Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1991-09-19

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,   The Ohio Jewish Chronicle
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VOLUME 69
NUMBER 39
SEPTEMBER 19,1091
11 TISHREI 5752
UEVOTED   TO   AMERICAN   AND   JEWISH   IDEALS
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In The Chronicle
'- DURING THE SEPT. 12 Mission to Washington, D.C,
-members of the central Ohio delegation were briefed by'
representatives of the administration, Congress and a
number of Jewish organizations (top left photo). Small
groups met with congressmen and senators to express
their views about the loan guarantees for Israel and to so*
licit the legislators' support (center photos). Senator
Howard Metzenbaum addressed the group and talked
with Neil Moss (top right photo). At the end of the day, the
group received a preview of the U.S. Holocaust Museum ~
which is currently under construction and an update by
Marie Talisman, (at left, bottom photo), director of the
Washington Action Office/Council of Jewish,Federations,>
IN SUPPORT OF LOAN GUARANTEES
Mission to Washington, D.C.
shows community's commitment
By Judith Franklin
QUESTION: How is a group
of 1200 concerned Jews from
across the country like Saddam Hussein? '
ANSWER: They both made
President George Bush very,
very, angry.
Which was the last thing they
wanted to do.
In Washington, D.C, on
Thursday, Sept. 12, to lobby
for immediate Congressional
consideration and approval of
$10 billion in absorption loan
guarantees for Israel, participants in "National Leadership
Action Day," coordinated by
the National Conference on
Soviet Jewry and the National
Jewish Community Relations
Advisory Council, were repeatedly told by organizers
that its purpose was informational, not confrontational.
Tom Dine, executive director of AIPAC (American Israeli Public Affairs Committee), whifch lobbies for Israel
on Capitol Hill, emphasized
the humanitarian nature of
the loan guarantees in a morning briefing of the group. He
explained that Israel needs
the funds to help absorb the
over 300,000 Soviet and 14,000
Ethiopian Jews who have recently immigrated there. Not
only is their need for jobs and
housing immediate, but there
is a fear that further Soviet
immigration may be hampered if Israel cannot properly
resettle those already in the
country, he pointed out.
This would be disastrous,
according to Mark Talisman,
director of the Washington Action Office/Council of Jewish
Federations, if worsening conditions in the Soviet Union, especially as winter draws near,
cause a resurgence of that
area's historic anti-Semitism.
"We want no more post game
analyses of disasters," he
noted.
TTie President, however,
does not see it that way and
has linked the loan guarantees
to political issues, including
settlements in the occupied
territories. At a hastily called,
early afternoon press conference on Sept. 12, he vowed to
veto any legislation authorizing guarantees at this time.
Pounding his fist on the lectern, the President repeated
his request that Congress delay consideration of the loan
guarantees for 120 days, in or-
' der to "avoid a contentious de
bate" that could interfere with
his plan to hold a Middle East
peace conference in October.
"We are close to being able
to convene a peace conference
that in turn would launch direct peace negotiation between Israel and the Arab
states, something the State of
Israel has sought since its inception," Bush said.
"A 120-day delay is not too
much for a President to ask
with so much in the balance,"
he declared.
Many members of Congress
feel differently. At a luncheon
meeting of the group from
Ohio, Senator John Glenn
(D-Ohio) gave unequivocal
support to loan guarantees
without delay and said that he
was going to sign on as co-
sponsor of the Kastan-Inouye
bill which would grant them.
Senator Howard Metzenbaum (DOhio) echoed Glenn's
sentiments. "I told the President he has erred in going
public and being confrontational with the Jewish community," he said.
But while he believes that
there are enough votes to
override a threatened presidential veto, he said he doesn't
want winners and losers on
this issue, but a fair solution
with which everyone can live.
"I feel confident we shall prevail," he said, "and we will
get the loan guarantees, but
we should not do it in such a
manner that the President is
embarrassed."
This was the tack that the
delegation which met with
Congressman Chalmers Wylie, later in the afternoon,
took. Group member Norman
Traeger pointed out to Wylie,
who let it be known that he
was loyal to the President,
that, because of his years of
experience, the Jewish community needed his help in
achieving some sort of compromise on the issue.
Organized and partially
subsidized by the Columbus
Jewish Federation, central
Ohio's 120-member mission
was the largest in attendance.
"It is a comment on how important this issue is to all of us
that, at our own expense, we
went to Washington to urge
Congress and the President to
help Israelabsorb these Soviet
Jews who are seeking a new
life of freedom," commented
Federation President Benjamin L. Zox.
Lainie Ruben, co-leader
see MISSION pg. IS
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