INSIDE WASHINGTON JAMES D. BESSER Washington Correspondent A congressional race in Florida has developed some twists that have a few Jewish legislators hot under the collar. The debate centers on the aggressive campaign of Scott Shore, a conservative Republican, to unseat in- cumbent Rep. Harry Johnston, a Democrat. Shore, a businessman, is a former official with the American Israel Public Af- fairs Committee. In a recent mailing to potential Jewish con- tributors, Shore hauled out the heavy rhetorical ar- tillery — accusing Johnston of being "not too picky" about committee assignments, and blasting the incumbent for relying on the "moderate Jewish con- stituency" for information about Jewish issues. "It doesn't take much to figure out that the 'moderate Jewish constituency' Harry refers to is the Liberal Left Wing," according to Shore's fire-and-brimstone cam- paign tract. Shore also criticized Johnston's response to last year's speech by Secretary of State James Baker to the AIPAC policy conference. Johnston, according to the Shore brochure, suggested that the speech had very little impact on Congress — and that there are a number of Jewish legislators on the Foreign Affairs committee. "Sounds like Harry is say- ing,`Some of my best friends are Jewish: " according to the glossy pamphlet. Jewish Democrats in Con- gress were not amused. Re- cently, several legislators circulated a letter suppor- ting Johnston's credentials as a supporter of Israel and obliquely criticizing Shore's negative campaign style within the Jewish commun- ity. Ben Waldman, director of the conservative National Jewish Coalition, saw things differently. "Scott Shore's campaign is an example of the recent emergence of a number of young, dynamic Jewish can- didates," Waldman said. "To me, the story here is the po- litical maturation of a whole generation of Jewish Repub- licans who entered politics in the past 10 years." Bush Sent Arabs Wrong Message On U.N. Bill When President George Bush signed the bill urging the United Nations to repeal its 1975 "Zionism as Racism" resolution several weeks ago, it represented a victory for a number of Jew- ish groups that had pressed hard for the bill —and for Sen. Rudy Boschwitz (R- Minn.) and Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), the key sponsors of the mea- sure. But the White House took some of the pleasure out of the victory. Despite the quiet urging of several Jewish organiza- tions and congressional of- fices, the White House refused to hold a signing ceremony. Instead, a state- ment was issued in the pres- ident's name seconding the call for a repeal of the U.N. resolution. "It was definitely a disap- pointment," said one Jewish activist who was involved in Sens. Boschwitz, Moynihan: the pleasure was not unalloyed. the discussions. "Clearly, this was a calculated deci- sion on the part of the White House not to make this into a public signing. I think it sends an incorrect message to the Arab world." That message, according to several Jewish activists, is that despite the strong statement from Congress on the issue, the United States is not really serious about pressing the international body to rescind a resolution that the pro-Israel commun- ity regards as an obstacle to a Middle East peace. ❑ Effort To Block Saudi Arms Sale Fizzles Efforts to block a gigantic arms sale to Saudi Arabia quietly fizzled last week when the clock ran out for Congressional disapproval. The administration had proposed more than $4 billion in hardware for the Saudis, including TOW anti- tank missiles, armored vehicles and improvements for the AWACS sold to the Saudis in 1981 after a bitter battle with pro-Israel forces. Rep. Larry Smith (D-Fla.) had introduced a "resolution of disapproval" that could have blocked the sale. Behind the scenes, Smith was negotiating to limit what he saw as the most dangerous components of the sale — including the TOW missiles. By law, Congress has 30 days after official notifica- tion to reject a foreign arms sale. Both houses must ap- prove the resolution of dis- approval. But Smith was unable to generate much interest among his colleagues. Smith continues to argue that the sale represents one more dangerous escalation. Abp. Sen. Kohl, Rep. Weiss among magazine's "Best." Jewish Legislators Get Magazine Accolade The Washingtonian Maga- zine recently published its "Best and Worst in Wash- ington" issue, and several Jewish legislators came in for some heavy praise. In a poll of House and Senate staffers, Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) was rated the Senate's "Office Angel" — the senator with the most contented staff. "He's a real pussycat," said one envious aide to an- other senator. On the House side, the honors went to another Jew- ish legislator — Rep. Ted Weiss, the New York liberal Democrat and all-around nice guy. A few other awards were of note to Jewish politicos. The "Brain Dead" contest in the House resulted in a tie. The honors were divided between Rep. James Traficant (D- Ohio), who has spearhead- ed a crusade charging the Office of Special Investiga- tions (OSI) with harassing several suspected Nazi war criminals, and Rep. Gus Savage, the Illinois Democrat whose remarks at a campaign rally earlier this year ignited a storm of criticism from Jewish groups. The award for the smartest congressman went to Rep. Barney Frank, the outspoken Jewish Democrat from Massachusetts. Jewish Activists Back 'Troubled Family' Bill Family issues have become the hot political commodity of the 1990s. But as the re- cent veto of the family and medical leave bill demon- strated, when it comes to spending money for family oriented programs, election- year promises bend to other considerations. Now, another bill is attrac- ting the attention of some Jewish groups here. The Family Preservation Act of 1990 is a wide-ranging bill that would provide a number of services to troubled families. Specifically, the bill would provide grants to child wel- fare agencies, fund demon- stration programs to beef up foster care services, and pro- vide for research and train- ing to improve the foster- care system. The bill would update earlier legislation — which President Ronald Reagan urged Congress to repeal. "We're looking at some pretty scary predictions," said Susan Banes Harris, Washington representative for the New York Jewish Federations, a group active- ly promoting the current bill. "If current trends con- tinue, the number of chil- dren in out-of-home care could go up to 800,000 by 1995. So it's evident we have to do more to help keep families from falling apart — and to provide safe, effec- tive foster care for those that become dysfunctional." "Some people say this is not a Jewish problem. But in New York and other urban areas, we've always had strong child welfare pro- grams. In some cities, there are foster homes for Jewish teens. In New York, our Jewish agencies work with all segments of society. It's a problem we'd all hoped would go away." THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 27 ATI C ► ill In Florida: Hardball Politics Or Mudslinging?