religious persecution, the Christian
groups wanted strong, narrowly focused
legislation and a White House office set
up specifically to monitor persecution.
Most Jewish organizations favored a
State Department panel already in exis-
tence, and broad legislation, but with-
out mandatory sanctions on countries
that violate U.S. policy
"[Eckstein's] role was to provide a
forum to discuss the issue but to avoid
getting behind any particular piece of
legislation," said Jess Hordes, ADL
director in Washington.
The tactic angered some participants.
"Many of the people felt like, what's the
point of talking if you're not prepared to
back legislation and executive action?"
said one participant.
Eckstein understands the risk he runs
by refusing to take a position on legisla-

But what may make Jewish leaders
uneasy is that Eckstein seems suspi-
ciously comfortable addressing such
Christian audiences.
"Part of it is that I'm not asked to
speak in front of the American Jewish
Committee, or the ADL, or AIPAC, or
federations or the Jewish Agency," he
says.
The rejection can rankle.
Jewish leaders seem uneasy with
Eckstein's fund-raising — even as they
accept the big checks. One of his evan-
gelical outreach efforts, Wings of Eagles,
has raised $5 million from that commu-
nity for UJA's resettlement program in
Israel for Jews from the former Soviet
Union. This is the largest contribution
UJA received last year from any single
group.
The format of the fund-raising broad-

JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Catspondent

r

or Yechiel Eckstein, being a
rabbinic outsider is not new.
"When I received. .onichab
(rabbinic ordination) from
Rabbi [Joseph 13.] Soloveitchik at
Yeshiva University, I was already some-
what different," he says. "I was going
fir my doctorate at Columbia, and
studying Buddhism, Christianity and
Heschel, which was not some ,.:,
most YU guys did. I was ', 14,'' tying
to build for myself a balance tetween
particillArism and imivetsalism,
between a concern, or my own Jewish
t I was
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"My job was to build support with
the Christians," he says. "In that
capacity I met the head of the Bible
department of Wheaton College.
Wheaton was Billy Graham's alma
mater, sometimes called the 'Vatican of
the Evangelical movement.' But this
guy turned out to be a very normal
person. He was smart, he defied all of
the stereotypes I had of Bible-thump-
ing Christians."
That assoriArion led to an expand-
ing network of contacts within the
Evangelical world. From the begin-
ning, ;1
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tive initiatives associated with the issue.

There's A Limit

Meanwhile, clinging desperately to
the center, Eckstein has become a target
of both sides — the Jews who see him
as a shill for Christians with a harsh,
sectarian agenda, and the Christian con-
servatives who want direct, active sup-
port for their agenda in Congress.
It surprises people that I'm a
Democrat, that I'm not a conservative,"
he says. "I describe myself as middle of
the road, like Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-
Conn.). People ask me about gun con-
trol, abortion, prayer in schools, and
they are often surprised by my reac-
tions."
For the record, he opposes prayer in
the schools but supports greater reli-
gious expression, following guidelines
shaped by the American Jewish
Congress and other groups, and he sup-
ports school vouchers.
He refused the invitation to speak at
the recent pro- Israel rally in Florida
organized largely by Messianic Jews;
Rabbi Daniel Lapin of the conservative
Toward Tradition group agreed to speak
"That's a line I definitely won't cross,"
Eckstein says. "I won't prostitute myself
for Israel, I won't work with groups that
emphasize conversion."

casts, with extensive use of Holocaust
imagery and the implication that endan-
gered Jews are dependent on Christian
donations and prayers, angers some.
"The whole concept that Israel needs
these Christians to rescue Jews is outra-
geous," said the leader of one major
Jewish group who recently stumbled on
one of Rabbi Eckstein's "Wings of
Eagles" broadcasts. "I find the whole
thing bizarre."
Eckstein continues to get battered by
both Christians and Jews. A few years
ago when the ADL fought Evangelicals
who claimed that the movie The Last
Temptation of Christ defamed Christians,
and blamed it on the influence of the
Jewish Hollywood establishment,
Eckstein tried with mixed success to
serve as a bridge. He did the same when
the Christian Coalition and other
groups reacted angrily to a critical ADL
study of the Christian right
But that, too, seemed to sow doubts
among his Jewish colleagues. "In
moments of honesty, I'd have to say that
bothers me," Eckstein says, sounding
hurt. "I am confident in my mind and
my heart in what I'm trying to do. But
it would be nice," he says, "to feel the
support of my own community for
what I am doing." ❑

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