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I

f you liked the welfare bill that
Mr. Clinton signed into law
last week, you'll adore an im-
migration reform measure ex-
pected to emerge from a
House-Senate conference com-
mittee in a few days, just in time
for the final frantic weeks of the
104th Congress.
"President Clinton claims that
he hates the anti-immigrant pro-
visions in the welfare bill he
signed," a leading Jewish activist
said this week. "If he means it,
he'll veto the immigration bill in
a flash because it contains many
of the same features."
Earlier this year, Congress de-
cided to deal only with the issue
of illegal immigration in the cur-
rent session and put off legal im-
migration reform.
But in the spirit of the times,
the elected officials decided to in-
clude measures barring legal im-
migrants from a variety of social
services, as well, just like the wel-
fare bill.
Ideally, Jewish groups and or-
ganizations representing immi-

grant communities would like to
use the immigration reform mea-
sure to reverse the worst features
of the recently passed welfare bill;
in the real world, they would be
content with a simple presiden-
tial veto.
Mr. Clinton has hinted he'll do
just that if the bill includes an-
other controversial provision al-
lowing states to bar the children
of illegal immigrants from public
schools and other services.
Jewish groups would like him to
extend that promise to the provi-
sions covering services to legal im-
migrants as well.
"But it's going to be a very dif-
ficult fight, given the fact that
we're in the middle of the election
campaigns," said Reva Price, as-
sistant director of B'nai B'rith's
Center for Public Policy. "Both of
these bills are about how to save
money, not about effective social
policy; legal immigrants, includ-
ing many Jews, will pay the price.
That's a very scary thing to
watch."

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B'nai B'rith Struggles
With More Change

'nai B'rith, the venerable
but creaky Jewish organi-
zation that bills itself as the
world's largest, will take an-
other shot at reorganizing itself at
this week's annual convention in
Washington.
But even supporters of the far-
ranging scheme proposed by the
current leadership concede that
resistance to change runs deep in
the sprawling group, which con-
tinues to face big budget problems
and a musty image that keeps
younger Jews away in droves.
The plan would replace seven
district offices with 14 to 18 small-
er regional offices, with a tighter
focus on the group's emerging con-
cerns: public policy, community
action and Jewish identity.
"This reflects our desire to
make this more of an activist or-
ganization," said Tommy Baer,
the latest in a series of B'nai B'rith
presidents with ambitious plans
for resuscitating the ailing giant.
"This would be the most substan-
tive change in our structure in the
past 100 years."
He said that the structural
change would "create a better bal-
ance between B'nai B'rith Inter-
national and local communities.
The goal isn't to cut the budget,
but to create a long-range vision

for what B'nai B'rith will look like
25 and 50 years down the road."
Mr. Baer's plan also would pro-
mote new ways for Jews to join
B'nai B'rith, including young lead-
ership units, "peer interest" groups
and a kind of regional at-large
membership that would bypass
the traditional lodge structure.
Opponents charge that the
change would simply create new
layers of bureaucracy, and dilute
the fraternal elements that have
made B'nai B'rith distinctive in
the Jewish world.
"The opposition is strong," Mr.
Baer conceded. "Those who grew
up in a very different B'nai B'rith
don't want it to change. It's a very
emotional kind of thing. But the
world has changed, and B'nai
B'rith has to change to keep up."
The plan will be the hottest top-
ic of debate at this weekend's
Washington convention, which is
expected to draw 1,000 delegates
from 29 countries. Speakers will
include Supreme Court Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former
Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kolleck
and Jeffrey Hoffman, the Jewish
astronaut who spun a dreidel
aboard the space shuttle.
Mr. Clinton and Mr. Dole, as
well as both vice presidential can-
didates, have been invited.

