touched on Sabbath-related issues, it
are kept closed under the law on the
was not without its comic aspects.
Sabbath and are finding their busi-
The kibbutz is home to the minis-
ness threatened by the out-of-town
ter of trade and industry, Ran Cohen,
malls.
a member of the secular Meretz Party.
Bar-Ilan Street also provided some
He responded to the raid by
laughs, with legislator Yosef
threatening to send inspectors from
"Tommy" Lapid, leader of the anti-
his ministry — people of both sexes
haredi Shinui Party, lashing out at the
and "in eye-catching attire" — to
Jerusalem police chief, Yair Yitzhaki,
haredi shops and places of business
for kissing the hand of the spiritual
on weekdays, doling out fines and
leader of Shas, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.
tickets for all manner of infractions.
"I am the admor [Chasidic rebbe]
Cohen also asked his Cabinet col-
of the secular citizens of Jerusalem,"
league, Labor Minister Eliyahu Yishai
said Lapid, a former broadcaster
of the fervently Orthodox Shas Parry,
known for his outspokenness. "I want
why the inspectors had not visited
him to kiss my hand, too."
kibbutz shopping malls on any
Yitzhaki explained that he was
Sabbaths during the two
months of coalition nego-
tiations, but appeared now
that the coalition agree-
ment had been signed.
Washington
Yishai responded that
Before
Ehud Barak arrived in Washington
the inspectors were merely
this week, supporters of convicted spy
enforcing the nation's Day
Jonathan Pollard had hoped — faintly ---
of Rest Law, which was,
that the prime minister would press hard for
after all, a basic piece of
the convicted spy's release.
social legislation that the
Israeli and American sources say the sub-
leftist Meretz ought to sup-
ject was raised in conversations between
port.
Barak and President Clinton, but that it was
Cohen replied that the
not pressed with vigor.
shop owners and employ-
Barak consistently ducked questions on the
ees want to work on
subject by insisting that private diplomacy, not
Saturdays and take their
public pronouncements, would be the best
day off on another day.
way to get Pollard out of jail.
Yishai for his part
"I clearly want to see Jonathan Pollard
received vigorous support
released, but I am of the position that any
from urban shops, which
public discussion of this issue doesn't push
forward the purpose of having him released,"
he said at a Monday news conference. For
to postpone "ill-timed" ini-
many reasons, this is a subject that should be
tiatives, including measures
dealt with not in public, but at most,
aimed at strengthening
between the leaders of the two nations."
Israel's control over
Clinton simply ignored a question about
Jerusalem, according to
his promised review of the Pollard matter. II
participants in the meet-
— James D. Besser
ing. "He asked us not to
get out in front of him and
to let him have the oppor-
tunity to bring peace to
tiative to strengthen U.S. recognition
the Middle East," said Rep. Shelley
of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, said
Berkley (D-Nev.).
Congress should act "responsibly" on
"While all of the issues are impor-
measures that could impact the peace
tant, anything that takes away from
process.
the primary goal is ill-timed," Barak
AIPAC's president, Lonny Kaplan,
said, according to Berkley, a longtime
said his group would look at each leg-
Jewish activist known for her relative-
islative initiative and determine
ly hard-line views on the peace
whether it is "promoting the peace
process who was elected to Congress
process or impeding it in some way."
last year. But, she said after the Barak
"The views of this new Israeli gov-
meeting, "My responsibility as an
ernment are relatively well known, so
American Jew is to support the Israeli
the bottom line is all of the organiza-
government and its people."
tions should really think about how
The tide among lawmakers may be
not to be counterproductive to Israel
turning. U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner
and the American governments
(D-N.Y.), who has proposed an ini-
efforts to move the peace process for-

,

Pollard Again?

merely showing respect, that he has
kissed Christian clerics three times on
each cheek and that his job requires
him to nurture warm and courteous
relationships with spiritual leaders of
all faiths.
But beneath the smiles and politi-
cal barbs there could be real trouble
ahead for Barak's government.
The Shabbat-shopping controversy
affects the interests and lifestyle of
very large numbers of secular Israelis.
These people, aware of trends
across the Western world, demand
the option of shopping at their leisure
— and not just 9-to-5 on workdays.
Meanwhile, the kibbutz malls are
selling millions of dollars of goods
and growing into a powerful lobby.
The haredi parties can elect to
turn a blind eye to what is, after all,
no change in the religious status quo,
but rather the development of a new
situation.
By the same token, they can
choose to make an issue of the malls,
which would result in disharmony
within Barak's leftist-religious coali-
tion.
The rule of law is indeed in jeop-
ardy, though, as the secularists would
argue, because of nitpicking attempts
at enforcement.
By the same token, the rule of law
is in danger from the Jerusalem
haredim, who never fully accepted
the court-endorsed compromise over
Bar-Ilan Street. II

penned to Israeli Prime Minister
Menachern Begin and Egyptian
President Anwar Sadat during
negotiations on the Camp David
accords, which formed the basis for
the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty,

Char, Couscous and Camille

The White House opened its
doors to nearly 500 guests at a
dinner for Barak, the largest din-
ner hosted during President
Clinton's presidency. The 2.5-hour
receiving line was second only to
those held during the annual holi-
day parties, exhausted White
House social staff said
After trolley cars ferried guests
from the White House to an
ornate, carpeted, air-conditioned
tent on the South Lawn lit by
crystal chandeliers, they dined on
gazpacho and seared arctic char
with saffron-basil couscous.
Guests were offered kosher or
vegetarian meals when they
RSVP'd for the event.
In addition to more than 30
members of Congress, dozens of
Jewish leaders and the Democratic
Party's biggest Jewish donors,
Clinton hosted his and Bara.k's,top
political consultant, James Carville,
and his wife, Mary Matalin, a top
GOP commentator who called for
Clinton's ouster over the Monica
Lewinsky affair.
After Barak and Clinton gave a
rousing welcome to Carville, who
is credited as a key in getting both
elected, Clinton spun Matalin
around to strike a pose for the
White House press corps.

ward," said Michael Sonnenfeldt,
chairman of the Policy Forum.
But Barak's ideological opponents
in the Jewish community say they
must continue their work.
"If Arafat shows himself to be a
demon by refusing to arrest and pros-
ecute" terrorists who killed
Americans, "it is not us demonizing
him," said Morton Klein, president
of the Zionist Organization of
America. "He is a demon."
Winding up his trip home with a
stopover in London Wednesday to
breakfast with British Prime
Minister Tony Blair, Barak said
talks with Syria could start within
weeks. And he said his 15-month
time frame is flexible. "I will not
ask for a medal if it takes nine
months nor will I jump from any
tower if it takes 24 months," Barak
told a news conference. Fl

The level of frustration among'-
Jewish media editors was high as
Barak arrived an hour late for a late
Friday afternoon briefing at the
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New
York, where he was stayio
With their eye on
Shabbat approached,latifit
L .
,
suojecteu to an unq$: l y imoo
security check thrO4
of the hotel.- When
ister finally arrived, t e7
informed that the hriefirif
long,er on the record. His remarks
were, however, promptly leaked to
an Israeli newspaper, which carried
a full account of the session.

— The Jewish Telegraphic Agency
contributed to this report.

--- Matthew .Do if
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Editors Frustrated

7/23

1999

Detroit Jewish News

25