Nick J. Rahall, II

If you tried to count the number of Arab Americans in the U.S. Congress on the fingers of one hand, you could do it—although you would have to use all your fingers, from thumb to pinky. If you then rated them according to their degree of involvement in Middle East and other Arab American issues, West Virginia's Democratic Congressman Nick J. Rahall would surely have to be the thumb. His role is the most active and visible of the five members, although Ohio's Democrat Mary Rose Oakar comes a close second.

Rep. Rahall is a grandson of Lebanese immigrants, and became the youngest member of the U.S. Congress when he entered it in 1976, at the age of 27. Although always aware of his Lebanese heritage—"I was brought up hearing Arabic spoken in the family, and eating Lebanese food practically every other day," he says—he has obviously never believed that his contribution to protecting that heritage should be confined to touting the glories of shish kebab or of Lebanese folkloric dancing.

Ever since he visited the Middle East for the first time in 1980 as a member of a House delegation, he has been very sensitized to the political issues of the area. "You can only get a feel for them if you go to the region and talk to all—and I stress all—the parties," he says. During his 1980 and subsequent trips he met with top leaders of both Israel and the PLO, as well as those of Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. In the process, he has developed some strong opinions on what is in the interests not only of Arab Americans but of all Americans, and has acted upon them:

Lebanon: Within days after the Israeli invasion last year, Rep. Rahall submitted the only House resolution, Number 359, calling for the withdrawal of Israeli and all other foreign troops. It got nowhere, and even weeks later the resolution had managed to attract only 13 co-sponsors. Rep. Rahall was clearly too far out in front of his House colleagues, who tended to want to let the invasion run its course. Now, withdrawal of all foreign troops is official U.S. policy, and is supported by Congress. But Rep. Rahall, unlike so many of his colleagues, believes the invasion was a disaster for U.S. interests and says so at every opportunity.

The PLO: He believes the Palestinians have the right to a homeland in the West Bank and Gaza, and that the U.S. has ignored repeated signals from Arafat that he would explicitly recognize Israel's right to exist in return for a U.S. signal that it would support the Palestinians' right to such a homeland. "We have expected the PLO to play its trump card of explicit recognition without any assurance that they will get anything in return," Rep. Rahall says. "This is a mistake." Rep. Rahall was the chairman of a House delegation which met with Arafat in West Beirut during the siege and received what he interpreted as one of these signals. But the Administration ignored it.

Aid to Israel: Rep. Rahall testified at a Congressional hearing recently against attempts to increase aid to Israel, arguing that it was being "rewarded" for its invasion of Lebanon and its rejection of U.S. proposals for the West Bank. Noting that aid to Israel already amounts annually to $3,000 for every Israeli family of four, and that his own state of West Virginia had the highest rate of unemployment in the country, he asked the committee: "If we sent $3,000 right now to every family of four in... some of your districts where unemployment is at record levels, wouldn't this be acting better in the national interest?"

Aside from acting on the floor of Congress and in committee hearings, Rep. Rahall propounds his views in other forums, making speeches around the U.S. at get-togethers organized by such groups as the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee and the National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA), of which he is a board member. At NAAA's recent annual convention, held in Washington, D.C., Rep. Rahall was the master of ceremonies at its concluding banquet.

Rep. Rahall says he is frequently the target of criticism by members of what he calls a "minority clique" within the Lebanese American community, who allege he is more concerned with solving Arab problems rather than strictly Lebanese ones. He rejects the charge, saying "I don't think we can completely solve the problems of Lebanon until we address the overall problems of the Middle East, and this includes the key question of a homeland for the Palestinians."

Despite all his activism on Arab American issues, Rep. Rahall is not a member of either the appropriations or foreign affairs committees. He spends the bulk of his time concentrating on the problems of the most direct concern to his constituents. Serving on the committees for public works and transportation and for interior and insular affairs, he is in a position to have an impact on such bread-and-butter issues as water resources, mining, and environment. He is the founder and chairman of the Congressional Coal Group.

Born in Beckley, West Virginia, Rep. Rahall graduated from Duke University and attended graduate school at George Washington University. Before being elected to Congress, he had been a staff assistant on the hill, a travel agent and a sales representative for a radio station.