INSIDE WASHINGTON
JAMES D. BESSER
Wash ington Correspondent
OU Speaker Shies Away
From Arms Sale Stand
I
n case anybody needed a
measure of the difficulty
awaiting pro-Israel ac-
tivists who want to block the
upcoming $14 billion arms
sale to Saudi Arabia, Rep.
Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.)
provided a striking illustra-
tion.
Speaking at the annual
meeting of the Union of Or-
thodox Hebrew Congrega-
tions of America, Mr.
Hunter — who is counted as
a stalwart defender of Israel
in Congress — refused to
commit himself to oppose the
massive sale.
"The situation is different
this year," Mr. Hunter told
the OU crowd. "With
American troops on the
ground there, we need a
strong Saudi Arabia. A
Saudi Arabia that's facing a
possible attack by Saddam
Hussein needs to be stronger
and more effective militarily
than a Saudi Arabia that is
not facing such an attack."
Arms for Saudi Arabia,
Mr. Hunter warned, might
prevent American casualties
— an argument that echoed
President Bush's warnings
that opposition to the sale
could endanger American
troops and contribute to an
anti-Israel backlash in this
country.
"It's a dilemma we're go-
ing to have to fight," said
William Rapfogel, executive
director of the OU's Institute
for Public Affairs. "Rep.
Hunter's speech was an in-
dication that this is going to
be the toughest battle since
the AWACs fight. The Bush
administration is twisting
arms — and people are look-
ing over their shoulders."
Immigration Overhaul
Bill Gets Good Marks
Jewish activists here con-
tinue to celebrate last mon-
th's passage of a sweeping
bill overhauling the nation's
immigration system.
But as they wade through
the huge piece of legislation,
it is becoming clear that the
Immigration Act of 1990 is
only the first step in moving
that immigration is
favorable to the United
States."
But other aspects of the
bill, Mr. Rubin noted, will
bear careful watching — in-
cluding provisions that em-
phasize employment-based
immigration, and language
that could have the effect of
re-introducing a bias in
favor of white, European
immigrants — a dangerous
precedent, in Mr. Rubin's
view.
"It goes against the grain
of the generally open nature
of the bill," he said. "In the
future, as we look to diver-
sify the immigration stream,
will we capitulate to
pressure from national
lobbies that want to go to a
`national origins' system? Or
will we maintain this more
open and pluralistic ap-
proach?"
Media Gadfly Develops
`Less Strident' Approach
When Washington's
premier pro-Israel gadfly
hooked up with an organiza-
tion that had become a kind
of collective gadfly serving
the pro-Israel cause, it seem-
ed like a perfect match.
Gary Rubin:
Tempered optimism.
towards a fairer, more bal-
anced immigration policy.
"The first thing to say is
that this represents a major
victory for people who favor
a pluralistic and generous
immigration policy," said
Gary Rubin, director of na-
tional affairs for the Ameri-
can Jewish Committee, a
group that played a promi-
nent role in the immigration
debate.
"It increases overall im-
migration to the United
States, it maintains the
family as the prime criterion
in immigration policy and it
rejects a rigid cap on im-
migration — an admission
And after almost a year as
executive director, Michael
Hoffman's romance with the
Committee for Accuracy in
Middle East Reporting in
America (CAMERA) seems
to be flourishing.
Even before his appoint-
ment, as top man at the
media watchdog group, Mr.
Hoffman had developed a
unique personal style of pro-
Israel activism.
"I've called in to several
hundred talk shows," he
said in a recent interview. "I
don't call any one program
very frequently; I try to
spread it around. I direct my
questions primarily at peo-
ple who come on the air and
espouse an anti-Israel view-
point. I'll come in with some
hard-hitting question, and
try to get the audience to see
through what I see as faulty
reasoning."
Mr. Hoffman, who has
been heard on nationally
syndicated shows like those
hosted by Larry King and
Tom Snider, has honed the
art of talk-show advocacy.
"I've learned that on these
shows, stridency is a
negative. You have to ask
your question with good
humor, without sounding
strident. This gives you
more chances to get on —
and when you do, it often
provides you with a chance
to follow up your question."
As director of CAMERA,
Mr. Hoffman seems to be
changing the style of the
sometimes-strident group.
"I think I've helped refine
the role of CAMERA — not
to be an advocacy organiza-
tion, but to specifically
monitor the media, correct
errors and distortions and
provide information to the
media so they can get it
right the first time," he said.
Cranston's Substitute
Is 'Unknown Quantity'
Senate Democrats recently
made some small but signifi-
cant changes in their leader-
ship that could affect the
pro-Israel agenda in the up-
coming congressional ses-
sion.
Sen. Alan Cranston, the
majority whip who has had
his problems with certain
savings and loan moguls, re-
cently announced his deci-
sion not to seek re-election in
1992 — and to step down
from the important post of
Senate Majority Whip.
Mr. Cranston had been an
important figure down in the
Senate's trenches. His
strong support for Israel
made him a major asset to
pro-Israel organizations
here.
The Democrats voted to
replace Mr. Cranston with
Sen. Wendell Ford (D-Ky.),
who was described by one
leading pro-Israel activist
here as "an affable guy who
tends to vote right on foreign
aid — but who is not close to
the Jewish community."
Mr. Ford lacks the close
contact with the Jewish
community that made Mr.
Cranston a major pro-Israel
asset. And he lacks the
powerful home-state Jewish
constituency that helped
keep his predecessor firmly
lined up on the pro-Israel
side.
"As far as our issues are
concerned, he's pretty much
of an unknown," said Morrie
Amitay, the dean of Jewish
activists in Washington.
"Cranston was a very good
head counter; he was inter-
ested and involved in Middle
East issues, and he carried
some weight because he was
also on the foreign relations
committee."
Jewish Groups Sanguine
About Paul Wellstone
On another front, Jewish
groups are vying for the at-
tention of the newest star on
the Jewish political scene,
Paul Wellstone, the Min-
nesota college professor who
stunned the political world
by defeating Sen. Rudy
Boschwitz, the veteran
Republican legislator who
was a pillar of the pro-Israel
community.
Pro-Israel groups are al-
ready revising their line on
Mr. Wellstone, who was an
ardent supporter of presi-
dential contender Jesse
Jackson in 1988. Mr.
Wellstone, they now say, has
not indicated any anti-Israel
attitudes, despite his associ-
ation with Jackson. He is
—in the parlance of several
pro-Israel groups —
"somebody we can work
with."
A number of Jewish
groups from different parts
of the political spectrum are
vying to sponsor a Wellstone
visit to Israel, on the theory
that the first group to bring
the Senate newcomer to the
region will have a major im-
pact in shaping his Middle
East positions.
But some observers see
something almost comical in
the frantic effort to act as
Mr. Wellstone's tour guide.
"You can do major things
by bringing people to
Israel," said an official with
a major Jewish organization
here. "But only if they're ig-
norant about the Middle
East. Wellstone has his own
thought-out positions on
Israel. It's silly to think he
can be manipulated in such
an obvious way." 0
Council Office
Monitors Soviets
Washington (JTA) — An
office to monitor Soviet
emigration and human
rights laws and practice has
been opened in Moscow, it
was announced by the Union
of Councils for Soviet Jews.
The Moscow Bureau on
Exit, Human Rights and
Rule of Law in the USSR
was opened as a joint ven-
ture of the Union of Councils
and the Moscow-based
Public Committee on Exit
and Entrance and other
Human Rights.
"We are excited to be the
first Western human rights
organization to open an of-
fice in Moscow," David
Waksberg, the Union's vice
president, said at the open-
ing ceremony.
He said that the center
will provide direct assis-
tance to prisoners of cons-
cience, refuseniks and Soviet
Jews fleeing anti-Semitism
as well as provide reset-
tlement information for
those emigrating to the
United States and Israel.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
31