September 1990, Page 61

Arab-American Activism

By Catherine M. Willford

ADC Demands Action in Odeh Case

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is urging the State and Justice Departments to increase pressure on the Israeli government to arrest and extradite Jewish Defense League (JDL) member Robert Manning, suspected of setting the bomb which killed ADC regional director Alex Odeh in Santa Ana, CA in 1985. Although the Justice Department has requested Manning's extradition in connection with another bombing, lack of Israeli cooperation has paralyzed the case in recent years.

Manning and two suspected accomplices, Andy Green and Keith Fuchs, currently reside in the Israeli West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba. Israeli authorities say they are prevented from making an arrest because the U.S. extradition request specified that Manning not be arrested in the West Bank, as the U.S. does not recognize Israeli authority over the occupied territories.

According to a recent ABC News report, the Israelis are using the Manning case to force the U.S. into setting a precedent that would recognize Israeli authority in the West Bank. However, if Manning, an Israeli Defense Forces reservist, were assigned to a military base inside Israeli territory he could be arrested without raising questions of Israeli sovereignty.

Success Reported in Lebanon Aid

The National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA) has announced the passage of an amendment to the FY 1991 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which earmarked $7.5 million in assistance for Lebanon. NAAA had been engaged in intensive lobbying efforts in support of the amendment, proposed by Representative Mary Rose Oakar (D-OH). "Although the Lebanese people have repeatedly rebuilt their country only to see it destroyed again, they are still determined to rebuild once more," stated NAAA Executive Director Jawad George. "This U.S. assistance will help them in their diligent efforts."

Ramallah Delegation Meets with State Department Officials

Members of the American Federation of Ramallah, Palestine, the largest Palestinian-American organization in the United States, recently met with U.S. State Department officials. The delegation urged that dialogue between the U.S. and the PLO be resumed immediately, that the U.S. administration announce its support for the reopening of the six universities of the West Bank and Gaza, and that the administration continue its opposition to illegal settlements in the occupied territories. Federation President Dr. Anis Aijluni noted that under the Bush administration there has been an openness of thought and behavior which was "unimaginable" under the Reagan administration.

ADC Delegation Visits USSR

ADC recently sponsored a six-person delegation to the USSR to study Soviet Jewish emigration and to inform people of the potentially explosive effects such large-scale emigration would have on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ADC President Abdeen Jabara stated that, "Soviet Jews are being used as cannon fodder by the Israeli government to help in its expansionist goals."

The delegation met with academics, journalists and political activists, the vice president of the central synagogue in Moscow, a number of Jewish intellectuals and organizations based in Kiev and Moscow, members of the Oriental Institute, the Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee and Gennali Tarasov, the Soviet Foreign Ministry's roving ambassador in the Middle East.

The delegates noted that Soviet emigration to Israel was not a phenomenon based on ideology or strong pro-Israel sentiments. The American visitors returned convinced that there was an acute need to counter misinformation by Israeli envoys about the true nature of life in Israel and of Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation. The delegation recommended: establishment of a joint committee of Soviets and Arab-Americans to promote better communication and information: the organization of a delegation of Arab and Arab-American business people and marketing and economic experts to explore possible joint ventures with the Soviets; and application of pressure on the U.S. and other Western governments to admit Soviet Jews who do not wish to move to Israel.

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