Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, July 1992, pages 62-63

Arab-American Activism

By Catherine M. Willford

ADC: Israeli Death Squad Activity Cause for Halt in U.S. Aid

The Palestine Human Rights Information Center (PHRIC) in Jerusalem and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) held a joint press conference in Washington, DC on May 26 to release the PHRIC report "Targeting to Kill: Israel's Undercover Units." The report described operations by Israeli military and paramilitary death squads against the Palestinian population throughout the West Bank and Gaza.

To document the Israeli government's policy of summary executions of unarmed Palestinians, the report analyzed 29 such deaths in the past four years. The PHRIC, an independent, non-governmental organization which monitors human rights violations in the occupied territories and Israel, is frequently cited by international news media and Amnesty International.

Most of the Palestinians killed by Israeli undercover units were unarmed. Some clearly were identified from photographs and others seemed to have been killed for engaging in nonviolent protest, such as writing graffiti. The report cited the broadness of Israeli open-fire regulations, the suppression of autopsy reports, the lack of investigation into or accountability of undercover units, the failure to prosecute cases of excessive force, and the anonymity of undercover soldiers as evidence of an official policy of summary executions. "These killings amount to de facto capital punishment without any formal charges, trial or judicial process," in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the PHRIC report stated.

Calling the report a chronicle of "the most outrageous behavior yet exhibited by the Israeli government in its covert action to assassinate unsuspecting and unarmed Palestinians, most of whom are teenagers or young men in their twenties," ADC President Albert Mokhiber said that his organization would be meeting with U.S. representatives and administration officials, including James Bishop, assistant secretary of state for human rights, to deliver copies of the report and "impress on them the need for urgent action, including the suspension of all aid to Israel."

For a copy of the report contact PHIRC at 4753 North Broadway, Suite 990, Chicago IL 60640 or call (312) 271-4492.

Arab Americans Mobilize After L.A. Riots

Several Arab-American organizations in the metropolitan Los Angeles area have joined to aid the community in the aftermath of the riots that followed the controversial verdict in the Rodney King trial. Riot losses to Arab-American businesses and professionals have been estimated at about $15 million, including the destruction of shopping and medical centers, liquor stores, markets and gas stations.

The Arab-American Press Guild organized an emergency meeting May 11 at the Arab Community Center, attended by representatives of the Arab-American Lawyers Association, several medical organizations, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA), and civic officials.

Members of the Arab-American Lawyers Association volunteered at legal aid centers throughout the city to assist the community at large with filing insurance claims. The riots affected Arab-American-owned businesses in Hollywood, northern San Fernando Valley and some neighborhoods in central Los Angeles. According to Joseph Haiek, Arab-American Press Guild president, Arab Americans "did not feel in any way singled out for destruction, no one felt there was anti-Arab sentiment involved."

AAI President Addresses DNC National Platform Committee

Arab American Institute (AAI) President James J. Zogby testified before Democratic Party leaders at the National Platform Committee meeting on May 18 in Cleveland. Stating that past party platforms had reduced the Arab world to "a stepchild of our politics," Zogby called on the Democratic leadership to "send a message to all Americans, and to Israelis and Palestinians alike, that Democrats are ready to lead, and to lead with fairness."

Noting that Arab Americans are "not a single-issue constituency," Zogby stressed that the community needs to be involved in discussions of urban challenges such as the deterioration of ethnic neighborhoods and risks to inner city small business owners.

The AAI president called for a "new Americans movement," in which the Democratic Party would reach out to the new immigrant groups from Africa, the Arab world, Asia and the Americas to "expand our base, solidify our strength in major urban centers, and stem the erosion of our support in suburban areas."

ATFL Asks Congress for Aid to Lebanon

The testimony of Thomas A. Nassif, chairman of the American Task Force for Lebanon (ATFL), was presented by Executive Director Tanya Rahall before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations in May. Looking "beyond disaster relief and dreaming about the long-awaited reconstruction," the report spoke optimistically of improved security and anticipated development.

ATFL proposed that the U.S. foreign aid package to Lebanon be sizable enough to demonstrate both to other foreign donors and to Lebanese expatriates that the U.S. has confidence in Lebanon's future. Noting that conservative estimates place the amount of Lebanese capital held abroad at $30 billion, and that its repatriation is indispensable to Lebanon's redevelopment, ATFL requested $100 million in U.S. aid to Lebanon in fiscal year 1993.

The Lebanese-American organization suggested that U.S. assistance foster Lebanese reconstruction through vocational training. With disbanding of the militias, tens of thousands of young Lebanese now are unemployed. Vocational training would fit them for jobs which will open up in the construction industry as Lebanon rebuilds its infrastructure, the testimony stated. Follow-up programs in small-scale development could help those completing vocational training programs to set up small businesses.

Noting that a strong Lebanese army is essential to the withdrawal of Israeli and Syrian forces from Lebanon, ATFL supported Bush administration and State Department policy to continue funding for training Lebanese soldiers in the United States.

Palestine Aid Society Walkathon Biggest Ever

The Fourth Annual Palestine Aid Society Walkathon was held simultaneously in 18 cities throughout the United States and Canada on Saturday, June 6. Event organizers noted that more cities were involved than ever before. The march, which benefits health facilities, family support projects and vocational training centers in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon, raised more than $75,000 in pledges, making this the most successful march yet.

The largest turnouts were reported in Toronto, New York City and San Francisco, with $10,000 raised by more than 200 walkers in each city. Other cities included Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Montreal and Washington, D.C. Speakers from ethnic, religious, civil rights and peace and justice organizations spoke at follow-up rallies, calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel so that funds could be spent on "things relevant to people's lives—education, health care and job training," according to Palestine Aid Society National President Anan Ameri.

American Red Cross Honors Red Crescent Official

On June 1 in Washington, D.C., the 1992 International Humanitarian Service Award of the American Red Cross was presented to Dr. Mohammed Al-Hadid, vice president of the Jordan National Red Crescent Society and director of relief operations. Dr. Al-Hadid was honored for his work on behalf of refugees in Jordan and nationals detained in Iraq during the Gulf crisis.

In September and October of 1990, Dr. Al-Hadid led a massive Jordanian Red Crescent assistance effort to provide food and shelter to foreign nationals as they fled Kuwait and Iraq, as well as delivery of food and medicine to foreigners detained in Iraq. He also organized aid to Jordanian returnees and evacuation of the dead and injured.

"Dr. Al-Hadid was the catalyst who allowed representatives of the American Red Cross and other Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to visit and provide psychological comfort to their nationals detained during the pre-war period," said Elizabeth Dole, president of the American Red Cross. "His caring and concern for all victims of the Gulf crisis were boundless."

Middle East Institute Conference

A June 3-5 Washington, DC conference looked back 25 years at the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war, in which Israel seized Palestine's West Bank and Gaza Strip, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and Syria's Golan Heights. Sponsored by the Middle East Institute, whose president is retired Ambassador Robert V. Keeley, and the brainchild of retired Ambassador Richard Parker, the conference featured panelists who were in key positions in 1967. Among them were former Israeli Mossad chief Gen. Meir Amit, the former CIA director, Ambassador Richard Helms, and Ambassador Lucius Battle, former State Department assistant secretary for Near East and South Asia Affairs.

An invited audience of journalists, scholars and diplomats questioned members of panels considering the origins of the war, and the responses of Israel, Egypt, other Arab states, the United States and the United Nations. There was spirited debate over U.N. Secretary General U Thant's decision to withdraw, at Egypt's request, all U.N. forces from Sinai.

The conference's final session, on the 25th anniversary of Israel's devastating June 5 air attack on Egypt, focused on whether the war resulted from a conspiracy, the lessons learned, and the questions still unanswered.

Palestinian Conference

The Washington-based Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine held its first annual conference on June 5 in Washington, DC on "The United States and the Arab-Israeli Conflict." Speakers included center Chairman Dr. Hisham Sharabi, center Director Dr. Muhammad Hallaj, Dr. Yigal Arens (son of the late lawyer-professor Dr. Richard Arens), Jordanian journalist Rami Khoury, Jordanian Ambassador to the United Nations and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Adnan Abu Odeh, RAND Corporation and former CIA Middle East analyst Graham Fuller, former congressman and Council for the National Interest Executive Director David Bowen and international lawyer Dr. Rita Hauser.

The large audience heard in-depth discussions on "The Perils of Prolonged Occupation" and "The Middle East and the U.S." Luncheon speaker Abu Odeh discussed "The Middle East in a Changing World."

MEI Hosts Conference on Islamism

The Middle East Institute held a conference on "Islamism: A Critical Reading" on June 9 at the Washington, DC campus of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. The first panel, consisting of John Esposito of the College of Holy Cross, Serif Mardin of American University and Sherifa Zuhur of Indiana State University, spoke on the "Text and Context of Political Islam" and discussed varied perceptions of Islamism and analytical approaches to the study of Islamic movements.

A second panel dealt with "Places and Cases of Political Islam," with Tamara Sonn of St. John Fisher College, Khalid Duran of the Free University of Berlin and Paul Goble from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace examining recent developments in the Sudan, North Africa and Central Asia respectively. In addition to the presentations and question-and-answer sessions, the Middle East Institute also announced an August release date for a collection of interviews conducted by the institute with prominent Middle Eastern Muslim scholars and leaders.

Catherine M. Willford is the circulation director of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

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