Focus on Arabs and Islam

By Samir El-Sayed

ADC Active on Legal, Cultural Issues

At a late-April press conference, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) released its first annual report on violence against and harassment of Arab-Americans. The report, which details 42 anti-Arab incidents in 22 US cities during 1986, was also submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). ADC's legal department in Washington, DC, maintains a computerized log of anti-Arab incidents, and Albert Mokhiber, ADC's legal director, has encouraged individuals to file reports of anti-Arab harassment. To submit a report, write to Mokhiber in care of ADC, 1731 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009. Annual reports will not contain the names of victims to protect their identities.

ADC also helped facilitate a civil law suit against Israel's Military Attache to the US, General Amos Yaron, brought by three survivors of the September 1982 massacre at the Sabra-Shatila refugee camps in Beirut. Filed in Federal District Court in Washington, DC, the suit seeks punitive damages of $100,000 for each of three plaintiffs who all lost family members in the 1982 massacre, plus an undisclosed amount for actual damages. The suit alleges that then-Brigadier General Yaron, as military field commander of Israeli forces occupying Southern Lebanon, is culpable under principles of international law for actions taken against civilians in an area under his command. The suit cites principles developed at the Nuremburg trials, which followed World War II, and the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention accords for the protection of civilians during war. ADC's president, Abdeen Jabara, noted that "the casual (US government) acceptance of a person who...must be seen to have committed grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Convention and to grant him diplomatic status is in gross conflict with the principles on which this country was founded and our adherence to international law." Canada has refused to accredit General Yaron as Israeli Military Attache in Ottawa.

In early May, ADC sent a letter to every major film critic in the US protesting ethnic and religious slurs contained in the motion picture Ishtar, scheduled for release on May 15. In a telephone conversation with Ed Russell, Columbia Pictures Senior Vice President of Promotion in Los Angeles, ADC Director of Public Relations Faris Bouhafa strongly objected to the movie's closing song, entitled "I Look to Mecca," in which Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman sing about meeting a girl under a tree in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. ADC stressed that this mockery and trivialization of the pilgrimage to Mecca was an affront to every Muslim and the release of such a film during the holy month of Ramadan simply added to the insult. ADC is asking that complaints about Ishtar be sent to Mr. Ed Russell, Vice President for Publicity/Promotions and Field Work, Columbia Pictures, Columbia Plaza, Burbank, CA 91595 or call (818) 954-4217.

NAAA Active on Capitol Hill

The National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA) is meeting with Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) and appropriate Congressional staff concerning Helms' proposed amendment to the Foreign Aid bill to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. NAAA also is meeting with Senator Robert Dole (R-KS), Rudy Boschwitz (R-MN), Charles Grassley (R-IO), Frank Lautenberg (R-NJ), and Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH), who, on May 13, proposed legislation to close the two Palestinian Liberation Organization offices in the US. NAAA also sponsored a Congressional breakfast with Nizar Hamdoon, Iraqi Ambassador to the US, hosted by Representative Benjamin Gilman (R-NY) and Robert Torricelli (D-NJ). The NAAA Foundation is recruiting Arab-American students, ages 16-25, for study in one-month Petra summer program in Jordan. Contact: Annette Najjar at 202-467-4800.

American-Arab Affairs Council Calls for Middle East Peace

An editorial in the American-Arab Affairs Council's quarterly journal, American-Arab Affairs, which recently observed its fifth anniversary, was quoted in full in the May 13 Washington Post. Written by Editor Anne Joyce, the editorial noted: "Now there is reason to think that action on the Middle East peace process would enhance the administration's 'place in history' and compensate for its previous missteps, most recently the Iran deal, but beginning with giving the green light to Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. The world awaits some hopeful sign that the US and Israel are ready to negotiate a settlement with the other parties to the conflict. It would be a fitting celebration of the 20th anniversary of the June 1967 war if concrete steps could be taken at least to achieve some sort of psychological breakthrough."

AAI Meets with Richard Murphy

A group of Arab Americans met in April with Richard Murphy, Assistant Secretary of State for Near East and South Asian Affairs, to voice their concerns over the rights of Arab Americans traveling to Israel and the occupied territories. The group included James Zogby and Helen Samhan, officers of the Arab American Institute (AAI), George Salem, Solicitor of Labor, Jean AbiNader, President of Transnational Associates, and Fuad Sahouri, a Washington, DC businessman. Murphy assured the group that the rights of Arab Americans traveling to Israel and the occupied territories would be protected, and that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) would be expanding opportunities for Lebanese and Palestinians from Lebanon to remain in the US because of the continued civil strife in that country.

Committee for Justice Holds Congressional Press Conference

The Committee for Justice held a press conference on April 28 in Rep. John Conyer's (D-MI) office to discuss the Justice Department's charges against eight Arab Americans and one Kenyan arrested in Los Angeles in January. The Committee for Justice, a coalition of congressional, civil libertarian, religious, and ethnic organizations, including the Arab American Institute, united in defense of the "LA 9," as the defendants have come to be known. Members of the Committee, including US Representatives Conyers, George Brown (D-CA), and Mervyn Dymally (D-CA) were joined at the press conference by Robert Alpern of the Unitarian Universalist Association, Wade Henderson of the American Civil Liberties Union, and Albert Mokhiber of the ADC. Representative Conyers said he will work to repeal or amend the McCarran-Walter Act, enacted during the McCarthy era, which allows for the deportation of foreign nationals or resident aliens in the US if they are found to be members of organizations which preach "doctrines of world communism" or which advocate "the unlawful damage, injury, or destruction of property." Charging that the Reagan administration is attempting to silence criticism of its Middle East policy through deportation and harassment, Wade Henderson of the ACLU said that "the defendants have done nothing more than exercise rights that average Americans take for granted."

Islamic Society Protests Planned Pro-Israel Parade

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) has expressed its concern over the Los Angeles City Council's support for a celebration and parade on June 14 with the themes "a salute to Israel" and the "20th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem." In a May 11 letter to Ms. Pat Russell, President of the LA City Council, Steve Johnson of the ISNA points out that celebrating the "reunification" of Jerusalem expressly contradicts US foreign policy, which views Jerusalem as an occupied territory. In its letter to Ms. Russell, the ISNA said that: "Muslims and most Christian churches...declare that Jerusalem, far from being a united city, is a city politically divided and under military occupation." If Californians wish to register their protest at the LA City Council's use of taxpayer money to celebrate Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and its "reunification" of Jerusalem, the ISNA suggests that letters be sent to: Ms. Pat Russell, President, Los Angeles City Council, c/o L.A. Clerk's Office, Room 395, Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.

UPA Donates 10.5 Million Vitamins to Palestinian Children

The United Palestinian Appeal (UPA) has donated 10.5 million children's chewable multivitamins to Palestinian children in the occupied territories, Lebanon, and Jordan. The vitamins, donated to UPA by Tishcon, a New York pharmaceutical firm, will be distributed to Palestinian children through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, Al-Makassed Charitable Society, and the Palestine Red Crescent Society. To find out how to help Palestinian children in the Lebanon camps and occupied territories, write: UPA, Suite 409, 2100 M St., NW, Washington, DC 20037.

ROOTS to Hold Summer Camp

ROOTS, a Palestinian youth organization, will hold a summer camp for all interested youth from July 5-11 in North Carolina. ROOTS, a non-profit cultural and educational organization established in 1986, seeks to bring together Palestinians and other Arab and non-Arab youth to maintain and promote an awareness of and pride in Arab culture and identity. If you or your children are interested in becoming members of ROOTS, write to: 703 G St., SE, Washington, DC 20003 or call (202) 543-7991.

Samir El-Sayed is Promotion Director for the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

Focus on Jews and Israel

By Andrea Barron

Poll Shows American Jews More Willing to Criticize Israel

Last month the American Jewish Committee (AJC) released a draft report of a study which shows that while American Jews remain deeply attached to Israel, an increased majority are willing to accept public criticism of Israel by other Jews.

The poll, entitled "Ties and Tensions: The 1986 Survey of American Jewish Attitudes toward Israel and Israelis," was conducted by professor Stephen Cohen of Queens College, City University of New York, for the AJC's Institute of American Jewish-Israeli Relations. The study, a follow-up to Cohen's 1983 survey on the same subject, polled 1133 Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Jews as well as a sample identifying themselves as "just Jewish."

Two-thirds of the respondents claimed a "psychic attachment to Israel" and 90 percent consider themselves "pro-Israel." (The remaining 10 percent are probably indifferent to the Jewish state, not antipathetic.) Nearly two-thirds of those polled said they do not object to criticism of Israel by fellow Jews (compared to 57 percent in 1983), and 72 percent agree that "Jews who are severely critical of Israel should nevertheless be allowed to speak in synagogues and Jewish community centers."

The poll suggests that while still strongly supportive of the Jewish state, American Jews may also be growing disenchanted with Israel, an attitude probably precipitated by Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. In addition, the poll's respondents were concerned about secular-religious tensions in Israel, and with the rise of Kahanism. Thirty-five percent of those polled said that ultra-right Knesset Member Rabbi Meir Kahane makes them "feel more distant from Israel." Interestingly enough, Kahane was also the best known of all Israeli politicians: only 29 percent did not know him versus 31 percent for then-Prime Minister Shimon Peres!

Although American Jews may be more willing to tolerate criticism of Israeli policies, that does not mean they have become any more "dovish" on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Forty-eight percent of the respondents agreed that "Palestinians have a right to a homeland in the West Bank and Gaza, as long as it does not threaten Israel." In 1985, 51 percent of those polled agreed with this statement, and in 1983 it was 47 percent. Cohen did not ask 1986 respondents how they felt about negotiations between Israel and the PLO. But in similar polls conducted in 1981 and 1982, roughly 76 percent of those American Jews polled said that Israel should not talk to the PLO because it is a "terrorist organization that wants to destroy Israel."

In 1983, the Washington, DC chapter of New Jewish Agenda was refused admission to the Greater Washington Jewish Community Council (JCC), an umbrella organization of about 260 religious, educational, and social service organizations, primarily because of its position on the PLO. Agenda supports the "Palestinians' right to self-determination" and advocates negotiations between Israel "and any legitimate representative of the Palestinians, including the PLO."

Steve Silverberg, chair of Agenda's Washington chapter, said he thinks the organization would be accepted into the JCC if it were to apply again. "The Jewish Community has changed," he said. "They recognize the war in Lebanon was wrong, which is what Agenda's been saying all along. And they are much more willing to listen to dissenting views like ours." Rabbi Sidney Schwartz, JCC executive director, disagreed. "The same right-wingers that blocked Agenda's application in 1983 could do so again, especially because of what it says about the PLO."

WAJIPP Hosts Jewish-Palestinian Friendship Dinner

Washington Area Jews for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (WAJIPP) and Palestinian friends hosted Washington's Fifth Annual Jewish-Palestinian Friendship Dinner last March at the Embassy of New Zealand. Over 160 guests attended, including Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar (D-Ohio), ADC President Abdeen Jabara, the distinguished journalist I.F. Stone, and Michael Hudson, Director of Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies.

The Friendship Dinner was the brainchild of WAJIPP member Ellen Siegel, a Washington nurse who worked in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and who testified before the Kahan Commission investigating Israel's role in the Sabra and Shatila massacres. Siegel said the dinner "provides a forum where Jews, Arabs, and Israelis can communicate in a non-threatening environment."

Journalist Nat Hentoff, a columnist for New York City's Village Voice, was on hand to accept WAJIPP's first Appreciation Award for "his contributions to better understanding between Arabs and Jews." Hentoff was one of the first American Jewish journalists to criticize publicly the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and he has consistently supported Palestinian as well as Israeli national rights.

Sharif Elmusa, a Palestinian who grew up in the West Bank city of Jericho, presented the award. "It's natural for a Palestinian to stand up against wrongs committed against her or his people. But when a Jews does it, that is a lonely position requiring a lot of courage. He or she is likely to be vilified by fellow Jews and suspect in the eyes of Palestinians. So it's appropriate that this award be given to Nat Hentoff jointly by Arabs and Jews."

Andrea Barron, a Ph.D. candidate in international relations at American University in Washington, DC, writes frequently about the Middle East. She is active in Washington Area Jews for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (WAJIPP) and New Jewish Agenda (NJA).