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.