September/October 1994, Page 112

Publishers' Page

So Much to Write, So Little Space!

This issue's PAC charts (pages 30-34) list only the candidates in the 1993-94 election cycles who had received campaign contributions from pro-Israel political action committees as of June 30, plus their career totals from those PACs.

If Your Congressman Isn't Listed...

It can mean many things, as described in the narrative preceding the charts. It doesn't mean, however, that he or she has never taken money from pro-Israel PACs. An incumbent might be a favorite of the Israel lobby, but not be facing a strong challenger this year. Or, if there is a strong challenger, the incumbent might be taking contributions from individuals affiliated with pro-Israel PACs rather than the PACs themselves. The best way to detect such stealth contributions is to examine the candidate's past record. Back when no one but the candidates themselves realized that the 116 PACs we've identified were really pro-Israel PACs using deceptive names, neither the PACs nor the candidates were so secretive about recording such contributions with the FEC.

So for Our Final Presentation...

After the primaries are over, we'll publish in our November-December issue a list of the career totals from these 116 pro-Israel PACs accepted by every incumbent or challenger running in House or Senate races in the 1994 elections, regardless of whether or not that candidate accepted such donations in the 1994 cycle. That issue goes in the mail October 14, so there still will be time...

To Turn the Rascals Out!

In his current "Christianity and the Middle East" column (page 71), the Rev. L. Humphrey Walz describes the shocking incident that prompted Dr. Israel Shahak, who contributes frequent articles to the Washington Report, to begin investigating the complex relationships between Judaism and Zionism, religious Jews and secular Jews, that make life in contemporary Israel frustrating for Jews, and hellish for Muslims and Christians. The incident is described in full in Dr. Shahak's brand-new book, Jewish History, Jewish Religion (see advertisement page 70).

We Hope to Review the Book...

In our November-December issue. By that time we hope to have the book in our catalog as well.

In Case You Got a Dunning Letter...

And missed our explanation of why in the letters column on page 92 of this issue, please go back and read it, and some of the lively replies we received. The fact is, we hardly ever lose a subscriber. But all too frequently they seem to get misplaced, mostly because they don't realize that, when they move, sending a change-of-address card to the post office isn't enough. For third-class mail they also have to send their forwarding address to the sender.And since our first-class magazine goes out at the third-class rate, if it's undeliverable as addressed...

It Just Gets Pulped!

We promised another letter-writer some information about helping us with subscriptions. Word of mouth, libraries, newsstands and radio talk shows are the only ways we have to expand circulation, and in our under-funded condition it's...

Expand or Die.

So we hope you'll think of friends, relatives and opinion molders who might be interested and plan to give subscriptions as gifts this year. When their gift subscription expires, we'll send the renewal notice to them, not you, and then tell you what happened. Please check also to see whether your local library has a subscription. Since, by this time, most libraries that carry magazines covering world affairs do, it's time to ask those that do not...

Why?

If they say "there's no interest" or they're looking for magazines that provide "balance," check to see whether they have Commentary, published by the American Jewish Committee; The New Republic, published by Martin Peretz, who sold his previous magazine (Ramparts) and bought The New Republic so that he could presenthis brand of pro-Israel commentary without rebellion from the staff; or U.S. News and World Report, owned by real estate tycoon Morton Zuckerman, whose motives were about the same. If any of those three are in the library collection, the Washington Report will help provide some balance to their coverage of Mideast affairs—though not enough. Two of the magazines cited are weeklies and only Commentary is a monthly, so it's a little hard for our not-quite monthly to offset all that mythinformation.

But It's a Start.

Another way you can help us keep building subscriptions is to see whether your doctor or dentist has a subscription for the waiting room. And we're always interested in membership lists from groups whose interests overlap with our subject matter. For example, Middle East ethnic, Orthodox Christian, or Islamic groups, church or civic social action, world affairs or human rights groups, etc. Then when you've...

Been There, Done That...

Call Sabrina, Vince or Greg and we'll talk about how you can become a serious emissary from the magazine to your community, including the newsstands and bookstores. Many such helpers, some volunteers and some earning expenses plus, are part of our success.

Make a Difference.

At this writing the foreign aid bill has given Israel a $3 billion foundation on which to base all the other U.S. taxpayer-funded goodies described in this month's "Cost of Israel" article on page 35. Similarly, we've all been awed over another White House handshake between an Arab and an Israeli leader. This one, however, raises as many questions as it answers, as our several articles and quotes in our "Arab-American Activism" column (p. 60) indicate. But neither concerns Congress right now.

What's Left Is Bosnia...

Most members of Congress already are inclined to insist on seeing that arms embargo lifted for the Bosnian government. Some, like Senator Dole, would go further. So would syndicated columnists Anthony Lewis and Georgie Anne Geyer, both steadfast defenders of democracy and human rights everywhere, though they get there from different political starting points. We see this as the make-or-break issue for the...

New World Order or Disorder.

If you agree, this is where your time might best be invested in September and October. Call or write your three representatives in Congress, perhaps after reading our article on page 6, and use the numbers or addresses in the box on page 64. Most legislators have the right instincts on this one, and they're not afraid of an all-powerful lobby, because neither side has one. All they need to know is where their constituents stand. If your feelings on this issue are as clear as ours, tell a congressmember or write an editor and...

Make a Difference, This Month.