12 Available For Immediate Delivery Washington Watch Strength in numbers; a Russian winter. _ „ ,,--mouressimiso JAMES D. BESSER Washington Correspondent Washington W .M. • . Now vailabl RINKE CADILLAC General Motors F amily 1917 si.c. MASTER 1-696 AT VAN DYKE 758-1800 II traveling west on 1-696, exit Hoover, follow Service Drive to RINKE. II traveling east on 1-696, exit Van Dyke; take the second bridge past Van Dyke over expressway to RINKE. Open Monday 8-9 p.m., Tuesday 8-6 p.m., Wednesday 8-6 p.m., Thursday 8-9 p.m., Friday 8-6 p.m. FINAL CLEARANCE Sizes 4 to 12 in a great selection of widths! ALL LADIES FALL & WINTER SHOES Starts January 2nd! t Plus handbags & accessories! its 999 Somerset Collection (248) 637-3060 20 Detroit Jewish News DEAL ER hen the Orthodox Union opens its long-discussed Capitol Hill office in the coming weeks, its repre- sentative, Nathan Diament, will join a small army of Jewish activists. They have established communal beach- heads on issues ranging from support for Israel to federal regulations govern- ing nursing homes. Such politically conservative Jewish groups challenge a Jewish presence here traditionally skewed to the liberal end of the spectrum, an emphasis that still reflects the preferences of a major- ity of American Jews. But that plurali- ty of opinions isn't necessarily bad. "We're becoming more self-confi- dent, and that means we're more com- fortable with a variety of voices in Washington," said Rabbi Seymour Essrog, president of the Rabbinical Assembly, which wants to open its own Washington office to represent the Conservative Movement. Rabbi Essrog pointed to another aspect of the transformation of Jewish political activism: it's all becoming more distinctly Jewish. Exploring tra- ditional texts for insights into solving . today's problems is in; activism in which the only thing Jewish is the group's names is out. Diament is an aggressive young attorney representing an organization not entirely comfortable with increased political activity. But there is an existing model for Orthodox activism. Agudath Israel of America, with its 10-year-old Washington office, has become a sig- nificant player on a carefully selected range of issues that impact the Agudah's religious schools and the reli- gious rights of observant Jews. Agudah's advocacy for federal sup- port of private schools clashes with the long-standing anti-parochial aid posi- tion of secular Jewish groups, such as the Reform movement's Religious Action Center. Still, Agudah's Washington representative, Abba Cohen, has won widespread praise from colleagues representing more lib- eral groups. That's because Agudah's lobbying has provided important access to conservative decision-makers, chang- ing how many conservative lawmak- ers see the Jewish community. Politicians no longer automatically assume the Jewish position is the lib- eral one. So on issues where there is a Jewish consensus, Agudah has added an important dimension to Jewish lobbying. And the increased competition from religiously Orthodox and politi- cally conservative Jewish groups sharp- ens the efforts of liberal groups; they may have grown complacent over the years when they had Washington as a kind of private playground. Even the American Jewish Committee, long an outpost of cool political rationalism, now hosts peri- odic sessions at its Washington office focusing on the relevance of tradition- al Jewish teachings to today's issues. A Russian winter Russia, its economic slide continuing unchecked, may increase its nuclear and missile cooperation with danger- ous regimes, starting with Iran. Last week the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the Russian economic plunge could worsen in 1999; Jewish leaders fear that a further deterioration will increase pressures for big arms sales and expanded nuclear and missile cooperation, even if that means new frictions with Washington. "The administration has said there is progress in shutting down Russian cooperation with Iran," said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. "But most reports say things are moving in the opposite direction. The fact is that desperate Russian scientists are contin- uing to provide technical assistance that will advance the Iranian missile program; the Russians are talking about expanding nuclear cooperation with Iran." Jewish leaders say they will press the administration to find new ways to push Moscow, including limiting U.S.-Russian space cooperation and joint high-tech ventures in areas such as surveillance satellites. [7