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January 29, 1999/12 Shevat 5759, Vol. 51, No. 18
Prayer invitation to Arafat sparks ire of religious right
MATTHEW DORF
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - As a sign of Yasser Arafat's growing stature, a leading conservative member of Congress has invited the Palestinian Authority chairman to the annual National Prayer Breakfast.
Arafat, who has rejected three previous invitations to the event, plans to attend the Feb. 4 reception, which will bring together American leaders and international guests to, in the words of organizers, "bring about reconciliation all over the world."
President Clinton, who is also scheduled to attend the prayer breakfast, said he would host Arafat at an informal meeting during the Palestinian leader's brief U.S. visit.
The decision by U.S. Rep. Steve Largent (R-Okla.) to invite Arafat to the prayer breakfast has sparked furor from some of his closest allies in the evangelical Christian community. Previous invitations came from Democrats, who held the rotating chairmanship of the breakfast. According to sources familiar with a campaign now under way, three of the nation's largest evangelical Christian groups - the Christian Coalition, the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family - oppose Arafat's appearance.
"It is an ill-informed, bad decision to invite a known terrorist and murderer of Jews and Christians, and Americans, to participate in a public exercise of faith here in the nation's capital," said Jeffrey Taylor, director of government relations for the Christian Coalition. "While we applaud and support all efforts to reach out to people of all different faiths, we do not think this is the time or the place to embrace a known terrorist." Taylor will not attend a dinner the night before the breakfast to protest the Arafat invite.
Jewish groups have not weighed in on the matter. After Arafat's planned attendance became public, Largent sought to distance himself from the decision, saying he was not aware of the hundreds of individuals included on the invitation list, according to Brad Keena, Largent's spokesman.
At the same time, Largent has said he believes it would be beneficial for Arafat to hear the Gospel. But Taylor said, "This is not the place to do it."
Expected guests include most members of Congress, Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. Representatives from the diplomatic corps from 160 countries were also invited to attend, as well as Israel's ambassador to the United States and the United Nations.
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