Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 48, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 27, 1994 Page: 4 of 28
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Opinion
TEXAS JEWISH POST, THURSDA Y, OCTOBER 27, 1994 - IN OUR 48TH YEAR!
Washington Watch
By James David Besser
TJP Washington Correspondent
J.'i'lUl.j]'
Aviv bus bombing, Jewish groups
in this country expressed their anger
and helplessness by seeking ways
to limit Hamas fundraising in this
country and cut the flow of money any deun Is
from other nations to the Islamic
But beneath all the activity was
a sense that Hamas fundraising in
this country is probably a relatively
the”usUce Department 'to fully minor part of the group’s overall
utilize provisions of the recently operation—and that cutting off the extremism throughout the Middle
passed omnibus crime bill flow of funds from other nations East—and European loans and debt
V “ might entail costs that Washington
f
extremist group.
Last week, Jewish groups urged
and deal with them. But they’re
only a very small part of the
picture.”
A bigger part of the picture, he
said, is Iranian support for Islamic
President Hafez Assad
President Bill Clinton
outlawing the “material support
of terrorist activities by groups in
this country.
Attorney General Janet Reno
responded by saying that the FBI
will “lake appropriate action”
is not willing to pay.
“While they may be raising
money in this country, it* s probably
not a major factor in their
activities,” said Abraham Foxman,
Behind the Damascus Decision: officials felt that a decision not to
President Bill Clinton’s decision proceed would have been a
to visit Syria as part of his busy diplomatic slap in the face for
Middle East swing this week was a Assad.
controversial one in the inner
sanctums of the White House.
And Israeli officials sent clear
signals that while they were not
At a series of meetings, interested in arranging the
administration political officials president’s itinerary, they regarded
counseled against the Damascus a visit to Damascus as an
stopover because of concerns that “investment” that could result in
the president might be criticized an incremental increase in Assad’s
*
for giving Syrian president Hafez
Assad what be wants the most—
flexibility in the peace talks.
There was a subdued reaction
good relations with Washington— from Jewish groups and pro-Israel
without extracting any concessions members of Congress.
“With the treaty signing in
Jordan, nobody wanted to throw
Janet Reno
Abraham Foxman
on the peace process or Syria’s
support for terrorism.
And there were worries that a cold water on the trip, despite our against American organizations executive director of the Anti-
foreign trip just before the queasiness about Assad," said the
November 8 congressional
elections could add to the
Democrat's woes.
But the president’s foreign policy
advisors argued strongly in favor
of the Damascus visit, even if there
were no assurances that Clinton
would walk away with major
concessions from the stubborn
Assad.
U.S. efforts to break the impasse
between Israel and Syria, they
argued, required direct contact
between Clinton and Assad;
Wednesday’s signing of a
Jordanian-Israeli treaty provided
an unexpected opportunity for
personal diplomacy.
Secretary of State was initially
cool to the idea, but was quickly
persuaded that the demands of the
peace process outweighed the that “there is
political risks.
News leaks about the internal
discussions helped seal the
decision; after the first public
reports that a Damascus stop was
under consideration. White House
leader of a major pro-Israel group.
But the Zionist Organization of
America denounced the trip. And
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) said
that may be aiding Hamas military Defamation League. “We
activities, but declined to provide SHOULD track those activities.
restructuring for Iran “that have
made it possible for Iran to
underwrite (terrorism) around the
world.”
And Foxman pointed to religious
groups in Saudi Arabia as a key
source of Hamas funding.
But dealing with those sources
will be difficult, according to
Shoshana Bryen, special projects
director of the Jewish Institute for
National Security Affairs (JINS A).
“In some ways, we have
leverage—but we haven’t used it,’’
she said. “Iran has borrowed large
amounts of money from lending
institutions and European
governments to fund both internal
and external activities. Last spring,
we made only pro-forma protests
when the Europeans renegotiated
those loans on more favorable
terms.”
Washington has also been
unwilling to use its economic
support of the International
WASH WATCH p. 19
Editor and Pubither
J.A Witch
Managing Ed tor & Co^ubtuher
Rent Witch
, Aaaittant Edtar
Sharon Witch-Ray
1
Consultant
Steve Witch
Social Editor
Lindt Davideohn
Typoyaphy
Jim Evans
)
Rep. Nita Lowey
10 justification for
the President to be visiting Hafez
Assad in Damascus.
Big Questions on Hamas
Funding:
In the wake of last week's Tel
Texas Jewish Post
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Wisch, J. A. & Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 48, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 27, 1994, newspaper, October 27, 1994; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth754950/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .