I OPINION
I
Baiting
NB ATA
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and Arab-bashing became
words casually thrown at
one's opponents, they will lose
their real meaning and we
will not be able to effectively
fight against the real thing.
For example, Jews who
decry certain Palestine
Liberation Organization ac-
tions or express deep fear over
whether or not the establish-
ment of a Palestinian state
will threaten the security of
Israel are not anti-Arab. Nor
are Arab Americans anti-
Semitic if they denounce
Israeli practices in Lebanon
or the occupied territories or
if they support the establish-
ment of an independent
Palestinian state.
Similarly, just as it is anti-
Semitic to complain of a
Jewish financial cabal that is
ruling American institutions,
it is equally wrong to incite
against Arab Americans
because of an imagined
"petro-dollar conspiracy" to
buy up America or a "ter-
rorist" connection to any and
all advocacy work for the
Palestinians.
Just as exclusion or
discrimination have in the
past been painful to Jewish
Americans, today they deep-
ly hurt my people. And we are
excluded in your name.
It was in the name of the
Jewish community that a
political action committee in
Louisiana baited in 1986 con-
gressional candidate Faye
Williams for having a Palesti-
nian American campaign
manager. It was in your name
that campaign contributions
were returned to Arab
Americans by Walter Mon-
dale, Wilson Goode, Joseph
Kennedy and others.
And it is in your name that
Republicans are trying to
discredit Ruth Ann Skaff, an
Arab American appointee to
the Democratic National
Committee, on the grounds
that her work for Palestinian
rights represents the "poison
of anti-Semitism."
Jewish Americans have
through great dedication,
organization and discipline
won significant prestige and
political power in American
democracy. Today, Arab
Americans are also organiz-
ing to participate in this same
process.
When I first debated pro-
Israeli speakers some 20
years ago, they chided me for
not accepting what they term-
ed realities.
Arab Americans have for
the past two decades worked
to come to grips with Middle
East realities. We do unders-
tand Jewish fears and the
need for security felt so deep-
ly by Israelis.
Now I urge you to unders-
tand realities like Palestinian
nationalism and the
emergence of an Arab
American political
constituency.
Make room for us; work to
understand us. Work with us
on issues we can agree on. Do
not try to exclude us when we
disagree.
Help us debunk the prevail-
ing reaction in the parties
and among politicians that
pit us against each other in a
zero-sum game that has is
own shades of anti-Semitism.
All too often we have heard:
we can't deal with you (Arabs)
and deal with them (Jews) -
so we can't risk dealing with
you.
We must agree to avoid
baiting or discriminating
against one another. Such
practices are not only wrong,
in this period they will not
work. Both of our com-
munities will be the losers.
-
'm1'1 NEWS
JDL Head Wins
Suit Against
American Nazi
TOM TUGEND
Special to the Jewish News
L
os Angeles — Iry
Rubin, national chair-
man of the Jewish
Defense League, has won a
$100,000 judgment against
an American Nazi who pub-
licly asserted that Rubin had
AIDS.
Judge Joseph R. Kalin of
the Glendale Superior Court
handed down the sentence
against Stanley Witek, a
leader of the National
Socialist American Workers
Party, and ordered him to pay
Rubin $10,000 in damages for
slander and an additional
$90,000 in punitive damages.
During a confrontation last
November at a Glendale hotel
where the Nazi group was
conducting a "Crusade
Against Corruption," Witek
pointed to Rubin in front of
television cameras and yelled,
"Mr. Rubin has AIDS. Can't
you see the sores on his face."
After the sentencing, Witek
claimed that he had no in-
come to pay the $100,000 and
that he depended on a "super-
secret group, the American
Aryan Committee," for his
basic living expenses."
The JDL leader in turn
promised that "I'll be
vigorous in collecting the
judgment. I'll haul him into
court every week if I have to."
As an outgrowth of the
same Glendale melee, Rubin
himself faces a court date
next month.