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April 18, 2003/Nisan 16 5763, Vol. 55, No. 34
Will next Iraqi government be pro-Israel?
MATTHEW E. BERGER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - As the United States begins rebuilding Iraq, pro-Israel activists are watching closely, seeing an opportunity for the Jewish state to improve ties with another Arab neighbor.
Much of that hope has been placed in the hands of Ahmed Chalabi, a leader of the Iraqi National Congress opposition group who has forged strong ties with the White House and Pentagon in recent years - and has built a strong following in the American Jewish community.
"There's no track record of anyone else in Iraqi leadership having a relationship with the Jewish community," said Tom Neumann, executive director of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs.
Chalabi's group has been assigned to help U.S. troops impose order in Baghdad - a sign, some argue, that the congress is favored to play a large role in any interim government the United States forms in Iraq.
The Iraqi National Congress is not universally liked within the Bush administration. Reports stress that the State Department and the CIA are concerned about the congress' lack of popular support in Iraq.
JINSA and other Jewish organizations met with Chalabi and other congress leaders in the run up to the war last fall, part of the Jewish community's effort to strengthen Israel's relations with the Arab world.
With the Bush admini-stration preparing at the time to overthrow the regime in Baghdad, both the congress and Jewish groups said they had something to gain from a strong bond.
The congress saw a way to tap Jewish influence in Washington and Jerusalem and to drum up increased support for its cause.
For their part, the Jewish groups saw an opportunity to pave the way for better relations between Israel and Iraq if and when the congress is involved in replacing dictator Saddam Hussein's regime.
"Because Saddam was so anti-Israel, the hope is that all of Saddam's policies will be revisited, including his relationship with Israel and the United States," Neumann said.
The congress' relationship with JINSA also is signi-ficant because Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, who has been assigned to lead the U.S. reconstruction of Iraq, has traveled with JINSA and supported its agenda.
While JINSA has had a relationship with Chalabi for 10 years, according to Neumann, other Jewish groups are supporting him publicly for the first time.
Yet some observers worry that a public relationship could work against the interests of Jewish groups and the Iraqi opposition.
Michael Amitay, executive director of the Washington Kurdish Institute, said Jewish groups might run into problems by working only with Chalabi and Entifadh Qanbar, director of the congress' Washington office, because the congress does not have strong support in Iraq, where there are numerous opposition groups.
Perceived Jewish support for Chalabi could "drive a wedge between Chalabi and other forces in the Iraqi opposition," said Amitay, whose father, Morris, is vice chairman of JINSA's board of directors.
Qanbar disputes that claim. He says Jewish groups have been among the first to form an alliance with the congress because they realize support for the organization is growing within the Bush administration.
Some also worry that Chalabi's good words won't translate into a pro-Israel foreign policy. Pressure to garner support from inside Iraq and the rest of the Arab world could force the Iraqi National Congress to abandon its pro-Israel position.
In addition, the Bush administration's appointment of a military leader and encouragement of a dissident group with ties to Israel has played into conspiracy theories in the Arab world that the United States went to war in Iraq for Israel's benefit - perhaps constraining the next Iraqi government's latitude to approach Israel.
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