UNDOING PEACE

Washington Watch

July 2, 2001

Dr. James J. Zogby ©

President

Arab American Institute

Pro-Israel groups in the United States have launched an aggressive legislative and propaganda effort to complement the anti-peace politics of the Sharon government. During the past few months they have succeeded in pressing their allies in Congress to introduce a number of resolutions designed to punish the Palestinians and strain U.S. ties with a number of Arab countries.

While these efforts have not been totally successful, they have done significant damage. The sheer number of bills introduced, and the fact that they have steered the Congress in a negative anti-Arab direction, has resulted in reestablishing a pre-peace antagonistic mindset to the Middle East debate.

The effort to stop U.S. aid to Lebanon is a case in point. Supporters of Israel introduced legislation designed to block the already paltry U.S. assistance to that much beleaguered country. The arguments they used against Lebanon ran the gamut from opposition to aiding Hizbullah and Syria to claims that the Lebanese government disqualifies itself from assistance because it has failed to honor its agreements with the United Nations (and Israel).

To its credit the Bush Administration came out in strong opposition to the anti-Lebanon bill. A concerted and coordinated lobbying effort, which brought together the Embassy and a number of Arab American organizations, resulted in almost defeating the legislation. It won by a mere six-vote margin, 216-210. But even this close result only came after pro-Israel groups made a full-court press leading 17 members to switch their votes at the last minute.

Faced with a less than certain future in the Senate, the bill’s sponsors are now proposing a compromise amendment that would ban U.S. aid to any Lebanese village “controlled by Hizbullah.”

The State Department opposes this too and so it may well fail. But part of this exercise has not been to pass a law, but to poison the U.S.-Lebanon relationship and steer the congressional discourse in an anti-Lebanon pro-Israel direction.

The same has been true in the discussion of U.S. aid to Egypt. In the weeks before President Mubarak’s visit to the United States, pro-Israel lobbyists and their supporters in Congress worked overtime to propagandize against Egypt. Their principle target they claimed was Egypt’s “incitement against Israel” and Egypt’s role as an obstacle to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. They produced newspaper ads, brochures and organized press conferences all focused on denouncing Egypt.

In response, the Egyptian government smartly invited Arab Americans and American Jews to host a “peace luncheon” with President Mubarak. That event also provided the Jewish leaders with an opportunity to raise their questions with the President. He answered each and every one and, to some degree, helped to clear the air regarding several misgivings that had been prompted by the anti-Egypt campaign. The Egyptians also produced a booklet of their own detailing Israel’s anti-Arab incitement. It was effective, but its distribution was too limited.

Undeterred, some members of Congress have begun a push to end Egypt’s military aid from the United States, claiming that Egypt has no enemies. They seek to replace it with economic aid—which would be phased out after a period of time.

The major push in Congress, of course, is focused on delegitimizing and punishing the Palestinians. One bill calls on the United States to not only suspend all assistance to the Palestinians, it would also close down the Palestinian office in Washington, make members of the PLO ineligible for U.S. visas and place PLO groups on the United States’ “terrorism list.”

According to this legislation, the President would have to certify every six months that the Palestinian Authority is living up to its peace commitments or else the sanctions would take effect.

In recent days a compromise of sorts was worked out on this issue. The requirements of the bill have been toned down and the sanctions reduced. In addition a waiver provision has been added which allows the President to dismiss the entire effort if he deems that it is “in the national security interests of the United States” that he do so.

So even if the new anti-Palestinian provision passes, the President, following the precedent of the past Administration, would most probably use his waiver prerogative. Nevertheless, as a result of the ongoing debate, damage has been done.

All of these bills have either been watered down or compromised because of White House opposition. But with Congress engaged almost weekly in one anti-Arab campaign after another, the overall U.S.-Arab relationship has been strained.

It is true that some members of Congress did stand up and oppose these hostile campaigns and Arab Americans have been responding energetically to all of this anti-Arab propaganda. But for most members of Congress this entire effort has been a reminder that the Middle East is an area they would prefer to avoid—and, if they have to vote, to take the path of least resistance. The net effect of the past few months has been to see the halls of Congress overwhelmed by anti-Arab initiatives and rhetoric.

If the strategy of the pro-Israel groups has been to recreate the pre-peace equation of Israel and the United States versus “the Arabs,” then they can probably claim some success.

As the Arab American Institute noted in a release it issued one week ago, “while U.S. diplomats are working to promote peace in the Middle East, some members of Congress seek to endanger it.” The release then went on to give a “congressional list of

shame”—noting those members of Congress who were sponsoring the anti-Arab campaign.

These are different times and will probably become more difficult. We are facing a full plate of challenges, fighting as best we can. What is worth noting is that while this hostile assault on several Arab countries and the U.S.-Arab relationship is underway, some major U.S. Jewish organizations have issued attacks against Arab Americans accusing the community of being “anti-peace.” The frequency and intensity of these attacks can not be taken lightly. It appears that after Lebanon, Egypt and the Palestinians, we may become the next target in this continuing effort to undo the last remnants of the 1990s peace process.

We will, of course, challenge this characterization and fight back. We have allies and we will work with them to secure our position and to restore a positive dynamic in the U.S.-Arab relationship. For comments or information, contact <jzogby@aaiusa.org> or <aai@aaiusa.org>.