Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 46, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 9, 1992 Page: 4 of 24
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Opinion
4 TEXAS JEWISH POST, THURSDA Y, JUL Y 9, 1992-IN OUR 46TH YEAR!
Getting Set for Jewish Presence
at Convention
Jewish groups are working hard
to take full advantage of the fact
that the upcoming Democratic Na-
tional Convention will be in New
York—the capital of American
Jewry.
The New York Jewish Commu-
nity Relations Council will host a
pickle-and-pastrami reception for
Jewish delegates from around the
country, as well as the entire New
York delegation, according to di-
rector Michael Miller. The group is
also sending out packets of infor-
mation to the Jewish delegates with
information about Jewish services
and facilities.
“I feel that it is very important
that the resident Jewish commu-
nity welcome them and make them
feel at home, Jewishly,” Miller said.
The American Israel Public Af-
fairs Committee (AIPAC) will host
a major reception on Sunday, and
at least one briefing during the
course of the convention.
Rep. Charles Schumer
The National Jewish Democratic
Council, which has responsibility
for generating a big turnout of Jew-
ish voters, will conduct regular
briefings. Americans for Peace
Now and Tikkun Magazine will
host gatherings, as well.
Numerous Jewish groups, in-
cluding the American Jewish Com-
mittee and the American Jewish
Congress, wil l send officials to pro-
vide information about issues of
concern to the Jewish community
and monitor possible moves by
groups opposed to the strongly pro-
Israel language in the platform.
The New York Metropolitan
Coordinating Council on Jewish
Pover y will provide an exhibit to
remind the Democrats that not all
American Jews enjoy the fruits of
middle-class suburban life.
Washington Watch
By James David Besser
And the Union of Orthodox Jew-
ish Congregations of America will
host breakfast meetings for the
Democrats—strictly kosher, of
course.
All this preparation will help the
500 or so Jewish delegates feel at
home during the Manhattan gath-
ering. But there are important po-
litical motives, as well; pro-Israel
activists hope that the Jewish show
of strength will demonstrate clearly
how the party has changed since
1988, when Rep. Charles Schumer
(D-N. Y.) was booed by pro-Pales-
tinian forces.
“The real story in 1992 has been
the phenomenal involvement of the
Jewish community in the party pro-
cess,” said the head of a major
Jewish organization who has been
involved in the grass-roots effort.
“This is a very different party in
1992—and we owe it to the efforts
of the major pro-Israel groups and
the activism of Jews around the
country who responded to the chal-
lenge by getting involved.”
Clinton Impresses Jewish Sup-
porters:
When presumed Democratic
presidential nominee Bill Clinton
met with Jewish leaders last week,
his announced intention was to lis-
ten to the special concerns of the
rnmmnnitv
Gov. Bill Clinton
But the Jewish activists present
at the meeting did some intensive
listening of their own. And in gen-
eral, they liked what they heard.
“It was a very good meeting,”
said Clinton supporter Morrie
Amitay, alongtime Jewish politico.
“Clinton himself was great; the
campaign in the Jewish commu-
nity is way ahead of where previ-
ous campaigns have been at this
point.”
But some participants privately
offered a more mixed response.
“Mr. Clinton was thoughtful and
respectful,” said one participant.
“But there was no exuberance; this
is not yet a campaign that has really
touched the Jewish community in
any fundamental way.”
An exhausted-looking Clinton
received high marks from partici-
pants for his cautious answer about
moving the American embassy to
Jerusalem; Clinton indicated that
he would not make the move if it
would jeopardize the Middle East
peace process.
He also caused some anxiety by
referring to a possible United Na-
tions role in guaranteeing peace in
the region—comments that pro-
duced an audible groan among the
assembled Jewish activists.
But in general, Clinton’s perfor-
mance seemed to satisfy his Jewish
backers, even if he didn’t dazzle
them.
‘He’s trying to juggle different
constituencies under this broad
Democratic tent, and one has to
admire the way he’s performing
that trick,” said an official with a
major Jewish organization who at-
tended the sessions. “And he’s also
trying to juggle several very differ-
ent Jewish constituencies with very
different views of the Middle East.
Given those difficulties, he did an
admirable job.”
Study Satisfies Jewish Dems:
There was bad news for Jewish
Republicans in a recent study by
the National Jewish Democratic
Council-—a group that is not ex-
actly indifferent to the woes of their
GOP counterparts.
The NJDC poll, which looked at
exit poll data from a number of
primaries, showed that at least a
plurality of the Jewish Republi-
cans questioned will support inde-
pendent candidate Ross Perot over
President Bush.
In California, 63 percent of the
Jewish Republicans indicated a
preference for the insurgent candi-
date; in New Jersey, 42 percent
lined up behind Perot, with only 33
percent for the incumbent Republi-
can president.
Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, the
presumed Democratic nominee, ran
well in the Jewish community—
although in California, some 27
percent of the Jewish Democrats
questioned indicated that they, too,
would prefer the Texas billionaire.
The survey tended to confirm
what most analysts have been pre-
dicting: Jewish Democrats are more
likely to support Clinton than non-
Jewish Democrats, while support
for Perot among Jewish Republi-
cans is stronger than among non-
Jewish Republicans.
Soviet Emigre Jumps into Legis-
lative Fray:
For some Jews from the former
Soviet Union, the changes of the
past 18 months have been nothing
short of breathtaking.
Consider the case of Anna
Berchidskaya.
One year ago, she was a transla-
tor and reporter in Moscow; today,
she is eyeball deep in American
political life as a legislative assis-
tant for the Religious Action Cen-
terof Reform Judaism, the political
arm of the Union of American He-
brew Congregations.
Berchidskaya was teaching Rus-
sian at Drexel University when she
heard about the summer internship
program at the RAC.
“When I read about their pro-
gram, I realized I wasn’t interested
in anything else,” she said. “They
work on issues like economics, the
budget, Soviet Jewry, Israel—and
I was just fascinated by these is-
sues.”
A week of orientation gave
Berchidskaya and the other legis-
lative assistants a quick but inten-
sive training in the mechanics of
democracy, Washington style.
“It’s much more intense than I
expected,” she said. “I have to be
involved in coalition meetings
where I really have a SAY, and that
surprised me.”
Not surprisingly, she has taken a
special interest in immigration and
refugee issues.
“I have such a personal involve-
ment in this,” she said. “I know
people who have been standing in
line at the American embassy for
two or three years. Very few Ameri -
cans know that while the policies
of the (Russian) government have
changed, it can still take years to
emigrate because of the bureau-
cracy. By working on this issue, I
thought I could be helpful to the
people I still know over there.”
During her first three weeks in
Washington, she was most sur-
prised by the pluralism of political
life in this country.
“I’m meeting a lot of people from
different coalitions, from different
religious and social environments,”
see WASH WATCH p. 8
Texas Jewish Post
Editor and Publisher J.A. Wisch
Managing Editor 4 Co-Publisher Rene Wisch
Assistant Editor Sharon Wisch-Ray
Consultant Steve Wisch
Social Editor Linda Davidsohn
Typography Stan Cumberledge
Since 1947
Food/Home Susan Wisch
Adv. Representatives Judy Wisch, Wylma Hooker
Robert Brimm, Sharon Wisch-Ray
Layout Angie Englert
Photography Sharon Wisch-Ray 4 Judy Wisch
Circulation Director Ellen Hill
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Wisch, J. A. & Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 46, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 9, 1992, newspaper, July 9, 1992; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth754304/m1/4/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .