Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, July/August 1998, Pages 3, 98-102

Letters to the Editor

Abolish the Cranston Amendment Ad

Instances of public support triggered by WRMEA articles sometimes materialize unexpectedly. The enclosed paid ad asking “Has American Foreign Aid Gone Too Far? Is This How You Want Your Tax Dollars Spent? Abolish the Cranston Amendment!” recently appeared in two major Albuquerque newspapers, several focused-circulation journals, and as a hand-out at a public event.

Sponsored by the local chapter of the national organization Veterans for Peace, Inc., the ad cited details of FY1997 U.S. aid to Israel as published in the Washington Report. Telephone and mail response was overwhelmingly favorable and included offers of support.

Despite the imminent loss of substantial ad revenue, one of the major papers refused the ad—until presented with a copy of the quoted issue of the Washington Report.

George Luecker, Albuquerque, NM

Whose Mistake?

First, let me say that I am truly honored to have been published in such a prestigious magazine as the WRMEA. Second, I have already received a number of calls from fellow subscribers around the country complimenting me on my piece. Unfortunately, the Mossad’s dirty trick squad must have been at work. A line was somehow dropped from the last sentence of my article about Pope Pius XII. This is the way it should have read:

“When that is done, the vile canard against his reputation by the Christian bashers must be dismissed as being factually unsupported and a damnable lie. He will then be seen as a compassionate friend of humanity and a humble servant of his God.”

If you could run a correction on your Web site and in the next issue that would take care of it. My wife, Ann, works for a genealogical publishing company in Baltimore and she is forever telling me about mishaps that occur in her line of work. Our modest mis-step pales in comparison to some of her horror stories.

Bill Hughes, Baltimore, MD

P.S. I met Dr. Lilienthal a few years back in Baltimore, when he was in the hospital here. It was a special treat to be paired in the WRMEA with a man of his high caliber.

Sorry that our unremitting editorial efforts to chip away words here and there from all of our articles in the interest of saving space resulted in the butchering of your concluding sentence, which we did with our own little hatchet and no help from the Mossad. We’ll restore your original sentence in the article on our Web site, which becomes the permanent record.

Facts to Shock With

I like everything about the Washington Report, but I particularly appreciate facts that I can use to “shock” my uninformed friends—for example “15 million dollars per day in grants and loan guarantees.” That usually gets some response. Also facts about the USS Liberty—especially to military people. I really can’t believe the American people put up with this “tail wagging the dog.”

Lucy Smith, Dinwiddie, VA

A Night to Remember

Some WRMEA readers might like to know that there were a considerable number of Arabs on the Titanic.

The 1955 book A Night to Remember, by Walter Lord, provides a list of passengers, categorized by class, port of embarkation, etc. The names of survivors are given in italics.

Judging by the names, I estimate that among the 102 third-class passengers boarding in Cherbourg, at least 80 percent were Arab, with most of the rest being Greek or Armenian. There were also a few Arabs traveling in a different class or boarding at a different port. Most did not survive.

Frank Regier, Strongsville, OH

Others Are Seeing the Light

Enclosed is my check to keep me in good standing for 1998 in your Choir of Angels. Thank you for the gift of Seeing the Light. As one of the few Americans who knew the true story from the beginning I had no need for it; however it is most encouraging to learn that so many young people, especially college students, are seeing the light and spreading the word. Men like M. Jawad Sultan Khan, using their own resources and energies to spread the light in so many places, are greatly effective.

I had hoped to see a just peace in the Mideast before I leave on that “journey from which no one returneth,” but since the advent of Netan-the-Yahoo it doesn’t seem likely, since I am now 95 and slowly fading away. But it will come eventually—of that I am sure, whether peacefully or otherwise.

Keep up the good work.

Blanche C. Kerr, Los Angeles, CA

At the risk of waxing overly philosophical, we suspect that those who devote themselves to doing good works on this planet, as have you and so many other long-time subscribers we’ve come to know so well, never really leave us. See the stories in this issue on our recently deceased longtime friends Marion Fitch (p. 36) and George Thompson (p. 42).

From Friend and Builder to Enemy and Destroyer

As one of the officers of Arab Americans of Central Ohio, I thank your executive editor for his presentation at the Peace and Justice for Palestinians event in Columbus on May 16, 1998. He faced the issues squarely and supported his supposedly unorthodox position with solid facts. When we were in the supper line he told me about his busy speaking schedule. Keep up the good work!

His personal story touched me deeply. My father, Herman Kreider, went to eastern Turkey to help refugees during the Turkish-Armenian war. Two or three years later he was back in Turkey working in the finance office of the Congregational Mission Board. Then he helped to build Admiral Bristol Hospital. Then he ran the business offices of the two colleges in Istanbul belonging to the Middle East College Associations. In retirement he did some work for the Turkish government and trained U.S. Peace Corps workers. Turkey became his home, and the negatives of his life-long photographic work on Turkish life are in the Library of Congress.

In the 1930-1942 period I was in many parts of Turkey and in Beirut and Jerusalem. I have been back to Palestine and Turkey in recent years. Mr. Curtiss’s reference to the shift in the U.S. presence in the Middle East from friend and builder to enemy and destroyer touched me where my heart bleeds tears every time I read the newspaper. Through taxes, I must pay to destroy what was built by my parents and their friends, at least one generation which preceded them and a generation since.

These days I seek out Middle Eastern people to tell them that all Americans have not turned against them. As a retired Presbyterian minister, I explain the situation to every church group which will hear me. As a Columbus native, I give time and money to the AACO.

You give me the courage to keep working. I have been reading the AMEU and ADC journals; now I am subscribing to the Washington Report.

Lorrin A. Kreider, Westerville, OH

The Failure of the Fourth Estate

The American Fourth Estate fails to present a balanced picture of the Middle East conflict. One can only assume that money, fear, ignorance and anti-Arab bias serve to affect the objectivity of these news/media outlets. I see this problem getting worse due to the global consolidation of media companies. Rupert Murdoch and his peers will use profit as the only measure of performance. They are in the “entertainment” business. The Palestinian has little economic clout. Israel’s friends know how to use their economic power. I find you are informative on specific news stories pertaining to the Middle East. This is very helpful because the American press buries any story that “hurts” Israel. Let’s go after AIPAC and its money trail.

Tom Welch, Somerville, MA

An Amazing Publication

WRMEA coverage is invaluable for me—especially on Israel/Palestine issues, one of my “political passions,” as an Episcopalian priest here terms it. My only suggestion: more in-depth reporting on the ideological-political-economic foundations of Middle Eastern events.

L. Mercer, Seattle, WA

P.S. I did not find comments on my letter in a recent issue responsive. All in all, yours is an amazing publication, a tribute to its great staff.

You’re Second to None

Without any doubts or qualifications, you are doing the best possible work in the interest of facts in the Middle East. Your unbiased intellectual and humanitarian performance is second to none, indeed. I wish I had enough resources to help finance your profound, thorough and enlightening journalism reach a much wider circulation. Unlike certain quarters, who project that your journal is anti one group and in favor of the other, I believe that whatever it contains is, first and foremost, in the current and ultimate national interest of the average American citizen. This is why I am looking forward to seeing the Washington Report in the hands of every fellow American, enabling him/her to know the concerned facts as they are, and not as the other media seek to propagate them. Keep up the good job. America seriously needs and deserves it. And, finally, institutionalize for good the invaluable and indispensable Washington Report.

Ali al-Taie, Raleigh, NC

Don’t Need the Basics

Timeliness and information not available elsewhere are most important to me. I get numerous scholarly publications on the region and travel there regularly (I’ve taught in Cairo and Ramallah) so I don’t find “the basics” as helpful as others might.

Deborah Gerner, Lawrence, KS

Guess that’s why we try to produce a magazine that is essential to every U.S. diplomat serving in the Middle East, every student in a university Middle East studies course, and American business people or service personnel on duty in the Middle East. We try to explain why you’re there, what’s good and what’s bad about what the U.S. is doing there, and how you can help change things for the better.

Broaden Your “Profiles”

You should do more stories on the elites, the professionals, the artists, etc. The people you usually profile are very traditional, very conservative, very religious, etc.

For example, take the veiling controversy in France. A lot of people in our community support France on this issue. My point: there is a wide variety of views toward religion and tradition and their roles in the modern world. But you usually only present the very religious, very traditional view (i.e., the “orientalist” view).

Other than that big criticism, you are excellent!

S. Shabaz, Washington, DC

O.K. But let’s hear from more people like you. If you’re not professional writers, then give us some letters expressing these less traditional or conservative views from the Islamic community over here and over there. The views we cover are the views we hear.

Cooperation Offered

I am a writer in France and I love you and I would like to cooperate with you. I persuaded some Palestinian friends of mine to subscribe. You are my only hope on the most important issue—i.e., you are the real opposition to Zionist fascism.

Marion Siquat, Lainsecq, France

Why the Lack of Organization?

Yours is the only balanced magazine in the U.S. on Middle East issues. I don’t find similar information anywhere else. What I’d like to see most from this magazine is a discussion on why Arab Americans and American Muslims are unable politically, economically and culturally to organize themselves into an influential group in the United States. I’d like to see polls on what Americans think about Israel-U.S. relations, U.S. aid policy, etc.

M. Khodr, Winchester, VA

We promise to provide not only the why, but some ideas on how to overcome the problem you cited.

Broad-Ranged Reporting

The Washington Report provides the best magazine coverage of the Middle East. It is unbiased, informative, educational and covers a broad range of topics related to Middle East affairs.

Adel Faddah, Raleigh, NC

Facts About AIPAC Wanted

Most important to me is news of Congress and the Middle East. AIPAC has got to be exposed. Most congressmen are ignorant about Middle Eastern history/realities and that’s just what their pro-Israel supporters wish. Palestinian facts should become more public.

Mrs. G. W. Mize, Chelsea, VT

Get More Advertisements

Yours is the one publication that honestly reports in an even-handed manner on Middle Eastern affairs. Get more advertising so you can keep going.

John Keppel, Los Angeles, CA

We’re working on that, but as a non-profit institution we face a limitation on the percentage of the magazine that can be devoted to advertising.

“On the Sand”

The years I spent in the Middle East opened my eyes to facts of which I probably never would have become aware had I not been “on the sand.” My prior view of Middle Eastern problems was the product of the incessant pro-Israeli barrage from the American government and media.

Most of the fellow Americans with whom I discuss the Middle East have no idea of the facts. High school students are fed the media/government line and dare not openly criticize Israel or our government’s policy of complicity in the genocide against Palestinians. College students are even less independent and less informed. Adults seem stupefied by the facts and immediately reject the idea that their government could be criminally responsible for upholding apartheid in Israel while condemning it elsewhere.

No one needs to tell you that educating the American voters is our essential task. But first we must get the truth out in some dramatic and forceful way. We need a Palestinian holocaust museum. The only difference between what the Germans did and what the Israelis are doing is in method and scope. But that does not make it any more acceptable. Visual impact is everything in this society so we might as well make use of the most effective method of bringing home the truth.

I know that money is needed for more immediate goals—health care, education, infrastructure—but perhaps you can “float” this idea to gauge response from individuals and governments—unless, of course, the idea has already been proposed.

Please do not publish my name. I am not confident of immunity from various forms of reprisal.

Name Withheld, New York State.

Comprehensive and Accurate

The Washington Report is the most comprehensive, complete and accurate source of Mideast news and information available.

D. Tuttle, State College, PA

You Make My Blood Boil!

I was born in Germany and came to the U. S. in 1926 when I was four years old. I am now 75!. It is very upsetting to me when I see what the Zionists have done to Germany with the incessant Holocaust reiteration. I can see they intend, or would like to control the oil of Iran and Iraq! The controlled media distort all the issues and depict the Arabs as our enemies. I only hope I live to see a major change in our country. Your publication is excellent even though some articles make my blood boil. Keep up the good work! I prefer that my comments be anonymous. Thanks.

Name Withheld, Garden City, NY

The Horrible Truth

I believe the Washington Report is the only place I can get the truth, horrible as it is, about Israel/Palestine and environs. I would feel lost without it. Keep up your good work. You are giving the people of the Middle East hope and encouragement.

Name Withheld, San Francisco

Trouble on Pacifica Radio

Please do a profile piece on Don Bustany and his program, “Middle East in Focus” and include his troubles with the powers that be in public radio.

John La Monte, Los Angeles, CA

We didn’t know he was having troubles so we’ll certainly talk to him. We already know he has huge listenership for his half hour program at 2 p.m. Fridays on station KPFK because when he has interviewed us our phones ring for days afterward.

I Can Quote You

I find your pages totally reliable. I can quote them with confidence. Your issues are timely and address issues authoritatively, when they are fresh—or you anticipate issues. I also appreciate your scope and your news of chapters and groups around the United States.

Lois Glock, Madison, NJ

Facts Without Distortion

Your pages are very informative. It makes me angry to see the injustices done to the Palestinians and read reports of Israeli deceit and arrogance. It gives me hope to see you report facts and events as they really are without distortion in favor of the aggressors. Keep up the good work!

Noora Brown, New Britain, CT

The Palestinian Point of View

Your magazine is the only place where I can get both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian problem, especially the Palestinian point of view.

Dr. Gordon Miller, Littleton, CO

Palestinian Armenian Evictions

Keep up your excellent work. It is our best source of true information without the Israeli bias of our news media. We, like many other non-Arab minorities, also were evicted by Israelis from our home in Palestine. Shame on them for using the same tactics they suffered from in Europe.

Dr. Sarkis and Kathleen Broussalian, Whittier, CA

Missing a Crucial Point

Commentary in the letters and op-ed pieces you have printed on Israel’s 50th anniversary hasn’t made the crucial point that Israel, for all its remarkable accomplishments, still has a long way to go toward democracy. As explained by Dr. Israel Shahak (Jewish History, Jewish Religion, p. 3), under Israeli law, the state “belongs” to persons it defines as “Jewish.” Non-Jews not only are excluded from policymaking positions; they aren’t even eligible to live on state-owned land—and the state owns 93 percent of the country.

The New York Times of March 1, 1998 reported a landmark event: Adel Kaadan, an Arab Israeli, sued to be allowed to live on land being advertised by a cooperative in Katsir. The case went to the Supreme Court. Unwilling to take a stand on this explosive issue, the Court has lately refused to hear the case. Kaadan remains confined to the inferior environment reserved for Arabs.

It seems to me Israel’s many supporters in the U.S., not least our government, have an obligation to help the leaders of Israel see the light. The old discriminatory brand of Zionism has no place in the 21st century

Curtis F. Jones, Chapel Hill, NC

Let those who declare that Israel and the U.S. have so much in common ponder your words carefully. In the U.S., racial or religious covenants restricting lands or neighborhoods or even “steering” by real estate agents are illegal. In Israel more than 90 percent of the land is held under such restrictive covenants. We think the two countries are poles apart, one on the cutting edge of the future and one in the darkest shadows of the past. Israel is not alone in having such restrictions, but we don’t hear other countries which also have them claiming to be just like the U.S.

Freedom of the Press

The Washington Report is superb. Wonderfully informative and a rare but true example of America’s freedom of the press! Keep up the good work.

Andy Amid, President, Arab-Americans of Central Ohio, Columbus, OH

The Atlanta Constitution

Great Heavens! The so-Zionist Atlanta Constitution is actually quoting from your columns. Truth to tell they now have a Jewish Middle East reporter and he gives much more balanced accounts of the horrendous problems in Palestine than we are accustomed to reading. The editor of the weekly religious section is of the same persuasion, so we are well informed on Jewish affairs in Atlanta.

Rita Fairchild, Marietta, GA

A Puzzling Oversight

I want to point out your magazine’s most glaring and puzzling oversight. Correcting it will greatly increase your prospects. The main reason for Israel’s success is the near total Zionist control of the U.S. media, right? Hence you must teach and encourage your readers how to actively attack the media in a professional manner as part of an organized group. Individual letters to the editor won’t cut it.

Instead, you’ve devoted excessive effort to making your readers aware that the Zionist position is morally and intellectually defenseless. But what use is this knowledge if you don’t actually engage your foes with it? You have failed to take this second necessary step. Namely, explaining how your readers can actually challenge the media—Israel’s most effective weapon. The proof of this critical failure lies in the pathetically small size of your “Media Watch” and Mideast Peace Activism sections.

Wake up! The immediate required action is to greatly expand the two above sections with this purpose in mind. If we win the media wars, they’ll bring the needed pressure on Congress and the White House, which are presently hopeless. But for now, our media itself—in a democracy no less—has become an active force for evil.

To succeed, my idea needs strong implementation by the magazine. What’s the alternative? I see the Zionists winning all the battles at an ever-faster pace. Let’s be realistic. Our side has been going right down the tubes. Witness the incredible religious imbalance in the State Department, and maybe a Zionist President Gore on the horizon. In deciding whether to accept my sound idea, just recall that old Chinese proverb: “If you don’t change your direction, you’re going to end up right where you’re headed.”

Norm DiBucci, Buffalo, NY

Ignore Those Other Places

The Washington Report is hard to read because the truth about the Middle East is so painful. Simply concentrate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt. This area alone is where the problems will be solved. All else belongs in another magazine.

Larry Deyab, Brooklyn, NY

A Moral Force

Giving truth to the Palestinian people’s experiences makes your magazine a moral force in the midst of media distortion. However your view that the U.S. is apparently a helpless innocent gnaws at me. For 50 years successive U.S. administrations have opposed Palestinian statehood and independence. To thwart their legitimate aspirations, the U.S. has supported Israel economically, militarily and politically as you show so well. The U.S. knows full well the extent of Israeli transgressions. The U.S. is, by its actions, the enemy of the Palestinians. Stop sugar coating that fact.

Philip Eways, Brooklyn, NY

Sorry to contradict you but we believe it’s elected U.S. officials pandering for campaign funds and votes, and sinister bigots in the U.S. media who put their pro-Israel agenda ahead of truth, who are the enemies of the Palestinians, and of the vast majority of Americans as well. If the American people as a whole were so opposed to human rights and racial and religious equality, why wouldn’t they work to abolish them at home as well as in Palestine?

That Campaign Against Iraq

In our 1991 campaign of hate toward Saddam Hussain, President Bush announced on TV that Saddam’s troops invaded a maternity ward in a hospital and carried off the incubators, dumping the Kuwaiti babies on the floor. This was later exposed as a story planted by a New York advertising agency—in other words, a fabrication! The New York agency was not reprimanded and did not apologize. So, how many allegations against Iraq now are similar prevarications? All the news puff adders continue with their hatred with no apology. A pox on all of them! And now very few dare criticize Netanyahu! But remember—“The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley.”

George Johnson, Upper Darby, PA

A One-Issue Reader

It’s been said many times: the WRMEA is the source of objective, truthful insight into the Middle East crisis and America’s involvement in it. I especially appreciate your coverage of Zionist power tactics in the U.S. Congress and the other offices of government, the media, academia, etc. (ö la They Dare to Speak Out). I do not like your including Bosnia, Pakistan and other countries and issues not directly related to the Israel/Palestine/Arab/U.S. issue.

Tim Hanley, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Spreading Gift Subscriptions

The Washington Report is one of my important resources for being informed about the situation in the Middle East and in the U.S. (that affects the Middle East). It gives me the compassion to keep working on trying to make changes in American public opinion in regard to the Middle East. I have made gift subscriptions to many people here, which made a huge impact on their lives. (I made these gifts to support you. That’s what I can do now since I am still a student doing it on my own.)

The magazine also provides me with a lot of information on groups and on activities that are involved with U.S. Middle East policies.

Magid Shihade, Pittsburgh, PA

Provide More on Christian Works

We continue to need information across the board on Middle East issues from a Palestinian/Arab (Christian) viewpoint. Your magazine is a major source. Probably the more reporting on ecumenical/Israeli/ Palestinian coalitions, the better.

Allen Bartlett, Philadelphia, PA

Looting the U.S. Treasury

Your publication represents a breath of fresh air in an environment saturated by Zionist propaganda whose primary weapon is deception. I am hoping that your work will help inform and educate the American people about those who are looting the U.S. Treasury and using the money to commit genocide.

Name Withheld, Tacoma, WA

Ferreting Out the Truth

I believe that the WRMEA is the most important publication on the Middle East and America’s connection to it in the U.S. today. It is the only source of the truth concerning Israel’s real motivation in gobbling up Palestinian land and pushing the Palestinians out of their own homeland. It is also the only quality publication in America to ferret out the truth concerning Israel’s nefarious lobbying practices and covert activities in America, all of which have corrupted America’s democratic process, corrupted our politicians who are terrified to speak out against Israeli excesses in the Middle East and the U.S., and made a mockery of American foreign policy. I feel very strongly that WRMEA is the only publication on these matters that represents me and speaks out for my views. It is the only loud and clear voice speaking out in the wilderness of America’s pro-Zionist government and media who will stop at nothing in order to keep the U.S. public in the dark about what Israel really is and does.

Linda C. MacConnell, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Getting What the Media Omit

I appreciate learning about the actual happenings in the Mideast and AIPAC control of the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government and of the news media. This is information which the electronic and print media ignore or distort.

Harry Foehringer, Solon, OH

Watching People’s Reactions

I like passing the magazine on to others and observing their reactions. I mailed a subscription to the East Lansing, MI Library and they did not put it out with the other magazines.

Wayne State University professors agree with you that The New York Times does not give all the correct information regarding the Middle East.

Elaine Knox, East Lansing, MI

We suggest you ask the head librarian in the East Lansing library why they do not make your gift subscription available to readers. You may find the issues are being stolen. We also suggest that if they make only one of the following—New Republic, Commentary or U.S. News and World Report —available to patrons, then they owe it to the patrons to make the Washington Report available to provide balanced coverage on the Middle East and Middle East-related affairs. If they display more than one of those extremely pro-Zionist publications and no Washington Report, you have a legitimate complaint as a local taxpayer. We think also that virtually all Americans who teach Middle East courses in any university will publicly endorse the Washington Report, for balance at least, and will also privately inform you that it most accurately reflects their own personal views.

Keeping Up With the Mideast

I am a Jewish American woman with both Arab and Coptic Egyptian friends whom I love dearly. I feel a need to keep up with Middle Eastern/American affairs. I tend to feel, or at least hope, that our similarities will some day outweigh our differences and then violence will stop. Your publication keeps me informed and I especially like to see what seminars and cultural exchanges are happening between different peoples. If we could only live and let live.

Lucy Haskell, Westwood, NJ

Objective Information

Your magazine is the only source of objective information regarding the power and influence in U.S. politics of supporters of Israel and of the Jewish community.

W.J. Kosinski, Painesville, OH

Crowds On the Sidelines

I read the Washington Report because it keeps me informed in a way the rest of the American press does not. For Christians like myself, it is like watching a fight from a window that is a continuation of the Biblical struggles. We lament that they fight, because we know they must live together tomorrow, but we are unable to do anything about the big crowds on the sidelines, egging them on, because of the huge wagers on both sides! If these are God’s Chosen people, then it is because they need the most help.

D.L. Osmundson, Sykesville, MD

Not Down a Rabbit Hole

I’ve lived a good part of my adult life in the Middle East. Now that I’m back in the USA, the WRMEA helps me to remember I’m not down a rabbit hole. It is also great to give to intelligent and uninformed people so they can see the other side of the coin and perhaps influence attitudes.

Rosemary M. Levine, Summit, NJ

Not Missing An Issue

I’ve been an avid reader of the WRMEA since its inception. I can’t miss an issue. I look forward to each one. Once I start reading the “Letters to the Editor” section, I don’t put it down until I’ve read most of it cover to cover. Usually I’ll go to bed by 2 a.m. that night.

Your wonderful and informative magazine is a treasure. May God give you the strength, wealth and will to continue with your efforts. Thanks.

Khalid Darwish, Santa Clara, CA

Guidance For Political Parties

I like the Washington Report for its progressive political views, historical context and intellectual views. It provides far more comprehensive and in-depth views than I really have time for, but I enjoy it just the same. I read almost daily the Akron Beacon Journal, Cleveland Plain Dealer [right wing, pro-Israel], USA Today, Wall Street Journal [very pro-Israel and anti-Arab and anti-everything else except Wall Street and tax cuts] and The New York Times. I am most interested in political guidance in regards to the GOP and Democrat parties at the national and state levels.

John T. Verde, Akron, OH

Israel’s Grip on Congress

I am interested in all of the subjects you cover as long as it is truthful and doesn’t seek to be a propaganda organ for the Arab side of issues. I’m particularly interested in the health of the Christian Arab population in Israel/Palestine and would like to know more about the temper of Americans concerning AIPAC’s and Israel’s grip on Congress.

Brayton Gifford, Cornwell, PA

Will the President Become a Just World Leader?

I’m sending a contribution to the AET Library Endowment and I take this opportunity to express, once again, my admiration for the extraordinary job that the Washington Report has been performing for many years. The true Americans will forever be in debt to you.

Could it be possible that in a future issue of the Report we may find the names of the 11 senators who did not sign a letter to President Clinton, asking him not to pressure Mr. Netanyahu in connection with the so-called “peace process?” I am surprised that in spite of this letter our government appears to have lost its huge patience with the interminable and unacceptable demands of the prime minister of Israel. Are we going to see a miracle, after all? Is it possible that President Clinton may think of going into history as a veritable world leader, pushing for a just and permanent peace in the Middle East instead of playing the role of a servant of the leaders of Israel? Since he cannot be re-elected one more time, he needs neither the votes nor the money of the Jewish lobbies, now or later on.

Rene Espinosa, Sr., Fall Church, VA

Commending the First Lady

As an American citizen, I would like to express support and commend First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on her encouraging remarks concerning the establishment of a Palestinian state as a realistic outcome of a Middle East peace settlement. Although the Clinton administration is officially distancing itself from endorsing such remarks, I feel the sentiments expressed by Mrs. Clinton probably reflect the opinion of most Americans. I think it is in the best interests of the United States to support more balanced policies with respect to the Israel-Palestine conflict if we are trying to play the role of an honest broker in the peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

Why is it that our distinguished legislators on Capitol Hill seem to be behind the rest of the world, particularly their constituents, on this important issue? A number of years ago, a courageous congressman from Illinois named Paul Findley had the courage and the wisdom to suggest what our first lady has stated publicly. For this, he was unfairly castigated and targeted by pro-Israel special interest groups as an enemy of Israel and narrowly lost his congressional seat in 1982. He has brilliantly articulated the challenges facing more evenhanded U.S. Middle East policies in a classic text entitled They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel’s Lobby (Lawrence Hill, 1989). Both Paul Findley and Hillary Clinton deserve the Profiles in Courage Award for showing statesmanship in times of peril.

As a new millennium approaches, I ask all readers to ask their legislators to see the realities in the Middle East and not to be intimidated by special interests, which are at many times driven by greed and self-aggrandizement. A wise man from Palestine once said, “Seek the truth, for the truth shall set you free.”

Srinidhi Anantharamiah, Ph.D. Jackson, MS

Missing Pages

I was enjoying Mr. Curtiss’s special report article on Clinton and Gore on page 6 of the April 1998 issue when I attempted to flip to the continuation on page 37. But it was missing, along with pages 14 to 39. I just wanted you to know that there were some missing pages in my copy.

Other than that I have just discovered your Report and I am reading with much interest what is being said.

Margo Sabella, (Assistant to Mrs. Claudette Habesch, Caritas Jerusalem)

When we first received your e-mail we thought perhaps the Israeli government had torn out some pages, something that happens sometimes in some other Middle East countries. But then we received phone calls from other subscribers in the U.S. It appears that some pages in a small number of copies were inadvertently omitted in the printing process. So a complete April issue is in the mail to you and we’ll send a replacement copy at no cost to any regular subscriber who requests it.

You Inspire and Equip Me

Many thanks for a wonderful magazine. You continually inspire and equip me with the knowledge to support the cause—whether Palestine, the suffering Iraqi civilians or the travesty of our foreign policy in the Middle East. Being a U.S. soldier and student in an advanced Arabic course with a group of talented, career enlisted service members affords me the daily opportunity to discuss Arab/Muslim/ or Zionist issues.

My interest in the goings-on of the Arab world began at 15 with a two-year stint in an Arab country while my dad worked on an AID development project. But for my classmates, whose Middle East “experience” has been by way of temporary duty assignments and Gulf war deployment, the Washington Report is nothing short of revelatory. Keep up the great work and know that you are not just “preaching to the choir.”

Enclosed is five dollars for the bumper stickers—Pray for Palestine and The U.S. Gave Israel.....

Presently, I am limited to support of the moral variety. However, accept my heartfelt appreciation for what you’re doing and trying to do and my aspiration to stand with you in an active way in years to come.

Name Withheld by editors

Bless you for acquainting your military colleagues with our magazine. Now that they’ve been to the Middle East they’re ripe to “see the light” and understand what’s behind our pounding of Iraq for ignoring a U.N. resolution while we pay Israel, which ignores dozens of them. Though, like most good Americans, you proudly signed your name to your letter, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to withhold it this time. When certain Zionists in the U.S. decide to “get” someone, they just make up lies that can destroy a career without the victim ever knowing what happened. America needs you in, not out of, the ranks of those who proudly serve their country. It’s still—but just barely—the land of the free and always the home of the brave—like you.

Continue Supplying the Truth

Without the Washington Report, the little bit of truth about Israel and the pro-Israel lobby in the U.S. might never see the light of day. Please continue your enlightening, articulate magazine.

Basil Ayish, San Francisco, CA

You’re Unique

The Washington Report is unique. It presents information and opinions that get little or no attention elsewhere. I agree with you on how the U.S. political system has distorted Middle East history.

L.J. Waldron, Berkeley, CA

Sometimes Not Eye-to-Eye

Overall I really appreciate your publication. It is hard to put it down once I start. Also I have read or purchased a number of the AET books. However I see the subjects with which you deal through a more radical lens (I disagree with your discounting Marxist professors like Noam Chomsky and feel you are not giving us more of a balanced view on U.S. imperialism).

Filip Sokol, Boulder, CO

Ostrovsky, Shahak Fan

Just a note about how much I appreciate the Washington Report. I believe I started receiving issues more than 10 years ago because of my membership in ADC. I have saved one issue, May 1988, and many others besides, simply because they are such good reference material. Others I have given away by leaving them in hospital waiting rooms.

At times I have joined in the Middle East chat board on AOL, quoting liberally from the WRMEA with references to those enraptured of Zionism, but I have realized logic and common sense are anathema to anyone swathed in denial and ignorance.

My favorite contributors to the WRMEA are Victor Ostrovsky and Dr. Israel Shahak, whose writings have inspired my greatest respect. I admire Mr. Ostrovsky’s courage and wish him well.

Elias Souri, via e-mail

What the Mainstream Omits

The Washington Report’s best value to me is that it publishes the news that the mainstream media avoid.

Z.S. Sidawi, Costa Mesa, CA

Superficial News Elsewhere

In today’s news media you get only the surface of the news and most of the time it is distorted in one direction without depth and accuracy. That’s why I depend on the Washington Report for what’s really behind the news. I like to know the whole story with all the details from the other side. Then I can put two and two together to see what really happened.

M. Rashid, New Haven, CT

Required Reading

The Washington Report is the one publication that prints honest, unbiased information about the Middle East. Your publication should be required reading for all U.S. citizens. The news we receive via TV is short seconds of sound that do not convey the real issues. Thank you and your dedicated staff for creating such a vital publication.

Jean Kersting, Kirkwood, MO

Aid to Israel Not Publicized

The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs provided information on the cost of U.S. aid to Israel. I have not been able to find this information in any other publication. Thanks.

Stephen Martindell, Richardson, TX

Honoring Your Efforts

The Washington Report is objective, eye-opening, truthful and very informative. I honor your efforts for justice, love and peace. Please never give up! Expose the cover-up in the mainstream media, specifically the coverage about Israel.

Lee Dworjanyn, Aiken, SC

My Readers Enjoy You, Too

The Washington Report has kept me and the readership of my magazine (Ad-Dunya) well informed about political events both over here and in the Middle East. The information is incisive and well written. It is information one would never find in the Western media, which is controlled by the Zionist powers.

Shakir Abdul-Mateen, Rogers Heights, MD

99 Percent Agreement

I agree with you on 99 percent of what is printed in your magazine. You are the only source of accurate information on the Middle East in print in the United States. Keep up the good work!

A. M. Gilday, Albrightsville, PA

We’re a little curious about the other 1 percent