INSIDE WASHINGTON
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
Congress Passes Up
Chance To Bash Israel
p
ro-Israel activists in
Washington spent
last week anxiously
awaiting a rumored
amendment to the foreign
aid bill by Sen. Robert Dole
(R-Kans.) that would
criticize Israel for the Tem-
ple Mount riots and for the
Shamir government's poli-
cies on settlements in East
Jerusalem and the ter-
ritories.
Late last week the rumors
turned into reality. Mr. Dole
introduced an amendment
condemning the recent
Israeli announcement of new
Jewish neighborhoods in
East Jerusalem and calling
on the president to report
periodically to Congress on
Israeli settlement activity.
But after a quick flurry of
legislative activity, the bill,
which was co-sponsored by
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV),
was revealed to be a dud.
With hardly any effort by
pro-Israel forces — except to
make sure that friendly
senators were on the floor for
the vote — the Senate voted
90-8 to table the Dole-Byrd
proposal.
"It went over like a lead
balloon," said Jess Hordes,
Washington director for the
Anti-Defamation League of
Sen. Dole:
An attempt to criticize Israel in the
Senate.
B'nai B'rith. "People saw it
as a ploy; it did not deal with
the issues the Senate was
trying to deal with in the
foreign operations bill. Most
members agreed that it was
unnecessary, inflammatory
and counterproductive in the
context of the Persian Gulf
crisis."
A little less clear was the
administration's role in the
Dole proposal. Administra-
tion sources deny prior
knowledge of the attempted
legislative slap at Israel.
But pro-Israel activists are
not so sure. "I don't know
the full story of the ad-
ministration's role," Mr.
Hordes said. "I think it's
unlikely they instigated it.
But it's also unlikely they
were unaware of it."
Other pro-Israel activists
privately suggested that
while the administration
may not have participated in
drafting the amendment, the
White House would not have
been sorry to see it pass.
These sources indicated
that there is growing ad-
ministration anger over
Israel's settlement policies
— and specifically, over
differing interpretations of
the agreement freeing up
$400 million in housing loan
guarantees, the subject of a
recent exchange of letters
between Washington and
Jerusalem.
Despite these rumblings,
there was widespread satis-
faction that the Dole
amendment's failure to
gather any significant sup-
port would put a damper on
congressional efforts to in-
crease the pressure on
Israel.
"This is a reflection of the
sentiment not to bash Israel
at this time," Mr. Hordes
said. "This was a spon-
taneous statement by Con-
gress that it's not the time to
raise the level of rhetoric."
DC Activist Promotes
Prague-DC-Israel Tie
In case one needs further
confirmation of the almost
unbelievable changes that
have transformed the world
in less than a year, consider
a project now being coor-
dinated among Jerusalem,
Prague and Washington.
Medical officials in
Czechoslovakia and Israel
are putting together a plan
for a state-of-the-art clinic in
Prague for the treatment of
genetic disorders. A major
boost for the project is corn-
ing from Washington, where
a leading Jewish activist is
personally promoting the
program. --
"This is a wonderful op-
portunity ," said Mark
Talisman, Washington di-
rector for the Council of Jew-
ish Federations, and an ac-
tive supporter of the Jewish
renaissance in Czechoslo-
vakia. "It's particularly im-
portant for the United States
government, which is looking
for ways to help the Havel
government."
Mr. Talisman is currently
Soviet Immigration Seen
Limited By Amendment
Some Jewish activists
have been gnashing their
teeth over the twisted pro-
gress of a bill overhauling
the nation's system of legal
immigration.
Until last week, a number
of Jewish groups, led by the
American Jewish Com-
mittee, were part of a broad
coalition promoting a bill by
Rep. Bruce Morrison (D-
Conn.). The bill was passed
by the House this month,
and awaits reconciliation
with a different Senate mea-
sure, sponsored by Sen. Ed-
ward Kennedy (D-Mass.),
and passed last year.
The bill would make it
easier for some groups to win
immigrant status, including
those with relatives already
in this country and skilled
Sen. Simpson:
A threat to Soviet Jewish immigra-
tion.
clinic that will help cement
the new bridge between the
two countries."
U.S. assistance, Mr.
Talisman argued, would be
an important step in solidi-
fying the tenuous new bond
between the two countries.
workers. The original mea-
sure would also raise the
overall immigration ceiling
from 540,000 to 775,000 per
year.
But in an unusual pre-
conference maneuver, Sen.
Alan K. Simpson (R-Wyo.),
who has generally opposed
legislation increasing im-
migration numbers, attach-
ed language that threatens
Soviet Jewish immigration,
to the dismay of some
leading Jewish supporters of
the bill.
"This was a bill that would
have greatly strengthened
family immigration as the
core of the American im-
migration system," said
Judy Golub, the American
Jewish Committee's
legislative director, who
complained that the bill's
new language "puts a cap on
legal immigration that
would include, for the first
time, immediate relatives."
The cap on family im-
migration, Ms. Golub said,
could produce squabbles
between various immigrant
groups over scarce slots —
something Jewish groups
have been working hard to
avoid.
Many Soviet immigrants
who become citizens would
be eligible under the
original bill to bring in
brothers and sisters; under
the Simpson language, this
could prove more difficult.
"This is the first step away
from family as the
cornerstone of legal im-
migration reform," an angry
Ms. Golub said this week.
"This is a major change. It's
also makes it incredibly
difficult for an immigrant to
represent himself in pro-
ceedings, or get a lawyer to
do so. We are concerned that
this may be unconstitu-
tional."
Ms. Golub also expressed
disappointment that Sen.
Kennedy has apparently ac-
cepted Mr. Simpson's
modifications.
Agudath Israel Presses
Religious Freedom Bill
Mark Talisman:
A cooperative project.
urging Congress to consider
aiding the project, and to
provide guidance for
planners in Jerusalem and
Prague.
"The cooperation between
Israel and Czechoslovakia is
unprecedented," Mr.
Talisman said. "Talk about
a new world; a year ago,
Israelis weren't even allow-
ed visas to go to Prague.
Now they're working on a
The Religious Freedom
Restoration Act, legislation
designed to reverse this
year's Supreme Court deci-
sion in the so-called
"peyote" case, moved an-
other important step closer
to passage this week when
Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-
Utah), a leading conser-
vative, put his stamp of ap-
proval on the bill.
The high court decision,
according to the bill's
backers, made it easier for
states to restrict or outlaw
religious practices. Groups
from across the religious
spectrum, ranging from
Agudath Israel of America
to the National Association
of Evangelicals, responded
with indignation and effec-
tive grass-roots organizing.
For several months, pro-
moters of the bill, led by Rep.
Stephen Solarz (D-N.Y.)
have been seeking Senate
counterparts to sponsor the
measure.
This week, Mr. Hatch and
Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) were
expected to introduce a
Senate version of the bill.
According to several Jew-
ish activists, Mr. Hatch was
a prime target for Senate au-
thorship status — even
before the Mormon Church,
a political power house in
Mr. Hatch's home state,
gave its support to the mea-
sure.
But even with the bill
moving in the Senate, there
is little chance of any action
this year because of the
overloaded congressional
calender.
"I'm moderately confident
the bill will pass eventual-
ly," said David Zwiebel, di-
rector of government rela-
tions for Agudath Israel of
America. "I don't believe
any significant opposition
will emerge."
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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