Mr. Speaker

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And The Jews

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"In the
narrowest
political terms,
he's as good
as most... But
in the more
general sense,
he's a disaster
for what we
believe in."

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marks on orphanages and marijuana-
smoking White House staffers. Beyond
such headlines, there is a man comfortably
atop Washington's political power struc-
ture and one genuinely enjoying his spot-
light.
Jewish political activists in the nation's
capital and elsewhere have few neutral
opinions when it comes to Mr. Gingrich
and his Republican agenda. He has, say
some Jewish activists, brought a bitter and
truculent tone rare even to Washington's
political culture.
Mark Pelavin, Washington representa-
tive of the American Jewish Committee,
saw this take root during the recent dis-
cussion of welfare-reform bills. Although
not speaking directly of Mr. Gingrich, he
said that "you can't help but be struck by
the ugliness and mean-spiritedness that
characterized much of the debate."
At the same time, Jewish leaders know
that Mr. Gingrich has been Israel's most
steadfast House ally. He also has sought
the opinions of Jewish religious and other
leaders — opponents as well as support-
ers — in his relentless drive to dismantle
the government's much-maligned social-
service delivery system.
But an increasing number of Jews fear
that Mr. Gingrich's Contract With Amer-
ica, a call in part to redefine what he says
is a welfare state gone awry, could deliver
a traumatic blow to the Jewish federation
social-service delivery system. Many fed-
eration programs rely heavily on millions
of federal dollars to help provide services
to Jewish immigrants, the Jewish elderly
and the Jewish poor.
Ironically, it may be the Jewish com-
munity — three-quarters of which voted
Democratic in the last congressional elec-

tions — that put Mr. Gingrich at the head
of the House, said Washington lobbyist
Dan Cohen, a friend of the speaker.
In the mid-1980s Mr. Cohen, then work-
ing as a lobbyist for the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee, sought out Mr.
Gingrich as a bridge between the pro-Is-
rael lobby and conservative Republicans.
"No one [in the Jewish community] really
knew Newt and I took that time to estab-
lish good relations with him," Mr. Cohen
said.
In the 1988 election, Mr. Gingrich's op-
ponent received strong backing from the
Jewish community. In the next congres-
sional run, that changed.
Mr. Cohen even persuaded an Atlanta
Jewish couple to host a private fund-rais-
ing effort for Mr. Gingrich. "Newt won
by almost 900 votes. When you have
a race that close, any number of
groups can claim credit for the victo-
ry, but when you look at a communi-
ty that hadn't been there before, you
see a real difference.
"It's a very fair statement to say
that without the Jewish community,
Newt wouldn't be speaker of the
House today because he would have
lost that election."

Partisan Politics

So, in the age-old question: Is Newt
good for the Jews? The answer, of
course, depends on whom one asks.
Take the case of an Atlanta man
who, prior to Mr. Gingrich's recent
speech at Congregation Etz Chaim,
told his mother that he would hear
the House speaker that night.
"She screamed at me," he said.
"She yelled, 'I didn't raise a son who

Above:
Newt Gingrich stands in front of the Capitol
building as he announces the Contract
With America.

Bottom:
At the State of the Union.

would listen to people like that!' Then she
hung up on me."
Regardless of such sentiments, Jews and
others who have met Mr. Gingrich, allies
and detractors alike, use the words "bril-
liant," "intellectual" and "strongly pro-Is-
rael" to describe him. Depending on their
political leanings, they add either "cru-

— Hyinan Bookbinder,
Washington representative
emeritus, American
Jewish Committee

sading patriot" or "dangerous revolution-
ary" to the list.
Some of the fear comes from Mr. Gin-
grich's close relationship with conserva-
tive groups like Pat Robertson's Christian
Coalition.
Mr. Gingrich raised the concern level
prior to the opening session in January
of the 104th Congress. He promised, on
July 4th, to bring a House floor vote on a
prayer in public school amendment to the
U.S. Constitution.
He has since said that such an amend-
ment is no longer necessary.
But some Jewish observers suspect that
it will be replaced by a potentially more
dangerous piece of legislation — a "reli-
gious equality" amendment. The document
would expand the right of religious ex-
pression in public places, which obviously
include public schools.
Jewish Republicans downplay the con-
nection between Mr. Gingrich and con-
servative religious groups. "It's an issue
that gets far too much attention," said
Matthew Brooks of the National Jewish
Coalition, a group for Jewish Republicans.
Jack Abramoff, an observant Jew active
in politically conservative circles, added,
"The bottom line is Newt is close to all el-
ements of the Republican coalition. The
Christian Coalition is an important part
of that. It should not be of concern to the
Jewish community."
But Newt Gingrich does concern long-
E time Washington lobbyist Hyman Book-
< binder, Washington representative
emeritus of the American Jewish Commi-
w tee and a partisan Democrat.
"In the narrowest political terms, I sup-
r, posed he's as good as most Democrats and
y Republicans, meaning rhetorical support

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