THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, September 8, 1996             TAG: 9609080085
SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A8   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                        LENGTH:   40 lines

COALITION'S OFFER OF INCLUSION QUESTIONED BY JEWISH LEADERS

The Christian Coalition has been trying to convince Jews that the organization really wants their participation. So some Jewish leaders are asking why the coalition's big annual conference that opens Friday is scheduled for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.

``That was unfortunate,'' said Mike Russell, the coalition's spokesman. He said it happened because the Washington Hilton is booked up far in advance and is the only hotel in town with a big enough ballroom.

Rabbi Daniel Lapin from Seattle and Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein from Chicago have been invited to speak Friday morning so they can catch planes home in time ``to honor the holiday,'' Russell said. Rosh Hashana, the first of the Jewish High Holy Days, begins at sundown Friday.

Neither Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, nor Lapin, founder of the conservative Toward Tradition, are bothered by the timing.

``It's not called the Jewish-Christian Coalition,'' Lapin said, ``and the last time I checked, Rosh Hashana was not a Christian holiday.'' He noted that last year there were far more Jews outside protesting the conference than inside participating.

The coalition's conference typically hosts a parade of presidential hopefuls, and this year Ross Perot, Jack Kemp and Pat Buchanan are in the lineup. President Clinton, invited for the first time, hasn't responded yet, Russell said.

Attempting to provide a religious counterpoint to the Christian Coalition, liberal Christians in the group Call to Renewal have scheduled their conference for the same weekend.

``We thought the Rosh Hashana weekend was tacky timing,'' said Renewal spokeswoman Carol Fennelly, ``but we wanted our conference to coincide with the coalition's to make the point that they aren't the only Christian voice in politics.''

KEYWORDS: CHRISTIAN COALITION by CNB