I World

Letter Of The Law

Michigan senators not among signers seeking
Arab normalization of relations with Israel.

N

early three-quarters of the U.S.
Senate signed a letter to President
Obama urging him to press Arab
states to normalize relations with Israel as
demonstration of their commitment to the
peace process. Conspicuously absent from
the list of 71 signatories were both U.S.
senators from Michigan.
Neither Sen. Carl Levin nor Sen. Debbie
Stabenow, both Democrats, signed onto
the solidly bipartisan letter spearheaded
by Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind. and James
Risch, R-Idaho. The letter was supported
by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid,
D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch
McConnell, R-Ky.
In an interview with the Jewish News
following a Senate Democratic caucus
meeting with national Jewish organiza-
tions that focused largely on Israel and
Iran, Sen. Levin said that while he had
yet to read the specifics of the letter, "it
sounds fine to me." Both he and Sen.
Stabenow declined comment as to why
they did not sign the letter.
While praising comments made by
Obama and Secretary of State Clinton to
the Arab world underscoring the need for
Arab states to "do more to end their isola-
tion of Israel;' the letter sent to President
Obama on Aug. 10 explains the senators
want a better understanding of the admin-
istration's "expectations" from Arab states.

AIPAC Influence

The American Israel Public Affairs
Committee (AIPAC)-backed letter cites as
historic precedent the "brave" leadership
of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and
King Hussein of Jordan in reaching peace
accords with Israel and recommends spe-
cific measures Arab leaders can take as
"dramatic" overtures to reciprocate Israeli
actions to promote peace. Such Israeli
measures noted in the letter include Israeli
Prime Minister Netanyahu's public sup-
port of a two-state solution; willingness to
resume peace talks without preconditions;
lifting roadblocks; promoting economic
development in the West Bank; and sup-
port for the training of P.A. security forces
in the West Bank.
As to Arab initiatives to show a commit-
ment to ending the Arab-Israeli conflict,
the letter enumerates: "Such steps could

U.S. Delegations Visit Israel

Sen. Levin

tional forums, their political, economic
and cultural boycott of Israel and their
state-run anti-Israel propaganda cam-
paigns will scuttle the culture of peace the
president is trying to foster?'
"Unfortunately, the actions of many
Arab states signal that they are not ready
to back the peace process and normalize
relations with Israel;' the memo noted.
AIPAC pointed to Syria's threats to retake
the Golan Heights if Israel fails to surrender
it; to moves by Qatar and Mauritania to
sever ties with Israel; and to Arab confer-
ences this year that condemned Israel as
"racist',' defended terrorism and Hamas and
called for additional boycotts of Israel.
Just last week at Fatah's first party
convention in two decades, Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas vowed not to
give up the right to "armed resistance"
against Israel. Fatah also declared it will
refuse to renew peace talks with Israel
until all Palestinian prisoners are released
from Israeli jails and Israel imposes a
freeze on all settlement building and
removes restrictions on the Gaza Strip.
Earlier, P.A. Prime Minister Salam

A delegation of 25 House
Republicans, led by Minority Whip
Eric Cantor, traveled to Middle East
in early August to reframe the focus
of pressing concerns. In a report
by the Associated Press, Cantor is
quoted as saying that he was "con-
cerned about what the White House
has been signaling of late" and that
the priority should not be on Israeli
settlements, but
should be dealing
with the "existen-
tial threat that Iran
poses not only to the
State of Israel, but to
the United States."
A number of mis-
sion participants
Rep. Cantor
spoke to the urgency
of deterring Iran. "I
do not believe at this time that the
president of the United States and
his administration fully comprehends
the magnitude of this threat of Iran
obtaining nuclear weapons and what
it will do to destabilize this entire
region," Colorado Congressman Mike
Coffman told reporters.
Cantor also took exception to the
administration's criticism of Israel's
eviction of two Arab families from
an east Jerusalem neighborhood.
Commented Cantor: "I'm very trou-
bled by that because I don't think
we in America would want another
country telling us how to implement
and execute our laws."
Texas Rep. Louis Gohmert said the
GOP delegation pressed P.A. Prime
Minister Salaam Fayad to affirm that
he was ready to recognize Israel as
a Jewish state and got equivocation
for an answer.
"If there's an unwillingness on
the part of the Palestinians — the
so-called moderate Palestinians — to
commit themselves now to recogni-
tion that there will be a Jewish state
here, that's very troubling," Cantor
said. "We hope certainly that there
can be finally a laying down of the

Letter Of The Law on page 20

U.S. Delegations on page 20

Sen. Stabenow

Dan Pollak

"The entire discussion ignores the actual
commitments the Arab side have made in
each of the agreements they have signed with
Israel since the Oslo process started."

- ZOA's Dan Pollak

include ending the Arab League boycott
of Israel, meeting openly with Israeli
officials, establishing open trade relations
with Israel, issuing visas to Israeli citizens
and inviting Israelis to participate in aca-
demic and professional conferences and
sporting events. We also believe that Arab
states must immediately and permanently
end official propaganda campaigns which
demonize Israel and Jews."
The letter references Obama's appeals
to the Muslim world in his Cairo speech to
recognize Israel. In that speech, the presi-
dent said, "Arab states must recognize that
the Arab Peace Initiative was an important
beginning but not the end of their respon-
sibility."According to Washington-based
AIPAC, the Arab states have delivered only
$78 million of $600 million in aid pledged
to the Palestinians in 2007, thus "undercut-
ting vital economic and political support to
bolster peace efforts between Palestinian
leadership in the West Bank and Israel."
A memo issued by AIPAC supporting
"bold" measures by Arab states to demon-
strate their readiness to end the conflict
stated that "Arab leaders must understand
that continuing their efforts to delegiti-
mize Israel at the U.N. and other interna-

August 20 2009

19