■

MARe It A flew
WA ► 'S Resocution 4w.
to Dmess up vouR

ShF11313FIC CRI3Cei

Ceramic Havdalah S

End the Sabbath with this
delightful, 4-piece havdalah set.
Includes a cup, spice box,
candle holder, and tray.

The beautiful desig features
the city of Jerusalem and the

words "Chag Sameiach."

s *

blis s

A
10 4
AA

Cover your Sabbath table with
this candlestick patterned
tablecloth. Stain-repellent
material. 63" x 124".

$75.00

Cello Spice Box

Music lovers and collectors
will adore this sterling silver
spice box.

$100.00

www.jewish.com • 800-875-6621

1/17
2003

28

TM store
gewish.com
l \N

O

D. C. rally is led by anti-Israel groups.

Washington Correspondent

Challah

4114

Anti-War, Anti-Israel

JAMES D. BESSER

$30.00

. 0 *I t
$32
si l sA
's

Washington Watch

The store for the Jewish community online'

any Jews may have mis-
givings about the Bush
administration's
impending war with
Iraq, but there will be almost no
Jewish presence at a big anti-war
protest scheduled for Washington on
Jan. 18. And the reason is not just
Shabbat.
According to a number of officials,
the rally will be shot through with vir-
ulent anti-Israel rhetoric. That points
to a trend that alarms many Jewish
leaders.
The emerging anti-war movement
— which could mushroom if the
expected. war against Iraq goes badly
— may be a powerful vehicle for
activists whose primary goal is under-
mining U.S.-Israel relations.
Israel bashing "will be a fairly domi-
nant theme" at Saturday's rally, said
David Friedman, director of the Anti-
Defamation League's Washington
regional office. "There will be a lot of
people there with that as their primary
motive; the placards and banners will
emphasize the linkage between
America as a bully in the world, beat-
ing up on Iraq, and Israel as oppressor
of the Palestinians."
The rally is being organized by
ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and
End Racism), which was responsible
for several anti-war rallies last year that
turned into anti-Israel extravaganzas.
In a recent call to arms sent out by the
group, a Palestinian activist made it
clear that slamming Israel would be
just as important as criticizing the
U.S. rush to war in Iraq.
Elias Rashmawi, an ANSWER steer-
ing committee member and leader of
the Free Palestine Alliance, said that
the Iraq war will provide a pretext for
Israel's expulsion of Palestinians.
"Unless challenged globally,
Palestinian mass transfer is imminent,"
he said. "Palestine, a primary hurdle to
global domination. is indeed in the
crosshairs of imperial designs."
The list of endorsing organizations
for Saturday's march is full of Arab
and Muslim groups, but there are no
Jewish organizations listed. The
Shalom Center in Philadelphia, a

"Jewish Renewal" outpost, will partici-
pate in a Friday night Tu B'Shevat
service and seder and a "nonviolent
civil disobedience action against the
war near the White House" on
Sunday. But the group will not have
an official presence at the rally — in
part because of concerns about the
anti-Israel themes.
Other left-of-center Jewish leaders
will be conspicuously absent. "I do
feel uncomfortable with the way that
ANSWER deals with Israel, and for
that reason have declined to speak at
the event unless I was given enough
time to present a case for those of us
who are anti-war but pro-Israel," said
Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of
Tikkun magazine.
"In my view, the organizers of this
demonstration have
allowed far too many
speakers who believe
that this war is being
done because Israel
wants the war, far too
few who share my view
that this war is not in
the best interests either
Rabbi
of Israel or of the
Abraham
Cooper
United States."
Another Jewish
activist said that "those of us who
oppose the Iraq war are cut off. I've
been to recent rallies and felt very
uncomfortable. As a Jew, I feel it's
important to protest a U.S. policy I
think will hurt both Israel and the
United States, but I can't in good con-
science attend rallies where anti-Israel
speakers are given the podium."
But the emerging anti-war move-
ment could pick up momentum, espe-
cially if the Iraq war goes badly, and
anti-Israel forces could ride it to new
prominence.
"If the anti-war movement becomes
more active and more vibrant, these
groups that have always been out there
will get new legitimacy and new visi-
bility," said Abraham Foxman, nation-
al director of the Anti-Defamation
League.
"They want to ride the wave of the
anti-Iraq protests," said Rabbi
Abraham Cooper, associate dean of
the Simon Wiesenthal Center. "And if
the effort in Iraq collapses, they will be
in a position to capitalize on it."