UP FRONT

Jewish Leaders Are Briefed
By Top American Officials

JAMES D. BESSER

Washington Correspondent

s

ome 250 leaders of
Jewish organizations
gathered in Washing-
ton for first-hand briefings
on the state of the
U.S.-Israel relations from
ranking administration and
congressional officials.
The event, the National
Leadership Assembly of the
Conference of Presidents of
Major American Jewish
Organizations, attracted an
all-star list of speakers, in-
cluding Defense Secretary
Dick Cheney and Speaker of
the House Thomas S. Foley
(D-Wash.). They also heard
from Israeli Prime Minister
Yitzhak Shamir via tele-
phone.
In her opening remarks,
Shoshana Cardin, chairman
of the Presidents' Con-
ference, set the tone for the
meeting by saluting the
generals and admirals who
carried out the successful
war against Iraq.
She also praised President
George Bush as "the
designer and prime mover of
the great coalition that he
formed, maintained and co-

ordinated" and spoke about
the post-war Middle East
situation.
"We are now on the
threshold of the path to
peace — a path in which all
Arab countries, and espe-
cially our allies in the
struggle against Iraqi ag-
gression, must end their
state of belligerency and
recognize Israel's right to ex-
ist within secure borders,"
she said. "This approach will
provide the framework in
which the Israeli-
Palestinian conflicts can
also be resolved."
Mrs. Cardin urged the ad-
ministration to encourage
talks between Israel and
representatives of the Pales-
tinian people — but not the
PLO.
"By their flagrant and
unabashed support of
Saddam. Hussein and their
continued terrorism, Yassir
Arafat and his cohorts have
disqualified themselves from
any post-war role," she said.
Mr. Shamir said the war's
end allows the Jewish state
to concentrate on the
awesome task of integrating
hundreds of thousands of
Soviet Jews into Israeli
society.

"I am not sure that all of
us in Israel, and you outside
of Israel, fully appreciate the
magnitude of the challenge
and the extraordinary task
that lies ahead of us," he
said. "We cannot continue as
if this was a normal opera-
tion. We are making extra-
ordinary efforts in Israel."
Defense Secretary Cheney
suggested that from a
military point of view,
U.S.-Israel relations have
never been closer than dur-
ing the Gulf war. He re-
ferred to the secure com-
munications link between
the Pentagon and
Jerusalem, and the "real
time" intelligence informa-
tion from U.S. sources that
gave Israel added warning of
Scud attacks.
"This whole experience
has been an example of the
importance of maintaining
Israel's strength," he said.
"An Israel that was not
strong might have found it
more difficult to act with
such restraint."
Mr. Cheney also addressed
the issue of arms sales to
Arab countries. There have
been reports that the ad-
ministration is planning to
revive its proposal for a $14

4

Arm.. from New., by Ned Levi*.

M9.1.1....

billion arms sale to Saudi
Arabia.
"Without the defense rela-
tionship that we have de-
veloped with Saudi Arabia
over the years, we would not
have had the military
capability that made this
operation possible," he said.
"More than 25 percent of our
aid to them has gone for de-
veloping bases and facilities
for the defense of Saudi
Arabia. It would not have
been possible for us to
achieve the deployment of
500,000 troops halfway
around the world without
those facilities."
Sen. George Mitchell, the
Senate majority leader,
criticized the administration
for its longtime embrace of
Saddam Hussein, and warn-
ed against repeating this

mistake with Syria's Hafez
Al-Assad.
He also warned against
any attempt by the United
States to dictate the terms of
a Middle East peace.
"It is not for us to draw
lines on the map," he said.
Speaker Foley echoed the
sentiments of several
speakers by urging nations
in the region to work toward
a major arms control agree-
ment, while Dennis Ross, a
top State Department offi-
cial, suggested that ad-
ministration concerns about
the Iraqi threat to Israel
played a large role in the
decision to press for a com-
plete military victory.
"From the beginning, we
recognized that Saddam
could not be allowed even a
Pyrrhic victory," he said.

Kirkland announced that
his organization has so far
raised $100,000 for the
drive. Contributions came
both from the AFL-CIO and
individual member unions.of
the labor federation.
Eight clinics operated by
Kupat Cholim, the
Histadrut health organiza-
tion, suffered severe damage
from the Scuds.

Ribbon," the inspiration for
the ubiquitous ribbons.
Mr. Levine said the
original idea of the yellow
ribbon dates to the Civil
War, when bandannas, han-
dkerchiefs or ribbons were
used to welcome home
soldiers from battle.

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ROUND UP

UAHC Publishes
Coloring Book
New York — The Union of
American Hebrew Con-
gregations has published a
new coloring book to teach
small children the difference
between Jewish and Chris-
tian symbols, religious ob-
jects and holidays.
"The How We Celebrate
Coloring Book" is the
outgrowth of interreligious
educational programs at
temples in Texas and
Arkansas. The initial aim of
the project, which ultimately
involved other religious in-
stitutions in the two states,
was to correct misconcep-
tions about Jews and
Judaism inadvertently
communicated by church
Sunday schools.
The publication tells the
story of Easter, Passover,
Christmas, Chanukah,
Thanksgiving and Sukkot in
the form of an illustrated
narrative about a group of
Jewish and Christian
primary school children as
they learn about each

12

FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 1991

HOW WE CELEBRATE

The "How We Celebrate" coloring
book.

other's faiths. It was
prepared for use in both Jew-
ish and non-Jewish religious
school classrooms.
Copies of the coloring book
cost $5 each, plus a postage
and handling charge of $1.50
for the first book and 50
cents for each additional
copy. To order the book,
write the Department for
Religious Education, UAHC,
838 Fifth Ave., New York,
N.Y. 10021.

Sephardic House
Sponsors Contest
New York — The Sephar-
dic House in New York is
sponsoring an essay contest
for college students.
Contestants may submit
an 8-12 page essay on a
Sephardic topic, with foot-
notes and bibliography.
Essays are due April 15.
Cash prizes will be awarded.
For contest guidelines, con-
tact the Sephardic House, 8
West 70th St., New York,
N.Y. 10023, or call (212) 873-
0300.

AFL-CIO Campaign
To Aid Israel
Miami Beach — The AFL-
CIO has launched an
emergency fund-raising
campaign to help rebuild
Israeli medical clinics
damaged by Iraqi Scud mis-
sile attacks during the Gulf
War.
Speaking last week at a
meeting of the Histadrut,
Israel's labor federation,
AFL-CIO President Lane

Tie One On
For Irwin Levine
From West Bloomfield. to
Oak Park and from Detroit
to Southfield, trees are
adorned with yellow ribbons
to remember U.S. soldiers
coming home from the Gulf.
A New Jersey resident
feels a certain pride
whenever he sees those
ribbons, decorating trees
nationwide. And it's not just
because of his patriotic
pride, The Jewish Journal
reports.
Irwin Levine of Liv-
ingston, N.J., helped write
the music and lyrics for the
1973 hit "Tie a Yellow

Shimras Halashon
Line Opens Here
Detroit is among 10 cities
to have a new free telephone
lesson that teaches the laws
of Shimras Halashon (guar-
ding one's speech).
Started in 1988 in New
York, the lesson is guided by
the teachings of the Chofetz
Chaim, who was dedicated to
teaching the importance of
speaking kindly about
others. The telephone
lessons are given by Rabbi
Yitzchok Berkowitz of Aish
Hatorah.
The 10-minute lesson
changes daily. The number
is 967-3637.

Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum

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