Istto Russian Shutdown Is Questioned • • Congressional offices have had a thing or two to say about the Russian government's abrupt shutdown of the Jewish Agency for Israel. At least three strongly word- ed letters were in circulation this week, including missives from Rep. Ben Gilman, R-N.Y., Mr. Gingrich, Rep. Nita Lowey, D- N.Y., and the trio of Rep. Jim Saxton, R-N.J., Rep. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. All of the congressional writ- ers expressed their hope that the shutdown was just a bureau- cratic error; more importantly, they signaled that Congress will not be happy with any changes in Russian emigration policy. The State Department has been pursuing the Jewish Agency issue through quieter diplomatic channels. "It's been raised in a number of different discussions," said a Washington source. "It is part of a bigger picture that is of deep concern here — the trend toward {3,500 immigrants now employed by JNF.} IBNISH flaill01111L FWD MENEM KAYEI1ETN LEVU.) INC- JNF is putting Israel to work. JNF is the largest employer of new immigrants to Israel, employing 3,500 men and women. JNF employees are tending forests, reclaiming land, reestablishing recreational areas, and developing infrastructure for tourism projects throughout Israel. The Promised Land is looking even more promising. The Jewish National Fund. For more information or to make a contribution call: 810-557-6644 17100 W. Ten Mile Road • Southfield, MI • 48075 HMHF Fun Travel Bargains! Colorado Las Vegas Orlando 90 Round From 999° d $ 1 Round Trip From $ 6990 Nonstops Mon, Fri, &Sat 3, 4, 7. 10, 11 or 143its. 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Send a gift subscription to THE JEWISH NEWS (810) 354-6620 Next time you feed your face, think about your heart. 148 Go easy on your heart and start cutting back on foods that are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. The change'II do you good. U American Heart Association 4%0 WERE FIGHTING FOR YOUR LIFE the nationalists and the corn- munists, and the tendency of the Yeltsin government to try to pla- cate their supporters." But administration officials still do not know exactly why the Moscow government chose to move against Jewish Agency op- erations in Russia, or how the decision fits into President Boris Yeltsin's desperate fight for po- litical survival. "We are monitoring the situ- ation very closely," said Mark Levin, executive director of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry. "We believe it is very im- portant to allow the diplomatic initiatives now under way to con- tinue outside the glare of public attention." As for the upcoming Russian presidential elections, with Mr. Yeltsin facing a ferocious chal- lenge from communist candidate Gennadi A. Zyuganov, Mr. Levin summed up the feelings of most Jewish activists here: "It's nail- biting time," he said. "It's going to be a real close election." Jews, Evangelicals Seek Common Ground Activists interested in finding common political ground be- tween the Jewish and evangel- ical communities will get another chance next week at a Washington conference featur- ing a long list of Jewish lumi- naries and religious right leaders such as Christian Coali- tion director Ralph Reed. The event is the official kick- off for the Center for Jewish and Christian Values, a group cre- ated last year by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, an Orthodox rabbi from Chicago who has made a career out of reaching out to evangelical leaders like Pat Robertson. "We will have groups that are usually on different sides of the aisle coming together to talk about the values shared by the two communities, and to find public policy issues where there's the possibility of a corn- mon agenda," said Chris Ger- sten, the executive director of the new center. He cited such diverse partic- ipants as Rabbi David Saper- stein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and Gary Bauer of the Family Re- search Council. He also pointed out that he is a longtime Re- publican, while his boss, Rabbi Eckstein, is a Democrat. The Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Commit- tee and the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council, which have staunchly opposed most elements of the Christian right agenda, will send "observers" to the confer- ence. Next week's session will focus on two broad issues: the sanc- tity of human life and the im- portance of "traditional family values like hard work, loyalty and compassion," Mr. Gersten said. From there, participants hope to define a common legislative agenda focusing on narrowly de- fined issues such as divorce law reform. When the center was an- nounced late last year, it was called the Center for Judeo- Christian Values. But some Jewish groups objected to a se- mantic construction that, in their view, denigrated Jewish participants; recently, Rabbi Eckstein, who is already facing a skeptical Jewish world, decid- ed to change the name.