This Week

Washington Watch

"We couldn't believe
the excitement

in the streets. Being in Israel on Federation's last Miracle
Mission was an unbelievable experience. Especially on Yom
Ha'Atzmaut, Israel's Independence Day. What an incredi-
ble sight! Dancing in the street, music, kids all celebrating.
It's something we will never forget."

04.18.04

It's a go!

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We have a date, and a terrific price,
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call Sally Krugel, Mission Director, (248) 203-1485 or krugel@jfmd.org

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*Includes $150 per person discount if Confirmed Trip Deposit is paid by 6/30/03. Full price is $2,895.

5/16
2003

28

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WASHINGTON WATCH from page 27

effort to end terror, he said, the plan
will fail. "If his voice is also raised
within the EU and the Arab world,
conveying the message he gave to us,
it will be a very welcome development
and an important contribution to
making this effort work," he said.
As usual, the AJCommittee meet-
ings had a strongly international char-
acter, with high-level leaders from
seven countries, dozens of diplomats
and Jewish activists from 45 nations.
"At a time when many American Jews
feel increasingly isolated from the rest
of the world on the question of Israel,
it was a welcome display," Harris said.

Jewish Refugees

Refugees continue to be a major
impediment to progress on the Israeli-
Palestinian peace front, and a promi-
nent Jewish group wants the world to
remember that it's not just Palestinian
refugees who have significant claims.
The World Jewish Congress (WJC),
which recently held a conference in
Washington on the more than 900,000
Jewish refugees from Arab lands, is
working with Congress to put a spot-
light on those "forgotten refugees."
Last week, Rep. Frank Pallone, D-
N.J., after discussions with WJC lead-
ers, called for congressional hearings
on the subject. "Jews in Arab nations
were forced to forfeit the lives they
had worked so hard to achieve — to
abandon their homes and livelihoods,"
the lawmaker said. "It is critical that
Congress address this issue while the
refugees are still alive and while we can
still address their rights as victims."
Avi Beker, secretary general of the
WJC, said that the growing congres-
sional interest in the subject represents
a "real breakthrough." His group is
working with lawmakers and the Bush
administration to "make the issue of
Jewish refugees part of the road map."
Any Israeli-Palestinian settlement will
presumably address the issue of
Palestinian refugees, he said. "But it is
also important that people realize there
are two sides to the refugee issue."

Faith-Based

The debate over President Bush's faith-
based initiative took another unex-
pected turn last week when the House
passed a bill containing language that
critics say will legalize religious dis-
crimination in the workplace.
But supporters claim reauthorization
of the 1998 Workforce Investment Act
will allow fuller participation by reli-
gious groups. ❑