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July 16, 1999/3 Av 5759, Vol. 51, No.41
Troubled waters
Flap over terrorism panel appointee erodes ties
DANIEL KURTZMAN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
House Minority leader Richard Gephardt's (D-Mo.) decision to withdraw the appointment of a prominent American Muslim leader to a congressional commission on terrorism has opened a seismic rift between Jews and Arabs in America.
Gephardt's decision came after Jewish organizations protested that Salam Al-Marayati, who heads the Los-Angeles based Muslim Public Affairs Council, had condoned acts of terrorism against Israel.
Several members of Congress had also raised objections, urging the FBI to fully investigate whether he was qualified to serve on the newly created 10-member National Commission on Terrorism, which is charged with reviewing national policy on preventing and punishing terrorism.
In a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Gephardt said the process of gaining a security clearance would take longer than the six-month life of the commission itself. Aides said political considerations did not influence the decision.
Infuriated by Gephardt's reversal, Arab and Muslim leaders have rallied behind Al-Marayati, defending him as a voice of moderation. They blame American Jewish leaders for misrepresenting him as part of what they are calling a larger "witch hunt" to exclude Arabs and Muslims from government policy-making positions.
Jewish officials dismiss the notion of a conspiracy to keep Arab or Muslims out of government. The controversy surrounding the terrorism commission, they say, has nothing to do with Al-Marayati's ethnic or religious background and comes down solely to his statements on terrorism.
The flap has added another stress point to already strained relations between American Jews and American Arabs that is certain to complicate efforts to revive intergroup dialogue. It has even caused tensions among Jews, with some Los Angeles Jewish activists backing Al-Marayati and condemning the Jewish organizations who campaigned against him.
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, said the allegation that Al-Marayati poses a security threat is "dangerous" and "repugnant."
Following word of Al-Marayati's appointment last month, which came at the recommendation of David Bonior (D-Mich.), the Democratic whip of the U.S. House of Representatives, Gephardt's office was flooded by letters of protest from groups including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Zionist Organization of America, American Jewish Congress, American Jewish Committee and Anti-Defamation League.
Although Al-Marayati has said he condemns terrorism, he has come under fire for a series of statements that, Jewish officials say, justify terrorism, equate America's struggle for independence with Islamic fundamentalism and call for a renewed Arab economic boycott of Israel.
The 38-year-old Al-Marayati has been active in the Democratic Party and currently serves on Los Angeles' Human Relations Commission. He has worked over the years with local Jewish leaders to forge greater ties between their communities.
David Harris, executive director of the AJCommittee, said the attempt to cast Jewish opposition to Al-Marayati's appointment as an "anti-Muslim, anti-Arab framework," is a "predictable and unfortunate tactic."
In the meantime, at least one Los Angeles-area Jewish official who has had frequent contact with Al-Marayati said he plans to keep working to bridge differences.
"We'll be talking together and seeing where we can agree and what we could do together," said David Lehrer, director of the ADL's office in Los Angeles.
Other Jewish figures in Los Angeles rallied even more forcefully behind Al-Marayati. Rabbi Emeritus Leonard Beerman of Leo Baeck Temple charged, "In an attempt to dishonor a good man, I think these organizations have dishonored themselves."
Daniel Kurtzman writes from Washington.
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