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September 28, 2001/Tishri 11, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 3
Caution tempers intergroup outreach
BARRY COHEN
Editor
As the nation rallies against the common enemy of terror, Muslim and Arab Americans in the Valley - and others of Middle Eastern descent - have become the target of backlash.
The Sept. 11 attack of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, allegedly by terrorists connected to Saudi terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, has left thousands dead and injured.
Three students have been attacked on the main campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, the latest the morning of Sept. 25, allegedly for appearing "Middle Eastern," according to Sarah Auffret, assistant director of media relations and public information at ASU.
Tempe businesses have been damaged, including gunshots that pierced the windows of a store on Apache Boulevard, said Sgt. Randy Fougner, public information officer for the Tempe police department.
"There have also been a number of bomb threats," he said, and an emergency room doctor was attacked on the job by a drunken patient "because of his Middle East background."
A Sikh gas station owner, Balbir Singh Sodhi, was shot to death Sept. 15 in Mesa, an incident that received national media attention.
Spokesmen for local Jewish human relations organizations are circumspect about building connections with Muslim or Arab organizations.
"We were cautioned early on about reaching out to Islamic institutions we were not familiar with," said Bill Straus, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. ADL leaders would hate to find out after the fact that groups they supported had a history of "preaching for the destruction of Israel," he added.
Rabbi Robert Kravitz, executive director of the American Jewish Committee area office, said he is wary of Muslim or Arab groups reaching out to Jewish organizations "for the sake of recognition," when their "internal situation is not helpful to Israel or the Jews."
He declined to name specific local groups.
Cathy Wolf, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, said that before the Sept. 11 attacks, the council had begun internal discussions about "how to ... form coalitions and partnerships" with Valley Muslim and Arab groups.
Wolf planned to work jointly with other groups, including ADL, synagogues and the National Conference for Community and Justice. She said she has not yet spoken with AJC.
"We need to work on it. We want to work on it," said Wolf, with regard to reaching out to Valley Muslims and Arabs.
Straus said if the Jewish community were to experience a backlash, he would "absolutely" expect other groups to reach out and offer solidarity. He added that ultimately, support among Jews, Arabs, Muslims and others is based on individual relationships.
"There are certain individuals in every sub-community who would reach out to us (if Jews suffered a backlash)," he said.
Kravitz cautioned Jewish organizations against forming connections with groups when there is a risk they may later regret doing so. "We need to recognize our country is at war," said Kravitz. "We can't love everybody at all times."
Some of "these people" would like "to take pictures with us" as much as they would like to see us "obliterated off the face of the Earth," he added.
Straus said the ADL is planning to be more involved in the community by making cautious overtures to open dialogue. "I would love to speak to some (Muslim or Arab) groups ... and get Jewish and Muslim groups together - carefully," he explained.
He added, "I hope we recognize that the most proactive thing we can do is educate our kids." He pointed to the ADL's Classroom of Difference program.
ADL's Web site, www.adl.org, explains how the program trains teachers, students and families to create an environment of mutual respect, self-esteem and personal safety, and also teaches leadership skills.
Currently, the program is being administered in eight Arizona school districts, according to Paul Weiser, ADL associate regional director, including Tucson, Mesa, Pedergast, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Phoenix elementary, Dysart and Mingus (in Cottonwood).
Dave Zinman, co-chairman for the West Valley Jewish Committee on Scouting, said efforts are underway to resuscitate programming between Jewish and Muslim scouting packs.
"Several years ago, we had a strong exchange program going," he said. Scouting groups used to meet at Temple Beth Israel in Phoenix and at the Islamic Cultural Center of Tempe.
The packs have had no direct contact for seven or eight years, he added.
These programs were successful in the past because of a "tremendous amount of planning," said Fred Missel, Boy Scout representative to the Jewish War Veterans.
"Our goal (now) is a continued relationship, not a one-shot, feel-good event," he said.
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