Publicly Loyal, Privately Critical : Israel: A poll of American Jewish leaders finds no simple attitudes, no easy answers on the Palestinian riddle.

By STEVEN M. COHEN

Feb. 9, 1990 12 AM PT

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Israel’s Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir regularly claims that American Jews fully support his policies. Labor Party leaders and their American Jewish allies respond by urging Shamir not to mistake courtesy for his office with support for his positions. They claim that most official leaders of major American Jewish organizations prefer the more conciliatory policies of Israeli doves: a willingness to trade land for peace and for Israel to eventually talk with the Palestine Liberation Organization. Both views could hardly be right. Or could they?

A recent survey of 780 American Jewish leaders, which I conducted on behalf of an Israeli research institute, reveals a complex and somewhat surprising portrait of American Jewish opinion.

The leaders I sampled were drawn from the national executives and top professionals of some of the most influential organizations in Jewish life, including the Presidents’ Conference, the Council of Jewish Federations, the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress and the Anti-Defamation League, as well as the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform rabbinical and congregational organizations. A mail-back survey was administered in November, 1989, by Market Facts Inc. and garnered a 60% response.

By any measure, this is a staunchly pro-Israel collection of rabbis, philanthropists, political activists and religious leaders. They contribute a median of $4,000 annually to the United Jewish Appeal. Fully 99% have been to Israel, and about half were there within the last year. More than three-fourths call themselves Zionists, and most have seriously considered living in Israel.

Where do these opinion leaders stand on Israel’s major foreign-policy choices? An overwhelming majority reject policies advanced by the Israeli right wing. They reject forcible deportation of “many more Palestinians” (9% in favor, 78% opposed); expansion of “current settlements” (12% for, 78% against), and annexing the West Bank (10% to 78%).

Still, most of them deeply distrust the PLO: 78% agree with the statement “The PLO is determined to destroy Israel.” Most said they would like to see the PLO excluded “from any role in the government of the Palestinians.” Nevertheless, 73% agreed that “if the PLO recognizes Israel and renounces terrorism, Israel should be willing to talk with the PLO.” A slim plurality (46% to 42%) said Israel should “offer to talk with the PLO with no preconditions on either side.”

What resolution of the conflict do these leaders hope to see? Of those questioned, 59% agreed that Israel should “offer the Palestinians the prospect of a demilitarized state in 15 years, after a gradual buildup of confidence on both sides.” Only 18% disagreed. More than three-quarters agreed with the statement “Israel should offer the Arabs territorial compromise in the West Bank and Gaza in return for credible guarantees of peace.” (On almost all questions, the only consistent dissenters were Orthodox, in sharp contrast to other Jewish leaders’ dovishness.)

While most would countenance a Palestinian state, most also see four conditions as essential: total demilitarization of the Palestinians; renunciation of Palestinian refugee claims to parts of pre-1967 Israel; freedom of maneuver for the Israeli army in the territories, and retention of Jewish settlements important for security.

In sum, these leaders’ views fit in an Israeli political spectrum ranging from Yitzhak Rabin on the right to Ezer Weizman on the left, with Shimon Peres at or near their center. Indeed, when asked how they would vote in Israeli elections, they chose the Labor Party by 3 to 1 over the Likud, various religious parties or their allies.

However, these dovish inclinations do not translate into political actions. American Jewish leaders expressed reluctance to oppose Israel’s official leadership, which these days means Shamir. Thus, the leaders disapprove of American Jews meeting with Yasser Arafat (even as they would approve of Israelis doing so); they resoundingly reject the use of even small cutbacks in U.S. aid to soften “hard-line Israelis,” and although more than 80% of them support American Jews’ involvement in the “who is a Jew?” issue and immigrant absorption in Israel, only 25% feel the same about being involved in the far more delicate “Israeli security policies.”

In short, if asked their opinion in private (or in a survey), most American Jewish leaders voice support for moderately dovish Israeli diplomatic options. But they also fear a hostile political environment in the United States, they see Israel’s very survival as imperiled, and they feel that they lack the moral standing to differ with Israelis, who will live or die with the decisions they take. For all these reasons and more, most American Jewish leaders--as dovish as they may be in private--are reluctant to give public expression to views that to them smack of disloyalty to Israel.