Much of the legislation is
supported by the Zionist Organisation of America (ZOA) a group which frequently acts as a
US front for pro-Likud, anti-peace policies. The legislation has been introduced by a
number of Senators and Congress people known for their anti-Arab and anti-peace process
positions.
[IMRA: Zogby doesn't name them and doesn't illustrate charge of their being anti-Arab.]
It was only one week ago that President Clinton announced his decision to delay any
action in moving the US Embassy in Israel. The administration made it clear that while it
was open to consideration of some form of compromise with Congress, it would not formally
move the embassy because to do so would damage the peace process and damage the US role in
the on-going negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
In response, some members of Congress are considering actions that would force the
administration to do their bidding. This is but one of the damaging efforts underway. A
few of the other proposed bills are:
- a resolution condemning the use by the Palestinians of UN General Assembly Resolution
181 (the "partition resolution");
- a resolution opposing the convening of a special session of the Fourth Geneva
Convention for the Protection of Civilians in Times of War, on the grounds that such a
session would "single out Israel" for blame; [IMRA: Surely it would.]
- a bill requiring the Clinton administration to link US aid to the Palestinians to the
Palestinian Authority's (PA) fulfilment of specific requirements, among them: opening
their books to an international audit and verification of their collection of weapons;
- a bill calling on the administration to tie US aid to the Palestinians to the PA's
"full cooperation in combating terrorist violence";
- a bill requiring the State Department to issue a report every six months detailing
progress made by the Palestinian Authority in "investigating and prosecuting
terrorist suspects involved in the murder of US citizens."
And this is not all. Pro-Likud US organisations have been waging an intense public
relations battle against the Palestinian Authority focusing on US citizens who have been
killed in terror attacks in Israel and the Occupied Territories.
The Clinton administration maintains that the Palestinian Authority is cooperating with
them in investigating these attacks. But some members of Congress are still seeking to
exploit this issue to embarrass the Palestinian Authority.
The pro-Likud groups ... initiated efforts designed to thwart the peace process. As
early as 1994 they were successful in creating congressional monitoring committees to
scrutinise and criticise the Palestinian Authority.
With the election of a hard-line Republican majority in November 1994 the Likud
campaign found an ally in Congress. Both groups were anti-Arab and shared an antagonistic
view of the Clinton administration. By focusing on emotional issues that resonate among
some in the Jewish community -- Jerusalem, anti-Palestinianism and terrorism -- these
groups were able to silence most critics in the mainstream Jewish organisations and get
"knee-jerk" support from many members of Congress conditioned to being anti-Arab
and pro-Israel.
Now with the Likud once again going into opposition, their US supporters have once
again intensified their efforts to harm the peace process, to embarrass the Labour-led
government in Israel and to bully the US administration and stymie its role in the peace
process.
What is most intriguing about all of this is that all of these legislative actions are
proceeding without the support or even the knowledge of the US public (or the majority of
the American Jewish community). It is a private and dirty war being waged by Likud and its
US supporters in the Congress against the Palestinians, the administration, the newly
elected government in Israel and peace. [IMRA: How can the bills and resolutions Zogby
lists proceed without U.S. public knowledge?]
A vigorous campaign to expose these destructive measures and to inform the US public
about the biased anti-peace role played by Congress would be an effective counter measure
against this private dirty war.
* The writer is president of the Washington-based Arab American Institute.
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