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International
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February 2002
U.S. Solidarity with Israel
On September 11th, 2001, America experienced horrific acts of terrorism and violence against its civilians by those who seek to further their political agenda. Israel, with its very long track record of supporting the United States, immediately announced its unequivocal support for the U.S.-led war against terrorism. In a strong expression of American support for Israel, a concurrent resolution was passed in the House and Senate expressing U.S. solidarity with Israel in this battle. The resolution expressed outrage at the ongoing Palestinian terrorist campaign which began in September 2000 and demanded that the Palestinian Authority immediately arrest and punish the terrorists and destroy the infrastructure of the Palestinian terrorist groups. The resolution also called on the Palestinian Authority to do away with the "revolving door" policy by keeping terrorists incarcerated or else turning them over to the government of Israel for prosecution. The resolution further demanded that unless the PA cracks down on terrorists, the U.S. will suspend all relations with Yassir Arafat and the PA. The IPA/OU applauded this initiative led by Reps. Henry Hyde (R-IL) and Tom Lantos (D-CA) in the House and by Senators Joe Biden (D-DE) and Jesse Helms (R-NC) in the Senate.
In a letter, the IPA/OU praised President George W. Bush's solidarity with Israel against terror, expressing our deepest appreciation for the President's strong support of the state of Israel in the face of renewed acts of Palestinian terrorism. We applauded the President's strong condemnation of the murderous attacks and thanked him for his staunch commitment to the safety and security of Israel. The OU/IPA also commended President Bush's Executive Order to freeze the assets of the U.S.-based Holy Land Foundation and two other groups that raise money to support Hamas, a measure that can help eliminate the funding for terrorism and the groups that support it. We call on other nations to adopt similar measures and to apply economic and political pressures so that the Palestinians and others will see that terror simply cannot serve to further their goals.
Palestinian Compliance to Peace Commitments
Following the horrific terrorist attacks that took place on September 11th in Washington, D.C. and New York City, the OU/IPA rededicated itself to the passage of MEPCA, the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2001, H.R. 1795, introduced by Representatives Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Ben Gilman (R-NY) and Tom Lantos (D-CA and as an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2002 Foreign Aid Appropriations Bill introduced by Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). These initiatives required the President to impose sanctions on the PLO and the Palestinian Authority if he determines that they have failed to comply with their commitments to renounce terrorism and end the violence. In a letter to colleagues, McConnell and Feinstein wrote, "The time has come for the United States to send a clear message to PLO Chairman Yassir Arafat that he must rein in Palestinians who commit such acts and end the violence which has caused so much suffering." Much of the language contained in these two important measures has been incorporated into this year's Foreign Aid Bill. In another initiative, Congressman Eric
Cantor (R-VA) introduced H.R. 3624, the Peace with Security Act, which would halt the distribution of American taxpayer money, directly or indirectly, to the Palestinian Authority or any of its agencies, because of the deliberate campaign of terror it is waging against Israel.
The IPA/OU has contacted members of Congress urging them to support this important bill and has requested all our member synagogues to contact their Representatives and urge them to support it as well. In light of the fact that so many Israeli and at least 22 American citizens have been killed in terrorist attacks since 1993, it is important that the United States send a clear message to Yassir Arafat and the PA that their failure to stop the terrorism and violence is going to be very costly to them. In the interests of American commitment to Israel's safety and security and to the battle against terrorism, we urge the American government to reassess its relationship with the Palestinians. The United States Administration has acknowledged the PA's responsibility in the smuggling of dangerous weapons to be used against Israel on the Karine-A. It is clear that the Palestinian Authority should not receive any further American financial assistance. To obtain more information, please call us at (212) 613-8123.
The United Nations and Israel
Recent activities in the United Nations have been cause for a great deal of alarm in the Jewish community. Last September, the World Conference Against Racism held in Durban, South Africa, which was to have dealt with the issue of racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination became a festival of hate and Israel bashing, because a group of countries succeeded in subverting it in order to pursue and inflame an anti-Israel agenda. The IPA/OU praised the decision of the United States and Israel to pull out of this conference in the face of the failure to remove blatantly anti-Israel and anti-Zionist resolutions. Unfortunately, these resolutions were passed through the efforts of those who undermined the battle against racism in order to further their own political and anti-Semitic aims. In the forefront of these invidious efforts were dictatorships like Iraq, Sudan, Syria and Libya, the worst violators of human rights. It is to the everlasting shame of the United Nations that a UN Conference Against Racism degenerated into a racist conference, and that the international body showed so little principle and integrity by allowing itself to be hijacked in the interests of hatred and racism. In the wake of Durban, hopes for ever achieving a genuine and lasting Middle East peace seemed more unlikely than ever.
In December 2001, the Durban debacle was followed by the convening of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention. The IPA/OU deplored the convening of the parties to this Convention, which was established after World War II to protect victims of war. In an obscene attempt to politicize the Convention, it was used to attack and embarrass Israel. The first attempt to politicize the Fourth Geneva Convention occurred in July 1999, in order to try to enforce the Convention to stop Israel from building in the "occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem." This past December, the agenda included alleged Israeli violations of the Convention and its treatment of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It is important to emphasize that the parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, which grew out of the horrors of Nazism, have never been convened in the entire 52 year period since the Convention was adopted in 1949, not even in the face of the most horrendous violations by any other countries, including the Soviet Union, Iraq, Cambodia or Bosnia.
Unfortunately, precedents have been created for the prejudiced application of the Geneva Convention which undermines any effectiveness that it could and should legitimately have.
The IPA/OU praised the Bush Administration for its decision not to attend the Durban meeting and was praised by Israeli UN Ambassador Yehuda Lancry for our vocal opposition to the convening of the Parties.
The IPA/OU applauded U.S. support for Israel's demand for the United Nations to turn over the videotape depicting the possible kidnappers of the three Israeli soldiers that were abducted in October 2000 on the Lebanese border. In July, U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the UN Cameron Hume told the United Nations Security Council that the tapes should be made public. The IPA/OU condemned the UN's refusal to turn over the tapes and its assertion that this would compromise UN neutrality in southern Lebanon as a capitulation to Hezbollah, a gross violation of the UN's mandate. This was particularly outrageous given the UN's special responsibility in this case, since Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon was in complete compliance with UN Resolution 425. The IPA/OU continues to call on the United Nations to live up to its responsibility as the world body that stands for humanitarian concerns and not to surrender to threats by terrorists groups such as Hezbollah. By being held hostage to their demands, UN integrity is seriously called into question.
Israeli Soldiers Missing in Action
In an ongoing effort to draw attention to the plight of the Israeli soldiers missing in action for more than nineteen years, the IPA/OU sponsored a "Shabbat of Remembrance" for the Israeli MIAs this past Shabbat Parashat Vayeshev. Special remembrance prayers and services were initiated in Orthodox synagogues throughout the country. The Shabbat sermons and divrei Torah addressed the issue of Pidyon Shevuyim, freeing the captives, and highlighted the plight of Sergeant Tzvi Feldman, Sergeant Zachary Baumel, Corporal Yehuda Katz, Israeli Air Force Navigator Ron Arad, Elchanan Tannenbaum and Guy Chever. Baumel, Feldman, and Katz were reported missing in action since June 11, 1982. Arad has been missing since 1986 after he was captured by an Iranian-backed group in Lebanon. Elchanan Tannenbaum, an Israeli businessman who holds the rank of Colonel in the IDF Reserves, was abducted on a business trip in Europe in October 2000 and is believed to be held by Hezbollah. Guy Chever, a soldier in the Israeli Army, disappeared in the Golan Heights on August 17th, 1997. He was last seen at his base and there has been no sign of him since. The IPA/OU continues to raise awareness of this important human rights issue amongst our members and elected officials at all levels. For more information and copies of sample letters that can be written to elected officials and members of the Administration, please call us at (212) 613-8123.
Temple Mount
The IPA/OU applauded Congressman Eric Cantor for the introduction of the Temple Mount Preservation Act, H.R. 2566, which calls for the cut-off of aid to the Palestinian Authority until their desecration of the Temple Mount and the continued illegal destruction there comes to an end. The IPA/OU expressed its horror at the attempt by the Palestinians to erase remnants of the Jewish presence on the Temple Mount, thereby denying the Jewish connection to Har HaBayit. Tons of dirt containing precious antique artifacts removed from the Temple Mount are now in great piles in Nachal Kidron, and there is an attempt by the Palestinians to build over those piles in a blatant attempt to eradicate Jewish history from Judaism's holiest site. This holy site, the holiest in the Jewish tradition, must be protected, not only for religious and theological purposes but for historical, cultural, and national reasons as well. Respect for religious sites around the world are in great danger, and the world witnessed the outrageous desecration of special sites holy to other religions as well by radical extremists. The IPA/OU has worked in cooperation with other religious groups to call for action against the intolerable and irrevocable damage to holy sites around the world. We strongly urge Israeli officials to act immediately to halt the destruction of Jewish heritage on Har HaBayit, our national treasure. We will continue to monitor events on the Temple Mount and to support the Temple Mount Preservation Act of 2001, H.R. 2566.
Renewal of Arab Boycott on Israel
In recent months, the Arab League announced that it decided to reactive the Arab economic boycott of Israel by "holding regular boycott conferences… with the aim of preventing dealing with Israel… to continue to stop all steps towards, and activity of, regional economic cooperation with Israel… to firmly challenge Israeli attempts to infiltrate the Arab world in any form, and from now on to stop opening relations with Israel." The Arab League's Central Office for the Boycott of Israel (OBI) is headquartered in Damascus and has stepped up its activities after recent years of relative quiet. The Arab boycott has over the years impaired Israel's economic growth, resulting in fewer exports and foreign investments. Despite the restrictions placed upon it, Israel has done far better economically than some of the countries that instituted the boycott as Israel grew into a technological power. However, increased boycott activity deals a blow to Israel's great efforts to reach peace with her Arab neighbors at the negotiating tables, while Arab countries and organizations continue to uphold the economic boycott as a method of economic warfare against the Jewish state. We will continue to monitor calls for boycotts against companies that do business with Israel and urge executives not to capitulate to the pressure of the Arab boycott.
Hasbarah Information and Media Monitoring
As a response to the need to increase efforts to disseminate information regarding the current crisis in Israel and the U.S.-led war on terrorism, the IPA/OU has distributed talking points and updated information to be used by synagogues, Jewish community leaders, students and teachers in order to provide background and perspective on current events. These materials can be used to aid in responses to media outlets, correspondence to elected officials, and to individuals in the workplace or any other venues where these issues might be discussed. Also available is an updated Media Monitoring Guide, complete with letter writing tips and an updated list of media outlets, including names, addresses, fax numbers and e-mail addresses of appropriate personnel to whom your correspondence should be directed. All who are in involved in Israel advocacy may make use of this information. Please call us at (212) 613-8123 to obtain these materials or log on to
www.ou.org.
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