inside Washington
Labor Seeks
Support In U.S.
Israel's Labor Party is
preparing to boost its
presence in this country and,
particularly, in Washington.
At least some of this ac-
tivity could become con-
troversial.
Recently, Jonathan
Jacoby, the widely respected
president of Americans for
Peace Now, resigned from
that organization to take an
as-yet-unspecified post with
an as-yet-unspecified Ameri-
can group affiliated with the
Israeli party.
Fleshing out that vague
assignment might take place
this weekend, when Friends
of Labor Israel meet in New
York to discuss their group's
future.
Mr. Jacoby's new role with
Labor — whatever it turns
out to be —reflects a growing
feeling that while the Likud
block has effectively built a
strong base of support in this
country, and particularly in
the community of Jewish ac-
tivists, Labor has not reach-
ed out as actively.
Labor also hopes to get a
boost from a recent offer to
bring several pro-Israel po-
litical action committee
(PAC) officials to Israel for
briefings on the Labor agen-
da. Such outreach might
raise concerns about foreign
interference in U.S. political
affairs.
"If it's simply a matter of
learning how interest groups
or advocacy groups function
in this country, I don't see
any problem with it," said
Jess Hordes, Washington di-
rector for the Anti-
Defamation League. "But
under other circumstances it
might pose a problem. When
you're dealing with PACs,
whose purpose is to become
directly involved in Ameri-
can politics, and you have a
foreign body trying to affect
their thinking, it could raise
some troubling questions."
New Party Job
For Rep. Ben Cardin
"My Mommy and Daddy Got Their Mortgage At
World Wide Financial...
And So Did Six Of Their Friends!"
JULIA CAZIER
THE DE TRO IT JEWISH NEWS
WORLD WIDE MANUAL
38
Southeast Michigan's Leader
In Mortgage Lending
1533 North Woodward, Suite 140
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48304
As the 103rd Congress
begins sorting itself out, new
and returning members are
scurrying for important
committee assignments.
How all this sorts out is of
vital interest to Jewish ac-
tivists here.
And Rep. Ben Cardin,
D-Md., a member of the Jew-
ish delegation in the House,
plans to have something to
say about how the
assignments are parceled
out.
This week, Mr. Cardin was
named to the Democratic
Caucus' Steering and Policy
Committee. As part of the
33-person panel, Mr. Cardin
will help develop recom-
mendations for committee
assignments for House
Democrats. The group,
which includes the speaker
and majority leader, also
helps develop consensus
policy positions for the par-
ty.
Mr. Cardin said he will use
his new position to "insure
that legislative gridlock is a
thing of the past."
❑
Shamir Has
Intestine Surgery
Ben Cardin:
Block that gridlock.
Jerusalem (JTA) — Former
Israeli Prime Minister Yit-
zhak Shamir was operated
last week for the removal of
a growth in his large in-
testine.
Doctors at the Sheba
Medical Center in Tel Aviv
said that the 77-year-old Mr.
Shamir's condition was
"good" and that he was re-
covering comfortably from
the surgery.