UP FRONT
Extraordinary Week Of Crises
Leaves Jewish Activists Reeling
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
A
s Congress broke for
its Memorial Day
recess, Jewish ac-
tivists in Washington were
hoping for a chance to catch
their breath after an extra-
ordinary, crisis-filled week.
But with U.S.-Israeli rela-
tions in a downward spiral
and the issue of Soviet Jewry
bound up more and more by
the chaotic situation in the
Middle East, few represent-
atives of Jewish groups here
were making vacation plans.
The latest round of crises
was ignited by the shooting
incident in a Tel Aviv
suburb and the resulting re-
juvenation of the waning Pa-
lestinian uprising.
One consequence of the
renewed disturbances and
Israel's tough response was
last week's first major crisis
—an expected request by
PLO leader Yasser Arafat to
address a United Nations
Security Council meeting to
consider the Israeli actions
in putting down the distur-
bances.
The request revived one of
Washington's most persis-
tent debates — whether or
not to issue a visa for the
PLO leader to attend the
international body. But this
time, the debate was short
circuited — in part by an
overwhelming response by
the Jewish community, in
part by an apparent deal
between the administration
and Arab representatives.
The Conference of Presi-
dents of Major American
Jewish Organizations
assembled member organ-
izations into a potent force to
"What you're
beginning to see is
a recognition by
Jewish supporters
of Israel that the
climate has
changed across
the board."
Warren
Eisenberg
flood Congress and the
White House with calls op-
posing the proposed visa.
The American Israel Public
Affairs Committee (AIPAC)
mobilized congressional
support. By midweek, the
White House had heard from
a number of irate legislators.
On Wednesday, the ad-
ministration finessed the
delicate question by simply
announcing that it had not
been asked for a visa — and
by tacitly accepting an Arab
move to take the United
Nations session to Geneva,
where the PLO leader could
speak with impunity.
But no sooner had this
crisis waned than a new and
even more urgent one was
ricocheting through the Jew-
ish organizations.
Secretary of State James
Baker's comments at a
Wednesday news conference
that the United States would
consider an Arab request to
send U.N. observers to Gaza
and the West Bank to moni-
tor Israeli handling of the
disturbances triggered an-
other round of conference
calls to Jewish leaders
around the country and an-
other round of urgent mes-
sages to the White House
and Congress.
Opinion is divided on
whether Baker's comments
represented an intentional
turn in administration
policy, a blunt message to
Israel or merely a random
comment by a secretary of
state who is not known for
precise speech.
The shooting incident outside Tel Aviv rejuvenated the intifada.
"The administration
seems to be embarked on a
careful policy of ratcheting
up the pressure on Israel,"
said Jess Hordes, Washing-
ton director for the Anti-
Defamation League. "The
mere talk about accepting
U.N. observers sends a
strong signal to all the
players in the Middle East."
Other observers point to
the now-familiar pattern of
Bush administration
pressure on Israel: first a
dramatic statement in-
dicating a sharp break with
past policy, then a period of
confused retrenchment that
diffuses protests of the
American Jewish commun-
ity.
But the original message
lingers long after the official
clarifications, these
observers argue.
Other Jewish activists
suggest that the recent pat-
tern of administration ac-
tivity is still difficult to
evaluate.
"For us to speculate about
what is deliberate and what
is not deliberate is not only
inappropriate, it's an im-
possibility," said Malcolm
Hoenlein, director of the
Conference of Presidents of
Major American Jewish
Organizations. "I think I
could make a good argument
either way. The administra-
tion has assured us that
their position has not chang-
to Dr. Sybil Milton, Resident
Historian, U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum, 2000 L
St. NW, Suite 717, Washing-
ton, D.C. 20036, or call (202)
822-6464.
disturbed the birds, causing
them to leave' their nests.
Vacating their nests even for
a short period could result in
the failure of eggs to hatch,
Nathan said.
Continued on Page 24
ROUND UP
Professor Finds
Lost Composition
Tel Aviv — The long-lost
manuscript of an eminent
Soviet-Jewish composer has
come to light thanks to the
persistence of Professor
Joseph Dorfman of Tel Aviv
University. Now he is plann-
ing the world premiere of the
work titled Kaddish by
Alexander Krein (1883-
1951).
Krein. wrote Kaddish in
memory of his parents, set-
ting a Russian poem by his
friend Alex Orschanin to
what he called "a symphonic
cantata" for tenor, mixed-
choir and symphony or-
chestra. Krein then sent the
original score in 1927 to a
music publisher in Vienna;
for reasons unknown, the
work was never performed.
After Austria was united
with Nazi Germany, all Jew-
ish music in the country was
destroyed. Krein's score was
believed lost forever.
Then Dorfman, a composer
born in Odessa, contacted
the original publisher of the
music, where Krein's com-
position was found in the
files.
Krein was a founder of the
Jewish national school in
Russia, which comprised
composers who drew their
inspiration from Jewish
folklore and synagogue
music.
Museum Exhibit
Recalls Six Million
Washington, D.C. — The
U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum, now under con-
struction in Washington,
D.C. — has devised a new
way to personalize the story
of the Holocaust for the more
than 1 million visitors ex-
pected at the facility each
year.
Upon entering a special
exhibit, each visitor will
receive an identity card
bearing the name of some-
one murdered in the Holo-
caust. The card will include
a photo of the individual and
a brief biography.
At the end of each of the
exhibit floors, which span
Israeli Air Force
Goes To The Birds
Identity cards for the Holocaust
Memorial Museum's new project.
the years 1933-39, 1940 44
and 1944-present, visitors
will receive an update about
the person on their identity
cards.
Martin Smith, director of
the exhibit, explains, "Six
million deaths can become a
statistic, but one person's
death is a keenly felt per-
sonal tragedy."
The museum is accepting
material for possible inclu-
sion in the identity card pro-
ject. Individuals who have
photos, documents, identifi-
cation cards and other mate-
rials relating to victims,
survivors and witnesses to
the Holocaust are asked to
submit copies of the material
Tel Aviv (JTA) — The
Israeli air force, heeding the
counsel of nature lovers, has
deferred to the needs of
birds.
Gen. Avihu Bin-Nun, air
force commander-in-chief,
has ordered immediate
changes in the training
flight patterns of military
helicopters over parts of the
Golan Heights, so as not to
disturb nesting birds of prey.
Bin-Nun acted at the re-
quest of Ran Nathan, a
member of the Society for
the Protection of Nature in
Israel, who has made an ex-
tensive study of the behavior
patterns of vultures, eagles
and other predatory birds.
, Nathan found that the
noise of low-level helicopter
training exercises severely
NCCJ Posts Name
To New Ruling
New York — Leaders of
the National Council of
Christians and Jews (NCCJ)
recently took the unusual
step of publicly identifying
the organization with a call
for U.S. Supreme Court
reconsideration of a recent
decision involving religious
liberty.
NCCJ officials urged the
high court to rehear its April
17 ruling that forbids the
use of the drug peyote in Na-
tive American religious
practice.
The statement marks the
first time in its 62-year his-
tory that the NCCJ has
publicly identified with an
appeal in the U.S. judicial
system.
Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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