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Washington Watch

James D. Rene, M.D.
Michael D. Lutz, M.D.

David M. Steinberger

Posturing On The mu

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Anti-terror rewards; Ashcroft's prayers.

JAMES D. BESSER

Washington Correspondent

IV

ith images of last week's
grisly murder of two
young Israeli boys still
fresh, efforts to force
the U.S. government to more aggres-
sively pursue terrorists who kill
Americans are gathering steam.
The Zionist Organization of
America (ZOA) has pressed the gov-
ernment to publicly offer rewards for
information leading to their arrest
and extradition.
But with last week's bludgeoning
murders of two teenagers near Tekoa
— one of the victims, Yaakov
Mandell, was an American citizen —
mainstream groups such as the
Conference of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Organizations are
cranking up their own efforts.
The Bush administration contin-
ues to sidestep the issue. State
Department spokesman Richard
Boucher said that there is a "general
- rewards program" offering up to $5
million for information on terrorists
who kill Americans.
But whether or not to publicize
those rewards "has to be determined,
based on the status of the investiga-
tion and our overall interest in
bringing that to a conclusion." That
determination, he said, is based on
"a number of factors" — presumably
diplomatic as well as justice con-
cerns. Exactly what that means is as
unclear in this administration as it
was in the last.
"We've never gotten an explana-
tion that is satisfactory and sufv.-
cient," said Malcolm Hoenlein, the
Presidents Conference executive
vice-chair. "I cannot offer a rational
reason why they have not actively
promoted rewards in cases in which
Americans have been killed by
Palestinian terrorists."
The President's Conference, he
said, is raising the issue with the
Justice Department, whose head,
Attorney General John Ashcroft, has
indicated support for an active
rewards program in the past.
Last week, five members of
Congress participated in a ZOA-

organized news conference and
demanded that the State
Department publicly offer rewards.
The issue has drawn support from
both New York senators — Hillary
Rodham Clinton and Chuck
Schumer, both Democrats.
According to the ZOA, 17
Americans have been killed since the
Oslo accord was signed in 1993.

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Ashcroft's Prayers

Jewish leaders are split over the pro-
priety of Attorney General John
Ashcroft's Justice Department prayer
and Bible reading sessions.
The daily sessions, reported in
Monday's Washington Post, quickly
ignited barrages of criticism from
groups like Americans United for
Separation of Church and State.
But Jewish leaders were low-key in
their criticism, none more surpris-
ingly than Anti-Defamation League
director Abraham D. Foxman. He
acknowledged that he was "uncom-
fortable" with the possibility
employees might feel intimidated
into participating, but argued that
Ashcroft is sensitive to concerns
about religious coercion.
"The fact that he is the boss and
this is taking place in the office is of
concern," he said, "but there's no
indication he's doing anything
wrong. We should watch it, but not
dismiss it outright."
Foxman said that other public offi-
cials — including Sen. Joe
Lieberman (D-Conn.) — also con-
duct religious sessions for employees.
Phil Baum, executive director of
the American Jewish Congress, was
less sanguine.
"The attorney general, like every
other American citizen, has the right
to his own personal religious
beliefs," Baum said. "The problem is
that when he calls in or makes avail-
able by invitation to his staff to pray
with him, that carries with it a kind
of inescapable pressure.
"The staff recognizes intuitively
what is expected of them. That kind
of pressure is inappropriate in the
office of the attorney general of the
United States." ❑

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