November 23, 2001 Vol. 3, No.37

This Week in WASHINGTON

For more information, contact Reva Price, Washington Representative, at rprice@thejcpa.org

Support For Charities Expected from Congress: Last week, President Bush again called on Americans to support charities of all kinds, particularly during the holiday season. A fact sheet detailing the President’s efforts can be found at www.whitehouse.gov <http://www.whitehouse.gov/>. The President also called on Congress to introduce an "Armies of Compassion bill." Senators Santorum (PA) and Lieberman (CT) are expected to introduce this legislation within the next 10 days. The legislation aims to increase charitable giving through tax incentives consistent with many of the ideas spelled out by the President as part of his faith based initiative. Drafts being circulated at this time do not include the "charitable choice" provisions which have so concerned the JCPA and many of its member agencies. JCPA will continue to monitor the progress of this proposal.

For more information on charitable choice, see www.jewishpublicaffairs.org

Step in Right Direction for FY 2002 Refugee Admissions Program: On November 21st, President Bush signed the official Presidential Determination (PD) on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 refugee program, authorizing 70,000 admissions. (See JCPA Memorandum, 11/19/01) Although the new fiscal year began September 30th, the refugee program had been suspended since the September 11^th attacks pending a security review. This suspension has stranded over 22,000 refugees overseas, including 470 HIAS- sponsored approved refugees comprising 336 travel ready cases in the FSU and 119 HIAS- sponsored Iranian refugees awaiting admission in Vienna. However, it is unclear whether the security review has in fact been completed or when refugee admissions will actually be resumed. Concurrent with the freeze on refugee admissions has been a drastic cutback of INS adjudication of new refugee cases. The INS is currently hearing new cases only in Vienna and Havana. In the case of INS Moscow, it has been announced that they cannot continue to interview refugees at the Embassy due to security concerns, and that a new secure facility will not be ready until January or February at the earliest. Other sites for INS interviews will be addressed for the time being on a case-by-case basis. JCPA will continue to monitor this situation with help from our partners at HIAS –the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. For further information, contact Gideon Aranoff, Washington Representative of HIAS at Garaonoff@mindspring.com <mailto:Garaonoff@mindspring.com>.

Here and There on Capitol Hill: Work continues this week on Capitol Hill to explore the country’s needs in a post 9/11 world. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom will hold a hearing tomorrow on "Promoting Religious Freedom During the Campaign Against Terrorism." Senator Leahy (VT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled two hearings this week. The first will explore the use of the military tribunals to try foreign civilian terrorism suspects domestically and abroad, and the second to explore oversight of the Department of Justice and how to ensure and preserve freedoms while fighting terrorism. The Committee hopes to hear from Attorney General Ashcroft on this and related issues in early December. The House International Relations Committee chaired by Representative Hyde (IL) is expected to complete work on a bill which would authorize more than $1 billion to Afghanistan for military and economic assistance.

Update on U.S. Middle East Peace Efforts: U.S. mediators General Anthony Zinni and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns arrived in Israel Monday afternoon as part of an effort to help the Palestinian Authority and Israel to achieve a cease-fire agreement. Upon arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport, Zinni and Burns met with Shin Bet security head Avi Dichter and IDF Military Intelligence chief Amos Malka and discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the state of the Palestinian Authority. The mediators are scheduled to meet U.S. ambassador Dan Kurtzer and consul-general Ron Schliker on Monday evening for internal discussions. The U.S. team will have lunch with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Tuesday, and will later meet separately with Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer. They are scheduled to meet Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat on Wednesday. The meetings are precursor to the scheduled visit of Prime Minister Sharon to Washington on December 3-4, 2001, during which he will meet with President Bush.

This Week in NEW YORK

For more information, contact Benita Gayle-Almeleh, Director of Community Relations and Special Projects at bga@thejcpa.org

 New Campus Partnership: The JCPA is joining with UJC and Hillel in a Hillel-driven initiative to support efforts on American campuses to build stronger ties between Jewish students and Israel, and to enhance the students' advocacy skills. JCPA's Israel advocacy outreach coordinator Rachel Lerner will be working with UJC's Jeremy Bandler and Hillel's Michael Jankelovitz, a shaliach provided by the Jewish Agency for Israel. JCPA will continue to keep member agencies informed as this exciting joint effort takes shape.

Building Bridges to Old Neighborhoods: The Jewish Community Council of Metropolitan Detroit’s Detroit Jewish Initiative has established a partnership between the Northwest Activities Center in Detroit and the Jimmy Prentis Morris Jewish Community Center in Oak Park, with an exchange of cultural programming planned through early winter. The DJI is underwriting these programs, and has arranged funding for renovation of the Northwest Activities Center, which was formerly a Jewish Community Center.

Plenum 2002 is Coming: Only 81 days until the Plenum, which will take place from Saturday evening February 16 – Tuesday afternoon, February 19. Program information can be obtained from the JCPA website or by calling JCPA at 212-684-6950. Register today!

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