October 1989, Page 28

Arab-American Activism

By Catherine M. Willford

Palestinian Relief Organization Included for First Time in Annual Federal Employee Charity Drive

United Palestinian Appeal, Inc. (UPA), a Palestinian charity based in Washington, DC, has been accepted for participation in the 1989 Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), the only charitable solicitation of federal employees permitted in US government offices, and the nation's largest charity drive. Federal employees may make undesignated donations which are divided according to pre-agreed formulas, or they may designate specific approved organizations to receive their personal donations.

UPA is a non-politicial, non-profit, humanitarian organization which funds projects in health care, education and community services in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and in refugee camps in Lebanon. Since it is the first and only Palestinian charity to be accepted for the CFC, the action is a milestone in American humanitarian support for Palestinians.

The CFC, which federal employees are under considerable pressure to support generously, raised $160 million dollars in 1988. "We are very pleased," said UPA Executive Director Tariq Abu-Jaber. "United Palestinian Appeal's inclusion in the CFC will provide a welcome option for many federal employees for whom Palestinian humanitarian issues are an important concern."

Arab-Americans Outraged by Murder of Palestinian-American Youth

Responding to the recent murder in the West Bank of 14-year-old Amjad Hussein Jibril, Arab-American groups called on the State Department to monitor the Israeli investigation of the youth's death. The teenager, who was born in Denver and raised in Miami, disappeared after attending prayers at the mosque in the West Bank town of El-Bireh. Witnesses claim to have seen him in an Israeli military jeep. His tortured body was found two days later. Two other Palestinian-American youths, friends of the murdered Jibril, were also reportedly being held by Israeli authorities.

In a letter to Secretary of State James Baker, Executive Director Jawad George of the National Association of Arab-Americans (NAAA) asked that the US immediately secure from Israel an accounting of the army's culpability in the murder of Jibril, and information on the status of the other missing youths. "If Arab-Americans now have become to objects of state-administered terrorism in Israel, where next will Israel's irrational behavior lead?" asked George.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) called upon the State Department to establish a reward leading to the arrest and conviction of Jibril's killers, should there be reasonable basis to believe that the youth's murder was politically motivated. Such rewards have been offered in other recent cases involving American victims of terrorism. Calling attention to a pattern of escalating violence towards Palestinian-Americans, ADC President Abdeen Jabara warned that they are being subjected to death, detention and bodily harm. "We look to the State Department to secure the rights of Arab-Americans who choose to visit or reside in their ancestral homeland, free from either vigilante or officially sanctioned acts of terror," said Jabara.

ALC Holds Inaugural Meeting

The Arab American Leadership Council (ALC), which was founded under the auspices of the Arab American Institute (AAI) scheduled its inaugural meeting the weekend of Sept. 30 in Crystal City, VA. The two-day session, titled "Politics of the '90s," included panels on campaign trends creative diplomacy on the local level and a forum for Arab-American candidates. Senators Charles Robb (D-VA) and John Warner (R-VA) accepted invitations to attend the Saturday night hafli sponsored by the Virginia Arab-American Democratic and Republican Clubs.

NAAA Sends Peace Appeal to Lebanese Leaders

NAAA released an open letter to Maronite Christian leader Michel Aoun and Sunni Muslim leader Selim al-Hoss, appealing to them to use their best efforts to end the destruction of Lebanon. "The Arab-American community is uniquely positioned to help facilitate an appropriate US policy, free as we are from allegiance to any side of the conflict but bound by our Arab heritage to a deep and abiding concern for Lebanon," NAAA's president, retired US Army Col. Alfred Shehab said. He requested that the US administration lead a concerted international effort to reduce the flow of weapons to the various factions in Lebanon and support an international peace conference. Shehab called it essential that "the United States visibly demonstrate its deep concern for Lebanon through delivery of humanitarian aid to Lebanon on a scale sufficient to leave no doubt as to American intentions."

ADC Confronts CBS Over News Magazine Story

ADC met with officials of the Colombia Broadcasting System (CBS) in New York to discuss "The Palestinians: Dirty Business" which aired in May on the CBS news magazine program "West 57th Street."

The segment alleged that a network of Palestinian-American shop owners, individuals connected to the West Bank community of Deir Dibwan, and officials of the Palestine Arab Fund were using illegally obtained US funds to support political actions and "terror" in the Middle East.

CBS agreed to the meeting after receiving hundreds of letters and phone calls from ADC members. Faris Bouhafa, ADC director of media relations, expressed the concern of Arab-Americans over the negative stereotypes portrayed in the segment. He also suggested stories with a Palestinian slant that CBS might cover in the future that would better represent the experiences of Palestinian-Americans. The possibility of producing a story on the investigation of the murder of Alex Odeh, the ADC official killed by a terrorist bomb, seemed to interest the CBS officials. According to Bouhafa, "I think our ideas were taken seriously and CBS was genuinely interested in what he had to say."

AAI Report: Israeli Involvement in Colombian Paramilitary Training

The Arab American Institute has issued a report authored by AAI research fellow Jane Hunter which challenges Israeli assertions that it had no knowledge of its citizens involvement in training drug gangs responsible for widespread violence in Colombia. Entitled "The Israeli Connection: Israeli Involvement in Paramilitary Training in Colombia," the report links Israel's Defense Ministry to so-called "mercenaries" who assisted drug cartels in South and Central America and suggests that the Israeli government may have cultivated ties with drug lords in the expectation that they would prove reliable customers for Israel's defense industry.

Commenting on Israel's "long and notorious involvement in Latin American affairs," AAI Executive Director James Zogby stated, "Israel's support for right-wing and violent paramilitary groups is a matter of public record and its involvement in Colombia must be seen in the context of the record." For a copy of the report contact the Arab American Institute, 918 16th Street, NW, Suite 501, Washington, DC 20006.

Catherine Willford, circulation director for the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, is a free-lance journalist.