Bibi Maybe,
Madeleine No
AIPAC is left in the dark on the
availability of its headline speakers.
JAMES D. BESSER
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
THE DETROI T JEWIS H NEW S
T
80
he crisis in the Middle
East and the controver-
sy over recent actions by
the Clinton administra-
tion will add to the normally high
energy level of this week's AIPAC
policy conference, which begins on
Sunday as some 2,000 pro-Israel
activists converge on the city.
But the crisis also is playing
havoc with AIPAC's schedulers.
At press time, the AIPACers
were still trying to find out if
Prime Minister Binyamin Ne-
tanyahu was planning to appear
before the group, as previously
scheduled; the Israeli embassy
here said it hadn't a clue.
On Tuesday, the White House
said that Mr. Netanyahu would
arrive early next week for an
emergency meeting with Presi-
dent Bill Clinton, but it was not
clear if he would keep his date
with AIPAC.
Whatever he decides, Mr. Ne-
tanyahu's plans will be subject to
change if conditions in the region
deteriorate.
Ms. Albright was on the early
AIPAC schedule, but this week
she decided not to attend. Ad-
ministration sources said one rea-
son was concern that her presence
at the big pro-Israel meeting at
a particularly sensitive time in the
peace process could be counter-
productive.
Even without Mr. Netanyahu
and Ms. Albright, the AIPAC con- tion to focus more on Palestinian — and a freeze on building at Har
vention will represent the usual leader Yassir Arafat's failure to Homa.
unabashed display of Jewish po- limit terrorism, not Israel's poli-
The American Israel Public Af-
litical muscle. On the schedule are cies on building in Jerusalem.
fairs Committee has activated its
Vice President Al Gore, House
The White House has seen a big political network to urge
Speaker Newt Gingrich, House sharp increase in calls and letters stronger U.S. pressure on Mr.
minority leader Dick Gephardt from Jews upset with
Arafat; the Con-
and a congressional cast of hun- recent criticisms of Is-
ference of Presi-
Binyamin Netanyahu and
dreds.
rael's decision to build
Madele ine Albright.
dents of Major
And, of course, legislators by - apartments in the Har
American Jewish
the dozen and political hopefuls Homa section of east
Organizations
from around the country will du- Jerusalem and with
was in "regular
tifully attend the Monday night what many activists see as a de- contact" with top administration
banquet — de rigueur for politi- liberate downplaying of Mr. officials to express concern over a
cians seeking Jewish and pro-Is- Arafat's role in fomenting recent perceived shift in U.S. policy, said
rael support.
violence.
Malcolm Hoenlein, the group's ex-
Against the backdrop of the
The lobbying became even ecutive vice chairman.
worst crisis in the Israeli-Pales- more intense as it became appar-
The Zionist Organization of
tinian peace talks since they be- ent that the administration was America has mounted a nation-
gan in 1991, American Jewish considering a dramatic proposal wide drive against what Morton
groups sped toward a confronta- for salvaging the Mideast negoti- Klein, the group's president, called
tion with the Clinton administra- ations, which would include an ac- U.S. pressure to force Israel to
tion.
celeration of the final status talks, make "one-sided concessions."
A broad range of pro-Israel a new campaign by the Palestin-
At a contentious meeting be-
groups pressed. the administra- ian leadership against terrorism tween a delegation from the Pres-
idents Conference and Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright, some
activists charged that the admin-
istration's slow response to Mr.
Arafat's renewed use of the terror
threat may have contributed to
recent violence, including the
deadly bombing at a Tel Aviv cafe.
"The secretary got an earful,"
said one participant. "The tone
was fairly strident; the secretary
said she was 'disappointed' with
the implication that U.S. policy
was somehow to blame for the vi-
olence."
Mr. Hoenlein agreed that Ms.
Albright heard some "very direct
talk. People .spoke of the admin-
istration's shift from private to
public criticism [of Israel]. There
was a perception that the admin-
istration's tactics have changed."
There were signs that the ad-
ministration heard the message.
At a State Department briefing,