CAMPAIGN ’88 : GOP Group Assails Democratic Appointees

A group of Republican congressmen, seeking to defuse charges of anti-Semitism in the GOP campaign, contended Friday that Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis appointed three “anti-Israeli, pro-Palestinian” members to the party’s ruling body.

Speaking on behalf of the GOP group, Rep. Norman F. Lent (R-N.Y.) said the three people in question were appointed to the 400-member Democratic National Committee after the party’s July convention in Atlanta as a concession to defeated presidential contender Jesse Jackson.

“The presence of (the three) on the Democratic team raises questions about Michael Dukakis’ judgment and his submission to Jesse Jackson,” Lent contended. He identified them as the Rev. Willie Barrow, executive director of Jackson’s Chicago-based Operation PUSH; Robert Farrell, a Los Angeles City Council member and close Jackson associate, and Ruth Ann Skaff of Houston, whom he said is a spokeswoman for the pro-Palestinian Ad Hoc Committee on Lebanon.

Lent said Barrow and Farrell are supporters of radical Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan, who has made anti-Semitic statements. He said Skaff has led anti-Israel demonstrations.

Lynn Cutler, vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said the call for the removal of the three DNC members amounted to “smear tactics.”