Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 50, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 15, 1996 Page: 4 of 24
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Opinion 4 texas jew,sh post, THURSDAY, august is. i w - in ou* soth yeaw?
Washington Watch
fly James David Besser
TJP Washington Correspondent
Mission Impossible for Israeli Dip-
lomats
With fnction continuing to build
between Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu and Foreign Minister
David Levy. Israel’s represents ves
in this country face a Mission Im-
possible when it comes to real diplo-
macy. a.
According to sources in Washing-
ton. diplomats at the Israeli embassy
are increasingly out of the loop in
large measure because their nominal
boss, David Levy, is shut off from
the centers of power in Jerusalem.
An example: when Dore Gold.
Netanyahu’s top foreign policy ad-
viser. met with Secretary of Stale
Wanen Christopher in Washington
recently, the Israeli embassy here
was not informed of the meeting
until afterwards, a breach of proto-
col that left the diplomats looking
foolish.
Israeli diplomats are perfectly will-
ing to sell the policies of their gov-
ernment, whatever party is in pow-
er—but they say they can t do the
job when they are kept in the dark,
and when they are bypassed in the
day -to-day dealings between the two
governments.
The current conflict has less to do
with policy than with the overwhelm-
ing centralization of foreign policy
in the hands of the Prime Minister
and a few aides, and the increasing
isolation of Levy, the overseer of
Israel’s embassies around the world
The turf battle in Jerusalem, in
turn, is producing anxiety in the Clin-
ton administration, which is increas
ingly confused about exactly who is
responsible for Israel s changing
foreign policy.
“We’ve seen this before, where
prime ministers and foreign minis-
ters have been playing from differ-
ent song sheets,” said a longtime
Mideast analyst here "ButtheLevy-
Netanyahu rift is different , the direct
lines of communication between the
administration and the new Netan
yahu government are still not fully
developed, so the potential for mis-
commumcation is greater.
Kemp and the Jews
Will the nomination of former Rep.
Jack Kemp change the long odds
against a big Jewish turnout for Bob
Dole in November'’
The unequivocal answer is, may
be
“If Kemp campaigns like Jack
Kemp, it could he a big plus for the
Republicans when it comes to Jew-
ish votes." said a prominent Jewisn
politico—a worried Democrat.
“He’ s respected and liked; more than
any other candidate, he has strong
connections to the Jewish commu-
nity and a heartfelt feeling for Israel.
He also reflects many Jewish hu-
manitarian interests even as he es-
pouses a conservative economic
philosophy."
But if Kemp is forced to stick
closely to the GOP platform, the
most conservative in recent memo-
ry, his impact on Jewish voters will
be minimal, this analyst suggested
In his 18 years in the House, Kemp
played a pivotal role in increasing
and maintaining Israel’s foreign aid
and in battling the Palestine Libera-
tion Organization. He also was ac-
tive in the movement to free Soviet
Jewry, and his wife was chair of lhe
Congressional Wives for Soviet
Jewry.
Kemp is also an exciting cam-
paigner. an antidote to the deadly
dull Dole.
But most political observers pre-
dict that Kemp’s second-fiddle sta-
tus will preclude a surge of Jewish
defections from the Clinton-Gore
ticket.
"The only thing that would push a
substantial number of Jews to the
Republicans would be the nomina-
tion of Binyamin Netanyahu,’ said
Benjamin Ginsberg, a political sci-
entist at Johns Hopkins University.
“Jews will still look at the top of the
ticket, and the fact that Dole is not
historically connected to the Jewish
community. Kemp s primary im-
pact will be to generate enthusiasm
among Jewish Republican activists
who. as a result of his place on the
ticket, arc likely to increase contri-
butions But it won’t result in many
new Jewish votes."
But that equation could be differ-
ent in Orthodox bastions like New
left most reporters scratching their
heads in confusion.
Perot, the jug-cared billionaire
who jolted the political establish-
ment in 1992 with almost 19 percent
of the vote in his third-party presi-
dential bid, wants a rematch in 1996.
But he faces achallenge from former
Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm, an anti-
big government crusader who has
one big advantage: unlike Perot, he
has held elective office.
No Reform Party candidate is like-
ly to get more than a tiny fraction of
the Jewish vote, said presidential
historian Alan J Lichtman of Amer-
ican University.
“But it’s clear that the nominee—
I think it’s almost certain to be Per-
ot—will play a significant role in the
November election,” he said. “He’ll
get into the debate and cause a lot of
trouble ”
The conventional wisdom holds
that Perot’s presence will help Pres-
ident Bill Clinton. But Lichtman
isn’t so sure.
“Historically. third party challeng-
es are not good for incumbents.” he
said. “And they are lightning rods
for discontent; I think strategists for
both parties are very concerned about
Perot’s likely candidacy ”
As for Lamm. Lichtman said, he
cemented his status as a loser with
Jewish voters by selecting former
Rep Ed Zschau, a Republican, as his
running mate.
During his years in Congress,
Zschau was repeatedly at odds with
pro-Israel
groups
“He has a long
track record,” said a top
pro-Israel lobbyist here
•‘II of it |ShHH|
bad, from our point of
view There’s no way a Lamm-
Zschau ticket is going to win any
significant Jewish support.
Just in case you’re sitting on the
edge of your seat, the outcome of the
Reform party race will be announced
on Saturday or Sunday.
Races Heat Upfor Jewish Legisla-
tors
The GOP convention in San Di-
ego is grabbing all the headlines, but
a number of House and Senate con-
tests involving Jewish candidates are
heating up to the boiling point.
In Minnesota, Sen. Paul Well-
stone, a Democrat, is fighting a spir-
ited challenge by the man he beat six
years a ago, lumber magnate Rudy
Boschwitz.
Both candidates arc Jewish, but
they appeal to different segments of
the community.
Wellstone, an unrepentant liberal,
has won strong support from Jewish
givers with a distinctly domestic fo-
cus. Boschwitz, a longtime pro-Isra-
el leader on Capitol Hill, is attracting
support from pro-Israel political ac-
tion committees (PACs) and conser-
vative campaign contributors who
tend to give mostly on the basis of
issues like foreign aid and opposi-
uon to arms sales to Arab countries.
Wellstone. running against this
year’s political currents, is sharply
criticizing the recently passed wel-
fare reform bill, which will cut fed-
eral programs and end the longstand-
ing guarantee of cash assistance for
the nation’s poorest citizens,
Boschwitz is blasting the incumbent
as “Sen. Welfare.”
“Boschwitz has been narrowing
the gap pretty steadily," said Chuck
Brooks, executive director of the
National Political Action Commit-
tee, the largest pro-Israel PAC. “But
now his strategists seem to be going
negative’; in the past, when Rudy’s
done that, he’s gotten himself into
trouble.”
Most polls show Wellstone with a
seven point lead in a state known for
its political quirkiness. But his fu-
ture may depend on the length of
President Bill Clinton’s coattails—
if, in fact, there ARE any coattails.
In Texas, Rep. Martin Frost, a
Jewish Democrat, is breathing a big
sigh of relief.
Last week, a federal court threw
out the redistncting map for almost
half of the stale’s 30 congressional
districts, a judicial aftershock from
see WASH WATCH p. 24
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York, California and Honda, where
Dole forces have sensed a growing
opportunity in recent weeks—an
opportunity that, analysts say, Kemp
will be in a good position to exploit.
“Still, the numbers are very small
in Jewish terms," Ginsberg said ’But
overall, this was a very smart, very
surprising move.”
Umm and Zschau: No Jewish
Support
Ross Perot’s Reform Party is also
in the process of selecting a presi-
dential candidate This week, bal-
loting is taking places by mail and
via the Internet in a process that has
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Wisch, J. A. & Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 50, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 15, 1996, newspaper, August 15, 1996; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth754017/m1/4/: accessed July 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .