Republican Quandary Jewish officials critical of Bush for urging Buchanan to stay in GOP. Mideast Aid Battle Continues On the Hill JAMES BESSER Washington Correspondent DANIEL KURTZMAN Jewish Teleg-raphic Agency Wzshin on ith a maelstrom swirling around Pat Buchanan and the views he espouses on Hitler and World War II in his latest book, the last thing Texas Gov. George W. Bush wanted to do was become ensnared in the controversy. But in asking the Republican firebrand not to leave the GOP, Bush has drawn criticism from key Republican and conservative leaders, as well as some Jewish officials. The Republican presidential front-runner last week urged Buchanan to stay in the party, saying it was "important" if he wins the nomination to unite the Republican Party. I'm going to need every vote I can get among Republicans to win the election." A Reform Left: Party bid by George W Buchanan Bush could siphon off at least 4 . • Below: 1 Pat percentage points from Buchanan Bush, accord- ing to most polls. Just days earlier, Bush had met with Jewish Republicans and the heads of several major Jewish organizations to discuss a range of Jewish concerns, including the Middle East peace process, church-state separation and gun violence. At that private meeting in Austin, Texas, Bush said he disagreed funda- mentally with Buchanan's views, according to of who attended the meeting. But he indicated that he did not want to draw more attention to Buchanan by engaging him in a debate about his assertions in his book, A Republic, Not an Empire, that Nazi Germany posed no threat to the United States after 1940 and that Americans were deceived concerning the need to enter the war. Instead, Bush decided to appeal for party unity by urging Buchanan not to bolt the GOP at a time when Buchanan appears likely to seek the Reform Party nomination for the presidency. Bush's stance places him at odds with GOP rival Sen. John McCain, who said Buchanan should be kicked out of the party because of his fringe views. McCain, echoing a sentiment expressed by some in the Jewish community, said 10 11 1 9,,9t: 'AI Bush was putting politics ahead of principle. Responding to criticism, Mindy Tucker, a spokeswoman for the Bush campaign, said, "Gov. Bush is a leader who believes in uniting our parry much like Ronald Reagan did, instead of driving wedges between people. The Republican Party is a contest, a contest of ideas, and Republican voters will have a chance to express their opinion on this issue in the primary" She declined to elaborate on Bush's political considerations, but said of Buchanan's views: "Gov. Bush disagrees emphatically with the strange ideas expressed by Pat Buchanan about World War II. He believes that World War II was a great and noble cause. It remains to be seen what, if any, impact Bush's reaction to Buchanan will have on his campaign's outreach efforts to Jewish voters. By most accounts, Bush — a pro-life governor who has said he wants church and state to "work together," has endorsed displaying the Ten Commandments in schools and once said that only followers of Jesus can go to heaven — already has a difficult road ahead in courting Jews, who have historically backed Democratic candidates. Jewish leaders, for their part, signaled disap- proval of Bush's handling of the matter, but avoid- ed sharp criticism of Bush. Abraham Foxrnan, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said that while he wa- disappointed with Bush's response, he was far more trou- bled by the attitude toward Buchanan in political circles and what he called a lack of recognition of the "nature and of the poison of this man." "I am troubled that there is a man who is an anti-Semite, who is a Hitler apologist, a Nazi war criminal defender, an Israel-basher, a racist on so many lev- els, and good, serious people are still try- ing to waltz around him gingerly," said Foxman, who attended the meeting with Bush in Austin last week. If people were to recognize "who he is and what he is," he added, "there would be no hesitancy to say that this man does not belong in the political mainstream of our country" Richard Heideman, president of B'nai B'rith International, said, "I would like to see him reject Buchanan, and I reject Buchanan. But in the con- text of the meeting we had Wednesday, I under- stand the outreach he has expressed" toward Buchanan at the present time." Jewish Democrats, meanwhile, were quick to pounce on the GOP front-runner. "Bush made a terrible choice," said Ira Forman, executive direc- tor of the National Jewish Democratic Council. Li " Washington Bic ideast politics received scant attention in the capital this week, but at mid- week, Congress was preparing to pass a foreion aid spending bill that President Bill Clinton is almost certain to veto because of insuf- ficient funding. That veto will signal the start of real negotiations over a package that includes Israel's rou- tine $2.8 billion. Republicans are blaming the administration for the fact that the $1.8 billion Wye River page is not part of the current appropriations bills; Democrats say GOP leaders are playing chicken with the money by using it to force other cuts in important administration programs. This week, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) got into the act by circulating a letter urging the administration to do more to press for the Wye aid — though in truth, almost nobody has a real idea of where the money will come from as lawmakers head toward the ugliest, most chaotic budget fight in recent memory. Anger On Terrorism Congressional anger is mounting over the Clinton administration's efforts to block the collection of damage awards against nations that sponsor terror- ism. But winning relief for the family of Alisa Flatow, the Brandeis student killed in a Gaza terror bomb- ing in 1995, still looks like a long shot in a Congress heading toward a frenzy of stopgap spend- ing bills that should keep them tied in knots for the rest of the session. Flatow's family won a $247 million judgment against Iran — the country that allegedly supported the terrorists who killed the New Jersey woman — under a 1996 amendment to an anti-terrorism law allowing American citizens to sue foreign govern- ments that support terror groups. But the administration, citing diplomatic consid- erations, blocked the seizure of Iranian property in Washington on the grounds that it would violate international agreements --- thereby jeopardizing U.S. facilities in other parts of the world. And in discussions with lawmakers, administra- tion officials have argued that turning frozen assets over to victims could deprive the government of important diplomatic leverage for dealing with renegade countries. Sen. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) have expressed outrage that President Bill Clinton is blocking claims, even though he supported the 1996 law allowing citizens to sue.