Don't Look Now, But
The Election Has Begun
NECHEMIA MEYERS
Special to The Jewish News
S
ome observers believe
that the national elec-
tions scheduled for
November 1992 will be ad-
vanced to April of next year.
The politicians, in any case,
are acting as if the campaign
has already begun.
The bill for more generous
government mortgages is a
case in point. It was recently
put forward by Yaacov
Shamai of the Likud, Eli
Dayan of Labor and Ron
Cohen of the Citizens'
Rights Movement, even
though all three — and their
Knesset colleagues who sup-
ported it — had no idea
where the enormous sums
required to implement the
proposal were to be found.
While the bill was subse-
quently shelved, it will
presumably help the careers
of Mssrs. Shamai, Dayan
and Cohen.
The crusade to enforce
stricter Sabbath observance
Nechemia Meyers writes from
Rehovot, Israel.
now being pursued by Depu-
ty Labor Minister
Menachem Porush is an-
other case of playing to the
galleries. Rabbi Porush
knows full well that he won't
be able to close down Ben-
Gurion Airport on the
Sabbath, stop the screening
Two possible
electoral blocs —
of Arabs and Soviet
immigrants
could upset
everyone's
calculations.
of films on Friday night or
prevent buses from going to
and from outlying sections of
the Galilee and Negev before
the Sabbath has officially
ended. But he scores points
with his Orthodox consti-
tuency by stridently attemp-
ting to do so.
Of course, no one outdoes
Housing Minister Ariel Sha-
ron in this sphere. His
carefully-timed settlement
activities in the territories
have been well calculated to
enrage Secretary of State
James Baker as well as win
favor with right-wing voters.
Mr. Sharon's policies have
also highlighted the growing
split within the Likud bet-
ween those like Foreign
Minister David Levy, who
are clearly trying to promote
peace talks, and Mr. Sharon,
who are anxious to torpedo
them.
Whatever its own prob-
lems, the Likud doesn't face
a serious challenge from
Labor, which will never be
rejuvenated until it rids
itself of its present moribund
leadership. Indeed, there is
every likelihood that sup-
port for Labor will decline
further in the next elections.
Also in trouble is scandal-
racked Shas, the Orthodox
Sephardi party. Its leaders
claim they are not stealing
public funds or even misus-
ing them, as they are accus-
ed of doing, but are simply
the victims of persecution by
other groups anxious to
destroy Shas. It remains to
be seen whether this argu-
ment will convince those
who voted for Shas in 1988.
Two possible electoral
Cat.....no. Cop,pn, 1993. Calm. Ranw.therfaaftslbylosA.A.sTer&rdote.
blocs — of Arabs and Soviet
immigrants — could upset
everyone's calculations. If
Arab voters were to unite
behind a single list, they
could easily win 12 seats,
giving them 10 percent of
the total Knesset member-
ship. And if newcomers from
the Soviet Union were to do
the same, they could win
some eight seats. This,
however, is much less likely
with the Soviets than the
Arabs, because while the
Soviets share common com-
plaints about the absorption
process, they are by no means
united on the key issues of
economics, peace and
religion.
All the parties will surely
be courting the Soviet immi-
grants, but, being preoc-
cupied with the upcoming
elections, will probably do
little to solve the problems
related to absorption. ❑
Jonathan Pollard's Legal Brief Gains Broad Backing
IRA RIFKIN
Special to The Jewish News
T
he campaign to set
aside Jonathan
Pollard's guilty plea
received another boost this
week with the release of a
broad-based list of 32 promi-
nent legal experts and re-
ligious leaders — both Jew-
ish and non-Jewish — who
have joined the effort to gain
a new trial for the jailed spy
for Israel.
The names were listed as
part of the amicus curiae, or
friends-of-the-court legal
brief prepared on Mr.
Pollard's behalf in connec-
tion with his September ap-
peals court hearing concern-
ing a new trial. The brief is
intended to demonstrate
broad community support
for Mr. Pollard's legal posi-
tion.
Baltimore law professor
Kenneth Lasson, who coor-
dinated preparation of the
amicus brief, said that about
50 individuals and organiza-
tions asked to sign the brief.
Ira Rifkin is assistant editor of
the Baltimore Jewish Times.
Jonathan Pollard
However, not all were in-
cluded so as to keep the list
manageable and to accen-
tuate the prominence of the
signers, he said.
The list includes American
Jewish leaders on both ends
of the liberal-conservative
spectrum. One of them,
Nobel Prize-winning author
Elie Wiesel, said the range
of signers was indicative of
the increasing Jewish com-
munity support for Mr.
Pollard.
"I think the Jewish com-
munity is finally waking up
to his suffering," Mr. Wiesel
said in an interview.
"Previously, people were
quiet because they feared be-
ing accused of dual loyalty.
Now, more are seeing it's
time for a little rachmones
(compassion) for him."
Mr. Pollard, who in 1986
pleaded guilty to passing
secret U.S. papers about
Arab military might to
Israeli officials, is serving a
life term at the federal
prison in Marion, Ill. His at-
torneys maintain he was
coerced into pleading guilty
and that the U.S. govern-
ment failed to live up to its
part of the plea bargain
agreement when it pressed,
through a secret memoran-
dum from then-Defense Sec-
retary Caspar Weinberger,
for a life-term.
Mr. Pollard, an ex-Navy
intelligence officer who
claims he was motivated by
concerns for Israel's safety,
admits he broke the law, and
some signers of the amicus
brief remain highly critical
of his actions.
"What he did was
outrageous and represented,
at best, a high degree of
moral confusion," said
Michael Berenbaum, a
Georgetown University
theology professor and pro-
ject director of the United
States Holocaust Memorial
Museum in Washington.
Nevertheless, Mr. Beren-
baum said he added his
name to the list because
"I've become convinced that
the punishment, a life term,
is excessive in view of the
nature of the crime."
The Rev. Robert F. Drinan,
a prominent Roman Catholic
writer who teaches at
Georgetown University Law
School, said he signed the
list because "I found this
Pollard affair perverse from
the beginning. A spy for
Israel? Israel is our ally. I
can't fathom why the U.S.
went after him so hard."
Hamilton Fox, a Washing-
ton attorney, who, along
with Alan Dershowitz, is
handling the primary legal
work for Mr. Pollard, said
the appeals court hearing is
scheduled for Sept. 10, the se-
cond day of Rosh Hashanah.
Despite the conflict, Mr.
Fox said the Pollard defense
team will not ask for a
postponement because "to do
that would mean waiting
another four or five months,
and we do not want Mr.
Pollard rotting in jail for one
day longer than he has to."
Among the others who
signed the amicus brief are:
Rabbi David R. Blumenthal,
Judaic studies professor at
Atlanta's Emory University;
Leonard Garment, one-time
attorney for ex-President
Richard M. Nixon; Alfred
Gottschalk, dean of Reform
Hebrew Union College, Cin-
cinnati; Rabbi Arthur Hert-
zberg, former president of
the American Jewish Con-
gress, and the Rev. Theodore
M. Hesburgh, president
emeritus of the University of
Notre Dame.
Also signing were Philip M.
Klutznick, former president
of the World Jewish Congress;
Rabbi Norman Lamm, pres-
ident of Yeshiva University;
the Rt. Rev. Paul Moore, Jr.,
the retired Episcopal bishop
of New York; Rabbi
Emanuel Rackman,
chancellor of Bar Ilan Uni-
versity in Israel, and
Seymour Reich, past chair-
man of the Conference of
Presidents of Major Ameri-
can Jewish Organizations.
❑
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
11