Washington Report, November 26, 1984, Page 6

Lobby Activities

For Arabs:

Two Arab American organizations recently assessed the outcome of the November 6 elections and how it may affect the future course of U.S. policy in the Middle East.

In the congressional races, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and the National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA) both were especially pleased by the defeat of Representative Clarence Long (D-MD), who, as chairman of the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, has been instrumental in passing large aid increases for Israel.

NAAA, which targeted Long for defeat and sponsored radio ads challenging his "more for Israel" spending, took some credit for the outcome. Executive Director David Sadd described Long's defeat as a "benchmark" in the growing ability of Arab Americans to affect political change. Representative Long will be replaced as chairman by David Obey (D-WI), who former Senator James Abourezk, ADC board chairman, says is "very fair" on Middle East issues.

Senator Abourezk believes a second-term Reagan Administration and the new Congress offer little hope for any significant changes in Middle East policy. He disagrees with the view that President Reagan will be much more inclined to make major changes now that he does not have to worry about reelection. He also said a "misconception" exists among those who believe the Republicans will be more sympathetic to the concerns of Arab Americans. "The potential for support of the Arab cause lies in the Democratic party," Senator Abourezk maintained. He anticipates that the Democrats will regain control of the Senate in 1986 and will capture the White House in the presidential race four years from now. "That (scenario) provides an opportunity for Arab Americans to start building now... and operating within the party (Democratic) that welcomes minority groups," Senator Abourezk said. lie emphasized that he was not aligning ADC with a particular party, but as "a matter of strategy" the Democrats held out the "most potential."

A new effort is being launched to increase the number of Arab Americans running for public office, and to "institutionalize" their presence within both the Republican and Democratic party structures. James Zogby, former executive director of ADC, announced November 20 the formation of the Arab American Political Project. He said one of the project's goals is to form leadership councils in each state, which will choose Arab American candidates to run for office and raise money to support them. Mr. Zogby said the project will "establish an active and ongoing network among Arab Americans," and is not a membership organization. He listed Jean Abinader, managing director of the Transnational Group, and George Salem, an attorney who directed Ethnic Voters for Reagan-Bush, as being among the participants.

Meanwhile, the NAAA recently became the 12th member of the Council of National Arab American Organizations, formed just over one year ago to "coordinate activities," according to Senator Abourezk, who announced its formation. NAAA made its decision to join in October and attended its first Council meeting earlier this month.

For Israel:

The prospect of Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) becoming chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee is causing consternation within the pro-Israel community.

Hyman Bookbinder, Washington representative of the American Jewish Committee, has called Helms's reelection a "major disappointment" and a "serious problem" for those favoring strong U.S.-Israel relations. "Particularly ominous," Mr. Bookbinder said, is Mr. Helms's "likely" accession to the chairmanship post. According to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Senator Helms has been "consistently anti-Israel."

Ironically, it was the millions of dollars contributed by pro-Israel political action committees (PACs) that helped defeat the current chairman, Charles Percy (R-IL), and pave the way for Helms's bid. These PACs contributed approximately $150,000 during the first six months of 1984 to Representative Paul Simon's (D-IL) campaign to defeat Senator Percy, who was considered by these PACs to be less than 100 percent behind Israel. However, pro-Israel PACs also contributed heavily to Governor James Hunt's (D-NC) unsuccessful bid to unseat Senator Helms.

Mr. Bookbinder, in a recent Op-Ed piece in the Washington Jewish Week, also raised the issue of "the 'lame-duck' aspect" of President Reagan's second term in office and how that could affect U.S. policy in the Middle East. "Lame-duck or not," Mr. Bookbinder wrote, "experience has taught us that the first year or two of any administration are more problematical..."

Marshall Breger, the Administration's liaison to Jewish Americans, has sought to allay fears that President Reagan will abruptly change course in the Middle East. He told the Near East Report that no "surprises" were in store for Israel, and that there will be no "linkages" between U.S. aid to Israel and Israeli responses to specific U.S. policies.

Meanwhile, some Jewish American organizations are now examining how to repair relations with the black community, ties that were seriously strained during the election campaigns. The American Jewish Committee's (AJC) National Executive Council recently stated that ties between the two groups are "at a critical stage." The AJC said it was planning numerous programs in the coming year to improve dialogue and understanding. Nathan Perlmutter, national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of B'nai B'rith, told members of the ADL's executive committee that cooperation between blacks and Jews can be improved, but "progress will come haltingly."