WASHINGTON — Now that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has announced his peace policies and developed a warm relationship with President Clinton, he is trying to line up the backing of the American Jews.
During the six-day visit that ended Tuesday, Barak made clear he wants and expects the American Jewish community to work with — not against — him.
“I need your support,” Barak told the three Jewish groups with whom he met.
At a White House press briefing, with Clinton at his side, Barak specifically told American Jews to stop creating partisan fights on Capitol Hill on such issues as those involving Palestinian compliance with the peace accords.
Whether or not Jews follow his demands is crucial as Barak dives into peacemaking.
Near the end of his visit, Barak announced an ambitious 15-month deadline for setting a comprehensive framework for peace with Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians.
Demonstrating his intentions, Barak responded quickly when he learned that Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat had reacted negatively to Barak’s plans to fulfill the Wye accords in a year and a quarter.
“I fully agree there is no reason to wait 15 months to implement Wye,” Barak said. “It won’t take that much time, and there is no reason to worry.”
Barak also welcomed reports this week that Syria has asked radical Palestinian groups based in Damascus to halt their armed struggle because it intends to make peace with Israel. By mid-week, it wasn’t known whether the reports were accurate.
Barak’s mantra, repeated throughout his visit: “Just as I was not afraid to fight wars, I am not afraid to make peace.”
President Clinton was clearly impressed with Israel’s new prime minister. “If your mentor, Yitzhak Rabin, were here today, he would be very gratified,” he told Barak.
While Clinton spared no expense in welcoming Barak during his visit, inevitably disagreements between the United States and Israel will arise once the complex peace issues are put on the table.
It is at such times in the past when the support of American Jewry has proven crucial.
American Jews should put “all of their retroactive differences aside” and work to restore bipartisan congressional support for the peace process, Barak told three groups — the Israel Policy Forum, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
Following Barak’s comments, AIPAC President Lonny Kaplan went out of his way to express the group’s support for the peace process.
“AIPAC, for its part, will spare no effort to support” Barak’s quest for peace, he said. “Support for the peace process is support for Israel.”
But good will between AIPAC and Barak will not change the dynamic on Capitol Hill overnight, where lawmakers have worked to stake out positions supportive of Israel that some say complicate the peace process.
The previous government, which had strained relations with the Clinton administration, often encouraged such initiatives.
But with Barak now in power, the equation has been altered and the definition of a pro-Israel initiative is once again changing.
Barak carried a similar message to more than 30 of the 34 Jewish members of Congress at a Tuesday meeting.
“As leaders of the Jewish community he asked us to please go back to our home districts and to those who support us to help unite the Jewish community,” said Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.).
While Barak did not specifically ask for no new resolutions, he asked members to consider whether resolutions are productive or counterproductive to his search for peace, she said.
“While all of the issues are important, anything that takes away from the primary goal is ill-timed,” Barak said, according to Berkley, a longtime Jewish activist known for her relatively hardline views on the peace process. She was elected to Congress last year.
A series of anti-Palestinian initiatives are currently making their way through Congress. The U.S. House of Representative voted Monday to try to force the United States to seek Palestinian compensation for American victims of terrorism.
The measure is part of legislation, expected to pass the full Congress later this week, that also requires the State Department to report to Congress every six months on the status of U.S. efforts to extradite Palestinian terrorists suspected of involvement in attacks since 1993 that killed American citizens.
For her part, Berkley would not commit to withdrawing as a cosponsor of some initiatives on Jerusalem and the Palestinians but did say that she wants to give Barak “every opportunity.”
“My responsibility as an American Jew is to support the Israeli government and its people,” she said. But if the negotiations falter, “we have a fallback position and the will of the U.S. Congress will become part of the dialogue.”