Focus on Arabs and Islam

Officials of Arab American organizations and persons with first-hand Middle East experience were in demand for op/ed articles and radio and television talk shows as the media tried to keep abreast of breaking events in October. Some found themselves paired with "terrorism experts" who spoke as if outbreaks of violence in the Middle East were random events with no discernible political cause or solution, or other "Middle East experts" who seemed familiar with only one country there. Many, however, found opportunities to speak on the history and complexities of the Arab-Israel problem to audiences that normally would not have been interested or available.

The tragic aftermath of one such television appearance by American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) Southern California coordinator Alex Odeh, however, was his murder the next morning by a bomb triggered to explode when he opened the door of his office in Santa Ana, California.

His death, the first murder in the U.S. directly attributed to the Palestinian-Israeli problem since the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy in 1968, sent shock waves through the Arab American community. A number of memorial services were held for the Palestinian-born U.S. citizen in various parts of the United States including one in Washington, D.C., jointly sponsored with the ADC by a number of Arab-American and advocacy groups. The 400 persons attending the Washington service heard statements by President Reagan and various members of Congress deploring the murder. Protestant, Catholic, Muslim and Jewish speakers called for solution of the political causes of Middle East violence and a collection was taken to assist Mr. Odeh's widow and three daughters. (Details on how to contribute are contained in the Washington Report profile of Mr. Odeh on p. 16.)

The Middle East Institute and Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies sponsored one of two appearances in the national capital area of Jerusalem Post Editor Meir Merhav. Mr. Merhav has toured the U.S. under sponsorship of the American Israel Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace and the New Jewish Agenda explaining why, as an Israeli, he believes Israel must negotiate peace with the PLO. He told his audiences that only the PLO can "deliver" the Palestinian share of compromises both Israelis and Palestinians must make for peace. An agreement negotiated with other Palestinians would therefore, "not be worth the paper upon which it is written," Mr. Merhav said.

Middle East activists in Washington have for some time been talking about the case of a high-ranking career CIA official who was discharged in 1984 on suspicion of making available to Israel extremely sensitive classified information. After weeks of silence from the Washington press corps, the Washington Times on Oct. 24 broke a version of the story so cautious that it did not make clear to whom the closely held information was passed.

The reason for the media reluctance to carry the story seems to have little to do with the discharged CIA official himself, and a great deal to do with former CIA General Counsel Stanley Sporkin, who has been nominated to a federal judgeship on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

A number of freedom of information cases concerning Israel and Middle East affairs are pending before that court. They include a joint request from author Michael Saba and the National Association of Arab Americans for Justice Department documents. Mr. Saba has pursued the investigation since the publication of his book, The Armageddon Network, which describes his own experiences with what he alleges is a conspiracy to place dependable friends of Israel in sensitive Department of Defense, State, Commerce and other key positions dealing with U.S. Middle East policies.

Senators considering the nomination are expected to question Mr. Sporkin on his handling of the CIA investigation, including allegations that Mr. Sporkin advised the CIA official to get a lawyer, and recommended an attorney who would handle the case at no charge. Mr. Sporkin, who is also a former enforcement chief at the Securities and Exchange Commission, denies the latter allegation.

—Richard Curtiss

Focus on Israel and Jews

While mourning the death of Leon Klinghoffer, the 69-year-old American Jewish tourist killed when four Palestinian gunmen hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro, American supporters of Israel agree that the hijacking and the U.S. interception of the Egyptian jet carrying the four gunmen also produced extraordinarily positive results for Israel. Israeli-American relations have strengthened and the Jewish press is congratulating President Reagan for "acting instead of just talking tough." Allegations that Yassir Arafat is associated with Mohammed Abbas, whom the U.S. and Israel have accused of "masterminding" the hijacking, have damaged his reputation in both the U.S. and Europe and probably influenced the decision by the United Nations not to invite him to address a special session marking the organization's fortieth anniversary.

The Washington Jewish Week, however, also expressed concern about the negative repercussions the hijacking and its aftermath may have for America's relations with Egypt, stating that any criticism of Egyptian President Mubarak "must be tempered by the recognition that a weakened Mubarak, distrustful of the United States, is not in America's or Israel's interest—short or long term." If Egypt should turn towards the Arabs and away from Israel and America, King Hussein, the Jewish Week argues, will be less likely to make peace with Israel. Hussein has been praised widely for his commitment to U.N. Resolution 242 and a "negotiated settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict," although the Jewish press and most of Israel's supporters in Congress remain adamantly opposed to the Administration's proposed arms sale to Jordan until it begins direct negotiations with Israel.

Rabbi Meir Kahane, who has continued to cause controversy in Israel, is back in the news in the U.S. The State Department recently revoked his American citizenship because of Kahane's election to the Israeli Knesset last year. Kahane was, however, permitted to enter the U.S. last week for a two-week speaking tour, appearing at the Baltimore synagogue where he accused Jewish leaders in Israel and the U.S. of being "the real fascists." (Protesters from two small Jewish groups, New Jewish Agenda and Baltimore Area Jews for an Israeli-Palestinian Peace, while demonstrating against Kahane outside the synagogue, had referred to Kahane as a "fascist.")

The Jewish Defense League (JDL), which Kahane helped establish in the U.S., has also been getting some publicity. After Alex Odeh, a Palestinian-American and a regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), was killed by a bomb at his California office, JDL leader Irv Ruben denied any JDL role in the murder but said he had "no tears for Odeh, who had gotten what he deserved." At the same time, Burton Levinson, a chairman of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, termed the bombing "domestic terrorism which cannot be tolerated." Two presidents from the American Jewish Congress (AJC) issued a statement saying that "no political disagreement justifies attacks on those engaged in peaceful and lawful pursuits."

—Andrea Barron

Andrea Barron, a PhD Candidate in International Relations at the American University in Washington, D.C., is active in Washington Area Jews for an Israeli-Palestinian Peace and writes frequently about the Middle East.