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This Week
Washington Watch
Saudi Bias
Chilly Reception
Egyptian delegation gauges the Washington atmosphere.
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
le
gyptian officials are trooping
to Washington by the plane-
load, apparently part of
another public relations and
diplomatic effort by the Mubarak gov-
ernment, which faces growing criticism
because of government-sanctioned anti-
Semitism and a sometimes unhelpful
stance on U.S. peacemaking efforts in
the Middle East.
Some of that anti-
Semitism was on display
at the Rayburn House
Office Building on
Tuesday, where the
Middle East Media
Research Institute
Rep. Lantos
(MEMRI) screened
excerpts from the con-
troversial Egyptian tele-
vision series Horseman Without a
Horse, with a storyline based heavily
on the anti-Jewish forgery, the
Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
The event was hosted by Rep. Tom
Lantos, D-Calif., Rep. Henry Waxman,
D-Calif. , and Rep. Ileana Ros-
Lehtinen, R-Fla. — now head of an
influential Middle East subcommittee.
The screening, which attracted
mostly House staffers, took place a few
days before the scheduled arriyal of
Gamal Mubarak, the son of President
Hosni Mubarak, Foreign Trade
Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and
Dr. Osama el-Baz, a top advisor.
The delegation is seeking several
things, according to Jewish observers,
including the Bush administration's
stamp of approval for the younger
Mubarak's role as heir apparent —
despite all the talk in the administra-
tion about democracy in the Middle
East. The delegation also wants assur-
ances Egypt will be included in any
post-Iraq war regional aid package that
is also expected to be the vehicle for
Israel's requested $12 billion in aid
and loan guarantees.
"On the eve of a possible war with
Iraq, the Egyptians want to get a bet-
ter feel for the mood and attitude in
Washington," said Jess Hordes,
Washington director for the Anti-
Defamation League. "And they are
engaged in damage control over a
2/ 7
2003
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number of things, not the least of
which is the anti-Semitism in the tele-
vision show." El Baz is point man in
that effort, Hordes said.
The Egyptians also want a free-trade
agreement with the United States like
the ones that benefit Israel and Jordan.
That, according to some Mideast
observers, is even more important to
Egyptian leaders than the almost $2
billion in U.S. aid Cairo gets every year.
That represents a major point of
leverage for Congress if and when a
free-trade agreement is proposed.
Congressional sources say it's likely
lawmakers will try to attach language
demanding stronger action by the
Egyptian government in fighting anti-
Semitism to any free-trade legislation.
The Mubarak government has been
waging another "charm" campaign, said
another longtime pro-Israel lobbyist. "It's
an 11-1 policy — 11 months of misbe-
havior, followed by one month of acting
nice." That campaign also included
Mubarak's offer to meet Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon after the Likud
leader's re-election Jan. 28, an offer most
observers say was a public relations gam-
bit, not a serious diplomatic move.
"He'll find all kinds of excuses not
to actually do it — assuming Sharon
agrees," a source said. "We've seen this
before: transparent PR efforts covering
up Mubarak's intransigence."
Despite growing congressional
pique, there appears to be little likeli-
hood of any serious punitive action
against the Egyptian regime. "I do
think we should be more direct with
them," said Rep. Ben Cardin, D-Md.,
a senior member of the Jewish delega-
tion in the House. "But I don't think
you'll see any real action against the
Egyptians, mostly because of the cur-
rent emphasis on Iraq. It's unlikely
Congress will take this opportunity to
impose any formal sanctions."
Out Of the Closet
Boston newspaper finds John Kerry's Jewish roots.
PETER EPHROSS
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
New York City
first it was then-Secretary
of State Madeleine
Albright. Next it was Gen.
Wesley Clark, the supreme
allied commander of NATO during
the war in Kosovo.
Now it's Democratic presidential
candidate John Kerry whose Jewish
roots are being reported.
Kerry? The Massachusetts senator,
the_ quintessential WASPy looking
politician with an Irish-sounding
name? Yup. Two of Kerry's grandpar-
ents were Jewish, it turns out.
Kerry, who is a practicing Catholic,
said he has known for 15 years that
his paternal grandmother was Jewish,
but had unsuccessfully searched for his
paternal grandfather's roots. However,
a genealogist hired by the Boston Globe
found that Kerry's grandfather was
born to a Jewish family in a small
town in the Czech Republic.
"This is incredible stuff," Kerry told
F
the Globe. "I think it is more than
interesting. It is a revelation."
The records show that his grandfa-
ther, Frederick Kerry, was born Fritz
Kohn. He changed his name to Kerry
in 1902, immigrated to the United
States in 1905 and committed suicide
in a Boston hotel in 1921.
The news does not appear to have
major political ramifica-
tions
as was the case
with Albright. There
was an initial hubbub
when Albright, secretary
of state in the Clinton
administration, learned
Sen. Kerrey in 1997 that three of her
four grandparents were
Jewish.
The next time she was in Prague,
Albright visited the Pinkas Synagogue,
where the names of her paternal
grandparents are inscribed on a wall
among thousands of Czech Jews who
died in the Holocaust.
There was little political fallout
from her discovery — though when
she dealt with the Israeli-Palestinian
Egypt isn't the only U.S. "ally" that is
piling up negative points in
Washington. This week, the American
Jewish Committee unveiled a detailed
study documenting continuing anti-
Semitism in government-sponsored
textbooks in Saudi Arabia, supposedly
America's best friend in the Persian
Gulf region.
"The study shows a widespread, sys-
tematic pattern of teaching hatred and
contempt of non-Muslims, particular-
ly Christians and Jews, but also of the
West in general," said David Harris,
the AJC executive director. "It's a mat-
ter of deep concern when governments
get into the business of teaching hate."
The AJC and the Center for
Monitoring the Impact of Peace
(CMIP) examined almost 100 text-
books published by the Saudi Ministry
of Education, serving children in
grades 1-10. The study pointed to
numerous books that teach that Islam
is the only "true religion," while all
other religions are false.
Others portray Christians and Jews
as enemies of Islam and proscribe
friendship between Moslems and non-
Moslems. Jews are depicted as wicked,
deceptive and aggressive.
peace process many Arab commenta-
tors called her a Zionist and said she
had a pro-Israel bias.
Observers say the revelation about
Kerry is unlikely to affect the 2004
presidential race. As far as non Jews
go, "had it come out in 1953 instead
of 2003, it would have been fatal to
his presidential ambitions," said
Michael Feldberg of the American
Jewish Historical Society in New York,
but not in today's world.
The Globe revelation adds another
Jewish flavor to the 2004 race for the
Democratic presidential nomination.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn.,
who declared last month that he will
seek the nomination, is an observant
Jew. Another contender, former
Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, is mar-
ried to a Jewish woman and is raising
his children as Jews.
And Wesley Clark, who told the
Jewish Forward recently that he is
descended from "generations of rab-
bis," also is weighing a 2004
Democratic presidential bid.
"I wonder what this means for his
Saturdays?" Jano Cabrera, a
spokesman for Lieberman's campaign,
joked about Kerry. "Regardless, at this
rate, we should have a minyan at the
debates." 0