Baker's Anti-Israel Blast
Raises Questions

Peace Groups Grappling
With Mideast Changes

T

The government crisis in
Israel and the formation of a
narrow Likud-led coalition
have been hard on Israeli
peace groups.
But dovish groups in the
United States see events in
Israel as an opportunity.
"It's a terrible irony that
the worse things get in the
Middle East, the stronger is
our ability to organize in the
American Jewish commun-
ity," said Jerry Segal,
founder of the Jewish Peace
Lobby. "But it's certainly a
more complex envi-
ronment."
Segal, who first proposed a
Palestinian "declaration of
independence," said the cur-
rent role of U.S. groups seek-
ing peace in the Mideast is to
provide new ideas to break
the Middle East deadlock.
"One idea we have is that
President Bush should seek
the authority to establish an
Israeli 'trust fund' — a
dedicated fund for the people
of Israel. The president

he big question in
Washington last week
centered on Secretary
of State James Baker's
tough talk before the House
Foreign Affairs Committee:
Was his advice that Israeli
Prime Minister Yitzhak
Shamir call the White House
"when you are serious about
peace" a calculated effort to
shake up the new Jerusalem
government — or an
unplanned outburst by an
administration weary of
Israel's political problems?
Numerous administration
and congressional sources
argue for the former.
"It was too neat to be
unplanned," said one Wash-
ington representative for a
major Jewish organization.
"Before Baker came up to
the Hill, there was talk that
the administration would
draw the line in the sand
with the new government in
Israel as soon as possible.
That's exactly what Baker
did."
Before giving his stinging
testimony, there was
speculation that Baker
would announce an end to
the U.S.-PLO dialogue. In-

Was Baker's outburst calculated or spontaneous?

stead, the focus was on the
stalled peace process.
"He's saying that the
patience of the United States
is not infinite," explained an
administration source. "This
was not a threat. It was a
statement of the reality that
the ball is now in Shamir's
court."
Most observers suggested
that Baker's comments rep-
resented a calculated dis-
engagement by the United

States from active in-
volvement in a Middle East
peace.
"To an extent this is nor-
mal," said Mark Talisman,
Washington director for the
Council of Jewish Federa-
tions. "Every administra-
tion comes in and believes
they can solve the Middle
East crisis. Then reality sets
in — and there's an in-
evitable period of reassess-
ment."

D.C. Holocaust Museum
Jolts Germans

As German unification
picks up steam, efforts to
sensitize German leaders to
Jewish concerns have also
accelerated.
One important resource for
Jewish activists here has
been the Holocaust
Memorial Museum, now be-
ing built on Washington's
Mall.
Last week, the American
Jewish Committee brought
several Germans from both
sides of the crumbling East-
West border to the offices of
the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Council to see
plans for the museum.
Michael Berenbaum, di-
rector of the museum, • de-
scribed the reaction of some
of the Germans as
"explosive. Some of the wo-
men were in tears the entire
time."
According to Rabbi An-
drew Baker, the regional di-
rector of the American Jew-
ish Committee, the visit
helped sensitize the Ger-
mans to the Holocaust's
prominence in the minds of
American Jews. It also
heightened concerns about

Germany's image in a
changing world.
"The museum is at a point
where people can see what it
will look like," Baker said.
"Clearly, some of them
wondered: Will people leave
the museum hating Ger-
mans?"
Later, the group met with
undersecretary of state for
human rights Richard
Schifter, whose parents were
in a German concentration
camp.

The AJCommittee visit oc-
curred the same week that
East German Prime Min-
ister, Lothar de Maiziere,
presented the museum with
the cornerstone of a syn-
agogue destroyed by the
Nazis.
"I was impressed by how
serious he was," Berenbaum
said. "He was in Washing-
ton for a day — and took the
time to meet with us. His re-
sponse to the museum was
very strong."

Soviet Jewry Groups
Plan For USSR Collapse

As the Soviet Union spins
closer to collapse and civil
war, Soviet Jewry activists
are quietly drawing up
emergency plans to cope
with the possibility of a,
complete breakdown of
order.
Shoshana Cardin, chair of
the National Conference on
Soviet Jewry, confirmed that
high-level planning is con-
sidering possible scenarios
for the Soviet Union's
future.

"For obvious reasons," she
said, "the details cannot be
shared publicly. But there
have been discussions about
what actions can be taken to
protect Soviet Jews."

Groups participating in
this process, said Cardin, in-
clude the National Con-
ference, the Jewish Agency,
the Anti-Defamation
League, the American Jew-
ish Committee, and the Coun-
cil of Jewish Federations.

would have the authority to
deposit into the fund
amounts equal to what
Israel is using to support set-
tlements, both directly and
indirectly."
By funneling money to the
fund from Israel's foreign
aid grants from the United
States, "Congress and the
administration would not be
registering any lack of com-
mitment to Israel," said
Segal. "Instead, they would
be saying they have a corn-
mitment to a certain kind of
Israel."
Segal said the importance
of the exodus of Soviet Jews
to Israel has complicated
matters for his group, but
insisted that he is committed
to free Jewish immigration
to Israel.
"We've made it very clear
that we have no problem
with Soviet Jews moving to
Israel in the millions," he
said. "But it is another fac-
tor in this whole equation."

Cardin Pushes Soviets
On Anti-Semitism

Rep. Ben Cardin (D-MD.)
spent last weekend in
Copenhagen. But the trip
was serious business, not a
routine congressional
junket; Cardin was part of a
U.S. delegation at the
periodic meetings of the
Helsinki Commission, which
monitors compliance with
the 1975 Helsinki accords on
human rights.
Cardin, in an interview
before his departure, in-
dicated that problems facing
Soviet Jews would be at the
top of his agenda.
"The main thrust of my
comments will be that all is
not solved for Soviet Jews,"
said Cardin. "We still have
the issue of direct flights, of
expediting Jews' ability to
leave the Soviet Union."
Cardin also planned to ex-
press his concern about ris-
ing anti-Semitism in the
USSR to the Soviet delega-
tion.
"Clearly, Jews who iden-
tify with their roots," he
said, "do not feel comfor-
table in the Soviet Union to-
day because of anti-
Semitism, and because of the
failure of the government to
protect them."
Cardin said the Helsinki
process has taken on added
importance with the changes
now sweeping Europe.

Ben Cardin:
"All is not solved."
"The Helsinki Commis-
sion is right in the center of
things," he said, "It's the
only institution where all
European countries, plus the
United States and Canada,
meet on equal footing to talk
about human rights and
security issues. Nobody
thought Helsinki would be
as effective as it has been. Its
now being looked at as the
model for other areas. We
want to make sure it keeps
its focus on human
rights." ❑

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

29

IL ATI * NA

INSIDE WASHINGTON

