Washington Watch

Moving The Embassy

Clinton adds pressure or reward to peace process.

JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent

I

s the Clinton administration's ten-
tative turnabout on the question
of moving the U.S. embassy from
Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for real? Or
is it just a rhetorical gambit intended to
shock Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
back to the negotiating table and bolster
the sagging political fortunes of Prime
Minister Ehud Barak?
The answers are unclear; adminis-
tration sources say it's because the
White House hasn't made up its mind.
Hezbollah, at least, takes it seriously,
the group's leader, Sheik Hassan
Naraliah, threatened to "turn your
embassy into rubble and return your
diplomats in coffins." That provoked an
angry response from a State Department
spokesman, who called the threat "out-
rageous" and said that it "illustrates once
again why that organization is on our
list of terrorist organizations."
Several pro-Israel activists, while
hopeful a move might be forthcoming,
said that the signs point more to
rhetoric than reality.
"It's hard to second-guess their
motives," said a top pro-Israel leader in
Washington. "But so far, at least, the
indications point to the fact that the
president was responding to persistent
urging from Barak. Raising the embassy
issue in frorit of Israeli voters is a way of
helping Barak at a very difficult time."
Late last week, President Bill Clinton
told Israeli television that while he had
previously resisted congressional pressure
to move the embassy, "in light of what
has happened (at Camp David), I've
taken that decision under review and I'll
make a decision some time between
now and the end of the year."
Even some peace process supporters
who have opposed congressional efforts
to force the issue while talks are under-
way are now urging the president to
begin the process of moving the embassy
before he leaves office.
"With Israel's proposals on Jerusalem
on the table, we see no remaining benefit
to deferring the embassy move indefi-
nitely," said the leaders of the Israel
Policy Forum, a peace process advocacy
group, in a letter to Clinton. "Indeed,
this longstanding issue ... should not be
allowed to linger past the conclusion of
the current round of initiatives between

the parties and we encourage you to take
steps to move the embassy at such time."
Prime Minister Ehud Barak and the
government of former Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin had urged their U.S.
friends not to push the embassy issue
while the peace process hung in the bal-
ance. But with the Camp David failure,
Barak made an abrupt about-face, reach-
ing out to congressional friends.
Israeli sources say he was motivated
by factors including his own precarious
political situation and his frustration
with Arafat's refusal to respond to Israeli
compromise proposals on Jerusalem.
The White House based its decision
to review the matter on the same fac-
tors, administration insiders say. If
helping Barak survive also serves to
push Arafat to make a deal before the
next government crisis in Jerusalem, so
much the better, they say.

Cutting Aid

While the administration was talking
about the Jerusalem embassy, lawmakers
were using the foreign aid cudgel to try
to head off Yasser Arafat's promised uni-
lateral declaration of statehood Sept. 13.
But the Palestinian leader, on tour of
Arab and European capitals, apparently
didn't get the message; in an interview
with a Saudi newspaper, he insisted he
would not allow outside pressure to alter
his timetable.
Pro-Israel groups are vigorously push-
ing legislation that would cut off U.S.
aid if Arafat declares statehood prior to
an agreement with Israel and prohibits
spending for any diplomatic facilities in
a Palestinian state.
The measure is sponsored by Rep.
Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Tom
Reynolds (R-N.Y.) in the House, Sen.
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Sam
Brownback (R-Kan.) in the Senate.
The American Israel Public Affairs
Committee, the pro-Israel lobby, plans to
-use the August recess to build support.
Backers say threatening an aid cutoff
is the only way to get Arafat's attention.
"This bill sends a very clear message to
the Palestinian Authority," Nadler said.
"Negotiations must continue."
Opponents argue that it will just add
to the misery of the Palestinian people,
because current law requires that U.S.
aid — about $100 million annually —
goes only to Palestinian non-govern-
mental organizations, many of which

provide basic services.
The measure would also cut off funds
the Palestinians are supposedly using to
combat terrorism in Gaza and the West
Bank, critics say, "assistance that has
been instrumental in training and
equipping Palestinian security forces to
fight terrorism," said Debra DeLee,
CEO of Americans for Peace Now
Israel Policy Forum, a pro-peace
process group, supports the legislation,
like most major pro-Israel groups.
The administration is not officially
endorsing the legislation, but Capitol
Hill sources say the White House has
signaled that it sees the threat of an aid
cutoff as potentially useful in the effort
to avert a unilateral declaration.
On Israel television, President
Clinton said it would be a "big mistake"
to issue a unilateral declaration. "And if
it happens, there will inevitably be con-
sequences — not just here, but through-
out the world — and things will hap-
pen. I would review our entire relation-
ship, including but not limited to (aid)."
Congress will take up the measure
after lawmakers return from recess a few
days before the threatened Sept. 13 date
for a statehood declaration.

In The Zone

Jewish activists tried to get a major reli-
gious freedom bill through Congress for
two years; success came last week.
Just before leaving town for their
August recess, lawmakers in both houses
took up a pared-back measure supported
by a broad range of Jewish and civil lib-
erties groups. In a single afternoon, it
was passed in both houses by unani-
mous consent, despite vocal opposition
from historic preservationists and some
county and city officials.
The new law will require local zoning
officials to prove a compelling govern-
ment interest before using zoning regu-
lations to restrict religious institutions
such as churches and synagogues. It also
protects the religious rights of prisoners
and inmates of other institutions.
Nathan Diament, director of the
Orthodox Union's Institute for Public
Affairs, said that his group would have
preferred a broader measure. "But from
a practical point of view, it's a great vic-
tory," he said. "The two issues our own
community needed help with the most,
zoning problems and prisoners, are
addressed by this law."

In the past, he said, zoning ordi-
nances have been used by local authori-
ties to exclude religious minorities,
including Orthodox Jews. And Jewish
prison inmates have traditionally had a
hard time winning access to such neces-
sities as kosher food.
Especially vigorous opposition came
from the Municipal Arts Society in New
York City, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani also
fought the measure, calling it "unneces-
sary and ill considered." Eighteen state
attorneys general also wrote to lawmak-
ers, asking them to reject the bill.

Egyptian Focus

For months, pro-Israel activists have
been blasting Egypt for its disruptive
role in Mideast peace efforts and the
antisemitism that continues to be ram-
pant in that country's state-controlled
media. But the government of President
Hosni Mubarak, the second largest
recipient of U.S. aid, remains deaf to
those concerns. That was evident when
Egypt spurned U.S. pleas to help salvage
the Camp David summit last month.
And it continues to be evident in the
Egyptian press, where antisemitism is a
staple, and supporters of Israel are rou-
tinely castigated as Jewish, whether or
not they really are.
A recent op-ed article in the govern-
ment-backed newspaper Al Ahram criti-
cized the Freedom House Center for
Religious Freedom, which fights reli-
gious persecution around the world and
which has criticized Egypt's treatment of
religious minorities. The stony termed
Freedom House a Jewish organization,
which it isn't.
Further, it attacked prominent law-
makers who spoke at a recent conference
on Christian groups in the Middle East
sponsored by Freedom House. The arti-
cle singled out Sen. Sam Brownback (R-
Kan.) and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), and
used the nastiest label the journalist
could think of Jewish. Brownback is a
Methodist, Wolf a Presbyterian.
The article quickly caught the atten-
tion of the Anti-Defamation League,
which pointed out that the newspaper,
and other government-backed media in
Egypt, routinely use the term "Jewish" as
an insult and publish gross antisemitic
stereotypes in stories and cartoons.
This week, the group's leaders wrote
to the editor of Al Ahram and to the
Egyptian ambassador in Washington.
"Given their position in the Arab
world, it's important not to write them
off," said Jess Hordes, ADEs Washington
director. "But there is a growing impa-
tience that at critical moments they have
not been helpful." ❑

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