Shamir between rock and hard place over law pledge

Press, 23 November 1988, Page 11

Shamir between rock and hard place over law pledge

NZPA-Reuter Jerusalem A controversial “Who is a Jew” law is trapping the Prime Minister, Yitzhak Shamir, between the demands of religious parties that can keep him in power and Israel’s friends in the United States. Mr Shamir promised ultra-Ortho-dox parties after a General Election on November 1 to back an amendment to Israeli law limiting who can call himself or herself a Jew. Their support gave his Rightist Likud bloc a parliamentary majority to form a new Government. The proposed law would grant automatic Israeli citizenship only to those born of a Jewish mother or converted to Judaism by Orthodox rabbis. It would deny citizenship to tens of thousands of Americans converted by non-Orthodox rabbis.

The Jerusalem Mayor, Teddy Kollek, returning from a visit to the United States, said on Monday that Israel risked alienating American Jews and the support of the United States Government which totals over SUS 3 billion ($4.59 billion) a year. Most of the United States’ 5.5 million Jews — the largest Jewish community in the world — belong to the less strict Reform and Conservative movements. Israeli Jews number 3.7 million. American Jewish leaders are lobbying Mr Shamir against the bill. Although Mr Shamir has pledged to stand by his promise to ultraOrthodox groups, he told 700 visiting British Jews on Monday night: “The State of Israel has no intention to be involved in disputes of all

these various religious streams of our people. All are considered part of the Jewish people.”

Mr Shamir has urged the Labour Party leader and Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres, to join him in another unity Government, but Mr Peres said the chances of that were slim. A Labour Party source said Mr Peres would not take part so long as Likud rejected his party’s demands for two of the top three Cabinet Ministries.

Messrs Shamir and Peres are also divided on how to settle an 11-month-old Palestinian uprising in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza strip. Mr Shamir rejects Mr Peres’ support for an international Middle East peace conference.