A LOOK AHEAD * Warring religious leaders were stymied in earlier efforts, but today they unveil a . . . : Code for Debate Between Jews, Muslims

It seemed innocuous enough: a code of ethics to avoid stereotypes, repudiate violence and govern debate between Muslims and Jews in Southern California.

But when two leading Muslim officials--Maher Hathout and Salam Al-Marayati--proposed the code last year, their involvement became a lightning rod for attacks by major Jewish organizations, which argued that the men actually condoned terrorism.

Now a breakthrough in the bitter brouhaha is set for today, when Muslim and Jewish leaders gather at City Hall to unveil a code of ethics resurrected and salvaged in part through the leadership of liberal rabbis.

More than 65 rabbis, Muslim leaders, scholars and community activists have already signed it. Although most major Jewish organizations have yet to endorse it, the code has won backing from the Shura Council of Southern California, the Council of American-Islamic Relations, the American Muslim Alliance and other Islamic groups.

Today’s signing also marks a comeback of sorts for Muslim-Jewish relations, which hit a nadir earlier this year after some Jewish organizations protested the appointment of Al-Marayati to a national counterterrorism commission. Following outcries from groups such as the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee, Al-Marayati’s appointment was withdrawn by House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) in August.

“We know we disagree on some things with passion, but let us do it in a civilized way without smearing each other or in a backstabbing way,” said Hathout, spokesman for the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles. “I wonder how anyone can object to that?”

The code calls on both sides to immediately and publicly repudiate any “individual or group or institution” that appeals to prejudice, hate and violence. It also calls on them to verify rumors before making public pronouncements, avoid stereotyping and words of incitement, and to meet regularly to discuss issues of concern.

However, the code has failed to win support from some key Jewish leaders. Jewish supporters had initially hoped that the Board of Rabbis of Southern California would endorse the code and then, with that imprimatur, win backing from the broader community. But the vehement objections of officials such as Rabbi Gary Greenebaum of the American Jewish Committee not only stopped board consideration, it also quashed a landmark effort to invite Hathout and Al-Marayati to address the rabbis.

Rabbi Lawrence Goldmark, the board’s acting director who has signed the code, said he had hoped to invite the two Muslim leaders to speak to the board last month to move beyond written pledges of civility to actual practice. But Greenebaum’s objections compelled him to wait.

Greenebaum said he supported the code of ethics, but “[I] simply believe the partners in creating it are the wrong people.” Among other things, Greenebaum said, he was disturbed that a 1997 statement by Al-Marayati’s Muslim council spent more time “rationalizing” the terrorist bombing of a Tel Aviv cafe, which killed three women, than condemning Hamas, the group responsible for it.

Rabbi Harvey J. Fields of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, however, said it was time to move toward healing--adding that the two Muslim officials had consistently condemned terrorism during his 18-year relationship with them.

“If we go on the basis of past history and personalities, our Israeli brothers and sisters wouldn’t be entering into dialogue with Yasser Arafat and the PLO,” he argued. “The fact is, there comes a point when leadership has to make a critical decision in terms of moving the peace process and the healing process forward. . . . That time is today.”

Since the effort to write a code of ethics was revived in July, a small group of Jews and Muslims has been meeting every two weeks. Rabbi Allen I. Freehling of University Synagogue, the facilitator, said he hopes to expand that effort to neighborhoods around the Southland.

After today’s signing, Al-Marayati said, he hopes to take the code nationwide and pave the way for a comprehensive forum on counterterrorism.

He hailed the code as a “milestone for Muslim-Jewish dialogue.”