Washington Report, June 18, 1984, Page 4

Lobby Activities

For Arabs:

Voters in Berkeley, California, recently defeated a ballot initiative which called for cutting U.S. aid to Israel by an amount equivalent to what Israel spends on West Bank settlements. But backers of the initiative say they are anything but gloomy over the loss.

The reason for this optimism, according to spokesmen for Taxpayers for Peace in the Middle East (TAPME)—the ad-hoc coalition which petitioned for the vote—is the fact that approximately one out of every three voters, or 36 percent, voted for the measure. "Thirty-six percent was not a poor showing at all," says Helen McCloskev, a TAPME volunteer. She and others point out that the outcome is especially significant when viewed from the perspective of traditionally strong pro-Israel sentiment in the U.S. The vote was 12,237 in favor, and 21,513 opposed.

"We knew we were the underdogs," says James Shamus, the TAPME spokesman, who said his group was outspent by at least $75,000. He said TAPME had spent a total of about $25,000, all of which was raised from individuals locally. The opposition, on the other hand, represented by the Coalition for Middle East Peace and Justice, spent "somewhat over $100,000," according to coordinator Jonathan Kaufman. To help raise funds, the "no on E" coalition arranged a directmail campaign, which was conducted by the consulting firm of Solem and Associates in San Francisco. Records at the City Clerk's office in Berkeley show that a number of national Jewish American organizations, such as the American Jewish Committee and the American Jewish Congress, made contributions.

Some opponents of the measure, fearing that its passage might lead other communities to organize similar initiatives, accused supporters of being anti-Israel, and, in some instances, anti-Semitic. Mr. Shamus says these charges are inaccurate and "illogical"—particularly since about one-third of their volunteers are Jewish, he adds.

For Israel:

The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations has elected a new chairman.

Kenneth Bialkin, the head of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, was elected June 4 to serve a one-year term, beginning July 1. He succeeds Julius Berman, who has held the post for the last two years.

At a news conference June 11, the outgoing Mr. Berman discussed his tenure as chairman and offered a few observations on the decision-making process within the Conference. He said the Conference "cannot take positions when there is no unity," adding that it was "no secret" that differences of opinion existed among the 38 member groups. (For a complete list of these organizations, see p. 6.) Such differences exist, he said, over the future status of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Another contentious issue is that of settlements, according to a spokesman for Mr. Berman, who told The Washington Report that "there are differences of opinion (among members) on the advisability of Israel continuing to build new settlements" on the West Bank.

The new chairman of the 30-year-old Conference, Mr. Bialkin, told an audience recently that the Reagan peace plan of Sept, 1, 1982, was not likely to succeed. "When will our planners learn that only time and the willingness of the Arabs to negotiate directly with Israel offers a prospect for progress on that front?" Mr. Bialkin said.