Washington Report, November 29, 1982, Page 4

Lobby Activities

For Arabs:

Officials at the National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA) say they are pleased by the reaction to their "media blitz" of October and November which was held in four American cities to test various advertising mediums and identify the most receptive groups of Americans.

"The response has been even more favorable than we expected," according to Ronald Cathell, Communications Director of NAAA. He told The Washington Report that the NAAA assessment was based primarily on the reaction to newspaper advertisements. Return coupons were clipped from the newspaper ads, for example, and sent to NAAA's Washington office with pledges of support and in some cases contributions. He added that the Washington-based public relations firm of Gray & Company—which was hired to conduct the campaign—has not completed its analyses of the data.

This positive reaction may be part of a broader shift in American attitudes toward Israel and the Palestinians. In a poll conducted in October for the Institute of Arab Studies in Belmont, Massachusetts, 23 percent of those queried said they sympathized more with the Palestinians than with the Israelis. Asked what their sympathies had been one year earlier, only 13 percent said they had sympathized more with the Palestinians. The company that conducted the survey—Decision/ Making/ Information of McLean, Virginia—also found that 83 percent favored Palestinian representation in Middle East peace negotiations and 72 percent agreed that there should be a freeze on additional Israeli settlements on occupied Arab land.

The pollsters also supplied an additional dimension by following up their standard questions with some additional factual information on the subject, and then asking how the respondents would have answered if they had been aware of this information. Generally, the respondents answered in a manner more favorable to the Palestinians. For example, when asked if the U.S. government should recognize the PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinian people, 68 percent said no or that they had no opinion. However, 31 percent of them changed their minds after they were informed that 108 governments around the world recognized the PLO.

Meanwhile, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has begun distributing to members of Congress and the media a report which identifies the positions taken by Representatives and Senators last summer toward the war in Lebanon. The report, "U.S. Congress on the War In Lebanon," was written by Greg Orfalea, who told The Washington Report that he tried to defuse some of the "myths" which he said were used by various legislators to justify Israel's invasion.

For Israel:

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has taken steps to counter a recent flurry of articles in the U.S. media implying that a dangerous political and economic division exists between Jews of Oriental and European descent within Israel.

AIPAC distributed to members of Congress a two-page memorandum entitled "Israel—The Melting Pot"—arguing that Israel is a pluralistic society and should not be regarded as split into two camps.

Causing particular concern was a signed editorial in The New York Times alleging that many opponents of Prime Minister Begin believe support for Mr. Begin by Oriental, known as Sephardic, Jews is so strong that only if the U.S. helps them topple the Begin government is there any hope of putting an end to Israel's present policies in Lebanon and the West Bank.

According to the AIPAC memo, Sephardic Jews, most of whom emigrated from Middle East countries, are not homogeneous; they come from almost 20 different countries and arrived in Israel at different times and with distinct customs and identities.

The memo goes on to say that "these divisions, as well as differences in economic status, have reduced the possibilities for coordinated political action among the various Sephardic communities. Sephardic Jews are not politically monolithic."

AIPAC has also distributed to members of Congress another in a series of memorandums on Arab investments in the U.S., which it says are harmful to U.S. national interests. The memo gives its endorsement to legislation which would "..monitor and regulate" such investments. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, however, foreign direct investments made by all OPEC countries—Arab and non-Arab—are still less than one percent of all direct foreign investments in the U. S.