Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, October/November 1997, Pages 60-61

Arab-American Activism

AAI Says Congressional Meddling Disrupts the Peace Process

The American Arab Institute (AAI) held a press conference on July 25 to discuss recent congressional resolutions endangering the peace process. AAI president Dr. James Zogby and news and defense editor Shawn Twing of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs said legislation now before Congress hurts Washington's image as an honest broker in the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

Zogby characterized pro-Israel language in the House concurrent resolution relating to the 30th Anniversary of the Reunification of the City of Jerusalem, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, and the Foreign Operations FY98 Appropriations Bill as "shocking, gratuitous, bizarre, and capable of sabotaging" the peace process.

Specifically, he pointed out that language in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act allowed Congress to "micromanage" diplomacy. Amendments would deny funding for official government documents not identifying Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and even prohibit official U.S. government business between U.S. officers and Palestinians in Jerusalem.

Zogby also called for immediate renewal of the Middle East Peace Facilitation Act (MEPFA). This crucial act, which subsequently expired Aug. 12 while Congress was in recess, allows the president to suspend anti-terrorism laws so that American diplomatic relations with and U.S. foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority can continue. While Congress closely monitors Palestinian compliance with Oslo and almost a dozen other Byzantine and one-sided requirements mandated by Congress itself, U.S. relations with and aid to Israel have no similar restraints. In fact, according to the Congressional Research Service, "There is no comparable section of U.S. law where Israeli commitments and compliance are monitored."

Twing focused on U.S. military aid for Israel, especially the purchase of Israeli military hardware which U.S. forces neither use nor request. "Over $214.1 million in weapons purchases is essentially extra foreign aid for Israel, in addition to the $3 billion package already approved," he said. In some cases, he pointed out, Congress forces the armed forces to buy weapons from Israel which U.S. manufacturers also produce, costing U.S. jobs.

Zogby concluded the press conference by urging Congress to renew MEPFA and stop destroying the credibility of the U.S. as an honest broker by passing bills with unbalanced language.

—John Vandenberg

NAAA Hosts Speaker of Egyptian People's Assembly

The National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA) hosted Dr. Ahmed Fathy Sorour for a July 8 briefing on Egyptian-American relations and Egypt's view of the ongoing Arab-Israeli peace process. Sorour, a former academic, lawyer, human rights activist and diplomat, currently serves as speaker of the Egyptian People's Assembly and is president of Egypt's Inter-Parliamentary Council. He spoke at length about current events in the Middle East, focusing on recent congressional criticism of Egypt and threats to withhold aid because of Egypt's increasingly vocal role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

"Egypt is a pioneer of peace in the region," Sorour began, and is "bound by international law to make a fair and lasting peace." Recent criticism of Egypt from members of the U.S. Congress, accompanied by threats to reconsider and even withhold U.S. aid to Egypt, do not take into consideration the primary role Egypt has played in Arab-Israeli peace, according to the Egyptian speaker. "The U.S. seems to lean toward Israel even when Israeli actions undermine the peace process," he said, in reference to recent actions by Israel's Likud government led by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Sorour also spoke about congressional legislation supporting Israel's claim to Jerusalem as the sovereign, undivided capital of Israel. "It is possible that Congress isn't fully informed about the importance of Jerusalem to Palestine and other Islamic countries," he said. It would be a serious mistake to underestimate that importance, he continued, and recognizing Israel's claim to all of Jerusalem will not help advance the peace process. [That legislation eventually became a "sense of the Senate" resolution that passed by an overwhelming margin.]

Concluding his remarks before a crowd of distinguished journalists, academics and diplomats, Sorour reminded those in attendance that U.S. officials should not forget that the U.S.-Egyptian relationship is not a one-way street. Aside from Egypt's role as a staunch American ally in the region, "Egypt's imports from the United States account for some 60,000 American jobs," he said.

—Shawn L. Twing

Washington ADC Joins Worldwide Campaign to End Sanctions Against Iraqi People

On June 30, members of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee-Washington, DC. Chapter (ADC-DC) held a teach-in to end the international blockade against Iraq. The teach-in was part of a campaign by the International Action Center and other humanitarian organizations conducted in over 16 countries worldwide.

Khaled Elgindy, ADC-DC president and Jamal Abou-Ali, ADC-DC legal officer, stated that "although the U.S. media portrayed pinpoint accuracy bombing, over a billion dollars worth of damage was caused by the war. Ever since, civilians have faced disease, malnutrition and, in places, outright starvation." Although humanitarian imports are allowed by U.N. Security Resolutions 661 and 667, the resolutions are narrowly interpreted, they said, meaning that hospital beds, medical books, and even pencils are considered "non-essential" and not allowed to enter the country.

According to Abou-Ali, international law proscribes blockades such as the one against Iraq. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, U.N. General Assembly Resolution 44/215, and the Geneva Conventions (1977) specifically prohibit starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, he said.

Both speakers cited U.N. reports documenting over one million Iraqi civilian deaths since the Gulf war, half of which were children under the age of five. In 1996 UNICEF reported that 4,500 children die each month. The film, "The Children are Dying," narrated by former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, graphically depicted the daily fight for survival by Iraqis when basic medicine, sufficient food, and clean drinking water are almost unavailable.

Elgindy closed by urging all of the more than 30 attendees to contact their congresspersons to help end the blockade. "The field is open for a grassroots effort to end the sanctions," said Elgindy. "This policy is being led by think tanks, not constituencies."

For more information, contact the International Action Center at (212) 633-6646, e-mail iacenter@iacenter.org or the Iraq Action Coalition at http://iac@lebnet

ADC President Responds to Albright Speech

After an Aug. 6 teleconference call placed to eight Arab American leaders by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, one day after Albright's Middle East policy speech at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, one of those leaders, president Hala Maksoud of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) wrote an open letter in response.

Maksoud welcomed reiteration by the Clinton administration of its commitment to U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and to the principle of exchanging land for peace.

"We would also like to reiterate that any lasting peace should translate into a clear outcome for the Palestinians—an outcome which incorporates Palestinian rights and aspirations in Jerusalem," Maksoud wrote. "While Secretary Albright's speech strongly emphasized that peace cannot come without security, it failed to point out that security, in turn, cannot be ensured in a climate of distrust wherein the fruits of peace for the Palestinians remain political slogans rather than tangible realities. The Palestinians, too, must feel they have a stake in peace before any progress can be achieved."

Noting Albright's use of the phrase "there is no moral equivalency between suicide bombers and bulldozers," Maksoud wrote, "building settlements on occupied land has an historical impact by radically changing the demographic realities on the ground so as to pre-empt the outcome of any future negotiations. As pointed out by U.S. allies and friends in the region, such illegal actions only serve to foster a climate of conflict rather than goodwill."

Maksoud also expressed concern about an apparent shift in U.S. policy toward the illegality of Israeli settlements. In response to Albright's argument that "both sides...must do more than ask whether an action is technically legal," Maksoud said: "It has been long-standing U.S. policy that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. This was strongly reaffirmed by the international community when it recently voted overwhelmingly in favor of denouncing Israeli settlement activity in Jabal Abu Ghneim. Is the United States straying from this policy?"

Concluding, Maksoud welcomed continued U.S. commitment to promoting Middle East peace and urged the Clinton administration to intensify its efforts to ensure that it is a just, comprehensive and lasting peace.

—R.H. Curtiss