Washington Watch/News Digest

Durban Disarray

Jews Are Divided
Over Black Relations

Anti-Zionism rhetoric continues as U.S. ponders attendance.

JAMES D. BESSER

of racism," Samuels said. "This has
already infected the international
human rights organizations, and it is
espite strong efforts by the
very much a part of this conference.
Bush administration, the
Planning documents now mention
United Nations continues
the Holocaust, he said, but they
plunging toward an inter-
equate it to - the holocaust being
national train wreck over its World
imposed on the Palestinian people."
Conference Against Racism, Racial
Specific references equating Zionism
Discrimination, Xenophobia and
with racism have been stripped, he
Related Intolerance.
said, but that linkage still pervades the
The final planning meeting for the
final drafts approved in Geneva.
global gathering, scheduled for Aug. 31
The Arab and Muslim countries, he
in Durban, South Africa, was held in
said, pursued a strategy of inundation,
Geneva last week. Jewish officials who
beginning with a barrage of outrageous
attended said the anti-Israel feeling that statements inserted in the Durban
pervaded early planning documents
documents. Ultimately, "they know
only worsened, despite the threat of a
they won't get away with all of that —
U.S. boycott and an all-out mobiliza-
but what will be left is a consensus
tion by Jewish groups.
about Israel as the last colonial power,
The administration is expected to
Israel as the new apartheid regime."
announce whether it would
Jewish activists say that
send a delegation to Durban 0 , -
despite her recent efforts
perhaps as early as this
to limit the Middle East
week. The White House
debate at Durban, Mary
promised to stay away if
Robinson, the U.N. high
planners persisted in efforts
commissioner for human
to slam Israel as a racist
rights, has not played a
country while ignoring the
constructive role.
actions of the world's lead-
In a statement to dele-
ing human rights abusers.
gates last week, Robinson
Rep. Tom Lantos, D-
appealed for compromise,
Calif., a leader of the U.S.
but then called for "under-
delegation to Geneva, said
standing of the historical
he came away from the
wounds of anti-Semitism
Rep. Lantos
Geneva meetings with
and of the Holocaust, on
"profound disappointment
the one hand, and of the
and concern." Lantos said delegates
accumulated wounds of displacement
made significant progress on the issue
and military occupation on the other."
of slavery, the other big controversy
That overt linkage "is the essence of
preceding Durban, but that the
what this problem is all about," said
attempt by anti-Israel force to "hijack"
Abraham Foxman, national director of
the conference continued unabated,
the Anti-Defamation League.
despite minor changes in wording.
This week, Foxman met with U.S.
"I find it almost mind-boggling that a
Secretary of State Colin Powell and
universal conference which purports to
urged him not to attend the conference.
deal with global issues ... may be collaps-
This was a change in position for ADL.
ing because of the insistence of a group
of nations to single out a particular coun-
Recognizing Heroes
try and a particular problem," he said.
Dr. Shimon Samuels, director for
Some members of Congress aren't
international liaison for the Simon
happy about the apparent paucity of
Wiesenthal Center, agreed that dele-
Jewish war heroes — at least heroes
gates ducked their last chance to mod-
officially recognized by the defense
erate the tone of the conference before
establishment.
delegates from more than 100 coun-
Several key lawmakers, including
tries assemble in South Africa.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-
"This is a very serious campaign to
N.Y., are lining up behind the Jewish
portray Zionism as the ultimate form
War Veterans Act of 2001, introduced

Washington Correspondent

D

8/17

2001

22

"

in the Senate by Sen. Max Cleland, D-
Ga., himself a decorated war hero.
The measure originated in the
House when Rep. Robert Wexler, D-
Fla., began to hear stories about Jewish
military personnel who performed
tremendous feats of heroism during
World War II and the Vietnam and
Korean conflicts but were not recog-
nized with the Medal of Honor, the
nation's top military honor.
The discrepancy was particularly
glaring in the case of Leonard Kravitz,
a soldier during the Korean War who
sacrificed himself to save his unit.
Another soldier who performed a simi-
lar heroic act was given the Medal of
Honor; Kravitz wasn't.
In fact, the House bill is officially
called the "Leonard Kravitz Jewish War
Veterans Act" in his honor. Kravitz'
nephew is singer Lenny Kravitz, who
was named in his memory.
The Jewish War Veterans of the United
States became active in pressing for a
review of the Kravitz case and the cases of
other Jewish servicemen who may have
been denied the honors they deserved.
The pending legislation orders a full
review of Kravitz' record, and the
records of other Jewish service personnel
who were previously awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy
Cross, or the Air Force Cross. The act
also requires Pentagon officials to review
cases submitted by the JWV during a
one-year period after its passage.
The measure mirrors similar legisla-.
tion passed to reexamine cases involv-
ing African American and Asian
American service personnel.
Jewish Americans make up about 3
percent of the military population, but
get less than 1 percent of the top
medals, according to the National
Museum of American Jewish Military
History. Of the 3,455 Medals of
Honor that have been awarded, only
13 have gone to Jews.
"Acts of bravery in defense of democ-
racy and equality deserve recognition,"
Sen. Clinton said in a statement this
week. "Jewish Americans who served
their country, like all veterans, should
be justly honored for their acts of
courage and valor. By re-examining the
record of service by Jewish Americans,
we can help to detect and rectify any
injustices if they occurred."

❑

New York/JTA — U.S. Jews are split
over the state of relations with blacks,
according to a new survey by the
Foundation for Ethnic Understanding
The survey found that 51 percent o
Jews outside of New York City consid
er Jewish/black relations fair or poor,
while 37 percent think them excellent
or good.
Blacks were more optimistic, with
41 percent rating relations with Jews
as fair or poor and 43 percent as excel
lent or good. The survey has a margin
of error of 6 percent.

Job Web Site
Is Launched

New York/JTA — The North
American Jewish federation system, its
educational arm and 13 national
Jewish organizations are launching a
comprehensive Web site listing Jewish
communal jobs.
JewishJobFinder.com , which will
debut next month, will offer informa-
tion on Jewish communal careers and
feature a database of job openings, as
well as resumes posted to the site by
job seekers.

AJCommittee Lays
Blames On Arafat

New York/JTA — An ad campaign
holding Palestinian Authority leader
Yasser Arafat responsible for the
recent wave of suicide bombings in
Israel was launched in the United
States.
"How many more people in Israel
will have to pay with their lives while
Chairman Arafat fosters an atmos-
phere that glorifies suicide attacks?"
asks the American Jewish Committee-
sponsored ad, which appeared Tuesday
in the New York Times.

Five Jews Killed
In Helicopter Crash

New York/JTA— Five Orthodox Jews
from Brooklyn were killed in a heli-
copter crash near the Grand Canyon.
The five tourists killed last Friday
were part of a group of about 20
friends and family on a four-day vaca-
tion at the Bellagio hotel-casino in Las
Vegas, according to Steven Golomb, a

