[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 50 (Thursday, April 27, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S3014]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        QUEST FOR MIDEAST PEACE

  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, I had the privilege of chairing a 
hearing of the Foreign Relations Committee on April 5 that examined the 
status of U.S. efforts to resolve still open questions of compensation 
and restitution arising from the tragedy of the Holocaust, and that 
looked broadly at the persistent phenomenon of anti-Semitism that 
inspired and enabled that monstrous crime.
  Extraordinary witnesses appeared before the Committee--led by Dr. 
Elie Wiesel, who called on us and all civilized men and women to stand 
firm against the dark forces of bigotry and other hatreds, and Deputy 
Secretary of the Treasury Stuart Eizenstat, who described the efforts 
of the United States and other countries to finally and squarely 
confront with painful truths and achieve some level of justice for the 
Holocaust's victims and its survivors.
  One subject that was analyzed for the Committee in great detail was 
the current reach and impact of anti-Semitism, and I feel particularly 
indebted to David Harris, Executive Director of the American Jewish 
Committee, for his thoughtful and comprehensive testimony on this grave 
matter. This presentation reviewed not only the scourge of anti-
semitism in Europe but the increasingly troubling incidence of this 
form of bigotry in the Arab world.
  At the same time that countries across the Middle East are engaged in 
a peace process guided by Washington that promises a new era in 
relations between Arabs and Israelis, old anti-Jewish enmities are too 
often tolerated, or even fanned, by important institutions in the Arab 
world. Anti-Jewish and anti-Israel propaganda of the most grotesque 
nature is commonly available--on the newsstands, in schools, in 
professional societies and political conferences--and almost 
universally tolerated, even by governments committed to pursuing peace.
  As the American Jewish Committee asserted, this sanctioning of hatred 
against Israel and Jews in general, profoundly complicates the search 
for Middle East peace, fostering a climate in which compromise, 
accommodation, trust and understanding--on both sides--may be 
unattainable. This virulent hatred is simply incompatible with the 
search for peace, and it is the obligation of the region's leaders to 
act firmly against its continuing dissemination.
  I am grateful that the American Jewish Committee distilled the 
essence of its testimony on this subject in an advertisement that ran 
on the Op-ed Page of the New York Times on Tuesday, April 11. I ask 
unanimous consent that the text of the AJC ad be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the New York Times, April 11, 2000]

                          Hatred Versus Peace

       A comprehensive and durable Arab-Israeli peace requires 
     more than signed agreements. What is needed are concrete 
     steps to build a culture of peace.
       As Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak takes bold and 
     courageous initiatives to achieve a permanent settlement with 
     the Palestinians, to withdraw Israeli forces from southern 
     Lebanon, and to negotiate with Syria, hatred of Jews seethes 
     in the Arab government-controlled media, and in many Arab 
     schools, religious institutions, and professional societies.
       Some recent examples:
       The Palestinian Authority-appointed Islamic Mufti of 
     Jerusalem last month publicly trivialized the Holocaust just 
     before meeting with Pope John Paul II, echoing a view often 
     published in newspaper articles and editorials across the 
     Arab world.
       Syrian textbooks are replete with anti-Semitism, Holocaust 
     denial, and open calls for the extermination of Jews.
       Professional societies in Egypt and Jordan, countries 
     formally at peace with Israel, prohibit contact with 
     Israelis. The Jordanian Journalists' Association expelled one 
     member for committing the ``crime'' of visiting Israel and 
     compelled three others to sign an apology.
       While Israeli diplomats originally invited to a University 
     of Cairo conference on March 28 were turned away at the door, 
     the Arab League, also meeting in the Egyptian capital, called 
     for an immediate end to Jewish immigration to Israel.
       The Palestinian Authority's official news outlets regularly 
     assert that Israel is spreading viruses throughout the Arab 
     world.
       Arab media have depicted, in words and cartoons, Israeli 
     Prime Minister Barak and Foreign Minister David Levy as 
     Nazis.
       Such virulent anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial in the 
     Arab world must no longer be tolerated.
       The spreading of hatred and the pursuit of peace cannot 
     coexist. Which will it be? The fate of the region may depend 
     on the answer.

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