Harman explains necessity of Iran measure to women at AIPAC meeting
VICKI CABOT
Contributing Editor
Talk about politics and power. Add a few personal anecdotes. Stir in a little Jewish guilt. Inspire with a message of hope.
U.S. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) came up with just the right recipe to charm an audience of 170 women at the first local American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) women's event, Dec. 10 at the Arizona Biltmore.
In less than a half hour, Harman deftly combined an explanation of recent legislation to curtail the production of chemical and biological weapons in Iran, with observations about the peace process, a plug for grass roots activism, and a quick story about an averted catastrophe at her daughter's bat mitzvah reception.
Harman partnered with Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) this year to sponsor a resolution imposing economic sanctions on Russian manufacturers who sell missile technology to Iran. It passed by an overwhelming majority.
Harman explained that she was briefed on the devastating threat that the missiles pose to Israel and other countries in the region by Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai last winter, during a visit to the Jewish state.
She returned to Washington, D.C., determined to do something and drafted the bipartisan resolution with Kyl.
"The Russians are not doing it because they are evil," she said at the AIPAC meeting, dispelling the old Cold War world view of Russia. "They're doing it because they're starving. ... They'll sell their wares whenever they can."
Harman, a former corporate lawyer and one of only two Jewish women in the House of Representatives, explained that she pursued the legislation, despite assurance from the White House that it was not necessary, because she has "a constitutional responsibility to speak my voice."
On the subject of Bosnia, Harman indicated she was troubled by a recent trip to the wartorn country, where Serbs, Croats and Muslims have engaged in almost four decades of war. After U.S. intervention, a ceasefire was declared in 1996.
"It's so evocative of the Holocaust," she said softly. "It's been 40 years of ethnic cleansing."
She was moved by a visit to Sarajevo, the site of the 1988 Olympic Games. In 1988, the cosmopolitan city was still touted as a model of ethnic and religious harmony. Now, she said, "The soccer field was a graveyard," the surrounding area strewn with what have become known as the roses of Sarajevo, shards of weapons buried in the ground.
There were some signs of hope, said Harman, including a new airport and improved road system, "but they have a long way to go.
Prosecuting war criminals and sending humanitarian aid to the region are critical to the its resurgence, she said.
"I fear that if we don't find a way as a part of NATO to keep the peace, it will happen again."
Harman expressed disappointment in the current impasse in the peace process in Israel.
"I'm sympathetic to the Netanyahu administration, which is insisting that security must come first," she told her audience. "The Palestinians can't be blowing up people and shopping malls and buses, and claim that they are participating in a peace process."
Harman said that both sides need to work to rebuild trust and then "find ways to keep the peace process moving."
Harman supports accelerating final status talks that will lead to a final resolution.
Responding to a question about peace with Syria, Harman suggested there may be new inroads, as an aging President Hafez Assad ponders his place in history.
"Some feel that he is worried about his legacy," said Harman.
And the bat mitzvah? When the original location was destroyed by fire, the reception went off without a hitch at another venue.
AIPAC lobbies the U.S. Congress in support of legislation affecting the U.S.-Israel relationship. The December women's event was chaired by Elodee Portigal.
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