THE BOOK THAT MAY HAVE TIPPED THE ELECTION (Continued from p.8) diplomat there who seemed genuinely concerned about Soviet Jewry, Israel Barnea, complained to his superiors in Jerusalem that all of his colleagues at the Israeli Embassy in Moscow were "big fans of the 'sit and do nothing' approach." But government officials in Jerusalem were not particularly sympathetic to such complaints, A Matter of Priorities shows. Afraid of irritating the Soviet authorities, the Labor government opposed proposals to ship Passover matzohs to Russia; blocked a plan to beam Yiddish-language radio broadcasts into the USSR; and pressured Israeli journalists to refrain from reporting negative news about the Kremlin. Although the book made no reference to the recent Knesset campaign and refrained from urging Russian voters to choose any particular party, its uncovering of such disturbing historical episodes in Labor's past inevitably left the Labor Party with a political black eye. The book's final chapter, in particular, raised eyebrows because of its references to a number of Israeli politicians who were in the Labor goverment's 1996 cabinet. Absorption Minister Yair Tzaban, it turns out, was once the editor of the Communist Party newspaper Kol Ha'am, which strongly supported Stalin. Environment Minister Yossi Sarid, during a visit to the USSR, was so busy enjoying a performance of the Moscow Circus that he failed to keep an appointment to meet a group of Soviet Jewish refuseniks. Prime Minister Shimon Peres did not gain points among Russian Jewish voters who read that in 1977, he refused to accept a petition that a Soviet Jewry activist group tried to deliver to him. Were Russian Jewish voters weighing the historical record when they entered the voting booths? In an election that was as close as this year's, if even a modest number of voters were influenced by A Matter of Priorities, it may go down in history as one of the factors that helped shape Israel's destiny. Eli Schuman reports from Jerusalem for Outpost.

ZIONIST RENAISSANCE (Continued from p.3) uniqueness, and accepting the burden of defending one's liberty. It involves fostering originality and is inextricably bound up with the defense of national independence as the highest value. This value includes its political, military and economic foundations and, equally important, its spiritual and cultural ones. One fights and, when necessary, gives up one's life, for such independence. These values cannot be imposed from above. They have to take root, and resume growth from whatever soil exists, depleted though it may be by abuse or ignorance. The new leadership of Israel can --and must --foster this process by nurturing what already exists and what, at least in theory, the broad public accepts. At first then, no new departures are required but care of what The Hebrew language is a striking manifestation of belonging, unity, uniqueness and liberty. has been neglected and abandoned to local decadence, miserably imitative of a foreign cultural corruption. The Hebrew language is a striking manifestation of belonging, unity, uniqueness and liberty. The only treasure to which no other people can lay claim, it is today a stronger factor than religion in the unity of Israel. Hebrew must be the first object of encouragement and attention. Hebrew includes all our eternal treasures, from the Bible to contemporary literature. It is being violated, desecrated, simply discarded from almost all areas of public life, in the media, entertainment and education.It would be a positive signal of the seriousness of the new government's intentions if it took some of the required, simple steps, right at the start. It is only a small beginning step, but an essential one. - Hold the Date - Americans For a Safe Israel Annual Convention Sunday, December 15, 1996

September 1996               - 11 -               Outpost