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August 9, 2002/Elul 1 5762, Vol. 54, No. 47
Americans die, but D.C. is on vacation
MATTHEW E. BERGER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - In other contexts, the deaths of five Americans overseas might have lasting political repercussions.
But the July 31 terror bombing at Hebrew University in Jerusalem has not galvanized Congress or the White House - primarily because it's August and much of the Washington political community is not around.
Jewish leaders said they hope the attack at an institute of higher learning, and the possible targeting of Americans studying there, would change the mind-set of both political leaders and the general American public to offer stronger support for Israel and Israeli anti-terror operations.
"My sense is that this was one of those instances that touched people," said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
Traditionally, however, little happens in Washington in August. Lawmakers mostly have returned to their districts to campaign for reelection, and the president departs this week for a monthlong vacation in Texas.
Given such quirks of the calendar, the recent upsurge of Palestinian violence is expected to have far less impact than it would during the other 11 months of the year.
The Hebrew University attack did garner a strong rhetorical reaction from the White House. Speaking with Jordan's King Abdullah on Aug. 1, a day after the bombing, Bush said he was "just as angry as Israel is right now" and said the United States would work to track down the Americans' killers.
Bush also said Israel "must defend herself," which some interpreted as a green light for a strong Israeli reprisal.
In a significant development, the White House announced that FBI officials would go to Israel to assist in the investigation, a first since the Palestinian intifada began in Sept. 2000. The FBI team arrived in Israel on Aug. 5, according to Israeli media.
Some analysts say the FBI investigation could signal a concern within the Bush administration that Hamas and other terrorist groups are targeting Americans, which Hamas has denied.
But little else has been done here to address the Americans' deaths - which doesn't surprise some pro-Israel activists who accuse the United States of down-playing the murder of Americans in Israel so as not to jeopardize halting moves to revive the peace process.
The only Jewish organization actively using the attack as a platform for policy change is the hawkish Zionist Organization of America, which has been seeking broader support for a bill stepping up efforts to find those who kill American citizens in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
"The only change we're really seeing in Congress and the State Department is a renewed desire to bring to justice Palestinian Arabs who have murdered American citizens," ZOA President Morton Klein said.
The Koby Mandell Act, named after a 13-year-old boy originally from Maryland who was murdered last year in the West Bank, would create an office within the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute those responsible for killing Americans overseas.
Pro-Israel activists argue that if an attack of this magnitude had occurred while Congress was in session, both houses would have passed resolutions in support of Israel and pro-Israel forces would have undertaken a significant lobbying effort to expedite other pro-Israel bills.
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