INSIDE WASHINGTON

JAMES D. BESSER

Washington Correspondent

Jewish Issues Injected
Into Florida Election

Presidents' Conference
Foresaw Energy Issues

T

he re-emergence of oil
as a major factor in
international politics
caught much of official
Washington by surprise.
But not the Conference of
Presidents of Major Ameri-
can Jewish Organizations,
which has spent months lay-
ing the groundwork for a
new "committee on energy."
"Rabbi Alex Schindler
raised the issue at a meeting
some time ago," said
Malcolm Hoenlein, the
group's executive director.
"We felt it was a very impor-
tant issue. We were lulled
into a sense of complacency
about energy; our hope is
that everybody will wake up
before it's too late."
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait
and the shock waves that
have already hit consumers

at the gas pumps jarred the
American public from its
long period of complacency,
Mr. Hoenlein said.
Even before the Kuwait
invasion, the Presidents
Conference has been contac-
ting experts in the energy
field, trying to identify the
problems which resulted in
America's growing
dependence on foreign oil.
"It's a complex economic
and political question," Mr.
Hoenlein said. "We have to
focus on alternative sources
of energy, on conservation,
on education. Suddenly,
alternative energy sources
are becoming economically
viable again."
Aside from the obvious in-
conveniences of gas lines
and recession, the growing
dependence on foreign oil

Malcolm Hoenlein:
Hoping for an awakening.

also could have an ominous
impact on U.S. Middle East
policy, Mr. Hoenlein said.
"Right now, people are
angry at the Arab nations,
and will respond. What
happens down the road is
very uncertain."

Pro Israel Groups Keep
Low Profile On Iraq

With the Persian Gulf re-
gion again on the brink of
chaos and U.S.-Israeli rela-
tions at an unexpected fork
in the road, Israel's friends
in Washington are trying
very hard to blend into the
woodwork.
"The Israelis are wisely
being quiet," said Jess
Hordes, Washington repre-
sentative for the Anti-
Defamation League. "It
doesn't make sense to let the
situation in Saudi Arabia be
cast as a U.S.-Israeli opera-

tion. So they are working
hard to keep a very low pro-
file."
Pro-Israel organizations,
too, are acutely aware that
the administration is ge-
nerating an international
effort to protect Saudi
Arabia — a process that
might be jeopardized by a
too-vocal pro-Israel compo-
nent to the discussion.
And there is a strong
reluctance among Jewish
groups here to help Saddam
Hussein in his attempt to re-

cast the current crisis as a
by-product of the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict.

Among Jewish organiza-
tions in Washington, there
has also been an tacit
agreement to avoid
trumpeting the fact that
Israel's view of Saddam
Hussein had been far more
accurate than the Bush ad-
ministration's — a fact that
came home to roost last
week after the Iraqi invasion
of Kuwait.

Hate Crimes Act Funding
Delays Cause Concern

In some ways, it is a classic
"inside the beltway" story:
which federal agency should
collect the data on hate
crimes, as required by
legislation passed earlier
this year?
But for Jewish organiza-
tions across the country, the
question is deadly serious.
As the FBI's Uniform Crime
Reports division gets further
ensnared in the budget
battle on Capitol Hill, the
implementation of the im-
portant measure is hanging
in the balance.
"There is very real concern
about full funding for the
program," said Michael
Lieberman, associate direc-
tor of ADL's Washington of-
fice. "And there is also con-
cern that the agency might

be transferred to the Bureau
of Justice Statistics."
Moving the UCR program
from the FBI, or transferring
the functions required by the
Hate Crimes Statistics Act,
could delay implementation
of the measure, Mr. Lieber-
man said.

One reason for the UCR's
effectiveness is the prestige
of the FBI. Currently, some
16,000 local and state law
enforcement agencies volun-
tarily report to the UCR divi-
sion —almost 97 percent of
the nation's law enforce-
ment agencies. There are
concerns that any attempt to
remove the agency from the
FBI's jurisdiction might
result in a decline in that
number — which would pro-

duce less accurate and
reliable statistics.
Already, the meter is tick-
ing for the Hate Crimes Act.
The program was authorized
for five years. Because of
delays in implementation,
1990 is already a lost cause;
if the bureaucratic tug-of-
war continues much longer,
it could dash ADL's hopes to
see the program up and run-
ning by January, 1991. The
bill must be reauthorized in
1994.
But all is not glum on the
hate crimes front. ADL,
along with forty law en-
forcement and data collec-
tion agencies, has been in-
vited to a two-day FBI ses-
sion at the end of the month
to discuss implementation of
the bill.

The battle for the 14th
district congressional seat in
Florida continues to produce
sparks.
Several weeks ago, this
column reported on Scott
Shore's attempt to unseat
Rep. Harry A. Johnston, a
Democrat.
Mr. Shore has been
criticized by some Jewish
Democrats for injecting his
religious affiliations into the
debate in a mailing to the
Jewish community, and for
insisting that Rep. Johnston
has been only a lukewarm
supporter of Israel.
Mr. Shore dismissed these
charges as politically
motivated.
"Our piece went out, and
obviously it was very
threatening to Harry
Johnston," Mr. Shore said.
"In a district with a large
Jewish community that tra-
ditionally votes Democratic,
he feels his base is threaten-
ed. He needs to play the in-
jured puppy, getting the
sympathy of the Jewish
community."
More controversial is the
fact that Mr. Shore, who
once worked for the Ameri-
can-Israel Public Affairs
Committee (AIPAC), is now
accusing officers of the big
pro-Israel group of quietly
orchestrating a campaign
against his candidacy.
"Look, they are mobiliz-
ing, trying to get all the Jew-
ish groups not to support
me," Mr. Shore said. "For
them to end up championing
Harry strikes me as `shtet1
Judaism. "
Mr. Shore is also challeng-
ing one of the core principles
of the pro-Israel political ac-
tion network — the idea that
even incumbents with mixed
records on the Middle East
are preferable to newcomers
with strongly pro-Israel
records.
And Mr. Shore has singled
out Rep. Larry Smith (D-
Fla.) for criticism. Mr. Smith
signed a letter circulated
among Jewish congressmen
supporting Johnston and
criticizing Mr. Shore's tac-
tics.
"I know where he (Mr.
Smith) is coming from," Mr.
Shore said. "This is not
something that is spon-
taneously generated; it's
something that friends
within the AIPAC commun-
ity — I will not say AIPAC
specifically — are cir-
culating to try to discredit
my position."
That contention was

Scott Shore:
Continuing to breathe fire.

disputed by Morrie Amitay,

the former AIPAC executive

director. Mr. Amitay, who
hired Mr. Shore at AIPAC, is
also the director of the only
PAC now giving money to
his campaign.
"Larry Smith doesn't take
his orders from anybody, in-
cluding AIPAC," Mr.
Amitay said. The longtime
political veteran also
dismissed out of hand the
idea of an AIPAC-led con-
spiracy — as did an AIPAC
spokesperson.
But Mr. Shore continues to
breathe fire.
"I'm not looking to make a
big story," he said. "But I
will pursue AIPAC on this
unless they become more
even- handed, and until I
begin to see evidence that
they are not working against
me. They have crossed a line
here."

Frequent Flier
Points In M.E.

Rep. Stephen Solarz (D-
New York) is often criticized
by government watchdog
groups for his globe-trotting
ways, and by some of his
Jewish constituents for his
interest in places like Cam-
bodia and the Philippines.
But this month, the con-
gressman is earning his fre-
quent flier points in the
Middle East.
Currently, Mr. Solarz is in
Saudi Arabia, where he is
discussing the current con-
frontation with Iraq. His
Middle East swing is also
taking him to Yemen,
Egypt, Syria, Jordan and
Israel. In Syria, he will con-
tinue his longstanding
battle to ease the plight of
Jews in that country.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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