WORLD IN BRIEF : ISRAEL : U.S. Jewish Officials Critical of Shamir

In an unusual expression of public dissent, 41 past and present officials of American Jewish organizations wrote to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir declaring “profound differences” with his views on how to proceed with the Mideast peace process. While American Jews, like Israelis, hold sharply divided opinions on the peace process and Shamir’s plan for elections in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, most American Jews support the principle of negotiations based on the formula of land for peace, the letter said. Shamir has vehemently rejected the land-for-peace principle.