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Novemixr 7th to December 7th, 1985 JfewMa MiMDlk Mamlli JLUB Jewish Honk Gwnril 15 East mh Street- New \brk, N’.Y. tCXIlO-1371) • (212)532-4349 To thix-e jx»sessit*is a Ixxik. iin'-1 ks Hi. t ku&K t Hit errrttt ry It’s still ‘wait and see on human rights issue by Joseph PolakofT President Reagan will present his concerns about human rights within the Soviet Union at his conference with Mikhail Gorbachev Nov. 19-20, but the Soviet leader is not expected to respond with “specific statements” on that issue between the superpowers. This assessment was made one week before the summit conference in Geneva by the Reagan admini stration’s chief official on human rights, Richard Shifter, who is continuing to carry that responsibility along with his new duties as assistant secretary of state for Latin American affairs. “Where we stand now, there is no indication the Soviet Union is prepared to have an understanding with us,” Shifter told a news con ference here. “They may surprise us, but what is more likely following Geneva, if Geneva justifies their taking certain steps in the human rights field, they will act in a certain way that might be responsive to the expression of concern that the presi dent will express in Geneva.” As Shifter was outlining the U.S. view of its human rights position, Avital Scharansky concluded a three- day sit-in from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. outside the Soviet consulate in New York to draw attention to the plight of her imprisoned husband, Anatoly. She plans to conduct a sit-in at the Soviet Embassy in Washington and then go to Geneva to appeal for his freedom. The Scharanskys have not seen each other since Juiy 5, 1974, the day after their marriage. Scharansky, a member of the Helsinki Watch on Human Rights, has been in prison since 1978. Avital was allowed to emigrate to Israel. Shifter appeared to rule out a change in the Jackson-Vanik amend ment to U.S. trade laws affecting the Soviet Union in return for what a reporter called “a one-shot” Soviet response by which “a few thousand Jews” and “a famous dissident” would be allowed to emigrate. “Probably not,” Shifter replied. Shifter said Secretary of State George Schultz has made it “rather clear” that this “is not the kind of thing which we are going to get involved in—highly specific, tit for tat nego tiations. It’s going to be a matter of reviewing the whole performance by the Soviet Union and making a decision on that basis, not in any other way. “If they just engage in one very simple, limited activity without any fundamental change,” Shifter con tinued, “the answer under those circumstances will not be in the spirit of Jackson-Vanik, and therefore will not justify such a change.” Shifter pointed out that the Jackson-Vanik amendment itself provides for the president “under certain circumstances” of “making his findings that there has been a response by the Soviet Union” to the law by permitting large numbers of Soviet citizens to emigrate. It then could obtain most favored nation trade status. “They’re fully aware of that,” Shifter said of the Soviet officials. Shifter said that the issue of the reunion of spouses “would be raised” by the president. “That is indeed one of the areas in which there could be movement,” he said. However, on release of “a famous dissident,” as a reporter put it, Shifter said, “we don’t know; we really don’t.” The Soviets gave an “important signal,” he said, by granting a visa to Yelena Bonner, wife of Andrei Sakharov, to leave the Soviet Union for medical health and suggesting she “may return after treatment.” Shifter said, “That is the only signal we’ve had along those lines.” —zz—iz ) fUe Southern 1 Israelite The Weekly Newspaper For Southern Jewr 'Since 1925' Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, November 15, 1985 C r- C r* Vol. LXI u c. r x No. C Controversy ■ Peres, Sharon butt head from wire reports A blast by former Defense Minister Ariel Sharon against Prime Minister Shimon Peres has led to a showdown confrontation that has threatened to destroy Israel’s 14-month-old Labor-Likud unity coalition govern ment. Sharon, in a speech to Herut colleagues in Haifa Monday night, accused Peres of “contempt for all democratic methods” and charged that Peres was leading “the govern ment by the nose on a twisted path.” Accusing Peres of “base craftiness” for holding what he alleged were secret negotiations with Jordan’s King Hussein, Sharon said that Peres’ overtures to Jordan have been untimely. In a speech Tuesday, Peres said that Sharon’s personal attacks had “exceeded any possible standard” of conduct. Peres then called a Cabinet meeting to ask for Sharon’s dismissal. Peres gave the Cabinet a long list of reasons for firing Sharon. An aide to Peres, who asked not to be identified, said the prime minister read the letter of dismissal he had Shimon Peres drafted to the Cabinet and told the members that he planned to fire Sharon from his post as trade and industry minister. The aide indicated that Peres would hold firm his decision to fire Sharon; however, a compromise was not ruled out. Sharon, who said that he did not get a letter of dismissal following the three-hour Cabinet meeting, offered a partial apology by expres sing regret for any personal attacks on Peres, but added, “I stam my positions concerning the ba political issues.” In a news conference with reporters, Sharon said, “I think there is hope of removing tensions that existed in the government.” In the conference, broadcast live on Israeli television, Sharon further said, “We are facing serious problems about growing terror, the economy. . . A minister must express his views.” Sharon’s dismissal could cause Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir, the Likud leader, and the rest of his ministers to leave the Cabinet. The Peres aide said the prime minister asked Shamir to find a Likud replacement for Sharon, thus preserving the balance of seats in the 25-member Cabinet. Shamir objected to firing Sharon, and Peres responded that “it is my duty to uphold the law,” the aide said. Sharon has long been a contro versial figure in Israel both on the battlefield and in politics. He has been in the Cabinet since 1977, when he was named agriculture See Peres, page 23. A GRAN proclamation Members of the Grass Roots Action Network (GRAN) of B’nai B’rith with Gov. Joe Frank Harris and other Jewish leaders at a recent proclamation-signing ceremony declaring Nov. 19,1985, as “Soviet Jewry Solidarity Day” in Georgia. This is part of GRAN’s nationwide effort to alert top political officials and the public to the injustices incurred by Soviet Jews, and to encourage a keen eye on the upcoming Geneva summit talks. Attending the ceremony are (from left) Cathey Steinberg, Rep., Georgia General Assembly; Noah Levine, director. Community Relations, Atlanta Jewish Federation; Bernard Kornmehl, vice chairman, International Issues, GRAN; Beth Smith, president,Women’s Division, ORT; Irene Berson, co-chairman, 1985 Women’s Plea for Soviet Jewry; Neil Rosen, executive vice president, B’nai B’rith District Five; Gov. Harris; Steve Levetan, chairman, GRAN, in Georgia and District Five; Steven Berman, chairman, Soviet Jewry, GRAN; Nancy Levine, president, National Council Jewish Women, Atlanta Section; Max Olim, president, Georgia B’nai B’rith Association; and Connie Giniger, regional director, B’nai B’rith Women.