International Briefs
June 1998
by Betty Ehrenberg, Director
International Affairs and Communal Relations
In letters to Congress and the Administration, the IPA/OU expressed the view that pressure on Israel in the peace negotiations is unproductive and contrary to promises made by the United States to Israel that she alone will be the determinant of her security needs and that the United States should remain a facilitator and mediator.
The IPA issued a statement on behalf of seven Orthodox Jewish organizations including AMIT, Emunah, National Council of Young Israel, Poale Agudath Israel, the Rabbinical Council of America, the Religious Zionists of America and the Orthodox Union, emphasizing the importance of United States support for Israel and stating that the Administration should not exert undue pressure on Israel to concede to conditions she views unacceptable and as a threat to her security.
Pressure on Israel in the peace negotiations prejudices the peace negotiations and deprives the Palestinians with the incentive to comply with their agreements in the Oslo Accords to combat terrorism and violence and cease incitement. A copy of the joint statement by the organizations is enclosed.
A letter was sent by OU President
Mandell I. Ganchrow, MD to Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) thanking him for the staunch and
unwavering friendship and support for Israel that he has demonstrated not only recently
but for many years. We welcome the Speaker’s comments deploring US pressure on Israel
and his statements that, "Israel must be able to decide her own security needs."
Dr. Ganchrow also thanked the Speaker for his support of Jerusalem as the united and
eternal capital of Israel, and urged him to continue to support moving the United States
Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in compliance with the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995.
This Act was a nearly unanimous decision of the US Congress and moving the Embassy would
rectify the unconscionable fact that only Israel, of all countries of the world, has been
denied the right to choose her own capital.
The
IPA/OU, as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) representing our community in the United
Nations, has supported and actively worked for the creation of an office of United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights to engender UN activity on human rights concerns.
Recently, the UN Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement in the wake of
Palestinian Arab riots in Israel calling upon the government of Israel to "respect
the right to peaceful assembly." The rioters in question were throwing rocks and
Molotov cocktails and fired on Israeli troops.
We were deeply disturbed by this criticism which reflects the historic bias against Israel
on the part of the UN and, with a group of Jewish NGO’s, sent a letter to Mary
Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressing our deep concern that the UN
in general and her office in particular not misrepresent events like these that take place
in Israel and requested that she correct the error and implication made in her statement.
The IPA has
long advocated that Israel be accepted into a regional group in the United Nations as
she is the only member state of the UN that for political reasons has been denied
membership to one of the world body’s regional groups.
This second class status has prevented Israel from participating in a number of important
bodies at the UN responsible for the most crucial decision making including the Security
Council and the Economic and Social Council.
On a regional basis, Israel’s most appropriate group would be the Asian Group, but
that group, comprised of mostly Arab countries, has prevented Israel’s membership for
decades. Israel has sought membership in the Western European and Others Group (WEOG). The
WEOG is not organized upon geographical lines, but includes states that are similar to the
Western European states in that they have western style democratic governments.
The WEOG includes Australia, Iceland, Canada and others including the Western Europeans.
Since Israel shares in the democratic values held by these governments membership in this
group would provide a measure of fairness to Israel and would enable her to fully
participate in the important decisions that affect her well-being as well as enable Israel
to fully contribute her expertise and enhance the UN process.
States that were admitted long after Israel was admitted to the UN have been accepted into
regional groups. Even Iraq, Iran and Cuba are eligible to serve on the Security Council or
other key deliberative UN groups. So too are Libya, North Korea, Syria and the Sudan.
In recent months the IPA has worked
closely with Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) in the Senate and Representative
Steven Rothman (D-NJ) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) in the House in organizing
Congressional initiatives advocating Israel’s membership in the WEOG.
The Orthodox Union praised Senator Moynihan for adopting Resolution 188 calling for
Israel’s membership in a UN regional group. However, this call has yet to be
fulfilled.
Letters should go out from OU members all across the country to Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, New
York, NY 10017 (email: survey@UN.org) to encourage him
to bring about the end to the discriminatory treatment of Israel as the only UN member
denied membership in a regional group and asking him to encourage members of the EU to
accept Israel as a temporary member of the WEOG.
This would be in keeping with Secretary Annan’s commitment to bring true reform to
the workings of the United Nations. Letters should go out to Ambassadors of the European
Union countries as well asking the same. A list of Ambassadors and addresses is available
from the IPA and may be obtained by calling (212) 613-8123.
This
year’s AIPAC Policy Conference was attended by IPA representatives Mandell I.
Ganchrow, MD, Jerry Gontownik, Heshe Seif, Zvi Friedman, David Raab, Rosalie Zalis and
Betty Ehrenberg.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Vice President Al Gore addressed the plenary
sessions and meetings were held with Congressional leaders. Many aspects of Israel were
discussed including economic and security issues.
During the AIPAC Executive Committee meeting, OU President Dr. Mandell Ganchrow raised
important motions that were passed by the participants.
The first motion addressed the issue of PLO incitement which constitutes a major obstacle
in the peace process. Alarming statements continue to be issued in Arabic to the
Palestinians by Arafat and his lieutenants including praise for terrorists who have
murdered Israelis.
Another deeply disturbing element of this incitement constitutes programming for children
on Palestinian TV fashioned after "Sesame Street" as a tool for teaching hatred.
In one of the programs a Palestinian child dressed in a costume in a room decorated with
Disney characters stands up and cries, "When I wander into the entrance of Jerusalem
I will turn into a suicide warrior in battle dress" as an adult leader cheers,
"Bravo, Bravo."
Dr. Ganchrow introduced the motion that AIPAC monitor Arabic statements by Arafat as well
as Palestinian television and radio and other educational outlets. Reports of this
monitoring should be disseminated not only to members of AIPAC and to national Jewish
organizations but also to Congress and the media.
The second adopted resolution was Dr. Ganchrow’s call to reject any compromise
regarding the acceptance of a Palestinian State. The committee then decided that "The
nature of the future of a Palestinian entity can only be resolved in direct final status
negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and the government of Israel; any
unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood should be opposed by the United States
because it would be inimical to peace."
The third accepted motion introduced by Dr. Ganchrow concerned the question of Jerusalem.
This final motion concerned "ensuring that Jerusalem remains a free, undivided city,
the capital of Israel, and of no other nation or entity, under Israeli sovereignty, with
open, unhindered access to religious sites for people of all faiths and securing the full
implementation of the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act which states as a matter of US
policy that Jerusalem should remain united and should be recognized as the capital of
Israel, and mandates the moving of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by May,
1999."
In recent
years the United States government has enacted this legislation to confront the new level
of sophistication of terrorist groups who have targeted American citizens and others
around the world including the attack on the Marine installation in Beirut, the hijacking
of the Achille Lauro and the subsequent murder of Leon Klinghoffer, the World Trade Center
bombing, and the bombing of Pan Am 103 in which our
beloved Treasurer Joseph K. Miller, perished.
The IPA supported this legislation and urged our elected officials to pass it.
We were deeply dismayed to learn that President Clinton recently chose to waive ILSA
sanctions for the French company Total which recently signed a two billion dollar oil
investment deal with Iran in partnership with Russian and Malaysian firms.
Penalties on companies who do business with Iran should be enforced since the said
legislation has been designed to eliminate revenues which fund Iran’s sponsorship of
terrorism and its nuclear weapons program.
The IPA sent a letter to Senator Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY) who led the fight for the
passage of ILSA urging him to reassume his position of leadership on this very urgent
issue and to do his best to strengthen ILSA. This waiver can be viewed as a lack of
willingness on the part of the United States to implement its own mechanisms that would
prevent the danger of the spread of terrorism. We urge elected and Administration
officials to ensure that ILSA remain a strong and effective measure that will strengthen
the battle against terrorism.
The IPA is supporting the Iran Missile Proliferation Sanctions Act, a
bill that would impose sanctions on countries exporting missile technology to Iran.
This measure is aimed mainly at Russia which has helped Iran refine its missile delivery
systems but will also apply to other foreign governments or businesses.
This bi-partisan legislation requires the President to submit a report to Congress thirty
days after enactment, providing a list of the entities for which there was credible
evidence of the transferring or attempting to transfer goods, technology, or technical
assistance that contributed to Iran’s efforts to acquire, develop or produce
ballistic missiles.
The sanctions would include denial of arms, export licenses and American aid for two
years, among others.
The IPA,
long in the forefront in the struggle for the release and
return of the Israeli soldiers missing in action, has been working closely with
members of the US Senate and the House of Representatives in recent weeks to obtain
updated information on the status and condition of these missing Israeli soldiers, namely
Zachary Baumel, Yehudah Katz, Zvi Feldman and Ron Arad.
Efforts are being made in Congress by Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Senator Jon Kyl
(R-AZ) and. Congressman Charles Schumer (D-NY).
June 11, 1998 marks the sixteenth anniversary of the day that these soldiers were
reported missing in action.
On this day in 1982 an Israeli tank unit battled with a Syrian armored unit in the Bekaa
Valley in northeastern Lebanon. Captured by the Syrians, they were identified as an
Israeli tank unit and were paraded, with the tank, through the streets of Damascus by
their captors. The tank, flying the Syrian and Palestinian flags, was greeted with jeers
and cheers from bystanders.
Recent news reports of evidence regarding two tanks in the possession of the Russians as
being linked with these soldiers has proven to be false. The IPA is continuing to work
closely with the families of the soldiers and Congress in this pursuit of justice and
"Pidyon shvuyim."
For sixteen years, these parents have been without their children and answers are long
overdue. We ask all our members to contact their elected officials, urging them to keep
this issue high on the agenda. Letters should be sent; addresses
are
- 30 -
