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Jews back drilling at Alaska wildlife refuge
Yigal Schleifer, New York

The rising tensions in the Middle East
and Iraq�s recent decision to cut off oil exports for at least a month in response to Israel�s military operation in the West Bank have pulled a number of American Jewish organizations into the controversial debate over oil drilling in the Alaskan wilderness.

Although Jewish groups don�t normally get involved in environmental politics, Republicans who support drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) have been able to recruit B�nai B�rith International, the Orthodox Union and the Zionist Organization of America into the campaign to open up the refuge to oil companies.

"Seeing as we are at the mercy of the Arabs because of oil, we think we should do all we can to make ourselves independent," Morton Klein, ZOA president, told The Report.

Nathan Diament, director of the Orthodox Union�s Institute for Public Affairs, said it was not the first time his organization has involved itself in the energy and environment debate. "Back in the late 1970s, when there was a debate over the building of the Alaska pipeline, we were one of the few Jewish groups that supported exploration and development on the theory that reducing American dependence on Arab oil was good for America and was good for the U.S.-Israel relationship. Now, many more are seeing this connection," Diament said.

The position taken by these groups puts them at odds with major groups such as Hadassah and the Reform and Conservative movements, which object to drilling in ANWR because of environmental considerations. ANWR is estimated to contain only about six months of oil supply.

"Most of the Jewish organizations that are part of our coalition have taken a position that promotes conservation and opposes drilling in the Arctic," said Mark Jacobs, executive director of the 29-member Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life.

(May 6, 2002)

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