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But it also lists groups responsible
for attacks against Israel, including
Hamas, Hezbollah and the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
That's important to Jewish leaders,
who were concerned about the Bush
administration's failure to include
any anti-Israel terrorist groups on
the list of 27 organizations whose
assets were recently frozen as part of
the new U.S.-led war on terrorism.
Overall, the State Department
report includes 22 groups, including
Kahane Chai, an Israeli extremist
group. Under a 1996 anti-terrorism
law, listed groups are barred from
fund-raising in this country and
their U.S. assets are frozen. But the
sanctions are not as stringent as
those imposed by President Bush on
bin Laden-related groups last month.
The American Jewish Congress
said the continued inclusion of anti-
Israel terror groups on the list
"should come as reassurance to
Israel's Prime Minister Sharon that
in the fight against terrorism being
waged by the Bush administration,
Palestinian groups have neither been
forgiven nor forgotten."
But Jewish critics of U.S. Mideast
policy were unhappy that Palestine
Liberation Organization factions
were not listed.
"The refusal to include Fatah,
which murders innocent Israelis on a
weekly basis, is further proof of
Sharon's charge that Bush is appeas-
ing Arafat and other terrorist
regimes," said Morton Klein, presi-
dent of the Zionist Organization of
America.
Political Visibility
Jewish leaders are just beginning to
grasp how much the community's
political standing has changed in the
past few decades. That transforma-
tion, and the question of what may
be in store for the now-powerful
Jewish community in the new centu-
ry, are the subjects of a new book
assembled by a panel of activists and
scholars.
The publication of Jews in
American Politics represents a kind of
political maturation for the Jewish
community, said Ira N. Forman,
executive director of the National
Jewish Democratic Council and one
of the co-authors.
"In the past, there was a real reluc-
tance to openly talk about Jewish
political activism," he said. "There
was a fear that it would just 'prove'
what the anti-Semites were saying
about an international Jewish con-
spiracy." But Jews are now secure
enough in their very visible political
roles to openly analyze and discuss
what has been a remarkable and
rapid political transformation, he
said.
Forman said he first conceived of
the project after the death of former
Rep. Bella Abzug, D-N.Y. "There
was a spate of stories about her
being the first Jewish woman in
Congress," he said.
That bothered the history-con-
scious Forman; in fact, the first
Jewish woman to serve was Florence
Prag Kahn, a Republican who served
from 1925 to 1937 and became a
powerful member of the House.
"There are giants in the Jewish
community's political development
who are rapidly being forgotten" he
said. "So that was a major motiva-
tion for the book."
In 1900 or even 1950, Forman
said, Jews seemed to lag behind
other ethnic groups in gaining polit-
ical power. As late as 1973, he said,
a study demonstrated that Jews were
prominent on House and Senate
staffs, but underrepresented as mem-
bers.
All of that has changed in recent
years. Jews, only about 2 percent of
the nation, comprise 10 percent of
the Senate.
One reason for the change is the
overall breakdown of barriers to
Jewish participation in American
life.
And "in the past, Jews didn't feel
comfortable being public in poli-
tics," he said. "That has changed
dramatically."
Chapters are written by both aca-
demics and activists. "We wanted
people who really understood how
the community works, whether they
were in academia or in politics,"
Forman said.
But Jewish political clouts faces
some potential roadblocks in the
future.
Jews, Forman said, want to be
both "first class citizens, and also
members of a group that maintains a
very strong ethnic identity. How do
you do both? That's not always
easy."
Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., the
2000 Democratic vice presidential
candidate and a politician who com-
bines strong Jewish observance with
broad political appeal, "is the poster
boy for the fact that it is possible to
do both," he said. "But it is diffi-
cult." ❑
Saturday, October 26
4- The Millennium Center in Southfield
• k •
Support the Hungry In Our Community
and laugh while you're doing it.
COMEDY NIGHT 2001
Featuring Comedian Richard Jeni,
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and Master of Ceremonies Chuck Gaidica.
(AISO fl 11\'(.2 ICI lOn will
JJ
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ERHARD BMW
DRIVEN TO WIPE OUT HUNGER
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248.642.6565
248.474.9800
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Courtyard Center • 32500 Northwestern Hwy. • Farmington Hills, MI 48334 • (248) 851-6770
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