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urally featured prominently in
the Davis Institute's delibera-
tions. At a time of cutbacks in
U.S. defense spending, the con-
sensus remained that U.S. aid to
Israel — currently running at $3
billion annually — will hold at
this rate for a while to come:
But the participants made
some bold observations about the
domestic forces that have ac-
counted for this support and are
likely to ensure its continuation.
• Challenging the "omnipotent
image" of the American-Jewish
lobby, both Kenneth Wald of the
University of Florida and
Stephen Rosenfeld of the Wash-
ington Post pointed to the un-
dervalued role of evangelical
Christian support for Israel in
getting aid bills through Con-
gress.
Their point was taken a step
further by Hebrew University po-
litical scientist Gabi Sheffer, who
noted the declining status of
American-Jewish leaders as in-
tercessors with their government
— to the point where Israeli offi-
cials have sometimes regarded
their involvement as less an aid
than an impediment.
• In a particularly incisive
analysis, historian Arthur
Hertzberg of New York Univer-
sity proposed that Israel and the
American-Jewish community are
generally drifting apart because
of "a lack of common language
and little shared culture."
One consequence of this trend
is the demand by American-Jew-
ish organizations to receive a
larger share of the funds raised
jointly for Israel and local-com-
munity needs, from education for
the young to social services for
the aged. Rabbi Hertzberg be-
lieves that American Jews will
continue to contribute substan-
tially to Israel, if only to ensure
that Washington doesn't cut back
on its own aid.
Still, his paper indicates that
both the nature and weight of Is-
rael's oldest "alliances" are chang-
ing even within the Jewish
sphere.
In summing up the conference,
Professor Avineri extended this
observation to a broader canvas.
Over the past decades, Israel has
clung to the knowledge that it
could count on one staunch ally,
the United States, in time of war.
Today it is seeking to move far
beyond that basic need.
At the start of the peace
process, it renewed diplomatic
ties with the former Soviet Union.
Since then, it has established
long-overdue relations with Chi-
na and India.
Israelis recently made high-
profile visits to Oman and Qatar;
other officials and businessmen
are involved in contacts with such
large Asian Muslim states as In-
donesia and Malaysia. Beyond
boosting Israel's political "legiti-
macy," the impetus behind this
spreading network of ties is to de-
velop new markets for Israel's
post-peace economy.
Ws still far from clear just how
the "new world order" will ulti-
mately sort itself out. For the pre-
sent, however, despite the
stability of its relationship with
the United States, Israel is feel-
ing the effects of this era of flux
— and is doing its best to exploit
the changes in mood and policy,
rather than be rattled by them.
Talking Past
Each Other
A meeting on the future of Israel-Diaspora relations
underscored the widening gulf between the two.
TOM TUGEND SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
zer Weizman, president of
the State of Israel, invited
232 of the better minds
from the Diaspora and Is-
rael to his residence in Jerusalem
last week, and, like a good host,
offered his guests a diversified
fare.
The two-day Dialogue with the
president on Israel-Diaspora Re-
lations featured brilliant speech-
es and droning repetitions, as
well as sharp clashes between the
Israel and Diaspora contingents
and sworn fealty to a common
destiny.
It had numbing 10-hour ses-
sions inside a huge sweltering
tent and a cool, gracious recep-
E
lion on the presidential lawn. The
star-studded cast featured Prime
Minister Yitzak Rabin, Foreign
Minister Shimon Peres and a
Who's Who of communal leaders
(plus some academics) from the
United States, Great Britain and
20 other nations — offset by a few
modest souls who weren't quite
sure why they had been invited.
For good measure, there were
a few bombshells to excite the Is-
raeli media and some organiza-
tional glitches to annoy
participants.
At the end, as Mr. Rabin and
Mr. Weinman led the participants
in a rousing rendition of Hatik-
vah, the balance sheet on the Di-