Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 47, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 4, 1993 Page: 4 of 28
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OpiniOH 4 TEXAS JEWISH post, thursda y, march 4,1993-iN our 47th yeari
Positive Symbols from Christo-
pher Trip:
Pro-Israel activists in Washing-
ton are quietly exultant over Secre-
tary of State Warren Christopher’s
first trip to the Middle East, which
concluded last week.
But that pleasure has more to do
with the signals emitted during the
whirlwind trip than with any spe-
cific diplomatic achievements by
the new secretary.
Despite concerns that Christo-
pher would be more of an adminis-
trator than a diplomat or a strategic
thinker, the new secretary made no
gaffes and threw no new fuel on the
always-smoldering fires in the Mid-
east—in itself no small achieve-
ment.
“There’s a question of style here,’ ’
said one leading pro-Israel activist.
“He has a very different style than
Jim B aker and George Shultz; that’s
something we have to adjust to.
But in terms of the way he ap-
proached the parties to the Mideast
peace talks, one would have to say
that he did not fall into any of the
traps that were waiting there for
him.”
Administration insiders suggest
that Christopher succeeded in his
primary goal—establishing good
personal ties with leaders through-
out the region, and demonstrating a
strong American commitment to
the peace process without giving
the impression of pressuring the
Israelis.
That effort also sent the message
that Christopher plans to remain
personally engaged in the peace
process, and not simply delegate
the whole issue to a special envoy.
Abraham Foxman
‘To me, the important thing is
that he listened,” said Abraham
Foxman, executive director of the
Anti-Defamation League. “He sent
out a clear message that he under-
stands that in theMiddle East, things
Washington Watch
are never simple.”
Pro-Israel activists were also
pleased that Christopher repeatedly
raised the issue of the Arab boy-
cott, something they had been press-
ing for in the days before his trip.
But there are no indications that
his concern provoked any change
in the unbending Arab position,
which continues to be a major
source of friction in the peace ne-
gotiations.
Wiesenthal Center Presses on
Russian Libel Case:
Legislators and administration
officials are getting an earful from
the Simon Wiesenthal Center on
the issue of Tancred Golenpolsky,
the publisher of the Jewish Gazette
in Moscow who is being sued by
the ultra-nationalist Pamyat orga-
nization.
Golenpolsky’s crime, it appears,
was labeling Pamyat anti-Semitic
because of its distribution of the
Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Golenpolsky was sued for slan-
der—and the Jewish community in
Russia once again finds itself in the
position of publicly refuting the
bogus document, which purports
to reveal the secrets of the world-
wide Jewish conspiracy.
What keeps this from being pa-
tently silly is the fact that the
Golenpolsky trial is one more omi-
nous sign of the ultra-nationalist,
anti-Semitic movement just be-
neath the surface in Boris Yeltsin’s
Russia.
“The original game plan was to
simply prove that the Protocols are
anti-Semitic by getting a panel of
four Russian experts to testify,”
said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, asso-
ciate dean of the Wiesenthal Center.
B ut pressure by nationalist forces,
he said, intimidated the experts and
convinced them not to testify.
And powerful forces in Russian
society have rallied to the support
of Pamyat.
According to Cooper, a Russian
publication recently published an
article by a leading Russian Ortho-
dox cleric, arguing that the issue
isn’t whether or not the Protocols
are true—but the “fact” that the
Jews are a major threat to the shaky
nation.
Golenpolsky asked the
Wiesenthal Center for help; the Los
Angeles based group is providing
financial and legal assistance, and
arranging for foreign witnesses to
testify.
Cooper and the group’s counsel,
Washington lawyer Martin
By James David Besser
TJP Washington Correspondent
Mendelsohn, will be traveling to
Moscow soon to assess the situa-
tion.
President Clinton
The group is trying to mobilize
Congressional interest in the case,
and has written to Secretary of State
Warren Christopher, urging him to
“convey to Russia’s leaders the
deep concern this trial has raised
for the Jewish citizens of Russia
and for Russia’s friends here in the
United States.”
The group is also asking Christo-
pher to instruct the embassy in
Moscow to monitor the case.
“We’ve had our hands full with
the Protocols for ninety years,”
Cooper said. “And here it is again.
What should have been an open
and shut case is being affected by
the very complex political situa-
tion there. This is a case we cannot
afford to lose.”
Gays in the Military, Redux:
The issue of gays in the military
may have faded from the head-
lines, but it hasn’t faded from the
agendas of some Jewish groups in
Washington.
The Religious Action Center of
Reform Judaism, an arm of the
Union of American Hebrew Con-
gregations, recently played a piv-
otal role in the creation of the Cam-
paign for Military Service, a coali-
tion of gay rights, civil liberties and
religious groups focused on the is-
sue.
The purpose of the new group,
which is headquartered in the
RAC’s Massachusetts Ave. build-
ing, is to mobilize support for end-
ing the ban on homosexuals in the
military during the interim period
before President Clinton revisits
the subject this summer.
“For our people, this is a very
important civil rights issue,” said
Rabbi Lynne F. Landsberg, associ-
ate director of the RAC. “It reso-
nates in our community because
it’s so clearcut—the fact that people
are being denied an opportunity to
serve simply by virtue of who they
are as opposed to their own per-
sonal conduct.”
A number of other Jewish groups
are reportedly considering joining
the coalition.
New Legislative Director for
American Jewish Committee:
After a long search, the Ameri-
can Jewish Committee has picked
anew legislative director and coun-
sel—and he isn’t exactly a stranger
to the organization.
Richard Foltin, currently direc-
tor of governmental affairs at the
group’s New York headquarters,
will take over the important Wash-
ington slot at a time when the Com-
mittee is eyeball deep in a long
legislative agenda.
Foltin, who has been heavily in-
volved in the group’s human rights
and civil liberties activities, will
officially make the move some-
time in April.
At the top of his list of priorities,
he said, will be the president’s pro-
posed budget, possible new civil
rights initiatives and the Religious
Freedom Restoration Act; his pre-
decessor, Judy Golub, was a leader
in last year’s unsuccessful effort to
pass the religious liberties bill.
Foltin indicated that the group
would try to sharpen its focus on
Capitol Hill in this overcrowded
legislative session.
“This is a process that’s always
going on in our organization,” he
said. “We have to make sure we are
working where we can be the most
effective for the Jewish commu-
nity.”
Successful U.S.-Israel Program
Saved :
It was a close brush with bureau-
cratic disaster last week, funding
to facilitate the highly successful
Memorandum of Understanding
between the Israeli Ministry of
Labor and the Department of Health
see WASHWATCH p. 21
Texas Jewish Post
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Social Editor Linda Davidsohn Photography Sharon Wisch-Ray & Judy Wisch
Typography Stan Cumberledge Circulation Director Sheri Barnes
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Wisch, J. A. & Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 47, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 4, 1993, newspaper, March 4, 1993; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth754961/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .