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An 11th Plague?
Tough visit for Mubarak; our man in Israel; hate crimes redux.
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
Your Tri-State
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ewish groups and members of
Congress could be on a colli-
sion course with the Bush
administration — and with
each other — as the Mideast diplo-
matic spotlight shifts to Egypt.
On Monday, President Hosni
Mubarak will visit the White House
with a shopping list topped by his
request for an increase in military aid.
But some lawmakers, angered by
Egypt's erratic and often disruptive
role in the Mideast peace process, will
argue that what Egypt deserves is
something else — a cut in its $735
million in economic aid.
The Bush administration has not for-
mally announced its Egypt policy, but
it has sent clear signals that it doesn't
want any changes in the status quo.
"The administration wants the
Egyptians to do more in terms of sup-
porting peace, but is also concerned
that any effort to push them- will dis-
rupt other important U.S. goals —
especially the effort to squeeze Iraq,"
said the head of a major Jewish group.
With U.S. policy tilting toward an
emphasis on containing Saddam
Hussein, the administration may
squelch its concerns about Mubarak's
role in Israel-Arab negotiations.
But a "groundswell" of resentment
in Congress could make the Mubarak
visit his toughest yet, an official said.
Israel is in the midst of a 10-year
phase-out of economic aid, coupled to
a boost in military aid. Mubarak wants
a similar increase for his armed forces.
During his Washington visit last
week, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon refused to comment directly
on Egypt's aid levels, despite angry
claims in the Arab press that he had
demanded a reduction.
But Sharon, like previous Israeli lead-
ers, told legislators that he sees no loom-
ing military threat to Egypt, a view
shared by many U.S. defense experts.
The Bush administration is expected
to argue that even if Mubarak has not
supported U.S.-led peace efforts, tamper-
ing with the current aid formula would
jeopardize U.S. interests in the region.
"It is in America's interests to keep
Egypt stable, to have access to the Suez
j
Canal, and to keep Egypt's treaty with
Israel alive and breathing," said Kenneth
Stein, a professor of Middle East history
and government at Emory University
and an expert in Mideast politics.
U.S. aid, he said, "is not simply
dependent on Egypt's behavior toward
Israel; it's dependent on U.S. national
interests, including being sure the Israeli-
Egyptian treaty does not unwind."
Our Man In Israel
The next U.S. ambassador to Israel
could be an Orthodox Jew, the First to
hold that post.
But the expected selection of career
diplomat Daniel Kurtzer has generated
intense opposition from an unlikely
coalition of right-wing Jewish and
Christian groups, some of which say
that the best choice for the job is an
Evangelical Christian.
Herbert Zweibon, president of the
ultra-hawkish Americans for a Safe
Israel (AFSI), said he recently wrote to
Vice President Dick Cheney with this
suggestion: "Find someone for the job
who is a Bible-believing Christian,
who understands that the Land of
Israel belongs to the Jews."
Zweibon and others, including Sen.
Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) and several
southern governors, have someone in
mind: Ed McAteer, founder of the
Religious Roundtable, a leading Christian
supporter of Israel and an outspoken
hawk on questions of Mideast diplomacy.
McAteer, who has told reporters he
wants the job, was one of the founders of
Jerry Farwell's Moral Majority, and he is
a leader in an Evangelical Zionist move-
ment that sees Israel through the lens of
the apocalyptic Christian prophecies.
That doesn't concern the Jews who
have written letters in support of
McAteer as ambassador.
His prophetic vision "is his concern,
not mine," said Rabbi Rafael Grossman,
spiritual leader of the Baron Hirsch
Congregation, an Orthodox synagogue in
Memphis. "I support him because of his
lifetime devotion to Israel and the strong
respect for him within the Christian com-
munity. I don't think that when you talk
about diplomatic positions, his views (on
prophecy) are relevant."
Rabbi Grossman stressed that he \A'as
not particularly opposed to Kurtzer, a
former dean of Yeshiva University and
a career diplomat since the late 1970s.
Kurtzer, a New Jersey native, has a
Ph.D. in Middle East history.
Other Jewish opponents of the Oslo
peace process slammed Kurtzer.
AFSI's Zweibon criticized Kurtzer as
an Orthodox Jew who supposedly
believes in the Bible, who ignores the
deep-seated beliefs (about Israel) of
many people who are Bible believing."
Morton Klein, president of the
Zionist Organization of America, said
that "we are concerned that Bush seems
ready to appoint someone who has
praised Arafat and the PLO as moder-
ates, who has publicly lectured Israel to
make more concessions. He represents
the failed policies of the past 10 years."
But most mainstream pro-Israel leaders
seem delighted with the prospect of
Kurtzer — who maintained an
Orthodox household in Cairo, some-
times earning anti-Semitic criticism from
the Egyptian press — as ambassador.
Washington sources say that despite the
opposition from the far right, Kurtzer's
selection could come as early as this week.
On Monday, Israeli officials said no names
of potential nominees had been forwarded
to them — a customary step in making
an ambassadorial appointment.
"
Hate Crimes Redux
Jewish and civil rights activists will
attempt once again to get Congress to
enact a major expansion of current
hate crimes laws.
Last year, the Hate Crimes
Prevention Act was a top priority for
the Clinton administration, but it ran
afoul of Congressional Republicans
who objected to provisions extending
existing hate crimes statutes to cover
crimes against gays and lesbians.
In June, the measure cleared the
Senate by a 57 to 42 vote and the
House instructed conferees to keep the
hate crimes language in a Defense
Department bill. But the GOP leader-
ship ignored the instructions and
stripped the hate crimes language from
the bill. This year's measure —
renamed the Local Law Enforcement
Enhancement Act — faces even
tougher going, since there is a wide-
spread expectation that the Bush
administration will oppose it. E