UP FRONT

Nelson Mandela Meets
U.S. Jewish Leaders

JAMES D. BESSER
and IRA RIFKIN

N

elson Mandela, the
president of the
African National
Congress who was released
last year after 27 years in a
South African jail, met for
the first time with American
Jewish leaders during his
recent visit to the United
States.
The hastily arranged
meeting took place Dec. 5 in
Washington, where Mr.
Mandela also met with Pres-
ident George Bush and
World Bank officials.
The meeting was arranged
by South Africa's ambas-
sador to the U.S., Harry
Schwarz, who is Jewish. The
ambassador, who did not sit
in on the private session in
Mr. Mandela's hotel room,
said the black official asked
to meet with the Jewish
leaders, some of whom have
been critical of his ties to the
Palestine Liberation Organ-

James D. Besser is Washing-
ton correspondent for, and Ira
Rifkin is assistant editor of the
Baltimore Jewish Times.

ization and past anti-Israel
statements.
Mr. Schwarz said he did
not question Mr. Mandela
about why he sought the
meeting.
During the meeting, Mr.
Mandela is reported to have
said that Israeli government
overtures have been kept
from him by aides.
Israeli officials are anxious
to have Mr. Mandela visit
the Jewish state as a prelude

Mr. Mandela said
he personally
found the U.N.
"Zionism-is-
racism" resolution
offensive.

to improving ties between
the Jewish state and the
ANC, which is likely to lead
a future black majority
South African government.
The implication was that
the aides were trying to
spare Mr. Mandela from
having to either accept the
invites and ruffle some
Third World feathers, or re-
ject them and upset Israel.
"He said there were people

on his staff who protect
him," said one Jewish
leader.
Meeting with Mr. Mandela
were Jason Isaacson, Wash-
ington representative for the
American Jewish Com-
mittee; Diana Aviv, associ-
ate vice chair of the National
Jewish Community Rela-
tions Advisory Council; Dan
Mariaschin and Warren
Eisenberg, both represent-
ing B'nai B'rith Interna-
tional; Stuart Eizenstat,
former domestic policy ad-
viser to President Jimmie
Carter; and Rabbi Lynn
Landsberg, associate direc-
tor of the Religious Action
Center of Reform Judaism.
Mr. Schwarz acknowl-
edged that the short list of
Jewish activists angered
some Jewish leaders who
were not invited.

However, Mr. Schwarz,
who was a member of Mr.
Mandela's legal defense
team at the time he was sent
to prison, said those he in-
vited "were simply those
whose names came first to
mind and who I could reach
in the seven or so hours I had
to put this meeting together.
"I did not mean to purpose-
ly exclude anyone," he said,

obviously concerned about
his own relations with the
American Jewish estab-
lishment.
During the 45-session, Mr.
Mandela discussed the his-
tory of cooperation between
blacks and Jews.
The black leader also in-
dicated that he found the
United Nations' "Zionism as
racism" resolution personal-
ly offensive, but that he
could not officially express
oppose the measure without
the approval of his ANC col-
leagues — and not before
talking it over with his con-
tacts in the Arab world.
Mr. Mandela also praised
the current Middle East
peace process. He compared
it to efforts to negotiate a
new political arrangement
between South Africa's

black majority and the white
government.
"The peace talks have
brought us a lot of joy," he
said. "Especially because of
the sharpness of the conflict
between the Israelis and the
Palestinians. When we
heard that, after all, even
Palestinians and Israelis
had decided to talk, that
gave great encouragement
to our people."
Mr. Mandela reaffirmed
his support for Israel's exis-
tence, but he also criticized
Israel's "occupation."
While the meeting in
Washington was the first
between the South African
leader and Jewish represen-
tatives in this country, in
June 1990 Mr. Mandela met
with a Jewish delegation in
Geneva. ❑

ROUND UP

Christmas Cowboys,
Jewish Composers

"Jack Frost roasting on an
open fire, chestnuts nipping
at your nose . . ."
No, wait. Let's try that
again.
"Chestnuts roasting on an
open fire . . ."
Ah, Christmas. What
would it be without Jewish
composers?
That's right, some of the
best-loved songs for that
ubiquitous Christian holi-
day have been written by
Jews, including the good, old
chestnuts number above. Its
official title is "The
Christmas Song," and it was
composed in 1946 by Robert
Wells and Jewish crooner
Mel Torme.
Some other popular
Christmas songs written by
Jews are "White
Christmas," words and
music by Irving Berlin;
"Silver Bells," by Jay Liv-
ingston and Ray Evans (both
of whom were Jewish); "The
Christmas Waltz" and "Let
It Snow" by Sammy Cahn
and Jules Styne; and

"Christmas Day,'' by Hal
David and Burt Bacharach,
from their Broadway
musical Promises, Promises.
And as if that wasn't
enough, music fans, here are
yet more:
• "Christmas Dreaming,"
by Lester Lee and Irving
Gordon.
• "Christmas for
Cowboys," by Steve
Weisberg.
• "Christmas in the City of
Angels," by Suzy Ellman,
Jack Gold and Arnold
Goland.
• "Christmas is for Chil-
dren" and "Close to
Christmas," by Sammy
Cahn and Edward Chester
Babcock.
• "Christmas on the
Moon," by Jerry Silverman.
• "Do You Know How
Christmas Trees Are
Grown?" by Hal David and
John Barry.
• "Happy Holiday," by Ir-
ving Berlin.
• "If it Doesn't Snow on
Christmas," by Milton
Pascall and Gerald Marks.
• "That's What I Want for

Group Will Aid
Jews Of Syria

Christmas," by Irving
Caesar and Gerald Marks.
• "We Need a Little
Christmas," by Jerry Her-
man.
• "The Wonderful World of
Christmas," by Charles
Tobias and Albert Frisch.

WJC To Honor
Boris Yeltsin

The World Jewish Con-
gress and the Australian In-
stitute of Jewish Affairs will
present a human rights
award to Boris Yeltsin dur-
ing the Russian president's
visit next year to Australia.
"It is of paramount impor-
tance that we, as Jews, ex-
press our appreciation in
this way to the man who vir-
tually single-handedly turn-
ed back the tide of reaction
in the Soviet Union earlier
this year," said Isi Leibler,
WJC co-chairman. "Had the
coup (against Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev) suc-
ceeded last August, it would
have had the direst conse-
quences for our fellow Jews
in that country."

Boris Yeltsin:
To be honored.

Upon notice that he will
receive the award, whose
past recipients include
Australian Prime Minister
Bob Hawke and former
Czechoslovakian leader
Alexander Dubcek, Mr.
Yeltsin wrote Mr. Leibler,
"Human rights problems
will always be of a high
priority" for Russia, which
views "cooperation with
international organizations
in this field as an integral
part of our foreign policy."

New York — A new na-
tional task force has been es-
tablished to help heighten
public awareness of the more
than 4,500 Jews remaining
in Syria.
Convened by the Con-
ference of Presidents of
Major American Jewish
Organizations, the National
Jewish Community Rela-
tions Advisory Council and
several Syrian Jewry ad-
vocacy groups, the task force
will be headed by Seymour
Reich, immediate past pres-
ident of the National Con-
ference.
The task force will coor-
dinate and oversee efforts to
educate the public about the
situation confronting Syrian
Jews and mobilize public
opinion in support of their
right to emigrate.
For information, contact
the Presidents Conference,
110 E. 59th St., New York,
N.Y. 10022.

Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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