Living With Wye
Silence On A Stalemate
American Jewish
leaders are
keeping a low
profile on the
Wye agreement.
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
A
merican Jewish leaders are
maintaining a conspicuous-
ly low profile as Israel and
the Palestinian Authority
clash over the delayed implementation
of last month's Wye River
Memorandum.
Jewish groups were quick to con-
demn the latest terrorist attack, but
most have had little to say about the
on-again-off-again stalemate in Tel
Aviv and Gaza City.
"The American Jewish people were
pleased with the progress made at
Wye," said Abraham Foxman, national
director of the Anti-Defamation
League. "There isn't a lot to say
beyond that; everybody knew imple-
mentation wouldn't take place
overnight, and that it would not be
easy. I don't think there has been disil-
lusionment about the delays."
But just beneath the surface, there
is growing concern about what may
happen if the cautious hopes that fol-
lowed the Wye summit are dashed by
a complete collapse of the fragile
agreement.
"If Wye is never implemented,
everything unravels," Foxman said.
"Right now, at least, the community is
cautiously optimistic it will work out.
But there are a lot of difficulties
ahead."
Phil Baum, executive director of
the American Jewish Congress, agreed.
"If the process fails, I think we will
have a monumental disaster on our
hands across the board — in Israel,
but also in the American Jewish com-
munity," he said.
Support for Israel remains strong
among American Jews, he said, but
the constant fits and starts of the
peace process have led to "a feeling of
11/ 1 3
1998
44 Detroit Jewish News
disenchantment and ennui. Many
people had become doubtful of the
willingness of both sides to come to
an agreement. The Wye agreement
lifted that somewhat; there was a feel-
ing of new possibilities. But if it fails,
it will be a really seri-
ous blow. It will be
much more difficult
to restore any feeling
of hope."
The high stakes in
the delayed Wye
River agreement were
apparent in the
almost invisible
Jewish response to
the new, more mus-
cular American medi-
ation role that
emerged during the
arduous summit at a
remote Maryland
conference center.
"We turned an
important corner at
Wye," said an official
with a pro-peace
An Israeli lights
process group. The
a candle next
source said that when to a photograph
of slain Israeli
Secretary of State
Prime Minister
Madeleine Albright
Yitzhak Rabin
issued an ultimatum
at the place he
in May, "Jewish
was assassinat-
groups went crazy;
ed
in Tel Aviv
there was strong pres-
three
years ago.
sure for the adminis-
tration to back off,
and they heeded the message. At Wye,
the administration was even tougher
and more direct — but there was
almost no protest."
The reason?
"American Jewish leaders recog-
nized that Wye represented the last
stop before a return to a perpetual
Intifada," this source said. "That real-
ization has changed the political envi-
ronment in which the administration
is now operating."
That widespread sense that Wye
represents the last realistic hope for
breaking the dangerous stalemate has
given the administration new operat-
ing room, several Jewish activists said
this week. That feeling has taken on
added emotional force as communities
here and in Israel finish commemora-
tions marking the third anniversary of
the assassination of former Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Critics, too, have been quieter than
usual — in part because they are
unsure where Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu is heading.
"The Orthodox community has
been very cautious about the agree-
ment, but we are respectful of the
decisions the prime minister has to
make," said Nathan Diament, director
of the Orthodox Union's Institute for
Public Affairs. "There was some dis-
may in segments of our community
over the agreement. But the overall
majority will support the prime. minis-
ter."
Diament said that the continuing
problem of implementing Israeli-
Palestinian agreements has led to a
more practical view of the negotia-
tions.
"With past agreements, there was
this euphoric sense that things
would happen very fast," he said.
CIA Chief Vetoes
Freeing Pollard
Central Intelligence Agency direc-
tor George Tenet threatened to
resign if convicted spy Jonathan
Pollard was released from prison as
part of an Israeli-Palestinian inter-
im agreement, the New York Times
reported Wednesday.
After the Wye River summit in
late October, Pollard supporters
have insisted that President Bill
Clinton had agreed to release
Pollard as part of a deal intended to
"Now people are more sober.
Nobody is talking about the 'New
Middle East' anymore, an era in
which everybody would be happy
and friendly and make microchips
together. And that's a healthy devel-
opment; people are more
realistic."
. •=
But Israeli officials still
72
. g worry about signs of a cumu-
▪ lative fatigue with the peace
• process in this country that
could result in a widening
gulf between American Jews
and Israel — especially as
negotiators edge uneasily
toward the "final status" talks.
"This is the slugfest; this is
the long round," said a highly
placed Israeli official. "There
are no quick knockouts and
no quick victories; people in
the United States aren't pre-
pared for that. There is a con-
cern that we are seeing a
growing disconnect with
Israel at a time when we
should be working together more
closely than ever."
Next week's Council of Jewish
Federations General Assembly in
Jerusalem comes at a propitious
moment, this official said — but CJF
officials "are more interested in dis-
cussing the 'gestalt' of the peace
process than the threats facing Israel.
It was like pulling teeth, getting them
to arrange bus tours beyond the green
line, to see the security situation first
hand. If I had my way, we'd put them
all through a simulation; give them
gas masks and sound sirens. That's the
gestalt we now face."
❑
break the 19-month Israeli-
Palestinian impasse.
According to the Times report,
Tenet threatened to resign if
Pollard's release was part of the
Wye package. CIA and White
House officials declined comment
on the story.
That threat reflects the biggest
obstacle to Pollard's release—the
ongoing fury of an intelligence
establishment that contends that
Pollard caused much more damage
to U.S. national security than has
been publicly revealed.