Opinion OTHER VIEWS Reality Or Pipe Dream? New York t a time when 'the greatest threat facing the Jewish people and, indeed, the entire world, is from Islamic extremism — its ideo- logical totalitarianism, its use of terror and suicide bombs, its goals of developing nuclear and other weapons of mass destruc- tion — the question of relations with Muslims in general is at center stage. Recently, after I gave an address on the subject of the Islamic extremist threat, I responded to a question about dialogue by saying that it is a "pipe dream" because "there is no one to talk to." As the leader of an organiza- tion that is committed to inter- group and interfaith dialogue, with many programs all over the United States and around the globe premised on it, I want to explain what I meant and what I didn't mean. I believe dialogue is critical to preventing an escalation of the deadly "clash of civilizations:' which so many are predicting, from becoming a reality. There are many tools and perspec- tives that need to be employed to move relations in a positive direction, and dialogue is one of them. We abhor and work daily to counter efforts to stig- erance in Judaism, matize and demonize Christianity and an entire religion or Islamic religious texts. people because of the It never happened acts of some. Making because — after ini- distinctions is a vital tial enthusiasm — the part of our work. Only Muslim leader didn't days after 9-11, when deliver. I have had Abraham H. reports started surfac- similar discussions Foxman ing that there-were a with Jordanians and Special number of attacks on Saudis, but we are Commentary Muslims in this coun- still lacking a Muslim try, the ADL placed ads partner. in major national newspapers Not only on a conceptual level urging Americans "not to fight but also practically, Muslims hate with hate." Blaming all represent many different things. Muslims for the acts of the ter- There are governments and rorists is not what America was people around the globe that are about and it surely is not what predominantly Muslim that do the ADL was about. Most recent- not reflect the Islamic extremism ly, when a Pakistani Muslim that is the threat. Throughout man was attacked in Brooklyn the country, the ADL and because of his religion, the ADL Muslims participate together in spoke out forcefully against coalitions to fight hate and intol- the hate crime and joined in a erance. When St. Louis' Interfaith dialogue with local community Dialogue celebrated its 20th groups. anniversary, an ADL official was We know that all the major the keynote speaker. religions have in common a fun- damental moral core that needs No Stereotyping to be reinforced and nurtured, Let us be clear: No one has particularly in the face of those the right to demonize Islam or who want to use religion for stereotype Muslims. There obvi- evil purposes. A few years back, ously are individual Muslims I tried to get a project off the with whom to dialogue and ground together with a Muslim we need to work to identify cleric in Turkey, who has a fol- more interfaith dialogue. But it lowing of millions, to produce must be noted that too many a work citing instances of tol- moderate Muslims fail to stand up against the extremists. And millions of average Muslims often buy into conspiracy theo- ries about Jews and the West emanating from extremists. We are concerned about those who engage in violence rather than dialogue in response to grievances, such as the car- toon depictions of the prophet Muhammad and the pope's comments about Islam. We worry about the tendency— when Islam is the majority religion — for states too often not to respect religious freedom, human rights and equal rights for women. When I said that there was no one to talk to, I was mostly thinking of the unwillingness of the leading American Muslim groups to do the most basic things: accept Israel's existence as a legitimate state in the Middle East; reject terrorism unequivocally because no cause justifies terrorism; not view attacks on Israel as legitimate or suggest Hezbollah and Hamas are not terrorist groups; and speak out against the virulent anti-Semitism coming out of large parts of the Arab world. For us, these principles are the sine qua non for dialogue. They have nothing to do with legitimate criticism of Israeli politics. We expect that there will always be different views between us and Muslim groups on issues. That won't stop dia- logue. But rejection of Israel's legitimacy, rationalization of the terror and the teaching of hatred will What to do then when dia- logue is important — where smaller dialogues take place but the bigger ones can't? The answer is to continue to look for and to encourage those Muslims who believe in compromise and who accept Israel to continue to insist that those who reject the basic principles are not acceptable until they do, and to look for those common areas of agreement outside Middle East issues upon which we can build relationships. We must also give support and encouragement to all the moderates of the Islamic world who are ready to stand up, because their strength can enhance the entire world and move us to a future of hope and progress rather than one of con- flict and despair. II Abraham H. Foxman is national director of the Anti-Defamation League and author of "Never Again? The Threat of the New Anti- Semitism." This op ed originally - appeared in New York Jewish Week on Nov. 17. Global Warning Washington I f anyone still doubted Iran's sponsorship of overseas ter- rorist attacks, an Argentine prosecutor has provided proof positive of Iranian terrorism's worldwide reach. In an 800-page report, Judge Alberto Nisman implicated . top Iranian officials in ordering Hezbollah to carry out a 1994 terrorist attack on the Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and wound- ed 300. Nisman said the decision to bomb the building "was under- taken in 1993 by the highest authorities of the then-govern- 32 November 30 2006 ment of Iran." He asked a federal judge to issue arrest warrants for eight senior Iranian officials, including - Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was president of Iran at the time and who currently chairs the powerful Expediency Council. Rafsanjani has spoken matter-of-factly about destroy- ing Israel, declaring that the "application of an atomic bomb would not leave anything in Israel but the same thing would just produce damages in the Muslim world." A U.S. Embassy spokesperson in Buenos Aires con- gratulated the pros- ecutor for his findings in the "most lethal anti-Semitic attack since World War II," saying the investiga- tive report provides "convincing evidence ) that the attack "was planned and financed by the government of Iran and carried out with the operational assistance of Hezbollah and Iranian diplomats based in Argentina." In 1992, another bombing was carried out against the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, killing 29 people and wounding 240. While no one has been convicted for that attack, it too has been blamed on Hezbollah. The Argentine report comes at a time of heightened con- cerns about Hezbollah's pres- ence here at home in the United States. Spokesman Paul Bresson has announced that "the FBI has increased its focus on Hezbollah," saying "those investi- gations relate particularly to the potential presence of Hezbollah members on U.S. soil." These startling developments should focus attention on the need to block Iran on the many fronts on which it poses mortal threats to the United States and its allies. Iran is continuing to move ahead with its nuclear weapons program. Iran's support for Hezbollah remains intact. Iran is doing all in its power to. undermine any prospects of Israeli-Palestinian peace by sup- porting llamas and Islamic Jihad terrorism. America and its allies must build a united front to stop further misdeeds by Iran and prevent the radical regime from continuing its nefarious efforts to support terrorism, thwart peace and develop a nuclear arsenal. Ll Howard Kohr is executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.