Battling For
American Jewish Support
Supporters and opponents of the Israeli-PLO accord
have mobilized to sway public opinion.
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THE JEWISH NEWS
ast week's White House
meeting between Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin
and President Bill Clinton
was billed as a shopping expe-
dition for an Israeli leader who
needed a boost in his effort to
sell territorial concessions to a
nervous electorate.
But just as important for
planners of Mr. Rabin's diplo-
matic odyssey was the inten-
sifying battle for the hearts
and minds of American Jews
in this new era of back-chan-
nel negotiations.
Three days after Mr. Ra-
bin's arrival in Washington,
former Defense Minister
Ariel Sharon rallied oppo-
sition forces in New York.
Former Prime Minister
Yitzhak Shamir — who
also opposes the PLO ac-
cord — is scheduled to
speak to the Conference
of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Orga-
nizations.
At the same time,
new groups on both
sides of the issue — al-
though the majority
oppose the accord —
are attempting to gain
a foothold in the
American Jewish de-
bate.
The strategies that
the Israeli players bring
to this high-stakes game Rabin and Clinton:
will have a major impact High visibility.
on Jewish political ac-
tivity in the months to
American Jewry for the negoti-
come — and possibly on Amer-
ations, there is much skepticism
ican policies that will help de-
about the details [of] those ne-
termine the success of a peace
gotiations, about the compro-
process that is far from a done
mises that need to be made,"
deal.
said Gary Rubin, executive di-
Mr. Rabin's bold moves in the
rector of Americans for Peace
peace process are still support-
Now (APN). "So you get 90 per-
ed by an overwhelming propor-
cent agreement on talking with
tion of American Jews,
the PLO, but it goes down to 40
according to several recent polls.
percent agreement on giving up
In Israel, however, the numbers
land in the Golan Heights, and
are less reassuring. Some polls
even less on Jerusalem."
suggest that for the first time,
The strategy for APN and
a majority of Israelis now op-
other groups that strongly sup-
pose the September agreement.
port the Rabin initiatives, he
Moreover, polls of American
said, is to keep the American
Jewish attitudes show that be-
Jewish community focused on
neath the support is a striking
the dramatic progress of recent
ambivalence — which could
months, without generating un-
turn into opposition if the peace
realistic expectations that could
process becomes bogged down.
produce a backlash when the
"The data shows that while
negotiations hit a wall.
there is great support among
"Our goal, and the goal of the
Rabin government, is to invest
the organized, mainstream
Jewish community in the suc-
cess of these policies, to enlist
their active and continuing sup-
port," said Jonathan Jacoby, ex-
ecutive director of the Israeli
Policy Forum, a group created
to marshal American Jewish
support for the policies of the
current Israeli government.
But the positive reaction to
Mr. Rabin's recent initiatives
may actually make that job
harder because American Jews
are no longer galvanized by im-
ages of an Israel standing at the
brink of disaster.
"In the past, there was an ur-
gency to activism," Mr. Jacoby'
said. "We grew accustomed to
being activists in an opposi-
tional way.
Now we need to be activists