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What Will Shevardnadze
Leaving Mean To Jews?

JAMES D. BESSER

Washington Correspondent

W

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Imackenzie's1

hether or not Soviet
Foreign Minister
Eduard Shevard-
nadze sticks with his deci-
sion to resign, the uproar in
Moscow may have major
implications for the Jews
still in the Soviet Union, ac-
cording to Soviet Jewry ac-
tivists here.
Mr. Shevardnadze's resig-
nation came during a speech
in Moscow, in which the
outspoken diplomat warned
of the establishment of a
"dictatorship" under
Mikhail Gorbachev.
"For Soviet Jews, this is
clearly a warning sign of
troubled days," said Martin

cy

To
More
Than

The more the Bush ad-
minstration's ardor for
Israel seems to cool, the
more access to the White
House becomes a major issue
for Jewish groups here.
During the Reagan ad-
ministration, the "Jewish
liaison" at the White House
scheduled regular meetings
with the Washington repre-
sentatives for major Jewish

The recent announcement
that the newly reunited
government of Germany
might seek a strict limit of

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organizations; since 1989,
there have been a total of
four such meetings — which
has provoked some serious
grumbling among Jewish
activists here.
But according to the White
House, the demise of regular
meetings is strictly a func-
tion of staffing problems.
"At the height of the
Reagan administration, the

office of Public Liaison had
about 50 people on the
staff," said Kathy Jeavons,
the new liaison officer
assigned to work with the
Jewish community.

"Now it's down to 15.
Working with a reduced
staff, it's difficult to provide
the kind of care and feeding
these groups need."

Proposed German Quota
Upsets Jewish Activists

v

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Wenick, executive director
of the National Conference
on Soviet Jewry and a

White House Access
May Be Tough For Jews

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Eduard Shevardnadze:
A warning sign?

former State Department of-
ficial.
"This resignation is a clear
reflection of how serious the
situation has become in the
Soviet Union."
The biggest danger to
Soviet Jews, Mr. Wenick
suggested, is that the cur-
rent political and economic
disarray could provoke a
conservative reaction —
something that Mr.
Shevardnadze warned about
in his resignation statement.
And this could result in a
slowdown of the un-
precedented exodus of Soviet
Jews — or a complete col-
lapse of the Soviet political
system, which could seri-
ously endanger minorities of
all kinds in the Soviet
Union.

Rep. Larry Smith:
A request for clarification.

1,000 Soviet Jewish immi-
grants per year sent ripples
of anxiety through Washing-
ton's community of Jewish
activists.

Already, several members
of Congress have expressed
an interest in the subject; re-
cently, Rep. Larry Smith (D-
Fla.) sent a letter to the
German government, asking
for clarification.
But the issue may be more
complicated than it appears
on the surface.
"It's not just a German
problem," said Warren
Eisenberg, director of B'nai
B'rith's International Coun-
cil. "We're seeing this
throughout Europe, and it
doesn't just apply to Jews;
there's a growing fear of be-
ing inundated with people
coming from the East."
Some American Jewish
leaders have weighed in
against restrictive quotas,
backing up the position of
Germany's Jewish commun-
ity.
But there are growing
reports that representatives
of the Israeli government
have been quietly urging

German officials not to in-
crease the flow of Soviet
Jews into that country —
apparently out of concern
that many would chose the
booming German economy
over Israel's less favorable
economic climate.

Rep. Smith's
Bold Move
In Congress

It may not matter much to
the folks in Peoria, but to
pro-Israel activists it's a
significant change: Rep.
Larry Smith (D-Fla) is mov-
ing over to the Appropria-
tions Committee.
And in the process, Mr.
Smith, who's bulldog pro-
Israel style has endeared
him to many Jewish ac-
tivists and irritated some of
his colleagues, gave up his
seats on the foreign affairs
and judiciary committees.