Sen. Ted Ken-
nedy (D-Mass.) presented the
legislation as a freestanding
bill.
Israeli Group Seeking
U.S. Education Funding
Representatives of the
Givat Haviva Educational
Foundation were on Capitol
Hill last week in a quiet
effort to find funding for
several of its programs.
The Israeli group was
seeking monetary aid under
the American Schools and
Hospitals Abroad program
— the same program that
generated furious controver-
sy two years ago after Sen.
Daniel Inouye sponsored
legislation providing $8
million for schools for North
African Jews in France.
But Givat Haviva's re-
quest seems to be generating
a very different kind of re-
sponse from wary legis-
lators.
"Four years ago we cre-
ated a program called
`Children Teaching Chil-
dren,' " said Gary Brenner,
the group's U.S. represent-
ative. "It's a program that
brings together 'seventh,
eight and ninth graders for a
whole school term program.
The Jewish children teach
the Arabic children Hebrew,
and the Arabs teach the
Jewish children Arabic.
Through the media of lang-
uage training, they begin
the process of understan-
ding, of breaking down
negative stereotypes."
In another major program,
Givat Haviva brings
together Jewish and Arab
high school students in
Israel for intensive group
dynamics sessions. "The
idea is that they talk about
themselves as human beings,
as Jews and Arabs, and
ultimately as citizens of
Israel," Brenner said.
So far, the group's low-key
appeal for funding has
received a positive response.
Jewish Groups Low Key
At Hearing On Israel
The long-postponed hear-
ing on human rights in
Israel's occupied territories
took place last week. and the
man on the hot seat was
Richard Shifter, assistant
secretary of state for human
rights.
The 4 1/2 hour session
featured some spirited
exchanges between Shifter
and a number of con-
gressmen, including Rep.
Pete Kostmayer (D-Pa.), who
stormed out of the hearing
room after a spat over the
issue of house demolitions by
Israeli forces.
Officially, Shifter's role
was to present the ad-
ministration view of Israeli
human rights policies on the
West Bank and Gaza since
the beginning of the Pales-
tinian uprising more than
two years ago.
Much of Shifter's
testimony centered on the
State Department's annual
human rights report, which
took Israel to task for a
number of human rights
concerns including concern
about "avoidable deaths and
injuries" in the territories.
But Shifter also pointed
out that the number of Pa-
lestinians killed by Israeli
forces has been declining in
recent months. In response
to sharp questions by Rep.
Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.),
Shifter also told the panel
that house demolitions were
down since April, and no
new deportation orders were
in effect against Palestinian
activists.
"He was very calm, very
low key," said the repre-
sentative of one major Jew-
ish group who attended the
hearings. "He was clearly
facing a very unfriendly au-
dience — and he was clearly
in a very awkward position."
In recent months, Shifter
has faced strident criticism
from Arab-American groups
because of what they see as
his quiet effort to shield
Israel from criticism.
Arab-America groups were
out in force at last week's
hearings, as well as a long
list of Middle East peace
groups and human rights
I AT I O N A
Could Foreign Aid Cuts
Hurt Third World Jews?
Richard Shifter:
Placed in an awkward position.
organizations. Amnesty
International was busy
distributing press kits and a
new video on Israeli policies
in the occupied territories.
Jewish groups, on the
other hand, were largely ab-
sent; according to officials
with several Jewish organ-
izations here, their groups
tend to eschew the tactic of
" packing" hearings. Jewish
groups also did not submit
written testimony to the
panel — in contrast to a
number of Arab- American
organizations.
House Passes Maternity
Leave Bill, Jews Help
Defying warnings of a
presidential veto, the House
last week passed a bill pro-
viding unpaid, job-
guaranteed leave for
workers with newborns,
newly adopted children or ill
dependents.
Jewish groups played an
active role in the furious
round of politicking that
saved the bill — and two
Jewish legislators played
prominent roles in easing
the measure through the
House.
"It was a tremendous vic-
tory," said a tired Sammie
Moshenberg, Washington
representative for the Na-
tional Council of Jewish
Women, a key participant in
the coalition supporting the
measure. "We have been
working on this legislation
for five years; even with the
possibility that the president
will veto it, it was a very
sweet victory."
On the House floor, Rep.
Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and
Rep. Barbara Boxer (D-
Calif.) played leading roles
in propelling the bill. I]
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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