November 19, 1994

The speed with which Representative Newt Gingrich moved to put school prayer at the top of his political agenda this week has both astounded the conservative groups traditionally allied with that cause and left some of them worrying that he is moving too far, too fast. While generally pleased at the revival of a cause that seemed moribund, many of the leading conservative groups involved with the issue are concerned that in supporting a constitutional amendment that would fundamentally change the Bill of Rights, Mr. Gingrich may be courting the same sort of political setback that President Clinton incurred when he pushed early in his Administration to overturn the ban on homosexuals in the military. And they worry that even if successful, a school prayer effort could hand liberal groups an easy target they could use to undermine support on other issues.

Yasir Arafat's police force opened fire for the first time on Palestinian protesters today, killing at least 12 people and wounding as many as 200 in street battles that raged for hours across the Gaza Strip's main city. The police said an officer was also killed and 10 others were wounded when two police cars were set on fire.

Police Commissioner William J. Bratton was addressing 50 Queens commanders at a recent strategy meeting, standing as erect as a Prussian general, his left hand dug into the jacket pocket of his double-breasted suit. "I'm the nicest guy in the world normally, and I'm probably the best damned leader that any of you will ever have," he said. But, expressing frustration at some detectives who had dropped cases because they misunderstood orders to cut overtime, he added, "If you're not willing to manage under my style, I'll get rid of you!"

Bosnian Town Bombarded Nationalist Serbs bombarded a Bosnian town, United Nations officials said, raising discussion of retaliatory air strikes by NATO. Page 6. Russia's Mighty Are Falling Russia's Defense Minister, on the defensive himself, warned that the military was so underfinanced and weak as to be near collapse. Page 7. Latest Salvo in G.O.P. War Mayor Giuliani accused Governor-elect Pataki of pursuing a vendetta to embarrass not only him but the institution of the mayoralty. Page 25. Capricious Storm A storm that had stalled off the Carolinas strengthened to a hurricane, then abruptly weakened and headed back toward Florida. Page 9.

It is barely three miles to Abington Township from Philadelphia. But in the minds of many of the township's people, the distance is far greater. It is the distance, real or imagined, between urban violence and suburban serenity. That space was irreversibly bridged last Friday night when, the police say, as many as two dozen Abington youths armed with baseball bats piled into cars, drove into the Fox Chase neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia and confronted a group of teen-agers who ran off.