6 MONTH CD
ization out of the middle-management
level and to the communities where
members are and where future mem-
bers and leaders will come from."
For more than a decade, the
organization has been battered by
declining membership as younger
Jews choose more focused Jewish
organizations — or opt out of the
communal world altogether. Several
sweeping restructuring plans have
not reversed the trend, group insid-
ers say; B'nai B'rith has yet to find a
way to attract younger Jews without
angering longtime members who like
things the way they are.
Heideman conceded that reform
efforts have not moved as quickly as
he had hoped because of "a natural
tendency of people to protect turf and
want things to remain the way they
were, or even go back like they may
have been decades ago.
Acting On Hate
Last week's speech by Vice President Al
Gore accepting the Democratic presi-
dential nomination was widely seen as
a major step by the candidate to rede-
fine himself to a doubting electorate.
But for a group of Jewish activists,
it had special meaning because of
Gore's promise to actively promote
new hate-crimes legislation.
"We will honor the memory of
Matthew Shepard, Joseph Ileto and
James Byrd, whose families all joined
us this week — by passing a law
against hate crimes," Gore told dele-
gates. "[Such crimes] are different. We
need to embody our values in that
new law. It's time."
Actually, Jewish officials are hoping
a hate-crimes bill gets passed before
the January inauguration.
The Hate Crimes Prevention Act
passed the Senate in June, but faces an
almost impossible time frame in the
House, which will reconvene after
Labor Day to face a barrage of appro-
priations bills as members race toward
early adjournment.
But Jewish groups are ratcheting up
the pressure for quick action. On
Monday, the American Jewish
Congress brought together four New
York members of Congress to sign a
"Statement of Unity" pledging to push
passage of the bill. Several others —
including Rep. Ben Gilman, a New
York Republican — sent letters of sup-
port.
The measure would expand existing
hate-crimes laws to include crimes
based on the victim's gender, disability
or sexual preference, and make it easi-
er for federal authorities to help inves-
tigate and prosecute local hate crimes.
The fact that Gore is making the
legislation a plank in his domestic
platform could help — although some
Jewish activists worry that political
concerns about provisions including
gays and lesbians under federal hate-
crimes statutes could add to lawmak-
ers' reticence.
MONEY MARKET
Dancing At Auschwitz?
**
The news that a disco will open in a
former tannery used to house prison-
ers outside the Auschwitz site in
Poland — other reports say it is
already open — could complicate
efforts to renew negotiations over a
site plan for the former German death
camp, said the leader of a Jewish coali-
tion involved in those negotiations.
"It was bad news; it has the potential
to turn ugly," said Miles Lerman, who
came close to negotiating an agreement
with Warsaw last year. He was thwarted
when Polish extremists set up hundreds
of crosses to register their disapproval of
what they said was a government cave-
in to Jewish interests.
Talks have been on hold for
months; Lerman said an attempt will
be made to resume them in
September.
But the Polish disco will add to the
woes of a Jewish negotiating team that
is already wobbly because of internal
wrangling and criticism by Holocaust
activists, such as Rabbi Avi Weiss.
The disco is about a mile from the
Auschwitz site, Lerman said, but it is
housed in a former tannery that used
slave labor during the Nazi years. Press
reports also say the building served as
a warehouse to store goods looted
from murdered Jews.
Still, Lerman said he is optimistic
that negotiations can resume soon,
focusing on several issues: creating bet-
ter links between Auschwitz and
Birkenau, sites of the Nazis' largest
death camps on the southern border
of Poland near Czechoslovakia; pro-
tecting the perimeter of the camps
from inappropriate development; and
dealing with the large "papal cross"
that has been a flashpoint for bitter
controversy.
This week, the Simon Wiesenthal
Center condemned Polish officials for
allowing the disco, and two groups —
Sholom International and Rabbi
Weiss's Coalition for Jewish Concerns-
Amcha — announced plans for a
demonstration in front of the Polish
consulate in New York on Sunday,
Sept. 3 to protest the disco.
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