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1986 Goal: $8.5 million Miracles Can Happen... ...when you support the Atlanta Jewish Federation's 1986 Campaign See pages 6 and 7 for Campaign update The Southen Israelite The Weekly Newspaper For Southern Jevv 'Since 1925' Vol. I.XII Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, March 28, 1986 c c; — c o. - - c." No. Kreisky sees backlat in Austrian controversy AIPAC withdrawing arms sale opposition by Joseph Polakoff rSTs Washington correspondent WASHINGTON—The Ameri can Israel Public Affairs Commit tee has decided not to wage strong opposition to President Reagan’s proposed $354 million sale of some 2,500 missiles to Saudi Arabia. The lobby’s decision was based, informed sources told the The Southern Israelite, to avoid fric tion with the administration over a relatively small arms deal and con siderable opposition among impor tant Jewish communal leaders to engaging in a contest with the pres ident at this time of intense con troversy abroad. Another factor cited was the view that the commit tee should reserve its mobilizing strength for conflicts ahead and delivery of AWACs to Saudi Ara bia and arms to Jordan later this year. The sources said that while A1 PAC’s decision on the missiles is alleged to follow the lead of Israel’s government which has indicatecrit w'ould not strenuously object to the sale, the decision as usual was based on American considerations. Important Jewish communal lead ers have indicated objection to opposing the administration when it is heavily engaged in Central America and the Arab world. Eight Jewish congressmen voted for Reagan’s proposed $100 mil lion in aid for the Contras clashing with the Sandinistas. Nineteen lead- See AIPAC, page 27. by Reinhard Engel VIENNA (JTA)-The heated controversy over Kurt Waldheim’s alleged Nazi past reached a new pitch here Tuesday when former Chancellor Bruno Kreisky de nounced as “monstrous meanness” charges brought against Waldheim by the World Jewish Congress and wider circles in the United States. WJC officials, meanwhile, vowed to pursue their investigation of Waldheim even after he becomes president of Austria, assuming he is elected. Kreisky, who is Jewish and a Socialist, came to the defense of Waldheim, a Catholic conserva tive, in an interview published in Die Presse. Waldheim, the presi dential candidate of the conserva tive Peoples Party, who served two terms as secretary general of the United Nations, has been accused of concealing for 40 years alleged membership in the Nazi SA (Brown Shirts) and a Nazi student organi zation before World War II. He is also accused of possible complicity in the deportation of Greek Jews while a lieutenant in the Wehr- macht during the German occupa tion of Greece. Kreisky warned of a backlash in Austria against Jews abroad who Nomination of LaRouchies has Chicago in political fog by Edwin Black Lyndon LaRouche won in Illi nois March 18. From all indica tions, he will continue to win throughout the nation unless Jew ish organizations, civil rights groups and the media adopt a completely new strategy for deal ing with sophisticated political ex tremism. Most people already know that LaRouchies Mark Fairchild and Janice Hart won Illinois’ Demo cratic nominations for lieutenant governor and secretary of state respectively. They did so not by rabblerousing and winning hearts for LaRouche, but by silently in vading the political process. As such, they owe a debt of gratitude to the media, Jewish organizations and regular political forces, all of whom were asleep at the switch. But apparently, even if Jewish de fense organizations had been aler ted to their candidacy, a catch-22 in the law restricts them from speaking out. First, the explanation of why they were elected. Nobody knows. Chicago has been reeling with Wednesday morning political ana lyses, and nearly everyone is point ing at the other guy. The truth is, few outside of Chicago can possi bly comprehend the bizarre char acter of Chicago politics. Phony candidates, Democrats posing as Republicans, phantom populations, firing shots into and burning down one’s own campaign office—all this and more is so commonplace here, most people laugh at the very idea of elections. More importantly, Chicago is notorious for negative voting. In a city where Mickey Mouse regu larly scores a respectable write-in vote, and where the Communists give a helluva fight for trustees ot the Metropolitan Sanitary Dis trict, many people have been raised since childhood to blindly vote against candidates —especially can didates slated by political rivals. In the absence of any real infor mation about a candidate, primary election voters often vote their ethnicity. Hence Polish, Irish, Jew ish and Italian names are carefully sprinkled throughout the ballot. And the opposite occurs. People vote against ethnics. LaRouche strategists undoubt edly understood that if Mickey Mouse could run an effective can didacy in Illinois, so could Mark Fairchild and Janice Hart. In a state where whole stables of dark horses flourish, the LaRouchies could trot right into office without anyone noticing. And right here is See Chicago, page 26. ■ Kurt Waldheim being interviewed by NBC Television about his activ ities during World War II. are seen as trying to dictate who will be Austria’s next president. In that connection, he referred to an interview in the Austrian magazine Profil with Israel Singer, secretary general of the WJC, and Elan Steinberg, its executive director. Singer was quoted assayingthat if Waldheim is elected, Austria would have to bear the consequen ces. “I can tell you that the next six years with Waldheim (as presi dent) will not be easy years,” Sin ger said. Profil is the magazine which first published documents indicating that Waldheim joined the S A and a Nazi student group shortly after the Anschluss in 1936. Waldheim had denied these charges. But he did serve during the >var on the staff of Gen. Alexander Loehr who was hanged in 1947 for war crimes. U.S. Army documents released last week listed Waldheim as a “suspected” war criminal at the time. Steinberg told Profil that the WJC would not end its inquiries if Waldheim is elected. “We will con tinue to research, together with specialists in the U.S., in Germany, Yugoslavia, in the Soviet Union and in Austria,” he said, adding, “Until now this has been a matter of Mr. Waldheim. Then it will be an Austrian problem.” Ivan Hacker, president of the Austrian Jewish community, warned Tuesday that the election of Wald heim would bestow legitimacy on Brown shirts and anti-Semites. In an apparent response to Kreisky, he said the community condemned language that disqualifies docu mented evidence as defamation, criticizes the researchers and makes Jews scapegoats. He men tioned “certain Socialist politicians” who play down any kind of docu ments. Michael Graff, a spokesman for the Peoples Party, warned Mon day against “emotions none of us want to rise.” So far, the Freedom Party, a coalition partner in the Socialist-led government, with a strong rightwing, has refrained from comment on the Waldheim affair. But one of its members broke ranks Tuesday to warn of an anti-Jewish backlash. Mario Ferrari-Brunnenfeld, sec retary of state in the Health Minis try, said the Jewish community should have remained silent at least until a link between Wald heim and the deportation of Greek Jews is proven. If there should be any anti-Semitic feelings in Aus tria, it would be the fault of the WJC which has interfered in Austria’s internal politics, he said. Meanwhile, a straw poll taken by the Peoples Party showed Waldheim ahead of his Socialist rival, Kurt Steyrer, by a 43-32 per cent margin.