I INSIDE WASHINGTON

JAMES D. BESSER

Washington Correspondent

A

s Washington sizzles
in the summer heat, a
number of issues im-
portant to pro-Israel ac-
tivists have moved off center
stage — at least for now.
But these issues continue
to percolate quietly just
below the surface; decisions
made during this slow
summer season will still
have a major impact in the
months to come.
The question of $400 mill-
ion in loan guarantees to
help Israel construct new
housing for Soviet refugees
is still in a state of limbo.
The measure was part of
the giant supplemental
spending measure approved
recently by Congress.
But the administration
quietly decided to hold up
implementation of the loan
guarantee program in re-
sponse to the creation of a

new hard line government in
Jerusalem, and concerns
that some of the loans would
be used to house Soviet set-
tlers in the occupied ter-
ritories.
Ostensibly, the delay in
providing the badly needed
loan guarantees is the result
of a "wait and see" approach
by the administration as the
new Israeli government
takes the reins of power.
But in fact, the $400 mill-
ion remains a very impor-
tant weapon in the ad-
ministration's effort to
nudge the Israelis towards
the peace table and away
from an active settlements
policy.
So far, Jewish activists are
taking a very low profile on
the issue.

"There is a feeling that
now is not the time to press,"
said an official with one

major Jewish group here.
"It's time to let the dust
from the last few months
settle, to let tempers cool off.
But that doesn't mean that
we don't still see this as a
very important issue."
On the question of the
stalled peace process, there
has been a discernible cool-
ing off in rhetoric as Wash-
ington moves into the
summer doldrums.
Administration officials
have deliberately squelched
speculation over the
exchange of letters between
President Bush and Prime
Minister Shamir. Secretary
of State James Baker's up-
coming meeting with Israeli
foreign minister David Levy,
likewise, was designed to
throttle back the escalating
tensions between Jerusalem
and Washington — and to
mute arguments from pro-
Israel groups that the ad-
ministration did not give the
new Shamir government the
customary "honeymoon"
before issuing angry pro-
nouncements.

There Is Good News
For Rep. Barney Frank

Things are looking up for
Barney Frank, who is
fighting for his political life
in the wake of charges that
he had a relationship with a
male prostitute.
Last week, Frank's chief
competitor, Republican

ical director at the conser-
vative National Jewish Co-
alition. Brooks promised
that Nuzzo would not con-
cede Frank any of his Jewish
base.
But Nuzzo's Jewish
strategy did not exactly take
off. The pro-Israel PACs
seemed disinclined to dump
Frank, who has been a
staunch supporter of Israel
during his five terms. And

Frank has won a reputation
for outspokenness on the
domestic issues dear to the
hearts of Jewish multi-issue
groups.
Frank is not out of the
woods; he still is waiting for
a ruling from the House
ethics committee, which is
apparently deadlocked over
how to respond to the
charges against the con-
gressmen.

Church-State Language
Remains A Problem

Barney Frank:
One opponent less.

James Nuzzo, pulled out of
the race for "personal"
reasons.
In recent months, Nuzzo
had made a special effort to
win Jewish votes away from
Frank, who is Jewish. Nuzzo
reached into the ranks of
Jewish activists for a cam-
paign manager by appoin-
ting Matthew Brooks, polit-

Church-state questions
continue to pop up in all
kinds of strange places. This
week, an amendment was
expected to be tacked on to
the National Service Act, a
bill that would establish a
wide-ranging program pro-
moting national voluntary
service.
The amendment, written
by Rep. Thomas Tauke (R-
Iowa), would give par-
ticipating organizations
wide latitude in discrimina-
ting against prospective
employees on the basis of
their religious beliefs.
For Jewish activists, this
is a high-stakes debate that
goes well beyond the specific
voluntary service programs.
"We took a big hit on child
care," said Michael Lieber-

man, associate director of
the Washington office of the
Anti-Defamation League.
"We want to make sure that
the momentum of attaching
dangerous church-state
language to a variety of bills
stops right there."

The bill cleared the Senate
earlier this year. But the
House debate will be com-
plicated by the Tauke
amendment and the fact
that Jewish organizations
like ADL and the American
Jewish Committee are
taking a tougher position.
"This is another example
of totally inappropriate
church-state language being
attached to non-related
bills," said Judy Golub of the
American JewishCommittee.

Quayle Looking Better
To Jewish Groups

With U.S.-Israeli relations
in a sickening free fall, Jew-
ish groups are casting about

Dan Quayle:
Jews' new 'darling'?

for a friendly face in the Ex-
ecutive branch.
And more and more, Jew-
ish activists are turning to
the boyish visage of Vice
President Dan Quayle.
A year ago, Quayle was a
marginal figure to activists
interested in getting close to
the seat of power, and an ob-
ject of mirth to political pun-
dits. Today, the vice presi-
dent is still not exactly a
powerhouse on the national
scene — but he may be the
best the pro-Israel commun-
ity can muster.
"Dan Quayle has done a
credible job of reaching out
to the Jewish community,"
said an analyst with a pro-
Israel organization. "And he
has been more consistently
pro-Israel than anybody else
in the administration."
Several political observers

point out that Quayle has
been aided in his quest for a
higher profile in the Jewish
community by his chief of
staff, William Kristol, son of
Jewish neo-conservative Irv-
ing Kristol.
At this spring's policy con-
ference of the American
Israel Public Affairs Com-
mittee (AIPAC), Quayle was
so warmly received that he
returned to the Sheraton
Hotel to meet with the
AIPAC board.
Quayle has also become a
popular speaker at Orthodox
affairs. This spring, the vice
president represented the
administration at the
"Freedom Seder" in Wash-
ington.
But Quayle's political pro-
spects may complicate this
new love affair with the Jew-
ish community. There is
widespread speculation that
Quayle will be replaced on
the 1992 GOP ticket by Sec-
retary of State James Baker,
whose political ambitions
are said to be considerable.
This possibility produces
mixed feelings among Jew-
ish politicos. On one hand,
they point out, Baker's as-
cent to the number two post
would remove him from the
all-important State Depart-
ment position; since the ar-
rival of the Bush ad-
ministration, Baker has
been a major headache for
pro- Israel activists.
On the other hand, a suc-
cessful vice presidential bid
would position Baker for a
1996 presidential contest —
a prospect that produces cold
sweats among pro-Israel ac-
tivists.

Death Penalty
For Hate Crimes?

Could perpetrators of hate
crimes face the death penal-
ty? Recently, the Senate
defeated an amendment to
the omnibus crime bill that
would have opened up that
possibility — a prospect that
appalled some Jewish ac-
tivists who were leaders in
the fight for tougher
penalties for those who
commit crimes of racial, re-
ligious or ethnic hatred.
The amendment was in-
troduced by Sen. Pete
Wilson (R- Calif.), who is in
the middle of a ferocious
gubernatorial campaign in
which the death penalty has
become a major issue.
Wilson's amendment

Pete Wilson:
Death penalty advocate.

would have allowed the
death penalty in the case of
hate crimes that resulted in
a death. ❑

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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Hottest Issue Moves
To Back Burner