|
|
May 20, 2005/Iyar 11 5765, Volume 57, No. 38
Iraqi pays for supporting Israel
HEATHER ROBINSON
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
For daring to visit Israel, Mithal Al-Alusi has paid with more than his life: It cost him his two sons.
A Sunni Muslim who founded the Democratic Party of the Iraqi Nation, or DPIN, Al-Alusi believes the new Iraq should defy the longstanding policies of most Arab nations and normalize relations with Israel.
Last September, while serving in the Iraqi interim government as director general of the national commission on de-Ba'athification, Al-Alusi visited Israel to attend the Herzliyah conference, an international policy forum that attracts scholars, politicians and Israel's military and political elite.
Al-Alusi hadn't even left the conference when his family began receiving death threats from insurgents.
Ultimately the insurgents murdered Al-Alusi's sons, Ayman, 30, and Gamal, 22, who were assisting him in establishing his grassroots political party, which is forged on the principles of individual rights and cooperation with other democracies.
Al-Alusi hasn't given up, however.
Earlier this month, he went to Washington to receive the American Jewish Committee's Moral Courage award.
He then returned to Iraq, where he continues to build his party, which has 7,000 members from across Iraq.
"It is a great honor for me to be here on behalf of all Iraqis who are fighting against terrorism," he said to thunderous applause and a standing ovation from nearly 1,000 people at the AJCommittee's annual dinner.
"No country can deal with terrorism alone," he said. "We need an alliance of democratic countries, to make it clear to terrorists that there is no dealing with them. There is only one way - to respect peace and human rights."
Al-Alusi is no stranger to controversy: A onetime member of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party, he and his family were forced to flee Iraq 27 years ago, after he was sentenced to death for opposing Saddam's human-rights abuses.
In the aftermath of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, they returned to their homeland. For Al-Alusi, it was the realization of his dream to participate in the shaping of a democratic Iraq.
He accepted a position as director general of the Iraqi national commission on de-Ba'athification. The commission's goal was to transform a totalitarian society into one that embraces democracy. One of the reasons Al-Alusi was interested in visiting Israel, he said, was to consult with people who knew about the de-Nazification process in postwar Germany, which he felt could inform his efforts in Iraq.
Al-Alusi has had to scrounge for funds in recent months to keep the DPIN alive. He believes the United States should support smaller political parties, such as his, that advocate individual rights and alliances with others.
Despite great obstacles, he is deeply grateful to the United States for liberating Iraq.
"Thank you, America," he said in his speech to the AJCommittee. "Without your help, nothing could have changed in Iraq."
|
|
