NADLER ON ISRAEL The death of Yasser Arafat has spawned new hope of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, a subject we put to Rep. Jerry Nadler before Arafat got sick.

Nadler is known as a strong defender of Israel, but also as someone who takes positions on his own, rather than simply parroting vociferous Jews in his district. And while he's been criticized for idealism in defending civil liberties, with regard to Israel we expected a view more practical than that taken by other Brooklyn politicians who reflexively adopt the hard-line approach of their constituents.

By hard-line, we mean the eye-for-an-eye mentality that has been emotionally satisfying but counterproductive toward peace efforts and potentially dangerous to Israel's long-term future. When we asked Nadler last summer what would he do if he were running Israel, he promptly answered that he would withdraw all of the Jewish settlements in Gaza and most of them in the West Bank-but not because the Palestinians deserve the land.

Rather, he said, it just doesn't make sense for Israel to devote two divisions of its army to protect 7,500 settlers. "Do the Palestinians have the right to a state? My answer is no," Nadler said.

But given that Jordan does not want to absorb the Palestinians, he said, "There is no solution other than a Palestinian state." Apparently referring to the much higher birth rate of Palestinians, he said unless they have a state of their own, Israel would end up not a Jewish state but a binational one-and those don't work very well in the Middle East. Who deserves the West Bank? Neither side has a valid claim to it, said Nadler, noting that the green line boundary was designed as a military demarcation, not a border. "As a matter of practicality," he said, "I think Israel is going to have to give up most of it."

On another thorny topic, the fence Israel is building, Nadler took a more hawkish position. He said the Palestinians cannot dispute the fence because their terrorism necessitated it, and he criticized the Bush administration for withholding $290 million in loan guarantees to Israel in response to the fence. Nadler did not address whether the fence-which has infuriated Palestinians who contend it's being built on their land-would ultimately benefit Israel or enhance the chances for peace in the region.

THROW AWAY THE KEY Assemblyman Peter Abbate is not exactly leading the charge to reform New York's Rockefeller drug laws, which are often referred to as draconian because they can mandate decades of imprisonment for minor drug offenses. "My view's a little more conservative than the rest of the Assembly," he said, explaining that while he favors reform, some of the people incarcerated under the Rockefeller drug laws would probably be in prison for something else anyway.

Say what? It might be conservative to call that view conservative. Reactionary might be more appropriate. Maybe even radical-though that term is usually assigned to extreme leftists. The notion of keeping people locked up for crimes they might have committed if they were free strikes us as un-American.

PARKER REJECTS TERM LIMITS Count State Senator Kevin Parker among those favoring reform in Albany. "We ought to be having more public hearings," Parker said. "The 'three men in a room'…can't continue." He knows it will take more than tough talk from minority party representatives such as himself. "There needs to be a grass-roots movement to change things in Albany," Parker said. "As Frederick Douglass said, 'Power concedes nothing without a demand.'" But Parker doesn't see term limits as part of the solution. "Term limits are lazy democracy," he said. "What you do get is government run by staff."

Hmmm. City Councilmembers and the mayor have term limits. Are they not running the city government? To the casual observer, they seem to have more influence in New York City than state legislators typically do in Albany.

CHURCH IN PUBLIC SCHOOL A reader was curious about how Sovereign Grace City Church can conduct services inside Middle School 51, a public school in Park Slope, despite the constitutional separation of church and state.

We put the question to a leader of the church, who asked that we use his entire reply if we used any of it. So here it is: "I appreciate the question. Sovereign Grace City Church is a non-denominational Christian church that is affiliated with Sovereign Grace Ministries. We began meeting at MS 51 in mid July, and we are excited about being a vital part of the Park Slope community. We don't believe that meeting in a public school crosses the line. In fact, the purpose of separation of church and state is to prevent the state from defining what is appropriate religious expression, not to prevent the church from being meaningfully involved in the community.

"Public schools routinely rent their facilities for use by many different community organizations. The New York City Department of Education has established policies, procedures, and rate schedules that apply equally to any organization that inquires about the use of school facilities. The only time separation of church and state would become an issue is if an organization were denied equal access because of its religious affiliation.

"It's our hope that the fees that we pay to the school will result in tangible benefits to the children, and the community." We weren't sure about the whole deal, so we did some checking to find out if religious institutions' use of public school space is really "routine." The answer is, only if you consider a court order to be routine.

Indeed, the matter is the subject of ongoing litigation. At the moment it's the court order, not Department of Education policy, that allows equal access to public schools for religious organizations.

NO HIDDEN AGENDA Remember Bob Miller, the attorney who ran for City Council against Noach Dear in 1991 and Simcha Felder in 2001? He's now the trustee of indicted Assemblyman Clarence Norman's legal defense fund, a role that spawned immediate speculation that Miller is angling for a Supreme Court judgeship. (No one has more pull than Norman in the making of Supreme Court judges.) Miller said, "People in Brooklyn spend all of their time trying to figure out people's motives. Just look at it on the merits."

And what are the merits? "I know Clarence 15 years," Miller said. "He asked me to help him out because I essentially did the same thing for [Assemblyman] Dov Hikind when he was in trouble 10 years ago."

Hikind was ultimately acquitted. Previously, Miller had organized fundraising for Mel Miller of Flatbush, the last Brooklynite to serve as speaker of the Assembly. Miller (no relation to Bob Miller) was found guilty and removed from office, but the conviction was overturned when a higher court ruled that what Miller was accused of doing wasn't even a crime. "So I think I was borne out on both cases," Bob Miller said.

Of Norman, Miller said, "If someone decides to devote his life to public service, not making a lot of money, and then as part of that service has a criminal problem, and can't afford lawyers, it's a good thing for people to help him out. Clarence is a good public servant." He added, "People are still innocent until proven guilty."

So, what about the Supreme Court? "That's not what this is about," Miller said. "Am I ruling it out for the rest of my life? No." And another run for political office? "Absolutely not."

FIDLER FOILED When Councilman Lew Fidler wanted to tell the parents of every school in his district that he'd funded programs or improvements in their schools, he did so in the most efficient and inexpensive way: by having the schools put a letter in each student's cubby to take home.

That's not allowed. Chancellor's regulation D-130, which governs the use of school buildings by elected officials, states, "School buildings are not public forums for purposes of community or political expression." It adds, "No material supporting any candidate…may be distributed, posted, or displayed in any school building." School principals are responsible for enforcing the regulation.

Yet every public school principal in Fidler's district failed to mention it to Fidler. "No school has had a problem doing it. They've been all too happy," Fidler said.

But can you imagine this conversation? P.S. 222 principal: "Thanks for getting us $100,000 for a new music and art studio."

Fidler. "No problem. Would you mind putting these letters in your kids' cubbies?"

Principal: "Sorry, Lew. Can't do it. But please get us some more money next year."

Principals are supposed to follow rules, but sometimes human nature gets in the way. Fidler told us he was unaware he'd violated any regulation and still isn't sure he did. "It was not a political campaign piece, nor was there a political campaign going on," Fidler said. "It was a letter welcoming them back to school and what they can expect from their budget dollars."

The second paragraph of the letter said, "I want you to know that I am putting my 'money where my mouth is' when it comes to your child's school. Last year, I secured capital funds in the amount of $40,000 for new computers and equipment at P.S. 207. This year…I have secured…$250,000 for a new intercom/phone system."

It continued, "In addition, with the help and assistance of Council Speaker Gifford Miller, I have also been able to fund a small program that should enrich the cultural life of at least some of the students at P.S. 207…This year, P.S. 207 will once again enjoy a program by the Brooklyn Ballet." The boldface sentences were changed in each letter to reflect what the school received. I

n the letter, which was printed on Fidler's office letterhead, Fidler added, "I believe that my first priority has to be getting our fair share of the City budget even when times are tough." It would be hard to interpret that and the mention of Miller, a likely mayoral candidate in 2005, as something other than a plug. But Fidler emphasized the informational value of the letter, noting, "It has spurred a great deal of comment, [such as] 'This is great. How do I get my kid in the ballet program?'"

Some parents were prompted to express their opinions about whether certain programs should be funded again, Fidler said. He said elected officials should be allowed to distribute letters through the schools, depending on the content of the letters. For example, advertising a town hall meeting with a politician would be OK, Fidler said. "There's nothing wrong with that as long as we're not proselytizing," he said.

But writing a clear, enforceable regulation governing content would be difficult if not impossible. It's hardly surprising that the chancellor simply bans all such distributions. Fidler had a different view. "I can understand where they might not want kids to be abused. I certainly would not want Department of Education personnel to be sitting at a copy machine copying a flier for an elected official," he said.

"Here, all the work was done for them. It probably took less than two minutes of everyone's time to enable me to communicate with the parents of every child in my district, effectively and inexpensively." The department issued the following statement: "While we are grateful for Councilman Fidler's support of our schools, it is inappropriate for elected officials to use the schools to distribute their materials. The DOE has contacted Councilman Fidler's office and advised him that distribution of such letters is a violation of the Chancellor's regulations."

Fidler said he'll check with the department next time, and if turned down he would instead hand out the letters to parents outside the schools.

TIDBITS In an interview with New York magazine about his bid (still unofficial) to replace Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Rep. Anthony Weiner was reminded by the magazine's Greg Sargent that the mayor could spend $100 million on his campaign. "I'd rather have his $100 million and 95 percent name recognition than my $3 million and 40 percent name recognition," Weiner replied. "Except that I'm Anthony Weiner and he's Mike Bloomberg. And he's going down."

Councilwoman Tish James was in North Carolina last summer when her purse disappeared. Panicked, she called her office and asked a staffer to lend her $200. The aide did not report the violation of conflict-of-interest rules-until she was fired in November. Then she reported it. James got off with a warning from the Conflicts of Interest Board and some bad press in the New York Post…

Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Democrat, recently handicapping the 2005 mayoral race, said, "I think the strongest [potential] candidate against [Mike Bloomberg] is Bill Thompson." But Thompson, the city comptroller who was raised in Brooklyn and lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant, is now expected to run for reelection rather than mayor…

A primary example of the paralysis in Albany is the failure of the state legislature to address the court ruling that the city's public schools are woefully underfunded. The reason: upstate Republicans don't want to part with the money. But State Senator Kevin Parker said downstate Republicans deserve some of the blame. "The Republicans from the city have been impotent to move their own party," Parker said. We asked, Does that include State Senator Marty Golden? Parker backed off a bit, saying Golden has been "more helpful than anybody else." More blameworthy are Olga Mendez and Serf Maltese, Parker said.

Contact Brooklyn Politics at (718) 399-3693.

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