This Week

Washington Watch

Refugees Thwarted

U.S. halting refugees, Islamic groups above the fray, G.A. attendance down.

JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent

foreigners suspected of terror connec-
tions for up to seven days without a
hearing, and makes it easier to deport
foreigners who raise funds for terror
organizations.
Feingold said that despite modifica-
tions that softened some provisions,
"this bill still does not strike the right
balance between empowering law
enforcement and protecting civil liber-
ties." But most Jewish groups support-
ed the anti-terror law, officially termed
the "USA Patriot Act."

A

nother victim of the anti-
terror frenzy in
Washington: the U.S.
refugee program.
"The entire refugee program has
ground to a halt, worldwide," said
Leonard S. Glickman, president and
CEO of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid
Society (HIAS).
"Nobody is being resettled in the
United States while the government
reviews the entire program. And that
includes Jews from the former Soviet
Union and from Iran."
Jews showing up for their
Immigration and Naturalization Service
refugee interviews in Moscow, he said,
have have found the office is closed.
The shutdown is part of the U.S.
effort to review and tighten immigration
procedures and account for thousands of
foreigners on American soil — some
without papers, some presumably part of
the terror network responsible for the
Sept. 11 terror attacks.
But that effort is uneven, Glickman
said. Immigration continues, although
the flow has been reduced since the
terror attacks, while the refugee pro-
gram is on hold.
"That's ironic, because refugees go
through the most thorough back-
ground investigations among all new
arrivals," he said. "These are not peo-
ple arriving here on student visas."
Late last week, Congress finished
and President Bush signed a major
anti-terrorism law that will have huge
implications for immigrants and -
refugees.
Glickman said that while HIAS has
concerns about some aspects of the law,
the group understands that "in this
environment, law enforcement has to
be expanded. We are satisfied that some
of the worst elements of this bill have
been modified."
Those changes weren't enough to
satisfy Sen. Russell Feingold, the mav-
erick Democrat from Wisconsin.
Feingold cast the sole vote against the
terror package, which expands govern-
ment wiretap and electronic surveil-
lance authority, allows the detention of

11/2
2001

Islamic Suspicion

Some Jewish groups are quietly weighing
in on another aspect of the unfolding
war against terrorists in this country: the
government's unwillingness to aggres-
sively investigate Islamic religious groups
that may also be supporting terrorists,
including the bin Laden network
"(Government agencies) are trying to
walk a very difficult line," said one
Jewish official. "Right now, they seem to
be erring on the side of not challenging
the religious groups that seem to have
crossed the line in supporting terrorism.
Given the apparent extent of the bin
Laden network, that may be a problem."
Religious sensitivity and concerns
about perceptions in Arab and Muslim
nations, this activist said, are keeping
law enforcement agencies from aggres-
sively investigating the terror network in
this country, despite warnings that new
attacks could be imminent.
Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle
East Forum, said radical Islamic groups
have become adept at raising the reli-
gious freedom issue to fend off investi-
gation and prosecution. And so far, fed-
eral authorities have not countered that
tactic.
"The reign of political correctness
has not yet crumpled," he said.
Some Islamic religious leaders, he said,
are a real force in this movement.
Without them, it's hard to see how these
acts of violence would take place. They
are powerful organizers and inspirers, but
they don't go into operational details.
They raise money, but do not handle the
funds themselves."
According to Pipes, agencies that
want to investigate and prosecute

,

"

Islamic radicals "have, to go through
cartwheels" with federal authorities
worried about charges that they are
targeting a religion.
Leaders of the American Jewish
Committee, a group that has warned
about the growth of radical Islam for
several years, are quietly urging the
administration to take off the kid gloves.
"We understand the government's
sensitivity in dealing with religious
groups, said David Harris, the group's
executive director. "But we would
-
hope that after Sept. 11, the govern-
ment would realize that individuals
and groups cannot use our democratic
protections to hide from the long
hand of the law. And that's what's hap-
pened in a number of cases."

G.A. Attendance Drop

Things are just get-
ting more compli-
cated for planners of
next weekend's
United Jewish
Communities
General Assembly,
which is facing a
projected 30 percent
plunge in atten-
dance because many
delegates fear travel-
ing to anthrax-
plagued
Washington.
The headliner for
Daniel Pipes
the UJC event,
Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel
Sharon, informed
the Bush adminis-
tration this week
that he might not
be coming.
The official reason
for rethinking his visit
— which, in addition
to the UJC keynote
address, was to
include a White
House meeting with
President George W
Bush and sessions
with other top
administration and
David Harris

congressional leaders — was the ongoing
security crisis in Israel.
But Israeli and American sources say
Sharon would like to postpone the
meeting because of recent U.S.-Israel
strains and because he fears a presiden-
tial squeeze if any Israeli troops remain
in the Palestinian towns that were
attacked two weeks ago.
But there are also compelling rea-
sons for Sharon to come, Jewish lead-
ers say. "When every other major for-
eign leader has made the pilgrimage to
Washington and to Ground Zero, it's
important for Sharon to come person-
ally to extend Israel's support," said
Abraham Foxman, national director of
the Anti-Defamation League.
A visit would also counter the mes-
sage that Israel is being kept locked in
a closet as the U.S. anti-terror war
intensifies.
"There would be value
just in the photo-ops, to
show the world that Israel
and the United States
continue to be friends,"
he said.
But that doesn't obviate
differences between the
two countries — "not in
goals, or in the ultimate
cause, but in tactics,"
Foxman said. "I am a
firm believer that person-
al conversations between
two leaders who have
established a relationship
go much further than
telephone calls and let-
ters.
"There are issues that
need to be discussed that
cannot be done in a 10-
minute conversation."
But Foxman conceded
that "there is no free
lunch. When a foreign
leader comes here, he's
usually asked to do some-
thing." It's that cost,
other Jewish leaders say,
that may tip the balance
against a Sharon visit. El,

