To:aliatwaladen@yahoo.com
Date: 8 Feb 2007 10:47:31 -0000
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Subject: cair-net Digest of: get.201_300


cair-net Digest of: get.201_300

Topics (messages 201 through 300):

CAIR-NET: N.Va. Muslims Gather to Decry Raids
	201 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Raids, Detentions and Lists Lead Muslims to Cry Persecution
	202 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Muslims Condemn AJC Attempt at Political Exclusion
	203 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims Learn Techniques of Activism at VA Conference
	204 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: America Must Act to Stop Israeli Aggression
	205 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Pipes Says Enfranchisement of U.S. Muslims Threatens Jews
	206 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Jewish Groups Asked to Condemn Israeli Attacks
	207 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: "Betrayed" by Bush/AI Condemns Israeli Rights Violations
	208 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Powell Meets with Muslims/Orphans Rumor May be Hoax
	209 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Supports President's Demand for End to Israeli Attacks
	210 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Detainees/Afghan Orphans/Palestine/Teen Asks to Display Five 
Pillars
	211 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Advocate of Slaughtering Palestinians to Appear on Fox
	212 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Advertisers May Pull Ads From "Nuking Mecca" Journal
	213 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Muslims Defend Jewish Woman Fired for Marrying Palestinian
	214 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Columnist Says Quran is "Suicide Playbook"
	215 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Judge Firm on Open Hearing for Activist
	216 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims Say "War Crimes" Committed in Jenin
	217 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Help a Struggling Muslim Family
	218 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Aid Offers for Family Flow In
	219 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: JENIN - The Camp that Became a Slaughterhouse
	220 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Israel Rally "Spins" Brutal Occupation Say Muslims
	221 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Wolfowitz Booed at Pro-Israel Rally
	222 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Dept. Store Chain Settles Muslim Discrimination Complaint
	223 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: April 20 Rally for Palestine in DC
	224 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Largest-Ever Rally for Palestine - April 20
	225 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Is the Pro-Israel Media Lobby Losing its Grip?
	226 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Emerson Says Islam Needs "Reform," is "Outmoded"
	227 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Rep. McKinney Requests Hearing on Palestinian Relief 
Restrictions
	228 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Rally for Palestine Attracts 100,000 Americans
	229 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Congress Seeks $200 Million in Added Aid for Israel
	230 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Muslim Mother of 11 Freed in Florida
	231 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Fla. Editorial Cartoon Defames Palestinian Mothers
	232 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Dr. Laura Says Muslims Have a "Plan" to Dominate World
	233 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Palestinians in Jenin Turn Down U.S. Relief Aid
	234 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Report on American Muslim Civil Rights to be Released
	235 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Mourns the Loss of Dr. Hala Maksoud
	236 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: More Nebraskans Converting to Islam After Sept. 11
	237 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Desmond Tutu: Apartheid in the Holy Land
	238 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Anti-Muslim Incidents Up Three-Fold in Past Year
	239 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Action Needed on Gujarat Killings/Critical Look at Patriot 
Act
	240 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: U.S. Politicians "Pledge Allegiance" to Israel
	241 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Congressman Calls for Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians
	242 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Tenn. Muslims Accuse Whirlpool of Religious Discrimination
	243 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Thank Those in Congress Who Did Not Vote for Pro-Israel 
Resolutions
	244 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: A Penchant for Secrecy
	245 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: U.S. Physician Detained by Israelis After Reporting From 
Jenin
	246 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: At $3,100 an Hour, Solidarity Has Wings
	247 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: U.S. Gov. Must Protect Americans From Illegal Israeli 
Detentions
	248 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: The Israeli "Art Student" Mystery
	249 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Israeli Troops Defecate into Photocopier
	250 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: American Detainee in Israel On Hunger Strike
	251 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: American Security Sacrificed for Aid to Israel
	252 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Few Question Congress' Blind Support for Sharon
	253 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: American Relief Worker Released/Congress Encourages Extremism
	254 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Israelis Caught Near U.S. Naval Base in Truck with TNT Traces
	255 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: First Lady Can't Empathize with Palestinian Mothers
	256 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Praying Muslims Lead to Evacuation
	257 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CBS Exposes Faked Slave "Redemptions" in Sudan
	258 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Repeated Profiling of Muslim Traveler Prompts DOT Meeting
	259 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Rep. McKinney Calls for "Unvarnished Truth" on Terror 
Warnings
	260 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Breaking News - Dr. Riad Abdelkarim Released
	261 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Join in Welcoming Dr. Riad Abdelkarim Back Home
	262 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Dr. Abdelkarim Thanks Supporters for Release From Israel
	263 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: U.S. Defends Withholding Detainees' Names
	264 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Turkish Men Cause Alarm at Mass. Schools
	265 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Paul Harvey Says Muslims May "Sell Daughters"
	266 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Georgetown Univ. Cop Assaults Muslim Family
	267 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Detainees Allege More Retaliation
	268 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Georgetown U. Suspends Officer Accused of Assault
	269 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Calif. Cops Arrest 11-Year-Old Muslim Girl
	270 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Video of 11-Year-Old's Arrest/Inside the Pro-Israel Lobby
	271 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Demand Reunification of Muslim Family in Florida
	272 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: "Jihad" - At Harvard, a Word Sparks a Battle
	273 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: New FBI Guidelines May Lead to Abuses Say Muslims
	274 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Secrecy on Detainees is Debated in D.C. Court
	275 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Rapes Go Unpunished in Indian Mob Attacks
	276 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Act Now to Prevent War Between Pakistan and India
	277 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Expel American Muslims?
	278 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Muslims React to Fingerprinting of Visa Holders
	279 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Fingerprinting Proposal is Discriminatory Say Muslims
	280 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: "We'll Show Them Humiliated"
	281 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: All-American Osamas
	282 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CNN Host's 'War on Islamists' Sparks Religious Debate
	283 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: "Islamists"/Muslim Voters/Profiling
	284 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Fallaci - Muslims "Multiply Like Rats"
	285 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Baptists Call Prophet Muhammad "Demon-Possessed Pedophile"
	286 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: NJ Court Denies Release of Detainee Data
	287 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Vandals Attack Calif. Mosque Under Construction
	288 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Christians and Jews Condemn Anti-Muslim Smears
	289 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: "Who's the Real Demon?"/Starbucks Boycott
	290 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims Barred From Israel Hold News Conference
	291 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Muslim Police Officer Denied Right to Jumah
	292 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Islam Attracts Hispanics/Cover-Up of Anthrax Case?
	293 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: U.S. Must Keep Terror Hearings Open, Court Says
	294 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Fla. Drops Neglect Charges Against Muslim Family
	295 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Oppose Sanctions Bill That Harms Americans and Syrians
	296 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Bush Disagrees With Pastor's Remarks
	297 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Penn. Muslims Hold News Conference for Guard Denied Prayer
	298 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Muslim PAC Urges Support for Rep. Hilliard
	299 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Were Israelis Detained on 9/11 Spies?
	300 by: CAIR

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Forwarded Message [ Download File | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 17:28:00 -0500
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: N.Va. Muslims Gather to Decry Raids

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/26/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: PATIENCE
* CAIR CONFERENCE NEARLY SOLD OUT, REGISTRATION CLOSES 3-28
* N.VA. MUSLIMS GATHER TO DECRY RAIDS (Washington Post)
* EARTHQUAKES HIT AFGHANISTAN, 2,000 FEARED DEAD (Reuters)
* ANOTHER MUSLIM CONFIRMED DEAD AT WTC (Newsday)
* IF THINGS 'DON'T LOOK RIGHT,' THEY'RE READY TO ACT (Atlanta Journal)
* NEW YORKERS BELIEVE 9-11 HAD IMPACT ON DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE
* EMPLOYEES PRAY FOR GUIDANCE (Philadelphia Inquirer)
* ABCS AND ARABIC (Salt Lake Tribune)
* OUR HIJACKED FOREIGN POLICY (Antiwar.com)
         - Leaked Government report exposes Israeli spy ring
* ISRAELIS USE PEACE PROCESS TO SEIZE ARAB LAND, MANIPULATE U.S. POLICY 
(St. Paul Pioneer Press)
* ISLAM ON THE INTERNET (NPR)
* FRENCH TEACHERS END STRIKE AFTER MUSLIM HIGH SCHOOLER CHANGES 
HEADSCARF (AP)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: PATIENCE

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) passed by a woman who was 
weeping 
beside a grave. He told her to fear God and be patient. Not recognizing 
the 
Prophet, she said: "Go away, for you have not been afflicted with a 
calamity like mine." When she was later informed who he was, she went 
to 
the house of the Prophet and said to him, "I did not recognize you." He 
said, "Verily, real patience is at the first stroke of a calamity."

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Hadith 372

-----

CAIR CONFERENCE NEARLY SOLD OUT, REGISTRATION CLOSES 3-28

CAIR's intensive Training Conference on Saturday, March 30, and Sunday, 
March 31, in Vienna, Va., is nearly sold out. Registration will be 
closed 
on Thursday, March 28. There will be no on-site registration.

To register, go to:

http://www.cair-net.org/asp/leadershipconference.asp

Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) will offer a luncheon address dealing 
with 
Muslim civil rights in America as they relate to recent events.

A major legal initiative will be announced at an evening banquet.

At the conference, headlined "Muslims in America: Moving Forward with 
Faith," top trainers in their fields will offer workshops and lectures 
on 
media relations, civil rights advocacy, coalition building, and 
political 
empowerment.

Workshop presenters include Muslim congressional staffers, professional 
leadership trainers, representatives of national grassroots civil 
liberties 
advocacy organizations, media representatives, and CAIR staffers.

For more information, e-mail: register@cair-net.org

-----

N.VA. MUSLIMS GATHER TO DECRY RAIDS
By Rosalind Helderman, The Washington Post, 3/26/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17818-2002Mar26.html

Several hundred people met last night in Sterling to hear speakers 
denounce 
last week's searches of Muslim homes and businesses in Northern 
Virginia as 
reminiscent of government tactics in the McCarthy era.

The speakers promised to seek congressional hearings into the raids and 
called on listeners to support the fundraising efforts of the groups 
that 
were searched. Speakers also pledged a renewed effort to organize the 
American Muslim community.

"You have been law-abiding citizens...I want you to be strong. Hold 
your 
head up. You have done nothing wrong," Mohamed Magid, the religious 
leader 
of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, told the audience at the 
Sterling 
Library.

The crowd filled the room and spilled into a hallway. At that point, 
organizers announced that another meeting would be held at the Muslim 
group's center, also in Sterling, and they later said 150 people 
attended 
that meeting...

Among the businesses raided was Leesburg's Graduate School of Islamic 
and 
Social Sciences, which trains Muslim clerics, including for service in 
the 
U.S. military. Several of the businesses were centered in Herndon, 
including the International Institute for Islamic Thought...

Describing the raided groups as moderate and responsible, people at the 
meeting called the searches a turning point. "For American Muslims, a 
new 
day has been etched into our hearts and minds. That day was March 20," 
said 
Manal Omar, a meeting organizer...

-----

EARTHQUAKES HIT AFGHANISTAN, 2,000 FEARED DEAD
By Sayed Salahuddin and Brian Williams

KABUL (Reuters) - Aftershocks were hampering rescue efforts Tuesday 
after 
some 2,000 people were killed and thousands injured in a series of 
earthquakes which struck northern Afghanistan.

The interim government of the war-ravaged country appealed for 
international help, saying it could not cope with the disaster.

The quakes devastated the market town of Nahrin, a district capital of 
mud-brick buildings with a population of 10,000 near the epicenter in 
the 
rugged Hindu Kush mountains, and surrounding villages late Monday and 
Tuesday morning.

"It was a very heart-rending catastrophe," Interior Minister Yunus 
Qanuni 
told Reuters.

"The bodies of 1,800 have been pulled out of the rubble, but many more 
are 
still buried. More than 3,000 have been injured and 30,000 displaced," 
Qanuni said at Kabul airport before flying to the disaster zone...

Earthquakes are relatively frequent in the Hindu Kush mountain range. 
In 
1998, two earthquakes killed about 8,500 people and destroyed tens of 
thousands of houses in Takhar and Badakhshan provinces.

-----

ANOTHER MUSLIM CONFIRMED DEAD AT WTC

MISSING CADET CONFIRMED DEAD
By Merle English, Newsday, 3/26/2002
http://www.newsday.com/

Mohammad Salman Hamdani, 23, the Bayside police cadet and part-time 
ambulance driver sought for questioning since his parents reported him 
missing Sept. 12, is among the most recent confirmed victims of the 
World 
Trade Center attack, authorities said yesterday.

Family members had said Hamdani might have rushed to the Twin Towers to 
help with the rescue operation and died in their fiery collapse. But 
his 
mother and father also expressed fear - mingled with hope - that 
Hamdani 
might have been detained for questioning by authorities, although they 
did 
not know why he would be.

Hamdani's remains were found at the World Trade Center site recently 
and 
identified by the medical examiner.

Hamdani was a practicing Muslim whose family emigrated from Karachi, 
Pakistan, 22 years ago. A June graduate of Queens College, he 
reportedly 
had a job as a research assistant at Rockefeller University on 
Manhattan's 
Upper East Side.

-----

IF THINGS 'DON'T LOOK RIGHT,' THEY'RE READY TO ACT
By MARY LOU PICKEL, The Atlanta Journal, 3/26/2002
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/today/metro_c30a1108e2c420e5001e.html 


On Feb. 21, passengers ran up to several Guard troops to report that 
three 
Muslim men were praying loudly by the T-gates, according to a report. 
Two 
of the men had constantly walked up and down the aisle of their Delta 
flight from Nevada, making other passengers nervous, they said.

The Guard troops observed the prayer ceremony and tried to assess the 
situation along with FAA security officials. After the men boarded the 
plane, the pilot demanded rescreening for them and their six traveling 
companions.

When the party was cleared to go, 17 other passengers got off the plane 
in 
protest and were booked on another flight, according to a Guard 
report...

-----

NEW YORKERS BELIEVE 9-11 HAD IMPACT ON DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE
www.nytco.com

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 2002--A majority of job seekers 
(58%) 
and nearly half of hiring managers (44%) say the events of September 11 
have had an impact on workplace diversity in the greater New York 
metropolitan area, according to recent research findings from The New 
York 
Times Job Market, the print and online recruitment services offering of 
The 
New York Times advertising department.

Eighteen percent of job seekers and 12% of hiring managers say they 
believe 
there is more workplace discrimination since September 11. When 
surveyed, 
several respondents voiced their beliefs that people are no longer open 
to 
the concept of workplace diversity and that prospective employees who 
are 
Muslim or of Arab descent will now be viewed with suspicion by hiring 
managers. Some 10% of job seekers and 7% of hiring managers say the 
events 
of September 11 have made people more tolerant of other's 
differences...

This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com

-----

EMPLOYEES PRAY FOR GUIDANCE
By Jane M. Von Bergen, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/25/2002
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/2002/03/25/business/2930648.htm

Particularly since Sept. 11, Muslims feel vulnerable at work, she said. 
Among many religions, they need some of the most obvious accommodations 
- 
particularly time and space for prayer at several specified times 
during 
the day.

"Usually it can be worked out," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman with 
the 
Council on American-Islamic Relations, an Islamic advocacy group.

Hooper said that after Sept. 11 there seemed to be greater 
understanding of 
religious practices, but that Islamic workers experienced more of other 
kinds of harassment on the job.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported that the number of 
religious-discrimination complaints filed by Muslims between Sept. 11 
and 
March 11 was triple those filed during the same period a year 
earlier...

-----

ABCS AND ARABIC
BY PEGGY FLETCHER STACK, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 3/23/2002
http://www.sltrib.com/2002/mar/03232002/saturday/saturday.htm

Like school kids everywhere, these Sandy students gobble down 
macaroni-and-cheese, read about The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins and 
romp on colorful swings and slides. They know their numbers, colors and 
shapes and many can read and write in journals.

But this is Iqra Academy, Utah's only full-time Muslim school, so 
instead 
of "Ee-i-ee-i-oh!" in the chorus of "Old MacDonald," the elementary-age 
children sing, "God is only one!"

There are other differences as well. The 31 students -- whose families 
came 
from Burma, Malaysia, Palestine, Egypt, Indonesia and Somalia -- are 
taught 
by women who wear head scarves as a sign of obedience to God and learn 
the 
Arabic alphabet right along with English.

During their morning study of the Qu'ran, the children explore the 
notion 
of good and evil...

-----

OUR HIJACKED FOREIGN POLICY
Neoconservatives take Washington - Baghdad is next
By Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, 3/25/2002
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/justincol.html

Evil is defined, in the neocon sense, as any power that stands in the 
way 
of Israel and the current right-wing govenment's plans to ethnically 
cleanse Palestine of the Palestinians and solve the "Arab problem" once 
and 
for all. Under cover of a general Middle Eastern conflagration, with US 
troops and planes targeting Arafat's possible protectors, Israel hopes 
to 
use the US as a shield while she puts her enemies to the sword.

It's ugly, even monstrous - and it just may work. What could stop it, 
however, is if enough people like Matthews, and others in the media, 
catch 
on to the neocons' wargame - and decide it's time to pull the plug.

SEE ALSO:

THE TRUTH, AT LAST:
Leaked Government report exposes Israeli spy ring
By Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, 3/22/2002
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j032202.html

In the gray, matter-of-fact bureaucratese so typical of a government 
document, the leaked "Israeli Art Student Papers" - posted on 
Antiwar.com 
yesterday - confirm what we have been saying in this space all along: 
that 
an underground apparatus of Israeli covert agents, centered in the 
southwestern US but extending nationwide, carried out extensive 
operations 
in the months prior to 9/11. Their targets were US government offices, 
including not only the Drug Enforcement Administration (as previously 
reported), but the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Federal 
Protective Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms 
(BATF), 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a host of state and federal 
courthouses and other buildings, as well as military bases. There is no 
longer any doubt about whether the spy ring existed. Now we are left 
with 
the nagging question: what was its purpose?

The leaked document - provided to us by the heroic John Sugg, of 
Creative 
Loafing (Atlanta) and the Weekly Planet (Tampa) -- describes in 
excruciating detail the doggedly persistent efforts of Israelis 
claiming to 
be "art students" to get into the offices and even the homes of federal 
law 
enforcement agents and government officials. In this 60-odd page 
report, 
incident is piled on incident until, at a certain point, even the most 
mentally challenged reader -- even one who wants to give the Israelis 
the 
benefit of every doubt -- is forced to conclude that our friends, the 
Israelis, were up to no good: and, perhaps, far worse than that....

-----

ISRAELIS USE PEACE PROCESS TO SEIZE ARAB LAND, MANIPULATE U.S. POLICY
By FEDWA WAZWAZ, The St. Paul Pioneer Press, 3/24/2002
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/opinion/2916213.htm

The Middle East peace process was supposed to bring an end to the 
hostilities between Palestinians and Israelis, but instead it has led 
to a 
vicious cycle of violence, hatred and vengeance. So what went wrong? In 
answering that question, we must ask ourselves how well we know the 
issues 
involved in the "peace process?"

To the Palestinians, the peace process was to bring an end to one of 
the 
longest military occupations, leading to a viable Palestinian state 
that 
would allow Palestinians to live with dignity and freedom. To Israel, I 
believe, the peace process was a needed camouflage to continue seizing 
Arab 
land, expanding Jewish-only settlements, demolishing Arab-only property 
and 
engaging in other illegal acts. The Israelis have a scapegoat - 
Palestinian 
Authority President Yasser Arafat - to blame whenever the Palestinians 
resist the occupation and respond to these illegal acts with 
violence...

-----

ISLAM ON THE INTERNET
Part II: Muslim Women Breaking Down Barriers on the Web
By Davar Ardalan's report on Muslim women on the Internet
http://www.npr.org/programs/watc/cyberislam/fatima.html

For many Muslim women, the Internet has become a safe portal where 
traditional notions of the ideal Muslim woman can be tested, expanded, 
and 
re-created. As NPR's Davar Ardalan discovered, there is a dynamic 
exchange 
taking place online, where a Muslim woman can be a traditionalist or an 
iconoclast, a homemaker or an entrepreneur.

The "neutral ground" of the Internet allows many Muslim women to learn 
about their rights within the religion, without the usual cultural or 
traditional barriers -- barriers, for example, that prohibited Afghan 
women 
under the Taliban to educate themselves or go to work.

Ardalan met one woman who personifies the "cyber Fatima" trend. In many 
ways, Noorin Khwaya is a traditional Muslim woman who chooses to wear 
the 
Islamic veil and stay home with her four children. But she's also the 
CEO 
of a thriving home-based Internet company, TwoMuslimGirls.com, selling 
traditional garb over the Internet.

-----

FRENCH TEACHERS END STRIKE AFTER MUSLIM HIGH SCHOOLER CHANGES HEADSCARF
Associated Press, 3/26/2002

PARIS (AP) - Teachers at a suburban Paris high school ended a strike 
Tuesday over a Muslim student's insistence on wearing a head scarf 
after 
she showed up for class in a modified version that exposed her ears and 
forehead.

Striking a deal with school officials, the student changed her 
customary 
black headscarf, which had tightly framed her face and covered her 
shoulders, for a loosely draped scarf in light blue.

"I'm showing my forehead and ears now," the student, identified by her 
first name, Mimouna, told LCI Television. "All I want is to study and 
be 
left alone ... and to live my religion peacefully and tranquilly."

Nearly all of the 90 teachers at Leonard de Vinci high school in the 
suburb 
of Tremblay-en-France went on strike last Wednesday to protest a 
decision 
by officials of the Creteil school district to allow the student to 
attend 
class in a headscarf.

The teachers said the move threatened France's separation of religion 
and 
state.

The student had been banned from attending class in February after 
school 
administrators ruled that she had violated a school policy banning 
"showy" 
clothes, said Jean-Claude Girald, a teacher's union leader in the Paris 
area.

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2002 10:51:04 -0500
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Raids, Detentions and Lists Lead Muslims to Cry Persecution

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/27/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* VERSE OF THE DAY: SPEAK FOR JUSTICE
* RAIDS, DETENTIONS AND LISTS LEAD MUSLIMS TO CRY PERSECUTION (New York 
Times)
         - CUSTOMS SERVICE DEFENDS ITS AGENTS IN N.VA. RAIDS 
(Washington Post)
         - OPINION: MODERATE MUSLIMS - THE NEW TARGET? (Daily Star)
* MAN WHO DROVE TRUCK INTO ISLAMIC CENTER SAID HE HATED MUSLIMS 
(Tallahassee Democrat)
* EDITORIAL: FREE ANSAR MAHMOOD (Washington Post)
* NEWSPAPERS PUSH FOR ACCESS TO INS CASE (Detroit Free Press)
* MARCH 30 - NATIONAL DEMONSTRATIONS TO "END THE OCCUPATION"
* A REPLY TO DANIEL PIPES (New York Post)
         - U.S. ARABS' FIREBRAND
* SUPPORT AFGHAN QUAKE VICTIMS
* SUPPORT THE MUSLIMS OF INDIA
* MUSLIMS ASKED TO BECOME FOSTER PARENTS

-----

VERSE OF THE DAY: SPEAK FOR JUSTICE

"Show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the ignorant."

The Holy Quran, Chapter 7, Verse 199

-----

RAIDS, DETENTIONS AND LISTS LEAD MUSLIMS TO CRY PERSECUTION
By JOSEPH KAHN, The New York Times, 3/27/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/27/national/27MUSL.html

As the Bush administration investigates what it says may be domestic 
ties 
to Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, some Muslim leaders say the 
government is persecuting them as it once did suspected supporters of 
Japan 
or the Soviet Union more than 50 years ago.

An ad hoc group of Muslim civic and religious groups have accused the 
administration of racial and religious harassment, citing the Justice 
Department's request that 3,000 Muslims living in the United States 
submit 
to voluntary interviews, as well as a series of federal raids last week 
on 
homes, businesses and charities in Northern Virginia. Several hundred 
Muslims held an open meeting on Monday night in Sterling, Va., near 
Washington, to listen to complaints of people whose homes or businesses 
were among those raided. Many said they intended to press for 
Congressional 
hearings into police tactics and to organize rallies to call attention 
to 
abuses against Muslims since Sept. 11...

"As Muslims we condemned the terrorist acts of Sept. 11," said Akmal M. 
Muhammad, an imam who spoke at the meeting. "But we must also insist 
that 
the Bush administration stop practicing terrorism in reverse against 
us."

Though the number of Muslims in the United States has been estimated by 
some to be as high as six million, Muslims tend to be more loosely 
organized than adherents of some other major religions and do not often 
speak with a unified national voice. But groups like the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Public Affairs Council say 
they 
are trying to change that to protest what they describe as a pattern of 
discrimination against Muslims since the terrorist attacks...

Louay M. Safi, director of research at the International Institute of 
Islamic Thought in Herndon, Va., which was searched, did not complain 
about 
tactics. But he said his study center had no ties to terrorists and 
that he 
believed it was a target only because it supports Islam.

"This has undermined the effect of Bush saying that Muslims are 
peaceful," 
Mr. Safi said. "This is really a campaign against Islam."

SEE ALSO:

CUSTOMS SERVICE DEFENDS ITS AGENTS IN N.VA. RAIDS
By Tom Jackman, The Washington Post, 3/27/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22942-2002Mar26.html

The U.S. Customs Service said yesterday that its agents acted 
professionally while serving 16 search warrants in a series of raids in 
Northern Virginia last week...

The subjects of the searches and Muslim interest groups have protested 
the 
raids, challenging the reasoning and alleging heavy-handedness. Aysha 
N. 
Unus, for example, said she and her 19-year-old daughter were 
handcuffed 
for five hours in their Herndon home and were not allowed to cover 
their 
heads for several hours, as Islamic tradition dictates...

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic 
Relations, 
dismissed the agency's response. "First they said she wasn't 
handcuffed, 
now they're saying she was," he said about Unus. "We can hope this is a 
realization that something went wrong with this raid . . . and not just 
embarrassment about the negative publicity."

OPINION: MODERATE MUSLIMS - THE NEW TARGET?
The Daily Star (Lebanon), 3/26/2002
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/opinion/03_26_02_c.htm

For over 20 years, the Muslim leadership associated with the 
International 
Institute of Islamic Thought (http://www.iiit.org), one of the targets 
of 
the raid, has been at the forefront of many progressive, moderate, 
intellectual and liberal initiatives taken by American Muslims...

One of the most debilitating effects of raids on moderate Muslim 
institutions is the power it gives to those conservative Muslims who 
are 
critical of the US and see the war on terror as essentially a global 
war on 
Islam...

-----

MAN WHO DROVE TRUCK INTO ISLAMIC CENTER SAID HE HATED MUSLIMS
By Tony Bridges, The Tallahassee Democrat, 3/27/2002
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/2941390.htm

The man who crashed his truck into a campus mosque late Monday has a 
history of bizarre behavior linked to Florida State University.

Charles Franklin, 41, was arrested in 1992 after he used a metal pipe 
to 
vandalize the disc-jockey booth at V89, an FSU radio station. In 1998, 
he 
was investigated for allegedly driving his van at a group of students 
near 
the Student Union, according to FSU police.

Now, he's charged with burglary and felony criminal mischief in 
Monday's 
attack on the Islamic Center of Tallahassee. Franklin told police he 
did it 
because he "hated Muslims" and could face additional hate-crime 
penalties 
if convicted, said Scott Hunt, Tallahassee Police Department spokesman.

Federal prosecutors also reportedly are reviewing the case for possible 
civil rights violations.

"All (Franklin's) statements are very alarming for us," said mosque 
President Hazim Mohammed. "It's not just a crazy guy saying something, 
because he acted on it.

"The idea of terrorism is to terrorize. And that's what happened 
exactly..."

In Monday's attack, Franklin, who makes his living as a carpenter, 
crashed 
his GMC pickup into the West Pensacola Street mosque about 30 minutes 
before evening prayers.

The small truck was wedged into the building's front entrance, so he 
escaped by smashing out the cab's rear window. He left a Bible and a 
bottle 
of liquid marked "holy water" in the truck, police said...

According to his arrest report, he shouted curses at Osama bin Laden 
and at 
Allah as he was led to a patrol car.

Franklin allegedly told investigators that he wanted to kill Muslims 
and 
had tried unsuccessfully to join the military, adding that he could 
have 
blown up the mosque by putting propane tanks in the truck...

Meanwhile, Islamic leaders are convinced there was only one motivation 
behind the attack: hate.

"(His) statements are a clear indication that he came out of hate," 
Mohammed said. "He's carrying this hatred in his mind and his heart."

And in Washington, the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a 
statement Tuesday blaming Franklin's attack on "the current barrage of 
anti-Muslim rhetoric by right-wing commentators who paint Islam as a 
violent faith bent on world domination..."

-----

EDITORIAL: FREE ANSAR MAHMOOD
The Washington Post, 3/27/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22838-2002Mar26.html

MOST OF THE 1,200 immigrants picked up and detained by the federal 
government after Sept. 11 have been cleared of any connection to the 
terrorists, or to any terrorists. But most, according to a Sunday 
article 
by Post staff writer Hanna Rosin, are being deported anyhow. In the 
course 
of police inquiries, almost all of the detainees were found to have 
violated some law or regulation, sufficient grounds for them to be 
kicked 
out and never permitted to return.

The first reaction to this news may be: So what? They should have known 
better than to break a rule -- to overstay a visa, or help a friend 
without 
a green card find a job, or commit some other infraction. But the story 
of 
a Pakistani man, Ansar Mahmood, may have caused some readers, as it did 
us, 
to think twice about the administration's no-excuses policy. Mr. 
Mahmood 
seems in many ways to have been the ideal immigrant, the classic 
American 
story. He was here legally. He worked hard, legally, putting in 13 or 
14 
hours per day as a pizza delivery man. He lived frugally and sent money 
home so his sisters could go to school and his sick father could buy 
medicine...

Now he faces deportation, with no possibility of return...The 
government 
should not tolerate lawbreakers. But by rounding up aliens from 
majority-Muslim countries and then finding something, anything, to pin 
on 
them, the government seems to be saying: Terrorist or not, we're better 
off 
without you. From what we know about him, it doesn't seem to us that 
America is better off without Mr. Mahmood.

-----

NEWSPAPERS PUSH FOR ACCESS TO INS CASE
By David Ashenfelter, Detroit Free Press, 3/27/2002
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/haddad27_20020327.htm

DETROIT _ Government lawyers tried to persuade a federal judge Tuesday 
that 
the public doesn't have a legal right to attend deportation proceedings 
for 
Ann Arbor Muslim activist Rabih Haddad.

But U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds didn't seem to agree.

"Historically, the press had an absolute right limited only by 
overriding 
issues of national security to attend judicial proceedings," Edmunds 
said 
during the 2 -hour hearing on lawsuits filed by the Detroit Free Press 
and 
other newspapers to open Haddad's proceedings. At issue is a memo that 
Michael Creppy, chief U.S. immigration judge, issued Sept. 21 at the 
behest 
of Attorney General John Ashcroft. It directs all U.S. immigration 
judges 
to bar family, the public and the news media from immigration hearings 
resulting from the terrorism probe.

Haddad, who was born in Lebanon and lives in Ann Arbor, Mich., was 
arrested 
at his home Dec. 14, the same day federal agents raided the foundation 
he 
cofounded in suburban Chicago. The government says the Global Relief 
Foundation finances terrorism, which Haddad's supporters deny.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service arrested Haddad for 
overstaying 
his visa and is trying to deport him. It also is trying to remove his 
wife, 
Salma al-Rushaid, for overstaying her visa, and three of their four 
children. He is being held in Chicago. She and her children are free 
pending a deportation hearing April 10...

The newspapers argued Tuesday that the public has a constitutional 
right to 
attend court hearings, unless someone can show that there is a higher 
public interest in closing the proceeding...

"I've rarely heard a judge express her opinions so clearly during 
questioning," said Michigan ACLU Executive Director Kary Moss, who 
attended 
the hearing. "She was very up front when she thought the government was 
wrong in its position, which seemed to be most of the time."

-----

MARCH 30 - NATIONAL DEMONSTRATIONS TO "END THE OCCUPATION"

Major demonstrations are planned across the nation in support of 
Palestinian rights on Palestinian Land Day, Saturday, March 30. 
Demonstrations are scheduled to be held in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, 
CA, 
and Atlanta, GA. Please join us in demanding that the Bush 
Administration 
be actively engaged in the full implementation of International Law and 
UN 
Resolutions calling for self-determination for the Palestinian people 
and 
for an end to the Israeli Occupation.

WASHINGTON, DC
What: Demonstration & Rally
Where: Freedom Plaza (13th Street and Pennsylvania Ave., NW)
When: 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

LOS ANGELES, CA
What: Demonstration & Rally
Where: In front of the Federal Building at Westwood, which is at 
Wilshire 
Blvd. and Veteran St.
When: 12 p.m.

SEE: http://www.cair-california.org/announce/palestinerally.htm

ATLANTA, GA
What: Demonstration & March
Where: Starting at Piedmont Park- Ending in front of the Israeli 
Consulate.  Gather at the "Free Nelson Mandela" monument in Piedmont 
Park - 
right beyond the gate entrance at 10th Street & Charles Allen Dr.
When: 2:00-4:00 p.m.

For more information about the Land Day Demonstrations, please contact 
the 
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee at:(202) 244-2990 or by 
e-mail 
to: organizing@adc.org

Cosponsors:
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
American Committee on Jerusalem (ACJ)
American Muslim Council (AMC)
Al-Hewar Center
Council for the National Interest (CNI)
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
El-Bireh Society
Fellowship of Reconciliation/DC Chapter (FOR-DC)
Partners for Peace
Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Poverty & Genocide
Solidarity USA
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
Christian Peacemakers Teams (CPT)
American Muslims for Jerusalem (AMJ)
Al-Awda-DC
Jews Against Occupation (JAC)
Nonviolence International
The Young Arab Leadership Alliance (YALA) - Georgetown University
Peace Action
Arab Students Association at American University
Washington Peace Center (WPC)
Middle East Peace Committee/Washington Episcopal Diocese
Pax Christi USA
Union of Arab Students Associations (UASA)
American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice (AMGPJ)
Black Voices for Peace
Muslim American Society (MAS)
Palestinian-American Women's Association (PAWA)
The International Action Center (IAC)
International Socialist Organization (ISO)
Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP)
Solidarity International for Human Rights (SIHR)
Birzeit Society
Palestine Aid Society (PAS)
Coalition For Peace in the Middle East (CPME)
Unitarian Universalist for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME),

-----

A REPLY TO DANIEL PIPES
By HUSSEIN IBISH, The New York Post, 3/27/2002
http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/44527.htm

IN a heated exchange on MSNBC's Alan Keyes show recently, Daniel Pipes 
was 
so badly beaten on the merits of the argument that he was reduced to 
shouting at me to "shut up." Having failed to convince me to silence my 
advocacy on behalf of the Arab-American community voluntarily, Pipes 
now 
seeks to have me banned from the TV shows where I have repeatedly 
carried 
the day. In the pages of the New York Post he urges the media to "close 
their doors" to me ("U.S. Arabs' Firebrand," Opinion, March 25)...

Almost all his "evidence" that I should not be allowed to defeat him in 
television debates any more is quotes ripped out of their context and 
misrepresented, mainly from articles I wrote as a university student 
many 
years ago. It is truly touching to think of poor old Dan poring over 
musty 
issues of the Massachusetts Daily Collegian in a futile search for 
means to 
discredit me.

This is not the first time that Pipes, who is a veritable geyser of 
falsehoods, has resorted to such fabrications. In August 2000, he 
labeled 
me a "fundamentalist Muslim," whose goal is "the Islamization of 
America." 
This nonsense fell completely flat, and has occasionally come back to 
haunt 
him, since I was then and remain an ardent secularist. It has now given 
way 
to equally absurd claims that I promote "a set of far left-wing views."

So, in Pipes' mind, I've suddenly gone, in the space of less than two 
years, from being a far right-wing fundamentalist to an extreme 
leftist.

SEE PIPES' ORIGINAL ARTICLE: U.S. ARABS' FIREBRAND
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03252002/postopinion/opedcolumnists/44303.htm

-----

SUPPORT AFGHAN QUAKE VICTIMS

PRESS RELEASE - For Immediate Release

CONTACTS:

Phone: 248-424-7493
Susan Afr: Media Director -Ext. 25
Mariam Ahmad - Ext. 22

LIFE FOR RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT APPEALS FOR AID TO AFGHANISTAN 
EARTHQUAKE 
VICTIMS

Life for Relief and Development is requesting donations to assist in 
the 
aftermath of the earthquake on March 25 that killed an estimated 5,000 
people and destroyed over 30,000 homes.

Life is opening a field office in Kabul, Afghanistan. Development 
Director 
Vicki Robb who is at the border of Afghanistan stated, "Internally 
displaced persons are living in tent camps. So many more will be 
displaced 
now because of the earthquake. The needs are great because many people 
have 
had all their personal belongings destroyed."

Life has recently sent five 40-feet containers to Afghanistan in 
cooperation with other agencies. The aid includes requested medical 
supplies for the Women's hospital in Kabul as well as coats, blankets, 
and 
medical books. In October 2001 Life opened an office in Peshawar, 
Pakistan 
to aid the Afghan Refugees.

Life for Relief and Development is a nonprofit United Nations 
affiliated 
Organization dedicated to alleviating human suffering regardless of 
race, 
color, religion, or cultural background.

Donations to assist the Afghan victims are greatly appreciated. Credit 
Card 
donations can be made online at www.lifeusa.org. Checks should be made 
out 
to Life for Relief & Development and sent to:

Life for Relief and Development
17300 W. 10 Mile Road
Southfield, MI. 48075

1-800-827-3543
life@lifeusa.org
www.lifeusa.org

-----

SUPPORT THE MUSLIMS OF INDIA

Learn about the thousands who have been killed and injured by hate 
mongers 
in Gujarat, India.

WHEN: April 7, 2:30 p.m.
WHERE: Momin Lodge, 1918 Artesia Blvd, Torrance, CA
One block West of Western Avenue.

For more information, contact:

Ismail Ghosla       (714) 692-0577
Fakhruddin Kadri    (213) 388-8790
Dr. Aslam Abdullah  (909) 822-2805

-----

MUSLIMS ASKED TO BECOME FOSTER PARENTS

"HOW TO BECOME A FOSTER PARENT" WORKSHOP

First Workshop:

Date: Saturday March 30th, 2002
Time: 10 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.
Place: Islamic Society of Orange County, 952 W. 13th Street
(Cross Streets: Off of Brookhurst, Between Hazard and Westminster)
Garden Grove, CA 92844 Tel: (714) 531-1722

Second Workshop:

Date: Sunday March 31, 2002
Time: 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.
Place: Islamic Center of Grenada Hills, 11439 Encino Ave.
(Cross Streets: Between White Oak & Balboa & Rinaldi)
Grenada Hills, CA 91344 Tel: (818) 772-0906

Over the years Niswa (An Islamic Family Outreach Organization) has made 
a 
continuous effort to recruit Muslim foster parents by providing them 
with 
relevant information, encouragement and support to get certified.

Niswa Association
P.O. Box 1403 Lomita, CA 90717

CONTACT: CAIR_SCA@cair-california.org

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 16:24:33 -0500
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Muslims Condemn AJC Attempt at Political Exclusion

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/28/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH/VERSE OF THE DAY: ALL PROPHETS ARE BROTHERS
* CAIR'S LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE IS SOLD OUT
* MUSLIMS CONDEMN AJC ATTEMPT AT POLITICAL EXCLUSION
* CAIR CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS
* AFTER RAIDS, MUSLIMS SPEAK OUT FOR RIGHTS (Washington Post)
         - MUSLIMS PROTEST NORTHERN VA. RAIDS (Reston Times)
* FBI ARRESTS MAN WHO DROVE INTO MOSQUE (Tallahassee Democrat)
* COURT RULES DETAINEES' IDS MUST BE RELEASED (Star-Ledger)
* MUSLIMS: INCIDENTS OF BIAS GO UNREPORTED IN FLORIDA (Sun-Sentinel)
* CLARKSTON REJECTED STEREOTYPES, WINNER SAYS (Atlanta Journal)
* A GOLDEN REIGN OF TOLERANCE (New York Times)
* FLAWS IN AL-ARIAN SUIT RAISE DOUBTS (St. Petersburg Times)

-----

HADITH/VERSE OF THE DAY: ALL PROPHETS ARE BROTHERS

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Both in this world and 
in 
the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all people to Jesus, the son of 
Mary. 
The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but 
their 
religion is one."

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 652

"Say ye: 'We believe in God and that which is revealed to us; and what 
was 
revealed to Ibrahim (Abraham), Isma'il (Ishmael), Ishaq (Isaac), 
Ya'qoob
(Jacob) and their descendants, and that which was given to Musa 
(Moses), 
Isa (Jesus) and other Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction 
between any of them, and it is unto Him that we surrender ourselves.'"

The Holy Quran, Chapter 2, Verse 136

-----

CAIR'S LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE IS SOLD OUT

Space for CAIR's annual leadership conference on March 30 is now sold 
out. 
Any questions about conference registration should be directed to:

register@cair-net.org

-----

MUSLIMS CONDEMN AJC ATTEMPT AT POLITICAL EXCLUSION

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/28/2002) - The Council on American-Islamic 
Relations 
(CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, today condemned the 
latest attempt by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) to marginalize 
the 
American Muslim community.

According to the Washington Post, AJC officials have demanded that 
President Bush and Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) return political 
contributions from individuals who were targeted by recent raids on 
Muslim 
businesses and homes in Virginia and Georgia. No arrests were made in 
those 
raids.
SEE: 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28721-2002Mar27.html

According to the Post, White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said the 
president has not returned the contribution as demanded by the AJC. 
"This 
is an ongoing investigation. There have been search warrants that have 
been 
issued, but there have not been any charges made," said Buchan.

Moran said he would not return the contribution because he knows of no 
illegal activity by the donors. "In our system of justice, you're 
innocent 
until proven guilty -- not the reverse," said Moran.

"This is yet another example of the American Jewish Committee 
capitalizing 
on anti-Muslim prejudice and legitimate post-September 11 security 
concerns 
in a transparent attempt to marginalize and disenfranchise the American 
Muslim community. Elected officials should not succumb to 
politically-motivated and disingenuous strong-arm tactics by special 
interest groups like the AJC," said CAIR Governmental Affairs Director 
Jason Erb.

Erb added that the AJC has in the past supported the use of secret 
evidence 
against Muslims and Arabs, withdrew from an amicus brief to the Supreme 
Court because of Muslim involvement and demanded that a Muslim speaker 
be 
excluded from a public forum designed to promote intercultural 
understanding.

AJC Executive Director David A. Harris wrote in the May 28, 2001, issue 
of 
The Jerusalem Report: "We dare not underestimate the Arab and Muslim 
lobbies [in America] or delude ourselves as to their ultimate 
objectives. 
The stakes are too high. The call for action by American Jewry, 
together 
with Israel, is clear."

In a report, titled "The Jewish Stake in America's Changing 
Demography," 
published on the web site of the Center for Immigration Studies, AJC 
Senior 
Fellow Dr. Stephen Steinlight falsely portrays Islam as a violent, 
intolerant and anti-Semitic faith that is a threat to America. He 
wrote:

"...undoubtedly the greatest immediate threat to the well being of the 
American Jewish community and its interests stems from large-scale 
immigration from the Muslim world.

"At the risk of being labeled the fool who rushes in where angels fear 
to 
tread, it must also be acknowledged that classic Islam itself, the 
traditional faith - and not the hideous political ideologies derived 
from 
it - is itself not unproblematic in its attitudes towards Jews, 
Christians, 
and other non-Muslims."
SEE: http://www.cis.org/articles/2001/back1301.html#author

-----

CAIR CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/28/2002) - The Council on American-Islamic 
Relations 
(CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, today condemned a 
bomb 
attack on a Passover celebration in the Middle East that left 20 people 
dead and more than 100 wounded.

In a statement, CAIR said:

"We condemn this attack and all other attacks on innocent civilians. 
Illegitimate and counterproductive tactics must not be used in the 
legitimate struggle to end Israel's brutal occupation.

"This attack is of particular concern coming as it did during a 
religious 
observance in which the focus is remembrance of God.

"We ask the international community to similarly condemn actions by the 
Israeli armed forces that also target civilians and impose daily 
humiliation and suffering on an entire population through blockades, 
home 
demolitions, assassinations, indiscriminate shooting, torture, land 
confiscations and a wide variety of Apartheid-like and oppressive 
practices.

"To break this cycle of violence and counter-violence, all parties must 
focus on a political solution based on justice and equality, not force 
of 
arms."

-----

AFTER RAIDS, MUSLIMS SPEAK OUT FOR RIGHTS
By Rosalind S. Helderman, The Washington Post, 3/28/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22966-2002Mar26.html

Area Muslims met Monday night at the Sterling library to hear speakers 
call 
for a new level of organization to respond to 16 government raids on 
Muslim 
homes and businesses in Northern Virginia last week, including the 
Graduate 
School of Islamic and Social Sciences in Leesburg, which trains Muslim 
clerics for the military.

About 150 people attended the standing-room-only meeting, while a 
spillover 
crowd of about 150 reassembled for a simultaneous meeting at the All 
Dulles 
Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) center in Sterling. "The reason we are here 
today is that we will not allow our civil liberties to be 
compromised...This hits the core of our American values," said Manal 
Omar, 
who helped to organize the event on behalf of ADAMS...

Jemel Buck, director of operations for ADAMS, said the event was a way 
for 
the local Muslim community, deeply shaken by the raids, to try to heal.

"We are typically a quiet community," he said. "For us to gather and 
focus 
on protecting our civil rights is enormous. We're willing to stand up 
and 
say there was wrong in what they did."

ADAMS's headquarters, in a Sterling shopping center, was vandalized in 
the 
days after Sept. 11. The group's leaders broke ground in Herndon in 
November for a new Islamic Center to serve 1,700 families in the area.

SEE ALSO: MUSLIMS PROTEST NORTHERN VA. RAIDS
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=3668707&BRD=1898&PAG=461&dept_id=126522&rfi=6

-----

FBI ARRESTS MAN WHO DROVE INTO MOSQUE
By Tony Bridges, Tallahassee Democrat, 3/28/2002
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/local/2949088.htm

The FBI has arrested the man who drove his truck into a mosque near the 
Florida State University campus earlier this week.

Charles Franklin, 41, is being held in the Leon County Jail and is 
expected 
to appear in federal court this morning. He has not yet been officially 
charged but was arrested based on "probable cause," according to an FBI 
spokesman.

"There's a federal interest in this matter...a civil rights interest," 
said 
Special Agent Bill Hurlburt, with the FBI's Jacksonville office.

Tallahassee police arrested Franklin late Monday at a West Tennessee 
Street 
bar where he'd walked to after allegedly ramming his GMC pickup into 
the 
front of the Islamic Center of Tallahassee. He told investigators he 
did it 
as a statement to all Muslims that they should leave the country, 
according 
to his arrest report...

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, he 
wrote 
in a letter published in the Democrat that "the violence must end, but 
American flower power will not soften the hearts of militant Muslims. 
Until 
all of Abraham's descendants learn to live as brothers in the tiny land 
that they all cherish, the hawk will continue to circle and the dove 
will 
be put to flight."

Hazim Mohammed, president of the mosque, planned to attend today's 
hearing 
in federal court with others from the Islamic Center.

"We're glad that he is still in custody," Mohammed said late Wednesday. 
"They did not just totally release him."

-----

COURT RULES DETAINEES' IDS MUST BE RELEASED
Secret arrests violate 104-year-old state law
BY BRIAN DONOHUE, New Jersey Star-Ledger, 3/27/2002
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1017223820277344.xml

Striking a blow to the U.S. government's policy of keeping secret the 
identities of foreigners swept up in its terrorism investigations, a 
Superior Court judge ruled yesterday the names of those held on 
immigration 
charges in New Jersey must be made public.

Hudson County Assignment Judge Arthur D'Italia ruled the government's 
refusal to release the names and other basic information on hundreds of 
detainees violates a 104-year- old state law requiring jailers to 
publish a 
public list of all inmates in their facility...

The counties and federal government have 45 days to file an appeal in 
the 
case.

-----

MUSLIMS: INCIDENTS OF BIAS GO UNREPORTED IN FLORIDA
By Madeline Baró Diaz, The Sun-Sentinel, 3/27/2002
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/miami/sfl-dmuslim27mar27.story?coll=sfla%2Dnews%2Dmiami

MIAMI · Since Sept. 11, discriminatory incidents against Muslims in 
Florida 
have gone unreported because of fear, activists told a civil rights 
panel 
Tuesday.

"Our community is a very shy community and a very quiet community," 
said 
Sofian Abdelaziz, director of the American Muslim Association of North 
America. "We're not going to have demonstrations. We're not going to 
have 
riots. We're not going to have all that because we don't believe in 
that."

Abdelaziz and other community leaders spoke about post-Sept. 11 
discrimination during a meeting of the Florida Advisory Committee to 
the 
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The information gathered at the 
meeting, 
conducted at the Sheraton Biscayne Bay, will feed a national project on 
discrimination against Muslims, said Bobby D. Doctor, regional director 
of 
the commission.

Community leaders on Tuesday spoke about the treatment of Muslims by 
law 
enforcement and government agencies. They spoke of Muslims held on 
suspicion of terrorism who later were cleared, Muslim women who were 
forced 
to remove their hijab, or head covering, in public although it is 
against 
their religion, and racial profiling by law enforcement agencies of 
Muslims, Arabs and those thought to be Muslim or Arab.

Altaf Ali, executive director of the Florida chapter of the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations, said Muslims have been discriminated 
against 
simply because of how they look. He described bumper stickers he's seen 
that advocated killing Muslims or kicking them out of the United 
States.

A message of nondiscrimination toward Muslims would have to come from 
the 
highest levels of government, he said...

-----

CLARKSTON REJECTED STEREOTYPES, WINNER SAYS
By SHANDRA HILL, The Atlanta Journal, 3/28/2002

Six months after Sept. 11, Clarkston voters ignored ethnic stereotypes 
and 
elected an American Muslim of African and Middle Eastern ancestry to 
fill a 
seat on the Clarkston City Council.

Abdul Akbar won 66 percent of the votes cast for an at-large seat on 
the 
six-member council during a special election last week.

Akbar, who has no political background, originally had run for one of 
three 
vacant council seats in November. He lost by two votes. "The one thing 
I 
found with the people of Clarkston is they are very open to see who you 
are," Akbar said. "They welcomed me with open arms. They wanted to know 
me, 
not as Abdul Akbar.

"They wanted to know me as what type of person are you, what can you do 
to 
improve our community, how can you help with government services, how 
can 
you address the issues of taxes?

"They wanted to know about the issues that address their everyday life, 
and 
that's how I spoke to them..."

"I want to be remembered as the regular person who connects with 
everyone, 
who will make sure that their trash gets picked up, the potholes get 
filled," he said. "I want to be one of the regular people who solve 
problems."

-----

A GOLDEN REIGN OF TOLERANCE
By Maria Rosa Menocal, The New York Times, 3/28/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/28/opinion/28MENO.html
Maria Rosa Menocal is director of the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale 
and 
author of "The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians 
Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain."

The lessons of history, like the lessons of religion, sometimes neglect 
examples of tolerance. A thousand years ago on the Iberian Peninsula, 
an 
enlightened vision of Islam had created the most advanced culture in 
Europe. A nun in Saxony learned of this kingdom from a bishop, the 
caliph's 
ambassador to Germany and one of several prominent members of his 
diplomatic corps who were not Muslims; the bishop most likely reported 
to 
the man who ran the foreign ministry, who was a Jew.

Al Andalus, as the Muslims called their Spanish homeland, prospered in 
a 
culture of openness and assimilation...

-----

FLAWS IN AL-ARIAN SUIT RAISE DOUBTS
By GRAHAM BRINK, St. Petersburg Times, 3/28/2002
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/03/28/TampaBay/Flaws_in_Al_Arian_sui.shtml

TAMPA - John Loftus made a big splash last week when he filed a lawsuit 
against Sami Al-Arian, accusing the suspended University of South 
Florida 
professor of using charities to solicit and launder money, then funnel 
it 
to terrorist groups in Syria.

Loftus said he made the accusations public to pressure the government 
into 
taking action against Al-Arian and the Saudi organizations "that helped 
fund terrorism." But he also thinks he will be able to bring enough 
evidence and witnesses to win the case. But will the suit hold up in 
court? 
Does the former federal prosecutor turned Nazi hunter have legal 
standing 
to file it? Or is it just a "publicity stunt," as Al-Arian called it 
while 
vehemently denying the allegations?

The lawsuit has flaws, including factual mistakes and misspellings. It 
also 
relies heavily on confidential sources that Loftus said he developed 
during 
25 years as an intelligence community insider and observer.

Tampa attorney Bill Jung said he does not envy the judge who has to 
sort 
through the 23-page suit.

"It starts out strong but then turns into a bad Ludlum novel," Jung 
said...

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002 12:21:26 -0500
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims Learn Techniques of Activism at VA Conference

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/29/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* VERSE OF THE DAY: PATIENCE IN ADVERSITY
* INFORMATION ON VA RAIDS MAY HAVE BEEN LEAKED
* U.S. MUSLIMS LEARN TECHNIQUES OF ACTIVISM AT VA CONFERENCE
* REMINDER - MARCH 30 RALLIES IN SUPPORT OF PALESTINE
* 20/20 REPORTS ON SAUDI ARABIA (ABC)
* CHURCH FLEXTIME: SELLING OUT OR SAVING WORLD? (Christian Science 
Monitor)
* ISLAMIC GROUPS WILL INVITE THE PUBLIC (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
* IRANIAN-AMERICAN FUND-RAISER AT HEART OF STATE POLITICAL SQUABBLE 
(Gannett News Service)
         - MUSLIMS CONDEMN ACJ ATTEMPT AT POLITICAL EXCLUSION
* ANTI-IMMIGRANT MOVEMENT IN EUROPE REFLECTS POST-SEPT. 11 VIEWS ON 
MUSLIMS 
(Washington Post)
* THE PROPHET WOULD BE APPALLED (Globe and Mail)

-----

VERSE OF THE DAY: PATIENCE IN ADVERSITY

"Do you think that you shall enter the Paradise without such (trials) 
as 
came to those who passed away before you? They encountered suffering 
and 
adversity and were so shaken in spirit that even the Apostle and those 
of 
faith who were with him cried: "When (will come) the help of God?" Ah! 
verily the help of God is (always) near!

The Holy Quran, Chapter 2, Verse 214

-----

INFORMATION ON VA RAIDS MAY HAVE BEEN LEAKED

A delegation of Islamic leaders and those targeted by recent raids on 
Muslim homes and businesses in Virginia met yesterday with Rep. Frank 
Wolf 
(R-VA). Meeting participants included Dean Boyd, public affairs 
specialist 
with the Department of the Treasury and Nicole Nason, assistant 
commissioner the U.S. Customs Service. The meeting was organized by the 
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC).

Following the meeting, MPAC issued a statement that read in part: 
"...sealed information that told of the upcoming raid on American 
Muslim 
businesses and individuals may have been leaked to John J. Loftus, 
former 
prosecutor in the Justice Department's Nazi War Crimes Unit.

"Mr. Loftus contacted members of the media and told them of the 
upcoming 
raids before they occurred to assure that they would be covered by the 
media...

"Boyd publicly confirmed MPAC's suspicion that John Loftus leaked the 
story 
of the raids on American Muslim organizations and individuals to the 
media..."

Also present at the meeting were representatives from the American 
Muslim 
Council and the Council for American-Islamic Relations.

-----

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 3/29/2002

                                 -- MEDIA ADVISORY --

U.S. MUSLIMS LEARN TECHNIQUES OF ACTIVISM AT VA CONFERENCE
Recent events highlight need for grassroots political mobilization

WHAT: On Saturday, March 30, the Council on American-Islamic Relations 
(CAIR) will hold its annual leadership conference at the Sheraton 
Premiere 
hotel in Vienna, Virginia. The sold-out conference, Muslims in America: 
Moving Forward with Faith, offers intensive workshops and lectures on 
media 
relations, civil rights advocacy, coalition-building and political 
empowerment. Conference attendees include Muslim community leaders and 
activists from across the United States.

Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) will offer a luncheon keynote 
address focusing on Muslim civil liberties in light of recent 
government 
actions such as the raids on homes and businesses in northern Virginia. 
CAIR will also announce a major legal initiative at the luncheon.

There are an estimated seven million Muslims in America.
SEE: CAIR's "The Mosque in America: A National Portrait" at 
http://www.cair-net.org/mosquereport.

WHEN: Saturday, March 30, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. (Journalists are invited to 
attend the luncheon. Conference workshops are limited to paid 
attendees.)
Luncheon - 1:30 p.m.
Dinner Banquet - 7 p.m.

WHERE: Sheraton Premiere, 8661 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA

                                         - END -

CONTACT:        Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL - cair@cair-net.org
                 Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org

-----

REMINDER - MARCH 30 RALLIES IN SUPPORT OF PALESTINE

Major demonstrations are planned across the nation in support of 
Palestinian rights on Palestinian Land Day, Saturday, March 30. 
Demonstrations are scheduled to be held in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, 
CA, 
and Atlanta, GA. Please join us in demanding that the Bush 
Administration 
be actively engaged in the full implementation of International Law and 
UN 
Resolutions calling for self-determination for the Palestinian people 
and 
for an end to the Israeli Occupation.

WASHINGTON, DC
What: Demonstration & Rally
Where: Freedom Plaza (13th Street and Pennsylvania Ave., NW)
When: 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

LOS ANGELES, CA
What: Demonstration & Rally
Where: In front of the Federal Building at Westwood, which is at 
Wilshire 
Blvd. and Veteran St.
When: 12 p.m.

SEE: http://www.cair-california.org/announce/palestinerally.htm

ATLANTA, GA
What: Demonstration & March
Where: Starting at Piedmont Park- Ending in front of the Israeli 
Consulate.  Gather at the "Free Nelson Mandela" monument in Piedmont 
Park - 
right beyond the gate entrance at 10th Street & Charles Allen Dr.
When: 2:00-4:00 p.m.

-----

20/20 REPORTS ON SAUDI ARABIA
http://abcnews.go.com/Sections/2020/
Friday, March 29, 10 p.m. (ET)

One-hour special: Barbara Walters reports from Saudi Arabia, the 
spiritual 
center of Islam and the home country of 15 of the Sept. 11 hijackers, 
where 
she also interviews Abdullah bin Laden, Osama's brother.

Watch the program and then send comments to:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/2020/2020friday_email_form.html

-----

CHURCH FLEXTIME: SELLING OUT OR SAVING WORLD?
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald, The Christian Science Monitor, 3/29/2002
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0329/p01s04-ussc.html

Across the country, churches are bending schedules to make encounters 
with 
the holy more practical, even if the new timing reflects a society's 
collective downtime rather than a liturgical calendar. With the shift, 
especially evident as Holy Week ushers in Easter, purists lament the 
loss 
of religious tradition while pragmatists applaud the popularity of 
flexible 
worship times.

At the core looms a perennial but primal question: Are churches 
transforming timetables to fit the world? Or are they transforming the 
world by bringing more people into churches through better 
timetables?...

In Islam, the dilemma doesn't exist, because sacred time can't be 
compromised. Community worship is required once a week between noon and 
2 
p.m. on Friday, and work is no excuse to miss. "People say [to 
employers], 
'I'll come in early or stay late, but this is something I have to do,' 
" 
says Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. 
"Somebody 
might be weak and make an argument why they can't, but the religion 
wouldn't allow for it."

-----

ISLAMIC GROUPS WILL INVITE THE PUBLIC
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/28/2002

The Islamic Foundation of Greater Saint Louis and the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations, St. Louis Chapter, are holding a joint open 
house Saturday at 517 Weidman Road in Manchester, near Queeny Park. 
People 
of all faiths are invited, and participants may ask questions about 
Islam 
and American Muslims.

A 90-minute program of lectures, videos and tours will begin at 9 a.m., 
noon and 3 p.m.

-----

IRANIAN-AMERICAN FUND-RAISER AT HEART OF STATE POLITICAL SQUABBLE
By CARL WEISER, Gannett News Service, 3/27/2002

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Joseph Biden's acceptance of campaign donations 
raised 
by an Iranian-American dentist has prompted the head of his state's 
Republican Party to accuse him of supporting a country identified by 
President Bush as part of the "axis of evil."

But Biden says the fund-raiser has no ties to terrorism, and another 
Iranian-American group accused the Delaware GOP of Muslim-bashing. 
Sadegh 
Namazikhah, a Los Angeles dentist, hosted a February event for Biden 
that 
raised an estimated $ 24,000 to $ 30,000.

State Republican Party Chairman Everett Moore on Tuesday demanded that 
Biden return the money. He said Namazikhah was a "lobbyist" for Iran, 
which 
along with Iraq and North Korea forms Bush's "axis of evil..."

At a Tuesday night Democratic Party fund-raiser in Dover, Biden said 
the 
Iranian Muslim Association of North America that Namazikhah belongs to 
does 
not support terrorism or religious extremism...

Namazikhah was, until recently, chairman of the Endodontics Department 
at 
the University of Southern California...

The Web site for the Iranian Muslim Association of North America says 
it is 
"dedicated to bring the Iranian Muslim community closer together while 
teaching people of all races and religion about Islam and the Iranian 
Culture..."

"Dr. Namazikhah is an independent person with no relations to the 
Iranian 
government or fundamentalist Muslim group," said Hooshang Amirahmadim, 
a 
Rutgers University professor and founder of the AIC.

"The charge is simply Muslim-bashing and I would add Iran-bashing; it 
is 
certainly a Biden-bashing attempt as well," he said...

Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic 
Relations, 
said such political accusations were increasingly common and "pretty 
pathetic."

"You find out if any Muslim has donated to your opponent and then you 
say 
those Muslims are tied to terrorism," he said. "It's just standard 
procedure in any political contest..."

The chairman of the American Iranian Council, Robert Pelletreau -- a 
former 
ambassador in both the Reagan and first Bush administrations -- said he 
knew of no evidence that Namazikhah worked for the Iranian government.

Nor, he said, is there anything sinister about urging exchanges between 
Iran's parliament and the U.S. Congress, as Biden did in a March 13 
speech 
to the AIC...

For background, see: MUSLIMS CONDEMN ACJ ATTEMPT AT POLITICAL EXCLUSION
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?articleid=694&articletype=1

-----

ANTI-IMMIGRANT MOVEMENT IN EUROPE REFLECTS POST-SEPT. 11 VIEWS ON 
MUSLIMS
Peter Finn, The Washington Post, 3/29/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33967-2002Mar28.html

A wave of anti-Muslim sentiment has bolstered far-right parties in some 
European countries since Sept. 11 and left the continent's large 
communities of foreigners wondering how long their welcome will last.

The changing mood has found its fullest political expression here in 
Denmark, where an anti-immigrant party won 12 percent of the vote in 
parliamentary elections in November, nearly doubling its showing from 
the 
previous election. Its campaign posters featured a picture of a young 
blond 
girl and the slogan: "When she retires, Denmark will have a Muslim 
majority."

-----

THE PROPHET WOULD BE APPALLED
By SHEEMA KHAN, The Globe and Mail, 3/29/2002
http://globeandmail.com/ Search using the term "Sheema Khan."
Sheema Khan is chair of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, 
Canada.

A memorial service was held for journalist Daniel Pearl this past 
Sunday in 
Ottawa. It provided an excellent opportunity to pay respect, offer 
sympathy 
and stand in solidarity against xenophobia. It is clear that hate does 
not 
strengthen an individual's identity. On the contrary, it destroys the 
humanity within.

The brutal manner in which Mr. Pearl was killed is horrific enough. Yet 
it 
was even more repulsive to know that Mr. Pearl was kidnapped, murdered 
and 
mutilated simply because he was a Jew. As a Muslim who has been 
involved in 
fighting discrimination and hate directed at Muslims over the past few 
years, I thought I knew how destructive hate could be. But Mr. Pearl's 
murder brought home a chilling reality.

That "Muslims," ostensibly "fighting" for the liberation of their 
oppressed 
brethren, seeking to "embarrass" Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, 
would engage in such a barbaric act, and murder a man simply because he 
was 
a Jew, is an affront to Muslims everywhere, and is completely rejected 
by 
the very foundations of Islam. As for this week's bombing in Israel -- 
the 
murder of people who were engaged in worship, be it for Sunday service 
or 
Passover, is vile, and condemned in Islam. Muslims must denounce it in 
the 
strongest of terms...

-----

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http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002 15:04:11 -0500
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: America Must Act to Stop Israeli Aggression

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

CAIR ACTION ALERT #326

AMERICA MUST ACT TO STOP ISRAELI AGGRESSION
The media need to hear from you on the issue of Palestine

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/29/2002) - As Israeli forces rampage throughout 
Palestine and American media outlets offer only the Israeli viewpoint 
on 
the crisis, our elected officials remain silent. CAIR is calling on 
members 
of the Muslim community to take positive steps in defense of the 
Palestinian people and in support of America's real interests in the 
region. Take two minutes to make your voice heard on this important 
issue.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED:

1) CONTACT President Bush to let him know that Palestinian Muslims and 
Christians have the right to freedom and justice. Ask that he make a 
public 
statement calling for an end to Israeli aggression. Also ask that he 
meet 
with American Muslim leaders to discuss the crisis and America's 
inaction.

CONTACT:

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

TEL: 202-456-1414, Press 1
FAX: 202-456-2461
E-MAIL: president@whitehouse.gov, secretary@state.gov, 
cair@cair-net.org

2) CONTACT your elected representatives to make the same point. To 
obtain 
contact information for your representative, go to:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/, or call 202-224-3121. Have your Zip 
Code 
ready. For senators, go to: 
http://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cfm

3) CONTACT local and national media outlets to express the Muslim 
perspective on the conflict. Call radio talk show call-in programs 
(numbers 
are announced on-air), send e-mails to cable news programs, write 
letters 
to the editor, and respond to one-sided coverage with a call, fax or 
e-mail.

ABC News - 212-456-4040
CBS News - 212-975-3691
NBC News - 212-664-4971
CNN - 404-827-1511
Fox News - 212-301-3300
MSNBC - 201-583-5222
PBS - 703-998-2150
NPR - 202-414-2200
NY Times - 212-556-1234
USA Today - 703-276-3400
WS Journal - 212-416-2000
Wash. Post - 202-334-6000
Time  - 212-522-1212
U.S. News - 202-955-2000
AP 212-621-1600
MSNBC - 201-583-5000
CNBC - 201-585-2622

TALKING POINTS:

* America's true interests are served by standing up for freedom and 
justice, not by blindly following the dictates of a foreign government 
and 
its domestic lobby. American officials must stop parroting the Israeli 
line 
and step in as honest brokers.

* Palestinians will not stop resisting the Israeli occupation until 
they 
feel there is a just political solution in sight.

* Israel's incessant attacks on civilian areas causes severe trauma in 
the 
entire civilian population.

* Israeli attacks are a form of collective punishment, not strikes on 
perpetrators of crimes. Israel does not just attack forces that are 
attacking them, but take revenge against the whole population with home 
demolitions, destruction of agricultural land, curfews, and attacks on 
civilian infrastructure like media outlets, electrical plants, schools, 
and 
police stations.

* Israel is using US-supplied weapons of war, with tacit approval, 
against 
civilian targets in violation of U.S. and international law. American 
weapons are supplied on the premise that they will be used only in 
self-defense, not in revenge attacks or to enforce an illegal military 
occupation.

* This conflict pits one of the world's strongest armies against 
unarmed 
civilian population.

* Israeli actions could lead to a wider war in the region.

- PLEASE ANNOUNCE, POST AND DISTRIBUTE AT FRIDAY PRAYERS -

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----



Forwarded Message

Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 16:27:30 -0500
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Pipes Says Enfranchisement of U.S. Muslims Threatens Jews

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/31/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: VISITING THE SICK
* PIPES SAYS ENFRANCHISEMENT OF U.S. MUSLIMS THREATENS JEWS
        - Muslims condemn ACJ attempt at political exclusion
        - Who is Daniel Pipes?
* KILLINGS RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT ISRAELI TACTICS (Washington Post)
         - Israeli killings: Troops stormed Arafat's men's base - and 
Palestinians
         believe that what followed was an execution (The Observer)
* THE ISRAEL LOBBY (Prospect)
* INTRACTABLE FOES, WARRING NARRATIVES (MSNBC)
* EDITORIAL: A WAR ON ISLAM? (Washington Post)
* HATE CRIME CHARGED IN MOSQUE ATTACK (Miami Herald/AP)
* EDITORIAL: MUSLIM, BUT AMERICAN TOO (Washington Post)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: VISITING THE SICK

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “One who visits the sick 
dives
headlong into mercy.”

Imam Bukhari’s Book of Muslim Morals and manners, Hadith 522

-----

PIPES SAYS ENFRANCHISEMENT OF U.S. MUSLIMS THREATENS JEWS

“I worry very much from the Jewish point of view that the presence, and
increased stature, and affluence, and enfranchisement of American 
Muslims…will
present true dangers to American Jews.”

Daniel Pipes speaking before the convention of the American Jewish 
Congress,
10/21/2001

FOR BACKGROUND, SEE:

Muslims condemn ACJ attempt at political exclusion
http://cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?articleid=694&articletype=1

Who is Daniel Pipes?
http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.html

-----

KILLINGS RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT ISRAELI TACTICS
By Daniel Williams, The Washington Post, 3/31/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41139-2002Mar30.html

Something nasty happened on the fourth floor of the British Council 
building on
a hilltop in downtown Ramallah. The bodies of five Palestinian police 
officers
lay on their backs and sides. They had been shot in the head or neck, 
yet most
of the blood on the wall near them was splattered no more than two or 
three 
feet
high, according to a reporter who saw the scene…

Maher Shalabi, Abu Dhabi television's bureau chief in Ramallah, waited 
in his
office on the sixth floor until dawn today while the building shook 
from the
blasts of stun and anti-personnel grenades and the sharp staccato of 
rifle and
machine-gun fire. Shalabi said an Israeli soldier searching the 
television
offices told him, "We killed five police." This morning, Shalabi 
discovered 
the
bodies on the fourth floor.

Shalabi said the five men had been hiding and were executed or shot 
when 
Israeli
soldiers rounded the corner into the hall. There were no signs that the
Palestinians had fired from their last position…

SEE ALSO:

Israeli killings: Troops stormed Arafat's men's base - and Palestinians 
believe
that what followed was an execution
By Peter Beaumont, The Observer, 3/31/2002
http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,676830,00.html

-----

THE ISRAEL LOBBY
By Michael Lind, Prospect, April 2002
America's unconditional support for Israel runs counter to the 
interests of 
the
US and its allies. We need an open, unprejudiced debate about it
http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ArticleView.asp?accessible=yes&P_Article=10335

It is not in the news stories, but in the opinion pages and the 
journals of
opinion-which ought to provide the missing context-that propaganda for 
Israel
has free reign. There are several widely-syndicated columnists and 
television
pundits who are apologists for the Israeli right, like Safire, Cal 
Thomas,
George Will and Charles Krauthammer. Others like Anthony Lewis, Flora 
Lewis 
and
Thomas Friedman do criticise right-wing Israeli governments, but 
anything more
than the mildest criticism of Israel is taboo in the mainstream media.

The taboo against anti-Arab bigotry, however, is weak. One of the 
saddest
consequences of Israel's colonialism has been the moral coarsening of 
elements
of the Jewish-American community. I grew up admiring Jewish civil 
rights
activists for their sometimes heroic role in the fight to dismantle 
segregation
in the US. But today I frequently hear Jewish acquaintances discuss 
Arabs in
general, and Palestinians in particular, in terms as racist as those 
once used
by southerners in public when discussing blacks…

-----

INTRACTABLE FOES, WARRING NARRATIVES
While much of the world sees Mideast conflict through Palestinian eyes, 
in
America, Israel’s view prevails
By Eric Alterman, MSNBC.com, 3/28/2002
http://www.msnbc.com/news/730905.asp?cp1=1#BODY

In most of the world, it is the Palestinian narrative of a dispossessed 
people
that dominates. In the United States, however, the narrative that 
dominates is
Israel’s: a democracy under constant siege. Europeans and other 
Palestinian
partisans point to the fact that the Israel lobby in America is one of 
the
strongest anywhere, and Jewish individuals and organizations give 
millions of
dollars to political candidates in order to reward pro-Israel policies 
and
punish those who support the Palestinians. Another reason, however, is 
the 
near-
complete domination by pro-Israel partisans of the punditocracy 
discourse.

Some Jewish groups in America like to harass news organizations like 
The
Washington Post or National Public Radio for what they believe to be 
coverage
insufficiently sympathetic to Israel’s plight. But even Ariel Sharon 
and
Benjamin Netanyahu would not be able to complain about the level of 
support
their actions typically receive from the members of the punditocracy.

For reasons of religion, politics, history and genuine conviction the
punditocracy debate of the Middle East in America is dominated by 
people who
cannot imagine criticizing Israel. The value of this legion to the 
Jewish 
state
is, for better or worse, literally incalculable, particularly when push  
as it
inevitably does in the Middle East  comes to shove. Here’s a list I 
made in
trying to measure the immeasurable.

COLUMNISTS AND COMMENTATORS WHO CAN BE COUNTED UPON TO SUPPORT ISRAEL
REFLEXIVELY AND WITHOUT QUALIFICATION:

George Will, The Washington Post, Newsweek and ABC News
William Safire, The New York Times
A.M. Rosenthal, The New York Daily News, formerly Executive Editor of 
and 
later
columnist for, The New York Times,
Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post, PBS, Time, and The Weekly 
Standard,
formerly of the New Republic.
Michael Kelly, The Washington Post, The Atlantic Monthly, National 
Journal, 
and
MSNBC.com, formerly of The New Republic and The New Yorker.
Lally Weymouth, The Washington Post and Newsweek
Martin Peretz, The New Republic,
Daniel Pipes, The New York Post
Andrea Peyser, The New York Post
Dick Morris, The New York Post
Lawrence Kaplan, The New Republic
William Bennett, CNN
William Kristol, The Washington Post, the Weekly Standard, Fox News, 
formerly of
ABC News
Robert Kagan, The Washington Post and The Weekly Standard,
Mortimer Zuckerman, US News and World Report (Zuckerman is also 
Chairman of
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations).
David Gelertner, The Weekly Standard
John Podhoretz, The New York Post and The Weekly Standard
Mona Charen, The Washington Times
Morton Kondracke, Roll Call, Fox News formerly of The McLaughlin Group, 
The 
New
Republic and PBS
Fred Barnes, The Weekly Standard, Fox News, formerly of The New 
Republic, The
McLaughlin Group, and The Baltimore Sun
Sid Zion, The New York Post, The New York Daily News,
Yossi Klein Halevi The New Republic,
Sidney Zion, The New York Post, formerly of The New York Daily News
Norman Podhoretz, Commentary,
Jonah Goldberg, National Review and CNN
Laura Ingraham, CNN, formerly of MSNBC and CBS News
Jeff Jacoby, The Boston Globe
Rich Lowry, National Review
Andrew Sullivan, The New Republic
Seth Lipsky, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Sun, formerly of 
the
Jewish Forward
Irving Kristol, The Public Interest, The National Interest and The Wall 
Street
Journal Editorial Page
Chris Matthews, MSNBC
Allan Keyes, MSNBC, WorldNetDaily.com
Brit Hume, Fox News
John Leo, US News and World Report
Robert Bartley, The Wall Street Journal Editorial Page
John Fund, The Wall Street Journal OpinionJournal, formerly of The Wall 
Street
Journal Editorial Page
Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal Editorial Page,
Ben Wattenberg, The Washington Times, PBS
Tony Snow, Washington Times and Fox News
Lawrence Kudlow, National Review and CNBC
Alan Dershowitz, Boston Herald, Washington Times
David Horowitz, Frontpage.com
Jacob Heilbrun, The Los Angeles Times
Thomas Sowell, Washington Times
Frank Gaffney Jr, Washington Times
Emmett Tyrell, American Spectator and New York Sun
Cal Thomas, Washington Times
Oliver North, Washington Times and Fox News, formerly of MSNBC
Michael Ledeen, Jewish World Review
William F. Buckley, National Review
Bill O’Reilly, Fox News
Paul Greenberg, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette,
L. Brent Bozell, Washington Times
Todd Lindberg, Washington Times
Michael Barone, US News and World Report and The McLaughlin Group
Ann Coulter, Human Events,
Linda Chavez, Creators Syndicate
Cathy Young, Reason Magazine
Uri Dan, New York Post
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, morality maven
Rush Limbaugh, radio host

PUBLICATIONS THAT, FOR REASONS OF OWNER OR EDITORSHIP CAN BE COUNTED 
UPON TO
SUPPORT ISRAEL REFLEXIVELY AND WITHOUT QUALIFICATION:
The New Republic (Martin Peretz, Michael Steinhardt, Roger Hertog, 
Owners)
Commentary (American Jewish Committee, Owner)
US News and World Report (Mortimer Zuckerman, Owner)
The New York Daily News (Mortimer Zuckerman, Owner)
The New York Post (Rupert Murdoch, Owner)
The Weekly Standard (Rupert Murdoch, Owner)
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Page (Peter Kann, Editor)
The Atlantic Monthly (Michael Kelly, Editor)

COLUMNISTS LIKELY TO CRITICIZE BOTH ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIANS, BUT 
VIEW
THEMSELVES TO BE CRITICALLY SUPPORTERS OF ISRAEL, AND ULTIMATELY, WOULD 
SUPPORT
ISRAELI SECURITY OVER PALESTINIAN RIGHTS:
Thomas Friedman, The New York Times,
Richard Cohen, The Washington Post and New York Daily News
Avishai Margolit, The New York Review of Books
David Remnick, The New Yorker
Eric Alterman, The Nation and MSNBC.com
The New York Times Editorial Board
The Washington Post Editorial Board

COLUMNISTS LIKELY TO BE REFLEXIVELY ANTI-ISRAEL AND/OR PRO-PALESTINIAN
REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCE:
Robert Novak, The Washington Post
Pat Buchanan, WorldNetDaily.com, formerly of The Washington Times and 
CNN.
Alexander Cockburn, The Nation and New York Press
Christopher Hitchens, The Nation and Vanity Fair
Edward Said, The Nation

HOW FRIENDS CAN BEST HELP

As can be seen from this list of lists, the entire anti-Israel 
contingent 
of the
punditocracy does not add up to a single George Will or William Safire, 
much
less a Wall Street Journal or US News. It remains to be seen whether 
unqualified
support for all of Israel’s actions is really in that tortured nation’s 
best
interest in the long run. Sometimes the bravest and most valuable 
advice a
trusted friend can give is: “STOP.” Someone is going to have to stop 
first if
this unending catastrophe is ever to end.

-----

EDITORIAL: A WAR ON ISLAM?
By AMINA CHAUDARY, The Washington Post, 3/30/3002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38342-2002Mar29.html

The March 20 closing of the International Institute of Islamic Thought 
in
Herndon by FBI officials leaves a mark of confusion in the lives of 
American
Muslims ["Raids Held in Terror Probe," Metro, March 21]. The institute 
serves as
a vehicle for intellectual thought in the lives of Muslims throughout 
the 
world,
and has been running for more than 20 years.

The most progressive Muslims of the community are among the institute's
founders. Those involved represent the diversity of Muslims. The 
accusations
directed at the institute are an accusation against thousands of 
Muslims in 
the
Washington area. Such actions contradict assurances that this war is 
not about
Islam.

Any person can walk into the institute's offices and pick up a book on 
the 
shelf
and realize that the publications inspire true knowledge and critical 
thought.
The institute is a Muslim think tank.

The only way to rid the world of terrorists is through intellectual 
discourse
and respect for each other's cultures. It is this that the 
International
Institute of Islamic Thought makes explicit.

-----

HATE CRIME CHARGED IN MOSQUE ATTACK
The Miami Herald/AP, 3/30/2002

(AP) -- A man who police say drove his pickup truck into a mosque 
earlier this
week and yelled anti-Muslim threats has been charged with a federal 
hate crime
that could lead to 20 years in prison.

Charles D. Franklin of Tallahassee was charged in federal court here 
Thursday
under a statute that prohibits intentional damage of religious property 
and
ordered by a magistrate into federal custody. He was also ordered to 
have a
mental health examination.

Federal prosecutor Thomas Kirwin said the complaint alleges that 
Franklin 
drove
his truck into the door of the mosque near the Florida State University 
campus
Monday.

“At the time of his arrest, he reportedly shouted slurs against the 
Islamic
religion and threats against Muslims,” Kirwin said in a statement 
released by
his office…

During a hearing Thursday, prosecutors played a tape during which 
Franklin 
said
he “wanted to blow the…Muslims up,” during an interview with 
Tallahassee
police...

SEE ALSO:

Florida Mosque attack result of anti-Muslim rhetoric
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?articleid=692&articletype=3

-----

EDITORIAL: MUSLIM, BUT AMERICAN TOO
By Afeefa Syeed, The Washington Post, 3/31/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38406-2002Mar29.html
Afeefa Syeed is a co-director of the nonprofit Muslim Education 
Resource
Council.

What do Muslim schools teach, and what is their mission? The response 
offered on
the front page of the Feb. 25 Post was far from representative. We 
speak here
for administrators and teachers working every day in the classrooms of 
Muslim
schools in this area and across the country.

The mission of Muslim schools is to raise children who can balance 
their 
Islamic
values with their American identity. Many of us were born and raised in 
the
United States, and the curriculum reflects our identity as American 
Muslims.

We study the Pilgrims' migration to America in conjunction with the 
Prophet
Muhammad and his followers' migration to Medina. Both were searching 
for the
freedom to practice their religious beliefs, and both survived only 
with
assistance from local inhabitants -- the Native Americans and the 
natives of
Medina. Our children learn to respect Clara Barton, Grandma Moses, 
Albert
Einstein and Hakeem Olajuwan as exemplary Americans. They study the 
story 
of the
founder of the Red Cross side by side with the story of the women who 
helped the
wounded in battles alongside the Prophet.

We teach our students to acknowledge and be proud of the values upon 
which the
United States was founded. We teach civic duty by reminding them that 
the
Prophet Muhammad taught us that even a smile is charity. We teach them 
that 
the
Koran asks us to love one another and compete in good work and action; 
harming
one is like harming us all.

Our texts are constantly updated by American Muslim educators. We do 
not teach
our students merely to memorize or recount verses in a language that is 
not
their own. Our children learn to read the Koran in its poetic Arabic, 
but they
also interact with its teachings and put into practice what they 
memorize. 
They
brainstorm, discuss and question.

Most American Muslim schools are struggling with bake sales, 
read-a-thons and
tedious grant writing in order to survive. We choose to be free of 
ideological
politicking so we can be true to our faith. We can thereby teach our 
children to
love their land and God, and serve both by being the most upstanding 
citizens
they can be. We do not teach hatred of anyone -- this would violate our 
mission
to bring humanity together.

Muslim schools cannot afford to be isolationist. We encourage our 
students to
engage with other schools where students are not of the Muslim faith. 
After 
the
tragedies of Sept. 11, Muslim schoolteachers and administrators 
organized
interfaith dialogues, open houses and prayer services for those we all 
had 
lost.
By reaching out to the community we were demonstrating to our children 
that we
grieved also. Muslim students organized blood drives, raised money and 
consoled
those who had been affected by the tragedies.

American Muslim schools don't deserve to be stereotyped. We are a 
dynamic and
positive force for change in our society that affects Muslims and 
non-Muslims
alike.

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Mon, 01 Apr 2002 17:08:12 -0500
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Jewish Groups Asked to Condemn Israeli Attacks

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

HADITH OF THE DAY:

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prayed for pardon for his 
people 
and received the reply: "I have forgiven them all but acts of 
oppression, 
for I shall exact recompense for the one who is wronged, from his 
oppressor."

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 818

-----

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JEWISH GROUPS ASKED TO CONDEMN ISRAELI ATTACKS

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/1/2002)  A prominent American Muslim advocacy 
group is 
calling on leaders of major Jewish organizations to condemn the Israeli 
government's ongoing attacks on Palestinian civilians in the Occupied 
Territories.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says Jewish groups 
often 
demand that Muslims condemn violence against civilians, but are silent 
when 
those they support carry out such attacks.

In a statement, CAIR Governmental Affairs Director Jason Erb said:

"National American Muslim groups have condemned attacks on civilians, 
including last week's Passover bombing, the murder of journalist Daniel 
Pearl and the recent killings at a Pakistani church. Where are the 
voices 
of national Jewish organizations in condemning Israel's brutal military 
assaults now being carried out against Muslim and Christian Palestinian 
civilians?

"Why have these groups never condemned collective punishment of 
civilian 
populations? Where is the condemnation of torture, assassinations, 
summary 
executions, assaults on journalists and medical personnel, land 
confiscations, dispossessions, destruction of homes and agricultural 
land, 
blockades of towns and villages, denial of medical services, and the 
uncounted daily humiliations suffered by the Palestinians at the hands 
of 
Israeli occupation forces?

"Unless these groups take a principled and even-handed stand on all 
aspects 
of terrorism, including state terrorism, they will be viewed as little 
more 
than propagandists for a foreign government who are complicit in the 
same 
kind of violence they ask others to repudiate."

To illustrate his point, Erb cited an article in today's Christian 
Science 
Monitor indicating that many Jewish groups are backing Israel's 
hard-line 
policies against Palestinian civilians. SEE: "Many American Jews rally 
around Sharon" - http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0401/p02s02-ussc.html

                                         - END -

CONTACT:        Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL - cair@cair-net.org
                 Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----






Forwarded Message

Date: Tue, 02 Apr 2002 14:57:48 -0500
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: "Betrayed" by Bush/AI Condemns Israeli Rights Violations

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS  4/2/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: KINDNESS TO ANIMALS
* "BETRAYED" BY BUSH (Salon.com)
* DOJ INITIATES DETAINEE CIVIL RIGHTS REVIEW
* U.S. BEGINS CRACKDOWN ON MUSLIMS WHO DEFY ORDERS TO LEAVE COUNTRY (NY 
Times)
* CAIR-CALIF TOWN HALL FORUM WITH GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
* REMINDER: AMERICA MUST ACT TO STOP ISRAELI AGGRESSION
* PRIEST SAID SHOT DEAD IN BETHLEHEM CHURCH, MORGUE OVERFLOWS WITH 
BODIES (AFP)
* AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNS ISRAELI HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
* DANIEL PIPES TELLS CHRIS MATTHEWS HE IS NOT PRO-ISRAEL
* PROSECUTORS CONCEDE LIMITS OF THEIR CASE AGAINST LINDH (Washington 
Post)
         - PHOTO OF LINDH BOUND, BLINDFOLDED AND NAKED (Reuters)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: KINDNESS TO ANIMALS

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "While a man was walking 
along a road, he became very thirsty and found a well. He lowered 
himself 
into the well, drank, and came out. Then [he saw] a dog protruding its 
tongue out with thirst.

The man said: 'This dog has become exhausted from thirst in the same 
way as 
I.' He lowered himself into the well again and filled his shoe with 
water…He gave the dog some water to drink. He thanked God, and [his 
sins 
were] forgiven."

The Prophet was then asked: "Is there a reward for us in our animals?" 
He 
said: "There is a reward in every living thing."

Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 104

-----

"BETRAYED" BY BUSH
By Eric Boehlert, Salon.com, 4/2/2002
http://www.salon.com/

HIGHLIGHT:
Rattled by government raids on their homes and American support for 
Israel 
in the Middle East's escalating violence, American Muslims rethink 
their 
2000 endorsement of the president.

During the 2000 election, Muslim-American organizations urged 
constituents 
for the first time to vote as a bloc. Muslim leaders were attracted to 
George W. Bush's televised pledge during the second campaign debate to 
do 
away with secret evidence often used against Muslim immigrants by 
prosecutors. They hoped he could bring a fresh perspective to the 
troubles 
in the Middle East. They found him more willing to meet with Muslims 
during 
the campaign than Vice President Al Gore.

And so the Muslim community's umbrella groups, aiming to win some 
clout, 
urged America's estimated 6 million Muslims (the exact number is in 
dispute) to vote for Bush. And according to the groups' internal polls, 
they did, in overwhelming numbers -- and played a crucial role, for 
instance, in Bush's victory in Florida.

Today, some are wondering what their votes accomplished. Many Muslims 
have 
been watching the unfolding war on terrorism at home with growing 
concern 
since Sept. 11. They were worried when the government refused to 
release 
the identities of more than 1,000 foreigners, mostly Arab or Muslim, 
detained by law enforcement; disturbed when deportation trials were 
held in 
secret; upset when federal agents fanned out across the country to 
interview thousands of young Muslim foreigners; and troubled when 
U.S.-based Islamic charities were raided during Ramadan by government 
agents seeking evidence of terrorist ties. But much of the Muslim 
criticism 
of Bush and his administration was muted in the period after Sept. 11. 
Leaders were reluctant to appear unpatriotic. At the same time, they 
were 
genuinely grateful for law enforcement's aggressive response to 
post-Sept. 
11 hate crimes and for the explicit comments the president made about 
how 
the United States' war was targeting terrorists, not Muslims…

That's all changed now, thanks to two recent, defining events. The 
first is 
"the total assault on civil liberties, targeted at Arabs and Muslims," 
says 
Ali Abunimah, vice president of the Arab-American Action Network.

He's referring to a series of March 20 government raids in Northern 
Virginia, in which 150 federal agents seized property from 14 homes, 
businesses and schools run by Muslim Americans. Designed to identify 
organizations that may have contributed to international groups that 
sponsor terrorist activities, the actions were part of the Treasury 
Department's counter-terrorism task force, Operation Green Quest. No 
arrests were made.

Muslims say the raids, which targeted moderate American citizens and 
organizations, sent shock waves through their community…

The other galvanizing episode has been the Bush administration's 
response 
to the runaway violence in the Middle East, and what Muslims see as the 
White House's complete capitulation to the Israeli position.

"What did Bush say over the weekend? That Israel is defending itself," 
says 
Abunimah. "Bush is unwilling to deal with the basic facts of the 
conflict, 
which is Israel is not defending itself inside its borders but that 
tens of 
thousands of troops are occupying land outside Israel." For Muslims, 
says 
Abunimah, it appears "The United States has openly decided to fight 
with 
Israel in a colonial war against an occupied people…"

The frustration unleashed by the domestic raids and overseas violence 
has 
led some Muslims to rethink their 2000 support of Bush…

Adds Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic 
Relations: "The Muslim community feels let down by the administration. 
Most 
Muslims stood by it after the election. We stood by the president 
during 
the crisis and we've got little in return but a broken promise."

Grover Norquist, a conservative political activist and president of 
Americans for Tax Reform, helped shepherd the Muslims' endorsement of 
Bush, 
and he remains an active liaison between the Muslim community and the 
White 
House. Assessing the state of that political relationship, Norquist 
says, 
"I don't think it's broke for the Bush people and the Republicans, but 
they 
need to refocus and speak to the community..."

Simultaneous raids on two highly respected religious institutions that 
day 
also stunned American Muslims. The first was Leesburg, Va.'s Graduate 
School of Islamic and Social Sciences, the only school the U.S. 
military 
uses to train and endorse chaplains to guide the armed forces' growing 
Muslim population…

Also targeted that day was the Fiqh Council of North America, also in 
Leesburg, "the highest religious body for Muslims in North America," 
says 
Safi at IIIT.

The Fiqh Council issues religious rulings "to help Muslims be good 
Americans while living Islamic-ly," says Safi…

"Why target organizations like these?" asks Safi, who says the reaction 
among Muslims to the council's being raided would be the same as that 
among 
Catholics, for instance, if the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops 
were 
ever targeted by agents. "It's not a shadowy organization you raid with 
guns…"

"There's a great deal of disappointment that raids happened the way 
they 
did," says Norquist. "And I don't think the Muslim community is 
overreacting..."

Conceding some regrets, Awad at CAIR stresses the positive from the 
2000 
election: "We mobilized Muslims nationwide to vote in one direction and 
succeeded. That was a strategic achievement." And rather than turn 
people 
off, he says, the experience will lead to further participation. "There 
will be more Muslims voting in the next election than ever before. We 
have 
learned a lesson: To gain respect you need to be more organized. We 
can't 
afford to waste votes."

-----

DOJ INITIATES DETAINEE CIVIL RIGHTS REVIEW

(ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE DOJ)

In furtherance of its responsibilities under the USA Patriot Act, the 
Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General (OIG) is initiating 
a 
review of the civil rights and civil liberties protections afforded to 
detainees in Department of Justice custody in connection with the 
response 
to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

This inspection, to be conducted by the OIG's Evaluation and 
Inspections 
Division, will assess compliance by Department components with laws, 
regulations, and policies that protect the civil rights of the 
detainees.Among the issues the OIG will review are detainees' access to 
counsel, timeliness of presentation or disposition of criminal or other 
charges, and physical detention conditions.The OIG plans to review 
information about federal detainees at the Passaic County Jail in 
Paterson, 
New Jersey, and/or the Federal Bureau of Prison's Metropolitan 
Detention 
Center in Brooklyn, New York.\

-----

U.S. BEGINS CRACKDOWN ON MUSLIMS WHO DEFY ORDERS TO LEAVE COUNTRY
By SUSAN SACHS, The New York Times, 4/2/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/02/nyregion/02DEPO.html

Federal law enforcement agents have started to hunt down and arrest 
Muslim 
immigrants who failed to comply with pre-Sept. 11 deportation orders, a 
crackdown aimed as much at generating antiterrorism leads as enforcing 
orders that have piled up over many years.

Justice Department officials said that taking aim at people from 
countries 
where Al Qaeda has been active will give investigators the opportunity 
to 
interrogate Muslims as they are detained on immigration violations. 
Civil 
rights advocates said the approach unfairly singled out one religious 
group 
in the enforcement of immigration laws.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service, which is part of the 
Justice 
Department, has categorized at least 320,000 foreigners of all 
nationalities as "alien absconders," or people who managed to remain in 
the 
country after immigration judges ordered them to leave.

The new crackdown concentrates on fewer than 2 percent of those with 
outstanding deportation orders, or an estimated 6,000 people on the 
list 
who come from Arab and other Muslim countries…

-----

CAIR-CALIF TOWN HALL FORUM WITH GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

AGENCIES REPRESENTED: Department of Justice, INS, FBI and the U.S. 
Attorney’s Office.

TOPICS: 1) detainees, 2) the use of secret evidence, 3) the raids on 
charities and other institutions, 4) the Patriot Act.

OTHER GROUPS REPRESENTED: ACLU, NAACP, National Lawyers Guild, the Sikh
Association, the Japanese American Council, and La Raza

WHEN: Thursday April 4, 7 p.m.
WHERE: MCA - 3003 Scott Blvd., Santa Clara, Calif.

FREE Baby Sitting services will be provided.

SBIA: 325, N. Third St. San Jose, CA 95112 Ph: 408-947-9389
http://www.sbia.netE-mail: sbia_sj@yahoo.com

-----

REMINDER: AMERICA MUST ACT TO STOP ISRAELI AGGRESSION

As Israeli forces rampage throughout Palestine and American media 
outlets 
offer only the Israeli viewpoint on the crisis, our elected officials 
remain silent. CAIR is calling on members of the Muslim community to 
take 
positive steps in defense of the Palestinian people and in support of 
America's real interests in the region. Take two minutes to make your 
voice 
heard on this important issue.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED:

1) CONTACT President Bush to let him know that Palestinian Muslims and 
Christians have the right to freedom and justice. Ask that he make a 
public 
statement calling for an end to Israeli aggression. Also ask that he 
meet 
with American Muslim leaders to discuss the crisis and America's 
inaction.

CONTACT:

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

TEL: 202-456-1414, Press 1
FAX: 202-456-2461
E-MAIL: president@whitehouse.gov, cair@cair-net.org

2) CONTACT your elected representatives to make the same point. To 
obtain 
contact information for your representative, go to: 
http://capwiz.com/cair

3) CONTACT local and national media outlets to express the Muslim 
perspective on the conflict. Call radio talk show call-in programs 
(numbers 
are announced on-air), send e-mails to cable news programs, write 
letters 
to the editor, and respond to one-sided coverage with a call, fax or 
e-mail.

ABC News - 212-456-4040
CBS News - 212-975-3691
NBC News - 212-664-4971
CNN - 404-827-1511
Fox News - 212-301-3300
MSNBC - 201-583-5222
PBS - 703-998-2150
NPR - 202-414-2200
NY Times - 212-556-1234
USA Today - 703-276-3400
WS Journal - 212-416-2000
Wash. Post - 202-334-6000
Time - 212-522-1212
U.S. News - 202-955-2000
AP 212-621-1600
MSNBC - 201-583-5000
CNBC - 201-585-2622

-----

PRIEST SAID SHOT DEAD IN BETHLEHEM CHURCH, MORGUE OVERFLOWS WITHBODIES
By MICHEL SAILHAN, Agence France Presse, 4/2/2002

BETHLEHEM, West Bank, - Israeli troops on Tuesday seized control of 
this 
biblical city in their drive against Palestinian towns, reportedly 
shooting 
dead a Catholic priest and wounding at least six nuns in a church.

Elsewhere on the West Bank, Ramallah central hospital said it had 
started 
burying corpses in its parking lot after the town's morgue overflowed 
under 
the death toll of Israel's four-day-old invasion and ambulances were 
unable 
to reach the cemetery.

Palestinian medical sources said the priest and nuns were in the Santa 
Maria church when they were hit by fire as Israeli tanks and troops 
rolled 
though the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

But there was confusion about the incident, with the Vatican denying 
that 
the priest originally named was dead, and the Israelis banned any 
independent verification. Also caught up in the turmoil of the 
operation 
launched two days after Easter was Bethlehem's main Omar mosque which 
caught fire late Tuesday for undetermined reasons, an AFP journalist 
said.

Around 150 people, 20 of them wounded, were stranded inside the Church 
of 
the Nativity in central Bethlehem after taking shelter from Israeli 
gunfire, Palestinian witnesses said…



-----

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNS ISRAELI HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

Statement to the UN Commission on Human Rights,
Israel and Occupied Territories
Commission on Human Rights, 58th Session, 18 March - 26 April 2002
Agenda item 8: Question of the violation of human rights in the 
occupied 
Arab territories, including Palestine

ORAL STATEMENT BY AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Tuesday 2 April 2002
http://web.amnesty.org/web/news.nsf/WebAll/230741FF93144C3B80256B89003D10D3

Chairperson,

In the recent negotiations for a ceasefire in Israel and the Occupied 
Territories there has been much mention of "security", little or none 
of 
human rights. Yet human rights are at the heart of this conflict and if 
human rights are not firmly on the agenda of the ceasefire talks there 
can 
be no durable ceasefire and no sustainable peace. Palestinians and 
Israelis 
will continue to be slaughtered in the alleyways of refugee camps and 
the 
streets of Israeli towns.

Armed Palestinians have breached fundamental principles of 
international 
humanitarian law on numerous occasions…

These actions are shocking. Yet they can never justify the human rights 
violations and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions which, over the 
past 18 months, have been committed daily, hourly, even every minute, 
by 
the Israeli authorities against Palestinians. Israeli forces have 
consistently carried out killings when no lives were in danger. The 
Israeli 
authorities' failure to carry out proper investigations into unlawful 
killings sends the message that Palestinian lives are cheap. More than 
600 
Palestinian homes have been systematically demolished, making thousands 
homeless, the vast majority children. More than 100 checkpoints 
throughout 
the West Bank and Gaza have not stopped suicide bombings. The closures 
of 
towns and villages deny freedom of movement and appear to be set up to 
harass, collectively punish, intimidate and humiliate the Palestinian 
people…

In the camps curfews were imposed and electricity, water and telephones 
cut 
off for up to nine days. In several camps male Palestinians between 15 
and 
45 were ordered to report to an assembly point and hundreds were 
arrested. 
For the first 24 hours they were handcuffed, blindfolded, given no 
food, no 
blanket, and not allowed to go to the toilet.Ten days afterwards about 
100 
of more than 2,500 arbitrarily arrested remained in detention. Again, 
in 
treatment apparently intended to hurt and degrade the population, 
Israeli 
soldiers who occupied apartments had systematically trashed them: 
clothes 
were torn, cupboards emptied on the floor, TV sets hurled down stairs, 
and 
a copy of the Qur'an was torn into pieces and scattered on the floor. 
An 
independent military advisor, one of Amnesty International's delegates, 
said: "Either the Israeli army is totally undisciplined or they have 
been 
ordered to disobey the laws of war…"

During the incursions the IDF unlawfully killed six medical aid 
workers, 
including two doctors. Ambulances, including those of the ICRC, have 
been 
consistently shot at. Such attacks on the fundamental principle of 
medical 
neutrality are flagrant violations of the Geneva Conventions. The 
director 
of the Red Crescent at Tulkarem told delegates that it was now safer to 
transport patients by taxi than by ambulance…

Security can only be achieved through full respect for humanrights, not 
at 
their expense…

-----

DANIEL PIPES TELLS CHRIS MATTHEWS HE IS NOT PRO-ISRAEL

Interview: Daniel Pipes from Middle East Forum and Michael O'Hanlon 
from 
Brookings Institution discuss whether or not Bush administration should 
endorse Israel's military operation in West Bank

CNBC: Hardball with Chris Matthews, 01/2002

CHRIS MATTHEWS, host: First, the HARDBALL DEBATE. Should the Bush 
administration endorse Israel's military operation in the West Bank? 
Early 
Sunday morning, the US voted in favor of a UN resolution calling for 
the 
withdrawal of Israeli forces. But within hours, President Bush backed 
Sharon and forcefully called on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to 
denounce suicide bombers…

We're joined by Daniel Pipes of the Mideast Forum, a pro-Israeli think 
tank. And Michael O'Hanlon is with the Brookings Institution.

Daniel, make the case for this strong, hard-nosed action by the prime 
minister of Israel on the West Bank.

Mr. DANIEL PIPES (Middle East Forum): Chris, let me start by resenting 
the 
fact that you'd label me and not my opponent. Could we try that one 
again?

MATTHEWS: Let's try it again. Is--does your--does your--what's the name 
of 
it again? The Mideast Forum. Are you pro-Israeli or pro-Arab?

Mr. PIPES: We're pro-American.

MATTHEWS: What does that mean in this context?

Mr. PIPES: Well, that means I'm trying to figure out what is best for 
American policy.

MATTHEWS: Has the Middle East Forum ever criticized Israeli policy?

Mr. PIPES: The Middle East Forum doesn't take positions, but I do.

MATTHEWS: Well, you're here to take a position.

Mr. PIPES: OK.

MATTHEWS: Have you ever criticized Israeli policy?

Mr. PIPES: Yes, I have.

MATTHEWS: When was that?

Mr. PIPES: Well, for example, when the Israelis bombed the electric 
installation in Lebanon, I criticized it.

MATTHEWS: OK. When was that? What year was that?

Mr. PIPES: It was two years ago.

MATTHEWS: OK. So it's fair to say you're generally pro-Israeli.

Mr. PIPES: Yeah.

MATTHEWS: OK. That's all I said.

Mr. PIPES: But I just don't like getting labeled, OK?

MATTHEWS: Well, you were and you are. So if you want to get out of that 
and 
say you're not pro-Israeli, just make your case…

MATTHEWS: Well, if you would argue that--let's--let's just sharpen 
this. 
You think the United--and I agree with you--you think the United States 
should heartily condemn the use of young people especially as suiciders 
to--in order to advance a political cause. But you wouldn't endorse the 
United States, for example, supporting the continued occupation of the 
Arab 
territories by Israel. You wouldn't endorse that, would you?

Mr. PIPES: I don't think that is the issue. The issue is...

MATTHEWS: No, what would you do? Do you endorse the continued 
occupation 
of--of the--of the Arab territories by Israel?

Mr. PIPES: I would hope that some day there could be a resolution 
between 
Israel and the Palestinians over this.

MATTHEWS: To what effect?

Mr. PIPES: But I see that...

MATTHEWS: To what effect?

Mr. PIPES: But I see that as a--as--as completely untenable at this 
point 
when the Arabs in those territories want to destroy Israel.

MATTHEWS: I get your point. So in other words, until this violence ends 
of 
the suicidal variety, we're not going to get any negotiations.

Mr. PIPES: No. What I'm saying is there can't be negotiations until the 
Arabs accept Israel, whether they're engaged in suicide operations or 
not. 
They first have to accept Israel, and then negotiations over 
territory...

MATTHEWS: OK.

-----

PROSECUTORS CONCEDE LIMITS OF THEIR CASE AGAINST LINDH
Government Has No Evidence He Shot at U.S. Citizens
By Brooke A. Masters, The Washington Post, 4/2/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48877-2002Apr1.html

The U.S. government has no evidence that John Walker Lindh, the 
American 
captured with Taliban fighters, ever killed or shot at U.S. citizens, 
including the CIA officer who was slain in a prison uprising shortly 
after 
interviewing Lindh, prosecutors acknowledged at a hearing yesterday.

Prosecutors also backed off a claim in the grand jury indictment that 
Lindh, 21, trained at "terrorist" camps run by al Qaeda and a Pakistani 
group, arguing instead that he received military training that he later 
used to serve terrorist organizations…

The new information emerged during a two-part hearing at which defense 
lawyers were seeking to flesh out the government's evidence against 
Lindh, 
asking for more access to documents and witnesses and for a more 
specific 
description of what prosecutors believe he did.

"What is the conspiracy that my client is alleged to have been in?" 
asked 
defense attorney James Brosnahan. "We don't know who was supposed to be 
murdered…We don't know the names of any co-conspirators…It's not fair…"

To bolster their legal and public relations argument that Lindh had 
been 
tortured, the defense filed a photograph in court yesterday that the 
U.S. 
government apparently took of Lindh while he was in captivity. It shows 
him 
lying on a stretcher, bound, blindfolded and naked…

TO VIEW THAT PHOTO, GO TO:
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=topnews&StoryID=762546

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 09:13:13 -0500
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Powell Meets with Muslims/Orphans Rumor May be Hoax

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS  4/3/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* VERSE OF THE DAY: EVEN THE BIRDS PRAISE GOD
* POWELL MEETS WITH MUSLIMS TO DISCUSS ISRAELI ATTACKS
         - Pope Says Israel is “Humiliating” Palestinians (Reuters)
         - Media Committee Criticizes Israel (AP)
         - ICRC Says Medical Personnel Blocked in Palestine
         - Canadian Government Criticized by Jewish, Muslim Groups (AP)
* ORPHANS RUMOR MAY BE A HOAX (San Jose Mercury News)
* EDITORIAL: JUSTICE DIES IN THE DARK (Los Angeles Times)
* FIVE MUSLIMS BURNT TO DEATH IN INDIAN STATE (Reuters)
* THE FIRST HOLY WAR (U.S. News & World Report)
* YOUNG MUSLIMS WEAR THEIR FAITH WITH PRIDE (Montreal Gazette)
* THE MIND OF A RACIST (Time)
* TEXAN CONVICTED OF KILLING INDIAN OVER SEPT. 11 (Reuters)

-----

VERSE OF THE DAY: EVEN THE BIRDS PRAISE GOD

"Seest thou not that it is God whose praises all beings in the heavens 
and 
on earth do celebrate, (even) the birds (of the air) with wings 
outspread? 
Each one knows its own (mode of) prayer and praise."

The Holy Quran, Chapter 24, Verse 41

-----

                         -- MEDIA ADVISORY --

POWELL MEETS WITH MUSLIMS TO DISCUSS ISRAELI ATTACKS

WHAT: On Wednesday, April 3, leaders of national American Muslim and 
Arab-American organizations will meet with Secretary of State Colin L. 
Powell to discuss Israeli’s ongoing attacks in the Occupied 
Territories. 
Following the meeting, Muslim attendees will hold a briefing outside 
the 
State Department’s C Street entrance. Interviews are also available 
prior 
to the meeting.

“We appreciate Secretary’s Powell’s decision to call for this meeting 
and 
once again state the American Muslim community’s willingness to provide 
a 
bridge of understanding to the Islamic world during this time of crisis 
and 
conflict,” said Nihad Awad, Executive Director of the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), one of the group’s invited to 
today’s 
meeting.

WHEN: Wednesday, April 3, Meeting - 2 p.m., Briefing  3:15 p.m. (or 
following the conclusion of the meeting)

WHERE: Briefing - Outside the State Department’s C Street Entrance.

                                         - END -

CONTACT:        Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-489-5108
                 E-MAIL - cair@cair-net.org
                 Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 703-861-7294
                 E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org

SEE ALSO:

Pope Says Israel is “Humiliating” Palestinians

Israel, U.S. under fire in Europe
Reuters, 4/3/2002

LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - Pope John Paul sharply criticised Israel on 
Wednesday for "humiliating" the Palestinians, while European newspapers 
attacked the United States for not doing enough to halt Middle East 
violence.

In a strongly-worded statement, the Vatican said it had called in the 
Israeli and U.S. ambassadors to the Holy See on Tuesday to discuss the 
crisis.

Although it condemned acts of terrorism, an apparent reference to a 
recent 
wave of Palestinian suicide attacks in Israeli towns and cities, the 
statement included a list of criticisms of the Jewish state.

It said the Pope "rejects unjust conditions and humiliations imposed on 
the 
Palestinian people as well as the reprisals and revenge attacks which 
do 
nothing but feed the sense of frustration and hatred…"

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has sent troops and tanks to 
reoccupy a 
string of West Bank towns and villages and besiege Palestinian 
President 
Yasser Arafat in his Ramallah headquarters in response to the suicide 
bombings…

---

Media Committee Criticizes Israel
By STEVE WEIZMAN, The Associated Press, 4/3/2002

JERUSALEM (AP) - The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists 
has 
joined a growing chorus of other groups criticizing Israel's policy of 
expelling journalists from occupied cities in the West Bank. The group 
also 
accused Israeli troops of shooting at reporters.

The organization said in a statement Tuesday that it has sent a letter 
to 
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon protesting the military's attempts 
to 
block reporters from working in Bethlehem, Ramallah and Qalqiliya…

The Committee to Protect Journalists also accused Israel of attacking 
reporters. The group said that troops on Monday fired on an armored car 
used by NBC correspondent Dana Lewis and his two-person crew. The car 
was 
clearly marked as a media vehicle, the group said. No one was injured.

The organization also said that BBC reporter Orla Guerin and her TV 
crew 
came under Israeli fire Monday while covering a peaceful protest in 
Bethlehem. No one was injured.

---

ICRC Says Medical Personnel Blocked in Palestine

A solemn appeal by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the 
International federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/News/pr02/2102.asp

Over the past few days and in response to the worsening situation, 
International Red Cross delegates and Palestine Red Crescent Society 
volunteers attempted to cater for the most pressing humanitarian needs 
in 
the West Bank. However, the ICRC and the International Federation have 
cause to regret the frequent and often serious instances in which 
medical 
personnel were prevented from performing their life saving duties. The 
most 
basic humanitarian precondition in a situation of violence, is that all 
medical staff and volunteers be allowed to function unmolested.

Much remains to be done in virtually all humanitarian domains - 
medical, 
livelihood of the civilian populations, protection of non combatants 
and of 
arrested persons... - yet ICRC delegates were regrettably prevented 
from 
working because of a sudden degradation of the usual lines of 
communication 
between themselves and the Israeli authorities…

---

Canadian Government Criticized by Jewish, Muslim Groups for Middle East 
Policy
The Associated Press, 4/2/2002

Foreign Minister Bill Graham drew criticism from both sides of the 
Middle 
East conflict Tuesday after saying Israel should withdraw from 
Palestinian 
territory and Yasser Arafat must reject terrorism.

The Canadian-Israel Committee called Graham's position contradictory, 
noting that Canada supports the U.S. war on terrorism but tells Israel 
to 
pull back instead of trying to root out terrorists killing its people.

At the same time, the Canadian office of the Council on 
American-Islamic 
Relations called on the government to denounce Israel's "war of terror" 
against Palestinians. "Silence in the face of these crimes is 
approval," 
said a statement issued by the Ottawa-based group.

Graham, in a conference call with journalists from a vacation in 
Barbados, 
maintained the evenhanded policy toward the Middle East that he has 
expressed since being named foreign affairs minister in January…

CONTACT: Canada@cair-net.org

-----

ORPHANS RUMOR MAY BE A HOAX
By Putsata Reang, San Jose Mercury News, 4/3/2002
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/2989074.htm

The rumor that more than 500 Afghan orphans have been brought to the 
United 
States and are ready for adoption has angered and frustrated members of 
the 
Afghan community in Fremont who are eager to help but fear it may be a 
hoax.

"We really want to find out what's the real story," said Rona Popal, 
executive director of the Afghan Coalition in Fremont. "Everybody's 
mad."

A U.S. Department of Defense official denied the claim that the United 
States transported Afghan orphans here, and social service agencies 
that 
work with refugees, including the International Rescue Committee, say 
the 
rumor is unfounded. "Resettling an orphan is not something someone 
takes on 
lightly," said Don Climent, director of the committee's San Francisco 
office. "It's a good rumor."

Even the Afghan Embassy was unable to confirm the rumor.

"Our investigations from both the embassy side as well as the 
investigations done by the U.S. government and FBI have turned up no 
verifiable truth that orphans from Afghanistan were brought to the 
United 
States," said Homerya Mokhtarzada, the embassy's humanitarian aid 
officer.

More than two weeks ago, an e-mail that circulated across the country 
claimed that 570 orphaned children, from newborns up to age 10, had 
been 
airlifted out of Afghanistan by the U.S. government and brought to 
Southern 
California, where church organizations were preparing to find them 
adoptive 
homes…

Two meetings last weekend in Garden Grove and Northridge for 
prospective 
adoptive parents drew about 350 Afghans, according to Rohida Kahn, 
coordinator for domestic violence for NISWA, a Muslim social service 
agency 
in Los Angeles.

Although her organization helped sponsor the meetings, even Kahn isn't 
sure 
whether the rumor has merit.

"We are investigating," Kahn said.

The initial e-mail came from Mohammad Daoud Abedi, an Afghan man in 
Calabasas, about 20 miles northwest of Beverly Hills, who said he met 
with 
a social worker at a church in mid-March who told him about the 
orphans. 
The woman told Abedi that 45 of the children had arrived in the United 
States and more were on their way.

However, since the meeting, Abedi has not been able to confirm any of 
the 
information and no one has reported seeing the children…

But many Afghans here were quick to believe the orphan story, Popal 
said, 
because Afghanistan faced a similar situation during its war with the 
Soviet Union. Several thousand orphans were taken to the former Soviet 
Union starting in 1979 -- a mission which spanned about a decade.

-----

EDITORIAL: JUSTICE DIES IN THE DARK
The Los Angeles Times, 4/3/2002
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-000023745apr03.story

Openness is a hallmark of this nation's legal system. The founding 
fathers 
knew that secret court proceedings give cover to corrupt or tyrannical 
judges and sloppy prosecutors, that judges who can hide can easily 
abuse 
power. Yet shortly after the September terrorist attacks, immigration 
judges around the country slammed shut the doors of their courtrooms, 
barring the public, the press and even relatives of the oh-so-vaguely 
accused men and women rounded up by the thousands under blanket orders 
from 
the attorney general. A federal judge could decide this week whether 
this 
secrecy should stand. We hope she agrees that it should not.

The case before the Detroit federal court involves proceedings against 
Rabih Haddad, a Muslim religious and community leader from Ann Arbor, 
Mich. 
Haddad is a Lebanese citizen who has lived in the United States on and 
off 
for the past 20 years. He last entered in 1998 under a tourist visa, 
which 
has since expired.

Last year, Haddad applied for permanent residency. As part of the mass 
arrests of Middle Eastern men after Sept. 11, federal agents picked up 
Haddad for overstaying his visa. He has been jailed since and is now 
being 
held in a Chicago federal prison, in solitary confinement, pending a 
final 
deportation hearing.

The government has made no allegation that Haddad had any role in the 
terrorist attacks, which he loudly condemned. Yet in December, the 
court 
barred Haddad's family, along with newspaper and television reporters 
and 
Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), from attending his first immigration 
hearing. In closing the doors, the judge in that proceeding was acting 
in 
accordance with a September memo issued by the chief immigration judge, 
on 
orders from Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft...

-----

FIVE MUSLIMS BURNT TO DEATH IN INDIAN STATE
Reuters, 4/3/2002

AHMEDABAD, India, April 3 (Reuters) - Five Muslims were burnt to death 
and 
a sixth person was shot by police as fresh Hindu-Muslim violence flared 
in 
India's riot-racked Gujarat state, police said on Wednesday.

The grisly bodies were discovered a day before Prime Minister Atal 
Behari 
Vajpayee makes his first visit to the state since the religious 
bloodletting erupted late in February.

Police said the remains of the five were found on the outskirts of 
Ahmedabad, the state's main commercial city, adding to more than 800 
people, mostly Muslims, who have already been killed in the wave of 
violence.

"Five charred bodies were recovered this morning from one of three 
houses 
burnt by a Hindu mob early on Wednesday," a senior police officer told 
Reuters.

Four people suffered burns and were in hospital, he said…

Both the state and federal governments have been heavily criticised by 
opposition parties for failing to act swiftly to stop the carnage -- 
charges they have denied.

The violence erupted on February 27 after a Muslim mob torched a train 
carrying hardline Hindus, burning 58 people alive. That sparked a wave 
of 
reprisal killings in which around 750 people, mostly Muslims, were 
killed.

Some 100,000 people, mainly Muslims, are sheltered in relief camps in 
the 
state. Many have lost their homes in arson attacks or are too terrified 
to 
return to them for fear of being targeted by their Hindu neighbours, 
relief 
workers say.

-----

THE FIRST HOLY WAR
By Andrew Curry, U.S. News & World Report, 4/8/2002
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/020408/ideas/8crusades.htm

It was the fall of 1187, and an emissary from the besieged city of 
Jerusalem had come to beg Saladin, the sultan of Egypt, for mercy. 
After 
barely four days of assaults, the Christian defenders saw that Saladin 
had 
them hopelessly outmatched. Waiting in his tent outside the city's 
walls, 
the Muslim ruler knew both sides had a lot riding on the outcome of 
this 
battle.

For the city's defenders, the prospect of Saladin's wrath loomed. The 
last 
time Jerusalem was sacked by an invading army--a Christian one--its 
narrow 
streets ran red with blood. For Saladin, his honor depended on 
capturing 
Jerusalem. All summer his armies had battled their way north through 
the 
Holy Land, sweeping through the Christian fiefs like an angry desert 
wind, 
with only one goal: recapturing the holy city that had been occupied by 
European invaders for 88 years.

Now the sultan stood on the hills north of Jerusalem. But the Christian 
emissary trudging toward him had no prize to offer, only surrender. For 
days Saladin's men had bombarded the city from the heights to the 
north, 
finally breaching St. Stephen's Gate. The few defenders who remained 
knew 
that prolonging the fight would only worsen the consequences of defeat. 
And 
so a triumphant Saladin entered Jerusalem on Oct. 2, 1187. For the 
sultan's 
army, it was a moment of both joy and sadness.

Christians had profaned some of Islam's holiest sites. The al-Aqsa 
mosque 
had been used as a stable for horses. Pieces of the rock from which 
Mohammed was said to have ascended to heaven had been chipped away to 
sell 
in Constantinople.

But the victorious Saladin forbade acts of vengeance. There were no 
more 
deaths, no violence. A token ransom was arranged for the thousands of 
residents. Saladin and his brother paid for hundreds of the poorest 
themselves and arranged guards for the caravans of refugees.

Sound familiar? If not, don't feel bad. Saladin doesn't get much play 
in 
Western history books…

More than nine centuries after Urban II called the first Crusade, the 
legacy of misunderstanding and animosity is still with us today. In the 
West, many of the most lasting misperceptions of Islam stem from that 
time. 
In the Arab and Muslim world, the Crusades have made an unfortunate 
rhetorical comeback. "Such analogies are really not very helpful to 
understand the Crusades or present-day realities--they obscure rather 
than 
clarify," says Kedar. "People get so obsessed with . . . the past that 
they 
don't react to the reality but to the reflection." With that reflection 
distorted almost beyond recognition by rhetoric and misunderstanding, a 
clearer vision of the past has never been more important.

-----

YOUNG MUSLIMS WEAR THEIR FAITH WITH PRIDE
New clothing line declares 'way of life'
By ALLISON LAMPERT, Montreal Gazette, 4/3/2002
http://www.canada.com/montreal/news/story.asp?id={80A32391-168C-4586-89B8-4054CAB163E6}

Mubashir Jamal was different from the other teens he knew in high 
school.

At a time when many of his peers were partying at clubs and losing 
their 
virginity, Jamal, now 18, refrained from drinking alcohol or smoking 
marijuana.

A practicing Muslim, Jamal spoke of prayer, and engaged in lively 
debate 
over religion and western society during English class.

"Religion became a real taboo in high school," he recalled. "When you 
enter 
an environment like that it makes it even more difficult when people 
don't 
understand." Now a student at Dawson College, Jamal continues to stand 
out 
because of his religious beliefs.

He displays them on the black knit tuque on his head, and on his 
sweatshirt. Jamal is wearing Muslim Gear, a clothing line launched to 
promote greater understanding of a religion he says is frequently 
misunderstood.

Sitting in an empty Muslim prayer room at Concordia University, Jamal 
points to a phrase emblazoned in white on the back of a black T-shirt 
worn 
by a friend, Ali Merali.

Just below the Muslim Gear logo, the shirt refers to Islam as "more 
than a 
religion."

"The main intention is to raise awareness about Islam," Jamal said. 
"When 
we have statements like this…it invokes questions in people's minds…"

For additional information, go to: www.muslimgear.com

-----

THE MIND OF A RACIST
He thought I was an Arab and let his spleen vent
BY Aparism Ghosh, TIME Magazine, 4/3/2002
http://www.time.com/time/asia/news/column/0,9754,203473,00.html

I met my first real-life racist at lunchtime in a central London café. 
He 
was wearing a dark blue suit and a fawn felt overcoat, crisp white 
shirt 
and a brick-red tie. He was a small, wiry figure, with a wide forehead, 
thinning blond hair and grey eyes behind rimless glasses. He was 
well-spoken, uttered not a single obscenity and had good teeth. And he 
didn't raise a hand towards me in anger…

"Look," he said, now taking on a conciliatory tone, "for all I know, 
you're 
a perfectly nice fellow. You were probably educated in this country, 
and 
you are Westernized. But your religion..." He shook his head.

"What about it?" I asked.

"Well, it's savage and medieval and... savage," he said. "It's not 
polite 
to say these things these days, but they need to be said. And after 
what 
happened in America, it can't be hidden any longer."

"Why is it savage?"

"It's full of hate, isn't it? It teaches your people to be hostile, 
towards 
us, towards anybody who disagrees with you. And women, too, your own 
women."

He then favored me with his thesis on Islam. Muslims, in his view, 
allowed 
their clergy ("the Imams," he called them) to run their lives. They - 
we - 
were brainwashed to be unquestioning and unthinking, to aspire to a 
medieval way of life. He liked the word "medieval," and used it 
repeatedly. 
Islam, he added, had failed to "snap out of its medieval trance and 
recognize that the world has moved on…"

Despite his low tone, he was obviously deeply angry, at me, at all 
Arabs. 
Maybe this rage had come from something that had happened to him 
recently, 
some specific event, like the loss of a job or a contract (or a wife?) 
to 
an Arab. Or did he carry his loathing with him all the time, coiled up 
in 
his gut like a wounded rattlesnake, ready to lash out at anybody. I 
wanted 
to ask, but didn't know how…

"You seem to have done some reading on Islam," I said…

Throughout our conversation, I had not once challenged this man, not 
told 
him to his face that he was a racist nut and that his notions about 
Arabs 
and Muslims were all warped and ugly and wrong. As a journalist, I'm so 
used to holding my own opinions while seeking out those of others that 
I 
sometimes let nonsense go unchallenged. Or - and this was the shameful 
part 
- perhaps it was because, not being an Arab or a Muslim, I was unable 
to 
take his bigotry personally. And finally, coming from such an 
incongruous 
figure, his words had seemed more amusing than offensive - at the time. 
But 
now I felt like chasing after him on the crowded pavement and 
confronting 
him in the street, humiliating him in public.

The moment passed. I told myself it would serve no purpose, because 
hismind 
was closed. Besides, he had given me something valuable, an insight 
into 
his prejudices. And, probably more precious, a real face to put on my 
mental image of a racist. I will never forget it.

-----

TEXAN CONVICTED OF KILLING INDIAN OVER SEPT. 11
Reuters, 4/2/2002
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&564&e=10&u=/nm/20020402/ts_nm/attack_murder_dc_2

DALLAS (Reuters) - A suburban Dallas man who went out to shoot 
immigrants 
in revenge for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States was convicted 
of 
capital murder on Tuesday for killing an Indian gas station owner.

A Dallas jury took less than an hour to convict Mark Stroman, 32, who 
had 
told police and a Dallas TV station he shot naturalized U.S. citizen 
Vasudev Patel last October because he thought the Indian man looked 
Middle 
Eastern and he wanted vengeance for the hijack attacks on New York and 
the 
Pentagon (news - web sites)…

Stroman is also charged with killing a Dallas-area convenience store 
clerk, 
Waquar Hassan, on Sept. 15 and is suspected in a third shooting that 
injured another store clerk, Rais Uddin. Arguments in the punishment 
phase 
began on Tuesday before the case goes to the jury one more time for 
sentencing.

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2002 13:17:09 -0500
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: CAIR Supports President's Demand for End to Israeli Attacks

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAIR SUPPORTS PRESIDENT'S DEMAND FOR END TO ISRAELI ATTACKS

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/4/2002) - The Council on American-Islamic 
Relations 
(CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, is supporting 
President 
Bush's demand, announced today, that Israel end both its settlement 
activity and it ongoing assaults on Palestinian towns and villages.

The president said: "Israeli settlement activity in occupied 
territories 
must stop...I ask Israel to halt incursions into Palestinian-controlled 
areas and begin the withdrawal from those cities it has recently 
occupied." 
He said Israel must also "show a respect for - and concern about - the 
dignity of the Palestinian people" and lift its blockade of Palestinian 
civilians by opening border crossings and checkpoints.

For the full text of the president's remarks, go to: 
http://www.msnbc.com/news/734039.asp?cp1=1

In a statement issued following the president's speech, CAIR 
Governmental 
Affairs Director Jason Erb said:

"The operative aspects of today's remarks by President Bush, despite 
being 
couched in standard pro-Israel rhetoric, are a clear departure from the 
administration's one-sided support for that nation's brutal and illegal 
policies. The President has accurately identified the real sources of 
conflict in the Holy Land; the settlements, the occupation and the 
"daily 
humiliation" suffered by ordinary Palestinians.

"It is also encouraging that the president decided to send Secretary of 
State Colin Powell to the region. Such high-level intervention is 
essential 
to bring about an end to the cycle of violence and the mutual hatred it 
generates. CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad proposed just such an 
initiative in a meeting yesterday with Secretary Powell.

"These constructive statements must now be followed by concrete and 
sustained diplomatic action."

                                         - END -

CONTACT:        Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-489-5108
                 E-MAIL - cair@cair-net.org
                 Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 703-861-7294
                 E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org

-----

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http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----











Forwarded Message

Date: Fri, 05 Apr 2002 10:59:36 -0500
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Detainees/Afghan Orphans/Palestine/Teen Asks to Display Five Pillars

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS  4/5/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* VERSE OF THE DAY: REPEL EVIL WITH GOOD
* CAIR TRAINING CONFERENCE A SUCCESS
* RIGHTS ACTIVISTS ASSAIL CHECK OF JAIL CONDITIONS
* JUDGE RULES THE HEARING FOR A DETAINEE MUST BE OPEN (New York Times)
* ISRAELI SOLDIERS SHOOT AND KILL A U.S. CITIZEN (Democracy Now)
* ISRAELI TROOPS FIRE GRENADES AT REPORTERS (UPI)
* KAPTUR URGES BUSH TO PUSH FOR U.N. PEACEKEEPERS IN MIDEAST
* U.S. JEW DENOUNCES CRITICS OF HIS PALESTINIAN AID (Reuters)
         - Editorial: Death Threats in Brooklyn (New York Times)
         - Interviews Available With Americans In Palestinian
         Cities Under Attack By The Israeli Army (us Newswire)
* U.S. RADIO PROMOTES AFGHAN CAMPAIGN (AP)
* ‘AFGHAN ORPHAN’ E-MAIL MAY BE HOAX (ABC)
* TEXAN GETS DEATH FOR KILLING INDIAN OVER SEPT. 11 (Reuters)
* COMMENT: THE PRISONER OF SHARON (Worldnetdaily.com)
* THE ANTI-AMERICANS (Antiwar.com)
* PALESTINIANS ARE BLURRY IN THE EDITORIAL FRAME (FAIR)
         - In U.S. Media, Palestinians Attack, Israel Retaliates
* PALESTINIAN BACKERS URGE U.S. MEDIATION (Columbus Dispatch)
* ISRAELIS WHO WON’T JOIN THE FIGHT(NBC)
* A SPEECH LACED WITH OBSESSIONS AND LITTLE ELSE (The Independent)
* ISRAEL IS NOT AMERICA’S GREATEST ALLY (Newsweek International)
* A RIGHTWING BLUEPRINT FOR THE MIDDLE EAST (AlterNet)
* TEEN ASKS TENNESSEE COUNTY TO DISPLAY ISLAMIC PILLARS (AP)
* EXHIBIT: THE HISTORY OF MUSLIMS IN WASHINGTON, DC

-----

VERSE OF THE DAY: REPEL EVIL WITH GOOD

“[Since] good and evil cannot be equal. Repel [evil] with something 
that is 
better. Then you will see that he with whom you had enmity, will become 
your close friend.”

The Holy Quran, Chapter 41, Verse 34

-----

CAIR TRAINING CONFERENCE A SUCCESS

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/5/02) On Saturday, March 30 and Sunday March 31, 
2002, 
the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held its annual 
training 
conference at the Sheraton Premiere in Vienna, Va.

The sold-out conference, entitled “Muslims in America: Moving Forward 
with 
Faith,” offered intensive workshops and lectures on media relations, 
civil 
rights advocacy, coalition-building and political empowerment, all 
presented by top professionals in their fields.

More than 400 Muslim activists took part in the conference. Attendees 
included community leaders and activists from 28 states, Canada and 
Europe. 
Evaluations from participants indicate a high level of appreciation for 
the 
conference and the content of workshops.

One participated stated, “The conference has given me a lot of ideas 
and 
motivated me beyond my imagination.” Many attendees pointed to the need 
for 
greater activism within the Muslim community, particularly in light of 
the 
government’s increasing use of racial and religious profiling.

Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) offered the keynote address at 
the 
luncheon on Saturday. His speech highlighted civil rights and civil 
liberties concerns in the aftermath of September 11. “I have not been 
able 
to find any evidence of why we need to surrender any of our 
constitutional 
civil rights and liberties to fight terrorism,” said Conyers.

-----

RIGHTS ACTIVISTS ASSAIL CHECK OF JAIL CONDITIONS
By MITCHEL MADDUX, The Record (Bergen County, NJ), 4/4/2002
http://northjersey.com/cgi-bin/page.pl?id=3049876

Civil rights activists criticized the U.S. Justice Department on 
Wednesday, 
saying that an agency review of immigration detainees¬ treatment in the 
Passaic County Jail has come too late.

The Justice Department's Inspector General's Office recently began a 
review 
of conditions at the Paterson facility, only weeks after an Amnesty 
International report said Muslim detainees there had been mistreated.

But several activists said that as many as 75 percent of those held in 
Passaic County as part of the Sept. 11 terror probe have already either 
been deported or released. "It's closing the barn door after the horses 
have gotten out," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations in Washington. "A cynical person would say 
it's 
just public relations spin and damage control.” A spokesman for the 
Justice 
Department's Inspector General's Office, Paul Martin, declined to 
discuss 
the review, which also is looking at conditions inside the federal 
Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Authorities did confirm that the review would examine issues such as 
the 
detainees’ access to legal counsel, the civil rights they are afforded, 
whether their cases are being handled promptly, and other conditions in 
the 
jails.

Most of those among the 326 being held -- many of them men of Middle 
Eastern and South Asian heritage -- are being detained on immigration 
charges. Most are being held in New Jersey, with many in the Passaic 
and 
Hudson jails, civil liberties groups say.

Sohail Mohammed, a Clifton attorney who has represented more than a 
dozen 
detainees, said many detainees who could have been affected by the 
review's 
outcome are no longer in custody. Citing information culled from civil 
rights groups and other attorneys, he estimated that 100 immigration 
detainees remain of 400 originally held in the Passaic County Jail.

-----

JUDGE RULES THE HEARING FOR A DETAINEE MUST BE OPEN
By Danny Hakim with Susan Sachs, New York Times, 4/03/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/04/national/04DETA.html

A federal judge here ruled today that an immigration hearing for a 
local 
suspect in the government's terror sweep could not be closed to 
reporters.

The ruling was the first in a federal court on the Justice Department's 
effort to keep such cases closed and could have ramifications for 
hundreds 
of other immigration hearings that are pending for men of Arab descent 
since the Sept. 11 attacks. "Openness is necessary for the public to 
maintain confidence in the value and soundness of the government's 
actions, 
as secrecy only breeds suspicion," Judge Nancy G. Edmunds of Federal 
District Court ruled in rejecting the argument that the cases should be 
closed for national security reasons…

-----

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Democracy Now! at (212) 431-9090

ISRAELI SOLDIERS SHOOT AND KILL A U.S. CITIZEN AS SHE HOLDS HER 
9-MONTH-OLD 
BABY IN HER LAP; WITH THE MORGUE OVERFLOWING, THE FAMILY IS FORCED TO 
BURY 
THE 21-YEAR OLD PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN IN THE RAMALLAH HOSPITAL PARKING 
LOT; 
THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT DOES NOTHING

Israeli soldiers on Friday shot and killed Suraida Saleh in Ramallah as 
she 
was holding her 9-month old baby in her lap.

She and her husband were driving to safety at her father's house after 
hearing shooting near their home. Suraida Saleh was a 
Palestinian-American 
born in George Washington Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Reached on the phone today in Ramallah, her father, Farhan Mohammed 
Saleh, 
told Democracy Now! that Israeli soldiers asked the husband to stop the 
car 
and started shooting. He said they shot Suraida in the head and chest, 
and 
she died immediately. After shooting the husband repeatedly, they let 
him 
go. He took the baby from his dead wife's lap and stumbled up the road 
to 
the home of his father-in-law, where he collapsed.

With the Ramallah hospital morgue overflowing and Israeli soldiers 
preventing anyone from reaching the cemetery, Saleh said he was forced 
to 
bury his daughter in the hospital parking lot alongside dozens of other 
Palestinians.

Suraida's father, Farhan Mohammed Saleh, wept as he said: "I took her 
out 
of the hospital refrigerator [morgue] with my own hands, and my wife 
and my 
older son with me, we took her outside and put her in the ground, just 
temporary."

On Tuesday, Democracy Now! spoke to the Office of Consular Affairs at 
the 
State Department. The office said the State Department was aware that 
Suraida Saleh was a U.S. citizen, but did not plan to release a 
statement 
or take any action. Farhan Mohammed Saleh said that the State 
Department 
has done nothing. As he spoke, his grandson could be heard crying in 
the 
background. "[My grandson] is with me now. He is 9 months old, I don't 
know 
what's going to happen with him without his mother. You know, he's 
crying 
all the time. That's what makes me suffer."

What follows is a partial transcript of the interview with Farhan 
Mohammed 
Saleh, the father of Suraida Saleh. He was interviewed by Amy Goodman, 
host 
of the radio and television show, Democracy Now!.

Farhan Mohammed Saleh [Saleh]: …some of the neighbors, when they hear 
the 
shooting and saw her in the car, they call the ambulance… she stayed in 
the 
refrigerator [hospital morgue] from Friday morning up to yesterday 
evening 
[5 days]. … I took her out of the hospital refrigerator with my own 
hands, 
and my wife and my older son with me, we took her outside and put her 
in 
the ground, just temporary, somewhere in the hospital, until they can 
take 
her to the cemetery.

Amy Goodman [AG]: You buried your daughter in the parking lot?

Saleh: Yes, yes, she was with 2 more women, the men were buried 
separately. 
It is a temporary cemetery they make ...

AG: How many other people are buried in the parking lot?

Saleh: About 25 or 27 people. Three women were yesterday, and about 23 
or 
24 men.

AG: Why couldn't you get to the cemetery?

Saleh: Nobody can go to the cemetery, there was shooting going 
everywhere. 
They just give 1 or 2 hours to the people to see their dead. We passed 
from 
the side of the tanks and the soldiers, and we was scared… [My 
grandson] is 
with me now. He is 9 months old, I don't know what's going to happen 
with 
him without his mother. You know, he's crying all the time. That's what 
makes me suffer. [Crying of baby in the background]

AG: Has the US embassy come to see you?

Saleh: Nobody, nobody up to now. My other daughter in Brooklyn, she 
called 
the Department of State in the U.S. and gave them all the information 
and 
they called the American Embassy in Jerusalem, and gave them my phone 
number. They called me Friday or Saturday, and I told them what's 
happening, and they say they are going to come and nobody came. And 
they 
called me Sunday morning and say they're going to come and nobody 
showed 
up, up to now. I called 2 or 3 times and I talked with some people 
working 
and nobody has shown up to now, nobody has seen me up to now. I don't 
know 
what I'm going to do with the baby now. [He begins to weep.]

It's a bad situation, a bad situation we have really. We just ask God 
to 
help her. It's killing people everywhere, in the streets, in the 
houses. 
They broke down the houses, the buildings, they get inside the houses 
and 
the apartments and they kill people and break down everything. That's 
barbarism. That's the situation we have. I don't know where are the 
human 
rights? The US and all the world, they're calling for human rights - 
where 
are the human rights? Civilian people, they're killing everywhere, in 
the 
streets and the houses and the apartments. Some buildings have 10 to 15 
apartments, they get inside the apartments and houses and are killing 
everywhere.

-----

ISRAELI TROOPS FIRE GRENADES AT REPORTERS
United Press International, 4/5/2002

TEL AVIV, Israel, April 5 (UPI) -- Israeli soldiers fired rubber 
bullets 
and stun grenades at a journalist convoy near the compound of 
Palestinian 
leader Yasser Arafat in Ramallah, U.S. TV journalists reported early 
Friday.

There was no warning before troops in two vehicles fired five to seven 
stun 
grenades, TV reporters from CNN and ABC News reported. About 25 
reporters 
were then ordered to leave.

Journalists had gone to the area to wait for U.S. special envoy Gen. 
Anthony Zinni, who is scheduled to meet with Arafat later in the day...

-----

KAPTUR URGES BUSH TO PUSH FOR U.N. PEACEKEEPERS IN MIDEAST
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/oh09_kaptur/prBushMideast.html

TOLEDO, OH -U.S. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) today called on 
President Bush to request an emergency meeting of the United Nations 
Security Council for the purpose of approving an enforcement action in 
the 
Middle East.

“The situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories has spiraled 
out 
of control,” Congresswoman Kaptur said.“United Nations peacekeepers 
could 
end the escalation of violence in Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

“The world looks to the United States for leadership.As a permanent 
member 
of the Security Council, the United States has a responsibility to work 
with the nations of the world to urge warring parties to end their 
conflicts through dialogue.If they do not, however, we must help forge 
an 
international alliance to create an atmosphere more conducive to 
negotiations.”

Congresswoman Kaptur said a U.N. force, after bringing down the level 
of 
violence, could help provide the regional stability that is necessary 
for 
preserving Israel’s right to exist and establishing an independent 
Palestinian state. She noted that both objectives are part of the Bush 
Administration’s stated policy in the Middle East.

According to the United Nations, there have been 49 peacekeeping 
operations 
since 1948.Thirty six operations were created by the Security Council 
in 
the years between 1988 (when the blue-helmeted U.N. peacekeepers were 
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize) and June 1999.

“Over the past 18 months we have seen more than 400 Israelis and more 
than 
1,200 Palestinians killed,” Congresswoman Kaptur said.“The violence on 
both 
sides has intensified in recent weeks and now threatens to engulf the 
entire region in a destabilizing conflict.The violence is taking on a 
life 
of its own.Further delay will make peace even harder to achieve. This 
is 
why the United Nations peacekeepers exist.The United States must take 
the 
lead to bring an end to the bloodshed.”

In the case of enforcement action, the Security Council gives Member 
States 
the authority to take all necessary measures to achieve a stated 
objective. 
Consent of the parties is not necessarily required.

SEND NOTES OF APPRECIATION TO:

Rep. Marcy Kaptur

Northwest Ohio Office
One Maritime Plaza
Sixth Floor
Toledo, Ohio 43604-1853
(419) 259-7500
(800) 964-4699
Fax - (419) 255-9623

Washington, D.C. Office
2366 Rayburn House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-4146
Fax - (202) 225-7711

E-MAIL: REP.KAPTUR@mail.house.gov
COPY TO: ohio@cair-net.org, cair@cair-net.org

-----

U.S. JEW DENOUNCES CRITICS OF HIS PALESTINIAN AID
By Christian Wiessner, Reuters, 4/4/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-mideast-usa-brooklyn.html

NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) - The Jewish American aid worker who 
treated 
Palestinian wounded in Yasser Arafat's besieged compound denounced his 
critics on Thursday and said police and the FBI were investigating 
death 
threats that have led his parents to temporarily leave their Brooklyn 
home.

"So far they are safe and trying to stay that way," Adam Shapiro -- 
described as "the Jewish Taliban" in some U.S. media reports -- said of 
his 
parents, Doreen and Stuart Shapiro, in a telephone interview from his 
apartment in the West Bank city of Ramallah…

The Shapiros, both teachers, are living out of state after death 
threats 
sent to their Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, home via telephone and e-mail…

Shapiro is a member of The International Solidarity Movement, a group 
which 
bills itself as working to raise awareness of the Palestinian struggle 
and 
to end the Israeli occupation.

He persuaded Israeli authorities to allow him to enter the PLO 
presidential 
compound last weekend to treat wounded aides of Arafat and became 
trapped 
inside as Israeli troops pounded the complex with heavy gunfire.

Shapiro caused a storm in some New York Jewish circles when it was 
learned 
after he emerged from the compound that Arafat ate breakfast with him 
as a 
gesture of thanks for aiding the wounded.

In New York, Shapiro's brother Noah said the "disgusting" telephone 
calls 
and emails had left their parents "emotional and distraught..."

SEE ALSO:

Editorial: Death Threats in Brooklyn
The New York Times, 4/4/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/04/opinion/_04THU2.html

As the Mideast death toll soars, so do anxieties about the region's 
corrosive hatreds spilling onto our own shores and threatening the 
lives 
and freedoms of Americans. That fear has now become reality in Brooklyn 
in 
a way both surprising and repellent. Death threats from irresponsible 
local 
supporters of Israel have forced an innocent couple, Doreen and Stuart 
Shapiro, to flee their home. They became a target after their son Adam 
delivered humanitarian medical aid to Yasir Arafat's besieged compound 
in 
Ramallah, on the West Bank.

Rage at Mr. Arafat for his complicity in murderous suicide bombings 
across 
Israel is understandable. Yet Mr. Arafat's behavior scarcely turns Adam 
Shapiro's peaceful action into treason against America and the Jews or 
makes him the equivalent of an American Taliban fighter, as some of the 
menacing messages charge…

---

Interviews Available With Americans In Palestinian Cities Under Attack 
By 
The Israeli Army  U.S. Newswire, 4/4/2002

Several U.S. citizens remain inside Palestinian refugee camps and 
cities 
that are under siege by the Israeli army.

Yesterday the United States government evacuated many of the U.S. 
members 
of the international delegation that had gone to the occupied 
territories 
to protest against human rights violations against Palestinians. But 
some 
Americans decided to stay in Palestine, to protect Palestinians and 
report 
on the atrocities being carried out there by the Israeli Army. The 
following Americans are available to provide eyewitness testimony from 
Palestinian cities and refugee camps:

Kate Raphael, cell phone: 011-972-56-621-935

Kate Raphael is a 42-year old Jewish American woman who lives in the 
San 
Francisco Bay Area where she works at a law firm. Kate has been 
involved 
with a group called Women in Black, which is an international peace 
network 
whose members hold silent peace vigils in protest of war and human 
rights 
abuses. Women in Black vigils were started in Israel in 1988 by women 
protesting against the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Huwaida Arraf, cell phone: 011-972-52-642-709

Huwaida Arraf is a 26-year-old Palestinian American from Detroit, MI. 
She 
decided not to be evacuated out of the occupied territories by the U.S. 
government, and she is now in Ramallah.

Rob Lipton, cell phone: 011-972-51-363-195

Rob Lipton is a 43-year-old Jewish American scientist from Berkeley, 
CA. He 
is active with a group called Jewish Voice for Peace, a San Francisco 
Bay 
Area grassroots human rights organization focused on the Middle East. 
In an 
April 3 interview with the Associated Press from East Jerusalem, after 
he 
was evacuated from Bethlehem, Lipton said: "The first night in the camp 
there was very heavy machine gun fire. The Palestinians did not return 
fire. They do not have heavy weapons, although I could hear the 
occasional 
pop pop of some small guns and then the giant roar of tank fire," he 
said.

Adam Shapiro, cell phone: 011-972-52-481-261

Adam Shapiro is a 30-year-old activist from Brooklyn, New York. He 
works 
with the International Solidarity Movement, the organization that 
sponsored 
the delegation of internationals to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He is 
currently in Ramallah. Since Adam was interviewed in the U.S. media in 
recent days, his parents received so many death threats from 
pro-Israeli 
zealots that they had to temporarily leave their home in Brooklyn.

For eyewitness reports by Americans, Europeans, Palestinians and others 
who 
are in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, see www.electronicintifada.net and 
www.jerusalem.indymedia.org.

CONTACT: Karen Pomer, 310-463-7025 Andrea Buffa, 510-839-8911 both of 
Vanguard Public Foundation Web: http://www.vanguardsf.org/

-----

U.S. RADIO PROMOTES AFGHAN CAMPAIGN
By MICHELLE BOORSTEIN, The Associated Press, 4/5/2002

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) - In a classified area of this sprawling, 
dusty 
military base, behind rolls of barbed wire, a different sort of battle 
is 
under way.

Four Humvees and a canvas tent have been transformed into a radio 
station 
run by the U.S. Army Psychological Operations unit, broadcasting Afghan 
folk music, Dari language techno and informational items crafted by 
Army 
marketing experts.

Luring listeners with a program that is heavy on music - banned under 
the 
Taliban - Information Radio weaves in announcements that carry a clear 
message across Afghanistan: Support the allies and the interim 
government 
of Hamid Karzai.

A recent item on the station, which broadcasts 24 hours a day and can 
be 
heard nationwide, told of two Afghan bicyclists training for the 2004 
Olympics. They will win, “God willing,” the announcer said. “However, 
it 
can only happen when peace is truly achieved in Afghanistan and all 
Afghans 
unite to support the interim government and the new way of life…”

The psychological operations specialists make the music and write the 
scripts with the help of civilian and military Afghan-Americans, 
linguists 
and marketing experts, says Capt. Bob of the Fort Bragg, N.C.-based 8th 
Battalion. The Army prohibits identifying members of the unit by their 
full 
names…

-----

‘AFGHAN ORPHAN’ E-MAIL MAY BE HOAX
Afghan-American Families Offer
Foster Care, But Orphans May Not Exist
By Leela Jacinto, ABC News, 4/03/02
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/afghan020403_orphan.html

The e-mails, seeking homes for more than 500 Afghan women and children 
coming to the United States, started circulating among the 
Afghan-American 
community last month, but U.S. and Afghan officials fear they may be 
nothing more than a well-circulated hoax.

Hundreds of Afghan-American families across the country have been 
signing 
up for foster care licenses after a series of e-mails claimed that 529 
Afghan women and children, 217 of them orphaned children, were going to 
be 
brought to the United States.

But the e-mails  which appeared to be put out by Niswa, a Los 
Angeles-based 
Muslim community organization  offered no details on how the women and 
children had arrived in the United States or who was responsible for 
bringing them in…

-----

TEXAN GETS DEATH FOR KILLING INDIAN OVER SEPT. 11
Reuters, 4/4/2002

DALLAS, April 4 (Reuters) - A Dallas-area stone worker who went out to 
shoot immigrants in revenge for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United 
States 
was sentenced to death on Thursday for killing a gas station owner born 
in 
India.

The same Dallas jury that convicted Mark Stroman, 32, of capital murder 
on 
Tuesday condemned him to death for the slaying last October of Vasudev 
Patel, 49, a naturalized U.S. citizen from India.

Stroman, who maintained his actions were the result of his anger over 
the 
Sept. 11 attacks, is also charged in the Sept. 15 shooting death of 
Waqar 
Hassan, a convenience store owner from Karachi, Pakistan, and the 
wounding 
of Raisuddin Bhuiyan, a Bangladeshi immigrant shot on Sept. 21 at the 
gas 
station where he worked.

-----

COMMENT: THE PRISONER OF SHARON
By Patrick J. Buchanan, Worldnetdaily.com, 4/5/2002
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27112

The president's problem: If he denounces Sharon and demands he pull 
back 
from the West Bank, he will dynamite his political coalition at home 
and 
call down a firestorm within his own party.

Nevertheless, the president must separate America's policy from 
Sharon's 
policy. For, if he does not, his own and America's standing in an Arab 
world of 300 million will come to resemble that of Sharon. The 
president 
must not let this happen. For, as a global power, the United States has 
strategic interests in the Middle East and Islamic world that are far 
greater than, and far different than, those of Israel…

But Ariel Sharon does not believe in that peace. When the United States 
embraced the Oslo accords and Prime Minister Rabin's offer of 
land-for-peace, when we endorsed Ehud Barak's bold offer to the 
Palestinians, when President Bush welcomed the Saudi peace plan, Sharon 
opposed them all, rejected them all, trashed them all, fought them all. 
Sharon's vision is not America's vision. We must make that known to the 
world…

The president must erase the perception that Americans are Sharon's 
silent 
partners in killing Palestinian dreams of a nation of their own on land 
on 
which their fathers have lived for 1,000 years…

The president must understand that what Sharon and the neoconservative 
War 
Party are slavering for is what the latter call "World War IV," a war 
with 
America and Israel on one side, and all the enemies of Israel in the 
Arab 
and Islamic world on the other  a war that could bring down every 
pro-American regime in the region and usher in the war of civilizations 
the 
president has sought since Sept. 11 to avoid…

-----

THE ANTI-AMERICANS
Amen Corner denounces Bush for 'going wobbly'
By Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, 4/5/2002
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j040502.html

First it was the Pope coming out against Israel's "humiliation" of the 
Palestinians, then, a day later, the President of the United States 
calling 
on Ariel Sharon to pull back his tanks. But don't think that Israel's 
Amen 
Corner didn't see it coming. You gotta give these guys credit: they 
know 
when someone is about to turn pro-American.

Norman Podhoretz, writing in the Jerusalem Post the day before Bush's 
statement, prefaced his condemnation of a President gone "wobbly"  as 
the 
War Party is now glumly putting it  with paragraph upon paragraph of 
unctuous praise. Yet he got out the knives before getting halfway 
through 
his screed by noting unhappily that Bush had once or twice used that 
suspect phrase "the cycle of violence"  and that this rhetorical gaffe 
was 
really the necessary prelude to his sending Vice President Dick Cheney 
on 
"a quixotic, unnecessary, and humiliating quest" seeking support for an 
effort to topple Iraq's Saddam Hussein.

Oh, George W. had been "incandescent" in the days and weeks following 
9/11, 
and Poddy was particularly thrilled by the "axis of evil" speech; but, 
lately there have been worrying signs that the President has "suddenly 
lost 
his ability to see the obvious"  obvious to Norman Podhoretz, and his 
fellow neoconservatives, that is…

-----

PALESTINIANS ARE BLURRY IN THE EDITORIAL FRAME
By Norman Solomon, FAIR, 4/4/2002
http://www.fair.org/media-beat/020404.html

Most editorial writers seem determined to detour around obvious 
parallels 
with apartheid-era South Africa. Evasions and apologetics for basic 
elements of Israel's policies dominate so much of the U.S. media 
landscape 
that insightful comments by Brzezinski were conspicuous: "The Israelis 
are 
becoming increasingly like the white supremacist South Africans, 
viewing 
the Palestinians as a lower form of life, not hesitating to kill a 
great 
many of them."

Parrot-like, highly selective media use of the "terrorism" label is 
providing top U.S. and Israeli officials with invaluable propaganda 
cover. 
Meanwhile, Brzezinski has it right: "You cannot define the loss of 
human 
life in terms of the number of Israelis killed by brutal, savage, 
inexcusable Palestinian terror. And it does take place. The fact of the 
matter is that three times as many Palestinians have been killed, and a 
relatively small number of them were really militants. Most were 
civilians. 
Some hundreds of children."

The New York Times ended an April 3 editorial with this sentence: "Only 
the 
most bankrupt leadership -- spiritually, intellectually and politically 
-- 
allows this macabre, self-delusional act of ruin to pass without 
anguished 
condemnation." Those words referred to a recent suicide bombing. But 
they 
also apply to the U.S. government and major media outlets continuing to 
wink and nod while the Israeli military slaughters Palestinian people.

SEE ALSO:

FAIRNESS & ACCURACY IN REPORTING ACTION ALERT:

In U.S. Media, Palestinians Attack, Israel Retaliates

April 4, 2002

The numbers will have risen by the time you read this, but more than 
300
Israelis and 1,200 Palestinians have been killed since the current 
Intifada 
began in September 2000 (Boston Globe, 3/31/02). Thousands more people 
have 
been injured.

U.S. media coverage of the conflict has been intense in recent weeks, 
as 
the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) mounted a large-scale invasion of the 
West 
Bank and Palestinian militants carried out several major suicide 
bombings. 
Amnesty International (4/3/02) has condemned the targeting of civilians 
by 
both sides, voicing concern over "flagrant human rights abuses" by the 
IDF, 
including looting, mass detentions, the targeting of medical personnel 
and 
possible extrajudicial executions. Israel has tried to exclude the 
press 
from the entire area where the abuses are occurring; the Committee to 
Protect Journalists has expressed alarm (4/2/02) over the apparent 
targeting of reporters in "ongoing incidents in which IDF forces have 
opened fire on, or in the direction of, journalists attempting to cover 
events in the West Bank."

With thousands of lives at stake and reporters risking their own lives, 
it's increasingly difficult-- but perhaps more urgent than ever-- to 
step 
back and examine how U.S. media have framed the story. To this end, 
FAIR 
has surveyed how the language of "retaliation" has been used on the 
nightly 
news shows on ABC, CBS and NBC.

 From the start of the Intifada in September 2000 through March 17, 
2002, 
the three major networks' nightly news shows used some variation of the 
word "retaliation" (retaliated, will retaliate, etc.) 150 times to 
describe 
attacks in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. About 79 percent of those 
references were to Israeli "retaliation" against Palestinians. Only 9 
percent referred to Palestinian "retaliation" against Israelis. 
(Approximately 12 percent were ambiguous or referred to both sides 
simultaneously.)

Both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict routinely present their 
attacks as being retaliation for previous attacks or actions. Both 
sides 
portray their struggle as essentially defensive. Whether one regards 
these 
justifications as credible explanations or self-serving rhetoric, the 
fact 
is that reporters make choices about whether to report them. The 
network 
news shows have characterized Israeli violence as "retaliation" almost 
nine 
times more often than Palestinian violence.

This disparity is meaningful. The term "retaliation" suggests a 
defensive 
stance undertaken in response to someone else's aggression. It also 
lays 
responsibility for the cycle of violence at the doorstep of the party 
being 
"retaliated" against, since they presumably initiated the conflict.

Among the three major networks, ABC's World News Tonight was the 
closest to 
being balanced, with 64 percent of its uses of "retaliation" referring 
to 
Israeli actions and 21 percent to Palestinian actions-- a three-to-one 
ratio. CBS Evening News came next, with 79 percent of its uses of 
"retaliation" referring to Israeli actions and 7 percent to Palestinian 
actions. NBC Nightly News was the most imbalanced, never once referring 
to 
Palestinian retaliation.

The devastating human toll of such "retaliations" makes these 
imbalances 
are all the more striking. According to the latest estimates from the 
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, 897 of the Palestinians killed 
from 
September 29, 2000 though March 30, 2002 have been civilians. Israeli 
security forces killed 823 of those 897 people, including 192 children. 
B'Tselem records that 253 Israeli civilians were killed by Palestinians 
in 
the same period, including 48 children. At least 16 of those 253 people 
were killed by Palestinian National Authority security forces or 
persons 
reportedly linked to them. B'Tselem notes that these figures include 
neither suicide bombers nor Palestinians who "died after medical 
treatment 
was delayed" by Israeli forces. (See www.btselem.org.)

Figures like these, highlighting the targeting of non-combatants and 
even 
children, make clear that it is simply inaccurate to cast either side 
as 
acting purely defensively.

The language of retaliation is only one factor in reporting, of course, 
but 
FAIR's findings-- 79 percent to 9 percent-- are striking and indicate a 
tendency to define Israel's role as defensive, and the Palestinian role 
as 
aggressive. By doing so,ABC, CBS and NBC have oversimplified this 
complicated conflict and done a disservice to viewers.

ACTION: Please urge the networks to examine why they apply the word 
"retaliation" almost exclusively to one side in the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict.

ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings
Phone: 212-456-4040
Fax: 212-456-2795
mail to: netaudr@abc.com

CBS Evening News with Dan Rather
Phone: 212-975-3691
Fax: 212-975-1893
mail to: audsvcs@cbs.com

NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw
Phone: 212-664-4971
Fax: 202-362-2009
mail to: nightly@msnbc.com

As always, please remember that your comments are taken more seriously 
if 
you maintain a polite tone. Please cc fair@fair.org with your 
correspondence.

-----

PALESTINIAN BACKERS URGE U.S. MEDIATION
By Mary Mogan Edwards, The Columbus Dispatch, 4/4/2002
http://libpub.dispatch.com/cgi-bin/documentv1?DBLIST=cd02&DOCNUM=14674&TERMV=20752:3:

The only hope for peace in the Mideast lies with the United States, 
local 
advocates for Palestinians said yesterday.

At a news conference to decry Israeli military actions in Bethlehem and 
elsewhere, the Coalition for Palestine's call to action was directed 
toward 
the U.S. government.

The United States must demand that Israeli forces withdraw from 
Palestinian 
cities and cut off aid to Israel until that happens, the group said. 
The 
government also must demand an international investigation of Israel's 
anti-Palestinian actions, it said.

"It's not too late" for peace, said Jad Humeidan, executive director of 
the 
Ohio Council on American-Islamic Relations. "People have said it can't 
get 
any worse. It definitely can get worse…"

The Coalition for Palestine plans to demonstrate at 3 p.m. Friday in 
front 
of the federal office building at 200 N. High St.

The group's statements yesterday were prompted by the Israeli 
military's 
movements into major Palestinian cities in the West Bank during the 
past 
week. It said that tanks are blocking movement in and out of cities and 
that soldiers are shooting at anyone who defies a curfew…

-----

ISRAELIS WHO WON’T JOIN THE FIGHT
By Martin Fletcher, NBC NEWS, 4/3/2002
http://www.msnbc.com/news/733053.asp

ATLIT, Israel, April 3   Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has 
declared 
that Israel is “at war,” but some reservists are refusing to fight when 
called up by their government  facing the scorn of their countrymen, 
and 
jail terms.

“WHY SHOULD I go to kill and to be killed  for what?” says Ron, one of 
about 400 Israeli soldiers refusing to join the fight in the West Bank 
and 
Gaza.

“This is a war that we have no chance to win,” he says.

Lt. Itai Ryb got the call to serve on Friday. But this week he decided 
to 
pack not for war, but for jail, joining other refuseniks who have 
signed a 
letter saying they’d rather go to prison than serve in the military 
campaign.

“This war is not acceptable to me,” he says. “I can’t take part in it.”

The Israeli action in the West Bank is wrong, he says, because “it’s 
occupation, it’s illegal; mostly it harms the well-being of Israel. The 
sooner we end the occupation, the sooner we’re going to have peace in 
this 
country…”

-----

A SPEECH LACED WITH OBSESSIONS AND LITTLE ELSE
By Robert Fisk, The Independent, 4/5/2002
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=281726

Ariel Sharon could not have done better. The heaping of blame upon an 
occupied people, the obsessive use of the word terror  by my rough 
count 
there were 50 references in just 10 minutes  and the brief, frightened 
remarks about "occupation" and (one mention only) to Jewish settlements 
and 
the need for Israeli "compassion" at the end were proof enough that 
President Bush had totally failed to understand the tragedy he is 
supposedly trying to solve.

The mugger became the victim and the victim became the mugger. What, I 
wonder, is the exact distance between the Rose Garden and Bethlehem? So 
the 
US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, is travelling to "the region" next 
week. Next week? Why not now?

But of course, the White House, which according to the Israeli press 
has 
repeatedly been asking Mr Sharon how long he intends to reoccupy the 
Palestinian cities of the West Bank, is to give the Israeli Prime 
Minister 
more time to finish his invasion, destroy the Palestinian 
infrastructure 
and dismantle the Palestinian Authority…

Far more instructive than the Bush speech was the measured, fair way in 
which Terje Larson, the UN's special Middle East envoy, and Nigel 
Roberts, 
the local director of the World Bank, tried to describe the tragedy. In 
a 
short press conference they appealed to both sides to end violence and 
respect international law and cited Israel as well as the Palestinians 
for 
breaking it. The so-called Israeli "closed military areas" were, Mr 
Larson 
said, "illegitimate and in direct violation of the [Oslo] Agreements". 
Mr 
Roberts talked of the surge in violence as a threat that could "consign 
to 
history the unique opportunity for reconciliation''.

But "closed military areas" achieved another Israeli victory over the 
Western television satellite stations. Yesterday, the BBC, Sky and CNN, 
with their own crews largely prevented from filming in the reoccupied 
Palestinian cities, all ran footage of the Bethlehem battle taken by 
Israeli soldiers. Rather than refuse to use the tape unless their own 
crews 
were permitted access to the carnage, the three channels all dutifully 
used 
the film taken by the army of occupation. Another milestone in the 
collapse 
of journalism in the Middle East. But not so serious as the collapse of 
America's peace-making.

-----

SHARON'S SELF -DEFEATING VENDETTA
By H.D.S. Greenway, The Boston Globe, 4/5/2002
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/095/oped/Sharon_s_self_defeating_vendetta+.shtml

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to make sense out of the Middle East mess without 
understanding that Israel's Ariel Sharon, in his year in office, has 
been 
waging war not just against terrorism, but against the Oslo accords and 
a 
peace process that promised a two-state solution with Israel living 
beside 
a Palestinian state.

Sharon, the architect of Israel's land-grabbing Israeli settlements in 
the 
occupied territories, essentially envisions a one-state solution with 
Israel maintaining its occupation and expanding Jewish settlements 
with, 
perhaps, one day a Palestinian state relegated to little Bantustan 
enclaves 
modeled on the apartheid South African model...

-----

ISRAEL IS NOT AMERICA’S GREATEST ALLY
By Michael Lind, Newsweek International, 4/8/2002
http://www.msnbc.com/news/731882.asp?cp1=1

Once again, conflict is raging between Israel and the Palestiniansand 
once 
again, the U.S. government can see fault only on one side. Even as 
Israeli 
soldiers were demolishing his compound and threatening his life, 
Palestinian Authority chairman Yasir Arafat was instructed by U.S. 
Secretary of State Colin Powell to end terrorism against Israel, 
including 
that committed by groups Arafat cannot control.

What passes in the United States as an evenhanded stance is perceived, 
not 
only in the Middle East but in Europe and throughout the world, as 
unquestioning American support of bully tactics by Israel. In fact, 
with 
his uncritical support of Israel, George W. Bush has managed to create 
an 
alliance of Arab states supporting Iraq against the United States. The 
Arab-Israeli conflict has also fueled divisions between the United 
States 
and its European allies over the war against Al Qaeda. One can only 
hope 
that the depth of the international opposition to America’s policies 
may 
slowly force a reappraisal of U.S.-Israel relationsfor the good of both 
countries…

-----

A RIGHTWING BLUEPRINT FOR THE MIDDLE EAST
Jim Lobe, AlterNet, 4/4/2002
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12785

George W. Bush's silence in the face of the destruction of the 
Palestine 
Authority (PA) -- and with it, the nine-year-old Oslo peace process -- 
marks a sweeping change in U.S. policy in the Middle East.

The appeals of Arab allies to rein in Sharon have fallen on utterly 
deaf 
ears. The lack of response to date suggests that the Bush White House 
has 
now fully embraced the rightwing view that Israel is the U.S.' only 
strategic ally in the region. And that the interests of Arab states, 
such 
as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, will have to take second place to the 
broader 
"war against terrorism."

This shift in perspective marks a huge and potentially decisive victory 
for 
a coalition of largely Jewish neo-conservatives and Christian Right 
Republicans both inside and outside the administration. They have 
argued 
with increasing vehemence in recent months that Washington's 
traditional 
deference -- which they label as "appeasement" -- to Arab rulers is 
ultimately counter-productive.

Who is the Pro-Israel Lobby?

Members of the anti-Arab lobby within the administration include: Paul 
Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, the second and third in command at the 
Pentagon respectively; Lewis Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of 
staff 
and national security adviser; Elliott Abrams, a senior member of the 
National Security Council Staff; John Bolton, Undersecretary of State 
for 
international security; and John Ashcroft, the evangelical Christian 
who 
heads the Department of Justice. It is also evident that Donald 
Rumsfeld 
and Dick Cheney generally share the views of their immediate deputies.

Outside the White House, William Bennett-- the influential former 
Reagan 
and Bush Sr. appointee who often spans the divide between neo-cons and 
the 
Christian Right -- is one of the prominent advocates of Israel. 
"America's 
fate and Israel's fate are one and the same," he wrote two weeks ago. 
Criticizing the State Department for calling on Sharon to exercise 
restraint, Bennett claimed that "Israel is being pressured so that we 
can 
assuage countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Yet it just so 
happens 
that those countries are responsible for the reappearance of the worst 
forms of anti-Jewish propaganda since (Nazi Propaganda Minister) Joseph 
Goebbels."

Bennett's article was one of dozens that have been churned out by the 
pro-Likud Right through publications such as the Wall Street Journal, 
the 
Weekly Standard, the National Review, and Washington Times, as well as 
the 
nationally syndicated columns of Charles Krauthammer, William Safire, 
and 
Michael Kelly…

-----

TEEN ASKS TENNESSEE COUNTY TO DISPLAY ISLAMIC PILLARS
By The Associated Press, 4/04/02

CLEVELAND, Tenn.  Bradley County, one of several Tennessee counties to 
vote 
recently to post the Ten Commandments, has been asked to include the 
Five 
Pillars of Islam in its displays of religious documents in public 
places. 
The commission has been asked several times by Rachel Cate, a student 
at 
Cleveland High School, to post the Islamic document alongside the Old 
Testament one.” This is not only a Christian nation, but a nation for 
everyone," Cate told the commission at a meeting last month. "I think 
it is 
discriminatory not to decide on the Five Pillars of Islam ... just as 
you 
decided on the Ten Commandments."

The commission has so far declined to grant Cate's request.

"At this point, we have our agendas full and there's no point in the 
immediate future to address that," Commission Chairman Mike Smith told 
Cate. Smith said he respects Cate's beliefs but believes that, 
particularly 
since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that have been blamed on extreme 
factions of Islam, it would be inappropriate to post the Five Pillars.

One of the commissioners, Howard Thompson, debated with Cate during her 
last appearance over whether there are five or six pillars, contending 
the 
sixth pillar is "jihad," or holy war.

There are actually five pillars, not six, according to The Columbia 
Encyclopedia. They are Shahadah, or the faith that "there is no god but 
God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God"; Salah, the five daily 
ritual 
prayers; Zakat, the giving of alms; Sawm, the fast during the month of 
Ramadan; and Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.

-----

PRESS RELEASE

Collections & Stories of American Muslims, Inc.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Amir Muhammad
Collections & Stories of American Muslims
202-678-6906 E-mail: amirmuhammad@juno.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CSAM’s“America’s Islamic Heritage Exhibition”

--Presents Two Exhibits --

“THE HISTORY OF MUSLIMS IN WASHINGTON, DC”
“A Look at Muslim Americans of Yesterday and Today”

The Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage at 1816 12th 
Street
NW, between S and T St. will host two exhibits. From April 5, 2002 to 
June 
15, 2002. One of the exhibits highlights the history of Muslim 
Americans in 
the Washington, DC area which dates a Georgetown Muslim resident, 
backmore 
than 200 years, some turn of the century wills, and a look at the 
growth 
and development of a Muslim community from the Shaw area. The second 
exhibit, on the second floor, examines Muslim Americans of the early 
20th 
Century and a glance at Muslim Americans of today.

The exhibit is sponsored in part by the Humanities Council of 
Washington, 
DC, the Shaw Heritage Trust, and Collections & Stories of American 
Muslims, 
Inc. CSAM’s “America’s Islamic Heritage” exhibits has traveled and been 
on 
display in many cities and universities across America such as Harvard 
University, Rutgers, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of 
Indiana, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

As America begins to understand the various threads of culture, colors, 
religions, and lifestyles that make up America’s pluralistic quilt, the 
exhibition helps shed light on the depth, diversity, growth, and 
history of 
Muslim Americans. The exhibit is housed at the historical “12th Street 
Y,” 
the first YMCA for African Americans in the Washington, D.C. area, and 
is 
home to the exhibit on “African Americans early life in the Shaw Area.”

The exhibit will open with a reception on Friday, April 12th, 6:00 pm - 
8:00pm. The exhibit will run from April 12th - June15th 2002. Times are 
Monday - Saturday 10:00 am -5:00 pm. For group tours and further 
information contact Amir Muhammad at (202) 678-6906.

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Sat, 06 Apr 2002 10:54:07 -0500
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Advocate of Slaughtering Palestinians to Appear on Fox

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS  4/6/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* ADVOCATE OF SLAUGHTERING PALESTINIANS TO APPEAR ON FOX
* CAIR-LA SPOKESMAN HONORED FOR SEEKING PEACE
* MUSLIM 9/11 HERO FINALLY RECOGNIZED (AP)
         - A FITTING HONOR; PAKISTANI-BORN WTC VICTIM REMEMBERED 
(Newsday)
* SECRET EVIDENCE PERMITTED (Chicago Tribune)
* HLF FILES MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
* THE LOFTUS RECORD (Weekly Planet)
* RIGHTS GROUP ACCUSES ISRAEL OF TORTURING PALESTINIANS (Washington 
Post)
* MURDERED PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN REMEMBERED (Washington Post)
* MUSLIM LEADER TO BE HONORED AT MOREHOUSE (Atlanta Journal)

-----

ADVOCATE OF SLAUGHTERING PALESTINIANS TO APPEAR ON FOX

Joseph Farah, a right-wing commentator who has approved of a proposal 
to 
slaughter 1,000 Palestinians for every Israeli death, will be a guest 
today 
on "Fox News Live." He will address the question, "Are American Muslims 
doing enough to help authorities track down terrorists both in the U.S. 
and 
abroad?"

SEE: Farah on Fox today
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27115

Farah is CEO and editor of Worldnetdaily.com, an online news site that 
many 
Muslims say frequently indulges in and promotes Islamophobic rhetoric.

Worldnetdaily.com Washington Bureau Chief Paul Sperry once suggested 
that 
the United States “air-lift pigs” into Afghan mosques. (9/27/2001) The 
site 
also actively promotes the views of infamous Islamophobes such as 
Daniel 
Pipes and Steven Emerson.

The segment is scheduled to air on Fox at approximately 4:20 p.m. 
Eastern, 
1:20 p.m. Pacific. (Guests and topics are subject to change.)

Farah recently rejected criticism of a Worldnetdaily.com article 
advocating 
that, “For every civilian, 100 non-combatant Palestinian adults will be 
slain, and for every child, 1,000 adults," Farah wrote that he found 
the 
proposal to be “a very thoughtful and quite responsible contribution to 
the 
Middle East debate.”

He did not indicate whether those to be slaughtered would include his 
fellow Christians, or would be limited to Muslim Palestinians. Farah 
also 
failed to outline whether these killings would be carried out using 
firing 
squads, lethal injections, or other means. Neither Farah, nor the 
writer 
who made the original proposal, indicated how Israel would dispose of 
the 
mass of bodies resulting from the executions.

In response to the flood of negative e-mails from concerned Muslims, 
Worldnetdaily.com Commentary Editor Tom Ambrose replied that “so-called 
Palestinians have no legitimate claim to Israel.”

SEE:

A real peace plan
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26995

1,000 eyes for an eye
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26870

ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be firm but POLITE. Worldnetdaily.com has 
a 
history of using hostile comments to further defame Muslims and Islam.)

Contact Fox to express your concerns about their use of a person with 
such 
offensive views to speak on subjects related to American Muslims.

E-MAIL: live@foxnews.com, comments@foxnews.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR-LA SPOKESMAN HONORED FOR SEEKING PEACE

ANAHEIM MAN IS DRIVEN TO PROMOTE PEACE BY FAMILY'S SUFFERINGS IN MIDDLE 
EAST WAR
Awards: Ra'id Faraj is among 20 who will be honored by the Orange 
County 
Human Relations Commission for helping bridge gaps.
By DANIEL YI, The Los Angeles Times, 4/6/2002
http://www.latimes.com/editions/orange/la-000024566apr06.story

The irony is not lost on Ra'id Faraj.

Half a world away, in his native town of Bethlehem, his family is 
cowering 
under the advance of Israeli tanks in a perennial conflict that has 
escalated recently in a vicious cycle of suicide bombings and 
retaliations.

Here in Orange County, Faraj, a spokesman for the Southern California 
chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, will be honored 
Sunday for seeking peace.

"This is the very thing I hope we will never see in America," the 
33-year-old Anaheim resident said of the tensions roiling his native 
land. 
"I suffered so much from it. My family continues to suffer. That is why 
I 
work so hard here." Faraj is among 20 people being recognized by the 
Orange 
County Human Relations Commission for their work in bridging gaps among 
diverse communities.

The annual awards banquet will be at Garden Grove's Community Meeting 
Center...

-----

MUSLIM 9/11 HERO FINALLY RECOGNIZED
By Larry McShane, Associated Press/Chicago Tribune, 4/6/2002
http://www.chicagotribune.com

For six months after Sept. 11, the family of Salman Hamdani had to 
endure 
the rumors that he was a fugitive terrorist or that he was in federal 
custody. On Friday, he was remembered for what he truly was: a hero who 
died in the rubble of the World Trade Center.

His remains in a flag-draped coffin at a Manhattan mosque, the 
23-year-old 
Muslim was praised at his long-delayed funeral for a selfless and fatal 
choice: heading to ground zero to help his fellow Americans. "We don't 
know 
how many people he helped, how many lives he saved," Police 
Commissioner 
Raymond Kelly told several hundred mourners at the Islamic Cultural 
Center 
of New York.

"But if you look at his life, you know he was determined to make a 
difference--and he did. He was indeed a hero…"

On Sept. 11, Hamdani left his Queens home and apparently saw the 
disaster 
in lower Manhattan unfold from the elevated tracks of the subway train. 
He 
immediately headed toward the scene.

In the weeks after his disappearance, a newspaper linked him to the 
terrorist attacks, and a flier with his picture was circulated among 
city 
police officers, saying an FBI-Police Department joint terrorist task 
force 
wanted to speak with him. The fliers were unauthorized, and their 
source 
was unclear, police later said. But the rumors about his involvement in 
the 
attack spread.

On Friday, his mother blasted the news reports, saying "If your name 
was 
David, the story would have been very different..."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined the police commissioner in consoling the 
family.

"We have an example of how one can make the world better," he said. 
"Salman 
stood up when most people would have gone in the other direction. He 
went 
in and helped people."

SEE ALSO:

A FITTING HONOR; PAKISTANI-BORN WTC VICTIM REMEMBERED
By Merle English; Newsday (New York, NY), 4/6/2002
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-fun0405.story

Muhammad Salman Hamdani was born in Pakistan, but he so loved the 
United 
States he wished his adopted country was his birthplace.

On Sept. 11, Hamdani, who was 23, gave his life at the World Trade 
Center, 
apparently trying to save others after the terrorist attacks. Rumors 
that 
proved to be unfounded had circulated among his Bayside neighbors after 
fliers were posted saying police wanted to question him in connection 
with 
the attacks. Police denied any knowledge of the fliers. Friday, Hamdani 
was 
eulogized as an American hero and martyr at funeral services befitting 
a hero.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly were 
among 
nearly 1,000 people - including scores from the police cadet corps, of 
which Hamdani was a member - who turned out to pay tribute to him...

-----

SECRET EVIDENCE PERMITTED
National security cited in Bridgeview charity probe,
but critics fear rights at risk
By Laurie Cohen and David Mendell, Chicago Tribune, 4/6/2002
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-0204060086apr06.story

A federal judge ruled Friday that the government can use secret 
evidence in 
justifying its decision to freeze the assets of a Bridgeview-based 
Islamic 
charity that U.S. prosecutors suspect is linked to terrorism.

U.S. District Judge Wayne R. Andersen cited "extraordinary 
circumstances" 
and "acute national security concerns" in his five-page ruling against 
Global Relief Foundation, which had sued the federal government after 
its 
assets were frozen and its records were seized. The charity has denied 
it 
is connected to terrorists and has asked the court to lift the 
financial 
sanctions. Andersen's ruling, while not precedent-setting, troubles 
civil 
libertarians and legal experts who worry that the government is 
overstepping constitutional boundaries during a period of heightened 
nationalism.

Indeed, the charity argued that its constitutional rights would be 
breached 
by the government's request to present evidence to Andersen without 
Global 
Relief attorneys present.

But Andersen upheld the government's contention that national security 
could be jeopardized if an adversarial hearing were held.

Andersen issued a written opinion and didn't elaborate on his reasoning 
at 
a public hearing Friday. However, at the hearing, Andersen emphasized 
that 
despite his decision to view the secret evidence, he might not rely on 
the 
evidence when deciding the case.

"I don't know whether or not the submissions the government plans to 
make 
are probative or admissible," the judge said.

Andersen said he doesn't plan to look at the secret evidence for at 
least a 
week, so he can first examine four binders of public evidence filed 
last 
week by federal prosecutors.

Global Relief attorneys criticized Friday's decision, pointing out that 
a 
federal judge in Detroit had ruled Thursday against prosecutors who 
were 
trying to keep an immigration hearing closed on the basis of protecting 
national security.

"The emergency doesn't justify throwing out the Constitution," said 
Matthew 
Simmons, an attorney for Global Relief…

-----

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - APRIL 5, 2002
Contact: John Cline or John Boyd 505-842-9960

HOLY LAND FOUNDATION FOR RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT FILES MOTION FOR 
PRELIMINARY
INJUNCTION AND DECLARATORY RELIEF AS A RESULT OF THE SEIZURE OF ITS 
ASSETS
AND PROPERTY

RICHARDSON, TX (April 5, 2002) - The Holy Land Foundation for Relief 
and 
Development (Holy Land), a United States non-profit charitable 
corporation 
that works to foster peace and opposes all forms of terrorism, has 
filed a 
motion for preliminary injunction and declaratory relief in the United 
States District Court for the District of Columbia arguing that the 
government's actions in seizing its assets have caused, and will 
continue 
to cause, irreparable harm to Holy Land, its employees, its donors, and 
thousands of Palestinians and other needy persons throughout the world.

The defendants' actions of blocking the donated assets of Holy Land 
violate 
laws that specifically forbid interference with donations of 
humanitarian 
aid by American corporations and from American donors. The defendants 
have 
no credible evidence-and none exists-that Holy Land has any connection 
with 
terrorist organizations or has provided support to any terrorist 
organizations. The seizure has also violated Holy Land's fundamental 
constitutional right to protection against illegal searches and 
seizures 
because the defendants seized the funds, office equipment and all 
property 
of Holy Land without any warrant or even any probable cause. The 
seizure 
also violated the right of Holy Land and its donors to practice their 
religion, a practice that provides urgently needed relief to families 
around the world.

As the documents filed in support of the motion show clearly, the Holy 
Land 
Foundation rejects terrorism by anyone. It is dedicated to alleviating 
the 
suffering of people who have been caught and injured in conflicts and 
disasters around the world, particularly in Palestine, where the 
suffering 
by the Palestinians is staggering. The blocked funds are all owned by 
Holy 
Land. The terrorist group, Hamas, has no interest in the funds that the 
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has blocked and Holy Land does 
not 
now act on behalf of Hamas and has never acted on behalf of Hamas.

-----

THE LOFTUS RECORD
BY JOHN F. SUGG, The Weekly Planet, 4/3/2002
http://www.weeklyplanet.com/2002-04-03/news_feature2.html

Has John Loftus embellished his Justice Department credentials? Critics 
say 
the St. Petersburg man has exaggerated that, and more. What does that 
mean 
for the Loftus lawsuit against Sami Al-Arian?..

By all accounts, John Loftus has done a bang-up job in his most recent 
incarnation promoting St. Petersburg's Holocaust Museum. The museum has 
a 
sacred and laudable trust to remind the community about the horrors of 
Nazi 
Germany. Loftus, with much-proclaimed credentials as a prosecutor of 
Nazi 
monsters, has added spirit to the museum's efforts. But Loftus also has 
led 
the museum into a divisive political thicket…

For those who want to trust Loftus, there are few caveats to be 
considered. 
His bosses on a U.S. Department of Justice team that hunted down and 
prosecuted Nazi war criminals say Loftus didn't do enough homework to 
bring 
any cases to trial. And critics of Loftus' books -- including America's 
foremost supporter of Israel -- condemn his conspiracy stories and lack 
of 
evidence…

What's obvious to almost everyone with their feet on Planet Earth is 
that 
the government has done its damnedest to destroy Al-Arian -- mostly by 
insinuation and innuendo since, as Judge McHugh concluded, there were 
no 
facts. Yet, in the strange world of Loftus, he claims the United States 
has 
actually been carrying water for Saudi Arabia and Al-Arian in a bizarre 
plot to fund terrorism. "There is ample reason to question whether any 
criminal prosecution either of Defendant (Al-Arian) or his Saudi 
financiers 
will ever take place," asserts Loftus in his lawsuit against the USF 
professor. Loftus found a perfect ally in Steven Emerson. In the Tampa 
Bay 
area, it was Emerson who guided the Tribune on its biased crusade 
against 
Al-Arian and his community. In January, Loftus and the museum hosted 
Emerson, who made claims that were later echoed in the Loftus lawsuit.

Just as few media now question Emerson's past, so too has Loftus been 
able 
to escape much scrutiny. Allan A. Ryan Jr. was Loftus' boss at the 
Justice 
Department's Office of Special Investigations. From 1979 to 1981, 
Loftus 
worked there, and that's been the basis of his Nazi-hunter laurels. 
"He's 
used that badge (the claim of prosecuting Nazis) since he left, and he 
doesn't deserve it," Ryan, now an attorney for Harvard University, told 
Weekly Planet.
Loftus said that testimony he gave to a Congressional panel in the 
1980s, 
plus scores of articles, describe him as prosecutor of Nazis. "I was a 
trial attorney and that's on the record," said Loftus, who represented 
the 
government in several appellate cases.

Ryan said all Justice Department lawyers held the title of trial 
attorney. 
"He never prosecuted a case," Ryan said of Loftus. "He did a lot of 
research, but it didn't come close to (resulting in a) prosecution. His 
work was insufficient to support prosecution…"

After leaving the OSI, Loftus wrote a book, The Belarus Secret, which 
claimed an extraordinary number of Nazis were given shelter in America. 
That concerned the government. "We sent historians to check Loftus' 
citations for the book," Ryan recalled. "There was nothing to them."

In a scholarly review of the book, University of London professor James 
Dingley wrote: "Loftus is obviously a monoglot without any precise 
knowledge of the recent history of a people on which he pronounces 
judgment. ... His book abounds with illogicalities and unsupported 
statements."

That pretty much sums up the general criticism of his writings. 
America, a 
Catholic magazine, dismissed his second work, The Unholy Trinity, as 
"feverish conspiracy-theorizing" and "totally discredited…"

-----

RIGHTS GROUP ACCUSES ISRAEL OF TORTURING PALESTINIANS
By Keith B. Richburg, The Washington Post, 4/6/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4461-2002Apr5.html

JERUSALEM, April 5 -- The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem charged 
today 
that Israel has tortured Palestinians who have been detained for 
interrogation during the current military offensive. The group said in 
a 
statement that the interrogation methods included breaking the toes of 
prisoners. The detainees have also been prohibited from meeting with 
lawyers, the group said…

-----

MURDERED PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN REMEMBERED

SEEKING PEACE OF MIND, PEACE IN MIDDLE EAST
At State Dept., Palestinian's Memory Invoked
By Fredrick Kunkle and Manny Fernandez, The Washington Post, 4/6/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4034-2002Apr5.html

The complexities of Middle East politics, the ancient grudges, 
questions 
about what steps the Israelis and Palestinians must take to find peace 
-- 
all this means nothing to Farhan Saleh.

He knows only that his daughter Soraida, a Palestinian American born 21 
years ago in the District of Columbia, now lies in a hastily dug mass 
grave 
outside a hospital in the occupied West Bank after the family's car was 
fired upon. Her husband, seriously injured by the same gunfire during 
the 
Israeli thrust into Ramallah on March 29, carries a bullet in his 
skull…

-----

MUSLIM LEADER TO BE HONORED AT MOREHOUSE
By JOHN BLAKE, The Atlanta Journal, 4/6/2002
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/saturday/faith_values_c3eac97ad17d10c300e9.html

The improbable journey of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed makes its next stop 
at 
Morehouse College today.

Mohammed, 68, is the son of Elijah Muhammad, who built up the Nation of 
Islam. Mohammed was raised to view whites as "blue-eyed devils" and to 
eventually succeed his father. But he broke with his father's teachings 
and 
embraced orthodox Islam, even after his father exiled him and enraged 
Nation members threatened his life.

Today, he is the spiritual leader of one of the largest Sunni Islamic 
groups in the United States, the Muslim American Society. Muslim groups 
estimate that there are about 6.5 million Sunni Muslims in the country.

Morehouse will honor Mohammed for his spiritual journey at 6 p.m. today 
when his portrait is hung in the Martin Luther King Jr. International 
Chapel. The painting will hang next to portraits of Nelson Mandela and 
Mohandas Gandhi.

"Not only has he stepped outside of the Nation of Islam, but he's 
stepped 
outside a particular religion," says Plemon El-Amin, resident imam of 
the 
Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam in Decatur. "He's embraced the universality 
of 
Islam, which requires us to work for universal peace…"

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Mon, 08 Apr 2002 15:55:21 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Advertisers May Pull Ads From "Nuking Mecca" Journal

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/8/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: BELIEVERS ARE LIKE ONE BODY
* ADVERTISERS MAY PULL ADS FROM RIGHT-WING JOURNAL (UPI)
         - EDITOR SUGGESTS "NUKING MECCA"
* EDITORIAL: OPEN THE HEARINGS (Washington Post)
* REMINDER: AMERICA MUST ACT TO STOP ISRAELI AGGRESSION
* POWELL DEMANDS ISRAELIS WITHDRAW (AP)
         - OFFENSIVE WON'T STOP, SHARON SAYS
* THIS WILL BE THE WEEK WHEN WE SEE WHO RUNS THE US-ISRAELI ALLIANCE 
(Independent)
         - 'JEWS MAY NOT WANT TO LOOK AT THIS'
* ROUNDUPS OF PALESTINIANS CAUSES FEAR (AP)
* RESOURCES: JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS THAT OPPOSE THE OCCUPATION
* ZIONISTS ADOPT TACTICS THEY CLAIM TO ABHOR (Atlanta Journal)
* CAMPUS TENSIONS GROWING WITH SUPPORT FOR PALESTINIANS (New York 
Times)
* CHRISTIAN PALESTINIANS RALLY IN S.F. (San Francisco Chronicle)
* ISRAELI FORCES INFLICT WIDESPREAD DAMAGE IN BETHLEHEM (Washington 
Post)
* BULLDOZERS RULE BROKEN BETHLEHEM (The Scotsman)
* AREA MUSLIMS PROTEST INHOFE'S STANCE (Tulsa World)
* CRACKDOWN ON TERROR FUNDING IS QUESTIONED (Los Angeles Times)
         - THE AMERICAN DREAM BEGINS TO FADE (Middle East Times)
* THE FACES OF THE FAITHFUL (New York Times)
* SHAREEF ABDUR-RAHIM MAKING A DIFFERENCE (Sports Illustrated)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: BELIEVERS ARE LIKE ONE BODY

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The believers, in their 
love, mercy and kindness to one another are like a body: if any part of 
it 
is ill, the whole body shares its sleeplessness and fever."

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 40

-----

ADVERTISERS MAY PULL ADS FROM RIGHT-WING JOURNAL

CANCEL MY SUBSCRIPTION
United Press International, 4/8/2002

Word is traveling through editorial circles in Washington and New York 
that 
a major opinion journal is under fire because of intemperate remarks 
made 
by some of its writers about Muslims. The story is that some 
Islamic-American organizations have been leaning on major advertisers, 
complaining about anti-Islamic statements that have appeared in the 
magazine and on the Web site since Sept. 11. Some of the advertisers 
are 
reportedly considering pulling their ads from the journal in response 
to 
the complaints.

FOR BACKGROUND, SEE: EDITOR SUGGESTS "NUKING MECCA"
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?articleid=687&articletype=2

A RESPONSE TO RICH LOWRY
http://www.prospect.org/webfeatures/2002/03/lott-j-03-13.html

-----

EDITORIAL: OPEN THE HEARINGS
The Washington Post, 4/8/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11134-2002Apr7.html

IT SHOULD NOT take a federal judge's order to get the Justice 
Department to 
open the deportation proceedings it has been conducting in secret as 
part 
of its Sept. 11 investigation.

Ever since the attacks, the government has been seeking to deport large 
numbers of Arabs and Muslims whose deficient immigration status has 
come to 
light during the probe. Yet the government has conducted these "special 
interest" cases under a uniquely rigid set of rules: "no visitors, no 
family, no press." The cases are kept off the docket. Although they 
involve 
no classified information, they -- publicly, anyway -- don't officially 
exist.

The department has defended this secrecy by insisting that opening the 
proceedings would reveal information about the direction of the 
investigation and could subject witnesses to intimidation by 
terrorists. 
Naming detainees also would, the government argues, stigmatize those 
among 
them who may have no connection to terrorism...

The secrecy policy came before Judge Edmunds because of the case of 
Rabih 
Haddad, who ran a charity suspected of terrorist links. Mr. Haddad was 
detained for overstaying his visa and has both supporters and the press 
interested in his case, because none can attend his hearings, he sued, 
as 
did local media outlets.

Such proceedings, the judge wrote, have historically been 
"presumptively 
open" to the press and public. And that openness serves a critical 
function. "It is important for the public, particularly individuals who 
feel that they are being targeted by the government as a result of the 
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, to know that even during these sensitive 
times the government is adhering to immigration procedures and 
respecting 
individuals' rights," she argued.

"Openness is necessary for the public to maintain confidence in the 
value 
and soundness of the government's actions, as secrecy only breeds 
suspicion 
as to why the government is proceeding against Haddad and aliens like 
him..."

-----

REMINDER: AMERICA MUST ACT TO STOP ISRAELI AGGRESSION
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?articleid=695&articletype=2

-----

POWELL DEMANDS ISRAELIS WITHDRAW
By BARRY SCHWEID, The Associated Press, 4/8/2002

CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) - Secretary of State Colin Powell came under 
Arab 
pressure Monday to do more to halt Israeli incursions that have 
deepened in 
the West Bank despite President Bush's fresh call for a swift pullback. 
``I 
meant what I said,'' the president declared in the United States.

The king of Morocco bluntly told Powell on the first stop of his 
peacemaking mission that U.S. officials should focus on a withdrawal, 
saying, ``Don't you think it was more important to go to Jerusalem 
first?''

In response, Powell demanded "a clear statement from Israel that they 
are 
beginning to withdraw'' from Palestinian-held territories and "to do it 
now..."

SEE ALSO:

OFFENSIVE WON'T STOP, SHARON SAYS
By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, The Associated Press, 4/8/2002

NABLUS, West Bank (AP) - Israel's offensive in the West Bank will 
continue, 
despite U.S. demands for an immediate withdrawal of troops, Prime 
Minister 
Ariel Sharon told parliament Monday, as helicopter gunships pounded a 
Palestinian refugee camp and a fire broke out during fighting near 
Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity...

-----

THIS WILL BE THE WEEK WHEN WE SEE WHO RUNS THE US-ISRAELI ALLIANCE
By Robert Fisk, The Independent, 4/8/2002
http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=282652

So why should Mr Sharon stop now? If Mr Bush wants to rein in his 
reckless 
ally, why doesn't he ask Mr Sharon a few questions? Why doesn't he ask 
what 
has happened to the more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners who have 
disappeared into Israel's hands over the past two weeks? What happened, 
for 
example, to the five men, blindfolded and trussed up like chickens whom 
I 
discovered in the Jewish settlement of Psagot? What happened to the 
masses 
of young men I saw being taken in a bus with its windows wired over, a 
bus 
that made its way around Jerusalem and headed west on the Tel Aviv 
highway. 
How many of these young men are now being tortured either in 
interrogation 
centers or in the Russian Compound, the main torture compound in West 
Jerusalem?

But since Mr Bush's soldiers are experts in blindfolding and gagging 
Muslim 
prisoners - and putting them in front of drumhead military courts - why 
should Mr Sharon worry? For month after month, as Mr Sharon tore up the 
Oslo agreement, put the building of Jewish colonies on Arab land into 
overdrive and sent out his death squads to murder Palestinians, the 
Bush 
administration - fearful of offending the Israelis - allowed him to do 
what 
he wanted. In response to the wicked Palestinian suicide bombings, Bush 
expressed outrage. In response to Israel's aggression, he called for 
restraint - and then did nothing.

Again, what's the surprise? For months the American media has refused 
to 
tell its viewers and readers what is going on in the occupied 
territories. 
Its newspapers have indulged the insanity of writers who have been 
encouraging Mr Sharon into ever-more-savage acts. What are we supposed 
to 
make - for example, of a recent article in The New York Times by 
William 
Safire, referring - as usual - to Jewish civilians murdered by 
Palestinians 
but to Arab civilians "caught in the crossfire'', "crossfire" being the 
nearest many journalists will dare to go in saying that the culprits 
were 
Israeli...

But Safire adds a new threat to journalists who might wish to tell the 
truth: "These are disputed territories'' he writes, "to call them 
'occupied' reveals a prejudice against Israel's right to what were 
supposed 
to be 'secure and defensible' borders.'' You can see the way the 
argument 
is going. If we have a 'prejudice' against Israel's rights, it's only a 
short step to call us anti-Semitic. But what is one to make of this 
nonsense? Am I supposed to pretend that the soldiers who blocked my car 
and 
pointed their guns at me in the West Bank last week were Swiss? Am I to 
believe that the rabble of soldiers shouting at Palestinian women 
desperate 
to leave Ramallah were Burmese?

Safire regularly takes phone calls from Mr Sharon (and then insists on 
telling us of Mr Sharon's latest fantasies), but my old chum Tom 
Friedman 
in his ever-more-Messianic column in The New York Times, has almost 
gone 
one better. "Israel needs to deliver a military blow that clearly shows 
terror will not pay," he announced last week. What, in God's name, is 
an 
American journalist doing when he urges Mr Sharon to go to war? 
Friedman 
was with me in the Sabra and Chatila camps. Has he forgotten what we 
saw? 
Last week, however, Friedman was also amiably advising the Palestinians 
to 
turn to non-violent resistance à la Gandhi...

So this week will be a crucial one in the American-Israeli 
relationship, a 
real test of the Bush presidency. We shall find out who - the US or 
Israel 
- runs America's policy in the Middle East. It would be nice to think 
that 
it was the former. But I'm not sure.

SEE ALSO:

'JEWS MAY NOT WANT TO LOOK AT THIS'
Tuesday is Holocaust Day in Israel: and the anniversary of a 1948 
massacre 
that triggered the Palestinian refugee crisis at the heart of today's 
conflict. Robert Fisk meets an Auschwitz survivor living at the site of 
the 
atrocity
By Robert Fisk, The Indenpendent, 4/7/2002
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=282456

Givat Shaul is a friendly, bright neighbourhood of retired couples, 
small 
shops, flats, trees and some elegant old houses of yellow stone. Some 
of 
these are in a state of dilapidation, a few are homes. But one or two 
bear 
the scars of bullets fired long ago, on 9 April 1948, when another 
people 
faced their own catastrophe.

For Givat Shaul used to be called Deir Yassin. And here it was, 54 
years 
ago, that up to 130 Palestinians were massacred by two Jewish militias, 
the 
Irgun and the Stern Gang, as the Jews of Palestine fought for the 
independence of a state called Israel. The slaughter so terrified tens 
of 
thousands of Palestinian Arabs that they fled their homes en masse - 
750,000 in all - to create the refugee population whose tragedy lies at 
the 
heart of the Middle East conflict today.

Back in 1948, Palestinian women were torn to pieces by grenades around 
the 
old houses that still exist in Givat Shaul. Two truckloads of Arab 
prisoners were taken from the village and paraded through the streets 
of 
Jerusalem. Later, many of them would be executed in Deir Yassin. Their 
mass 
grave is believed to lie beneath a fuel storage depot that now stands 
at 
one end of the Jerusalem suburb...

-----

ROUNDUPS OF PALESTINIANS CAUSES FEAR
By LAURA KING, The Associated Press, 4/8/2002

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - It's become a common sight in West Bank 
cities: 
Palestinian men kneeling with hands clasped behind their heads, or 
marching 
handcuffed and blindfolded under Israeli soldiers' watchful eyes, or 
baring 
their bellies to show they have no weapons or explosives.

More than 1,400 Palestinian males, from gawky teens to paunchy 
middle-aged 
men, have been rounded up for questioning during the 10-day Israeli 
military offensive in the major towns of the West Bank...

Those caught up in the dragnet include teachers, doctors, students, 
laborers, accountants, policemen...

Some of the detainees say they have been beaten, tortured or deprived 
of 
food and water. Four Israeli human rights groups - citing what they say 
are 
credible accounts of abuse provided by Israeli soldiers in military 
camps 
where detainees are being held - went to Israel's highest court to seek 
a 
guarantee of protection from torture and access to legal counsel for 
the 
detainees.

The request was rejected Sunday by the Supreme Court, which said it 
could 
not consider the case unless it was made on behalf of a specific 
Palestinian complainant. With all the Israeli-held cities of the West 
Bank 
under tight military curfew, that was impossible, the human rights 
groups 
said...

Many of the detainees reported nights spent in cold barracks, or under 
flimsy canvas shelters, with little food and water. Some said they were 
given only yogurt and matzoh, the unleavened crackers eaten by Jews 
during 
Passover.

Among those singled out for the roughest treatment, several detainees 
said, 
were members of the Palestinian security forces. Khaled Hejjah, a 
36-year-old policeman, said he and six colleagues were arrested in 
Ramallah 
on the first day of the incursion, March 29.

"They beat me and kicked me when they asked me questions," he said. 
"They 
said to me, 'If we found out you shot at us, you injured any of us, you 
will be dead.' And they kept us handcuffed all the time, so our hands 
swelled up..."

Some detainees said they felt the soldiers set out to humiliate them, 
even 
if they did not hurt them physically.

Mahmoud Najar, a 42-year-old physician, said soldiers grabbed him when 
he 
and an ambulance crew tried to treat the wounded at the scene of a 
battle 
in the center of Ramallah last week between Palestinian gunmen and 
Israeli 
troops.

"They made me strip to my underwear and stand in the street like that," 
he 
said. "They said, 'Now we'll do something you won't forget,' and then 
they 
made me lie down in the dirt. In my culture, in my mind, this is 
extremely 
shameful. I don't know how they would feel if someone did the same to 
them..."

-----

RESOURCES: JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS THAT OPPOSE THE OCCUPATION

Tikkun Magazine
http://www.tikkun.org

Not in Our Name Coalition
http://www.nimn.org

Jewish Voice for Peace
http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org

Gush Shalom
http://www.gush-shalom.org

Jews Against Occupation
http://www.angelcities.com/members/jato

Jewish Peace Fellowship
http://www.jewishpeacefellowship.org

Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions
http://www.salam.org/activism/home_demolitions.html

B'Tselem (Israeli Human Rights Group)
http://www.btselem.org

Bat Shalom, Israeli Women for Peace
http://www.batshalom.org

Rabbis for Human Rights
http://www.rhr.israel.net

Association for Civil Rights in Israel
http://www.nif.org/acri

Visions for peace with justice in Israel/Palestine
http://www.vopj.org

Search for Justice and Equality in Palestine/Israel
http://www.searchforjustice.org

-----

ZIONISTS ADOPT TACTICS THEY CLAIM TO ABHOR
By Cynthia Tucker, The Atlanta Journal, 4/7/2002 
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/opinion/tucker/2002/040702.html
Cynthia Tucker is the editorial page editor.

"Never let any man drag you so low as to make you hate him."

 From time to time, that imperative was pulled from the cupboard of 
cliches 
my mother kept handy for rearing four children.

I think of it now because of the venom -- name-calling, denunciations 
and 
death threats -- heaped upon a Jewish family in Brooklyn, N.Y., after 
their 
son's impromptu breakfast last weekend with Yasser Arafat. The spate of 
hate-filled messages grew so threatening that Doreen and Stuart Shapiro 
have been forced to flee their home and go into hiding.

The campaign of terror against the Shapiros started after news reports 
about their son Adam, 30, a Middle East humanitarian worker. A resident 
of 
Ramallah for three years, Adam has worked for "Seeds of Peace," a 
program 
for Arab and Jewish youth that teaches tolerance.

In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Adam said he helped to persuade 
Israeli military authorities to allow ambulances into Arafat's compound 
to 
tend the wounded after the Israeli siege began. Later, Adam found 
himself 
trapped inside the compound. Last Saturday morning, according to news 
accounts, Arafat offered Adam breakfast as a gesture of gratitude for 
his 
intervention.

Simple enough, you'd think. While many might disagree with Adam's 
decision 
to live among Palestinians and advocate their nationalist aspirations, 
any 
people who believe in democratic values would support his right to hold 
those views, right?

Apparently not. Noah Shapiro, Adam's brother, told reporters that 
e-mail 
messages wished a "fiery death" to his family; a Web site, he said, 
listed 
personal information about his family and urged action against them.

Undoubtedly, those threats came from supporters of Israel, many of them 
Jewish, who have long denounced Arafat and the terrorism that he has, 
at 
the very least, tolerated. They probably consider themselves 
law-abiding 
and upright folk who would never sink to the tactics of bloodthirsty 
savagery and wanton destruction displayed by Palestinian suicide 
bombers 
who blow up shopkeepers, schoolchildren and families at Seder.

Perhaps Shapiro's critics should take a good look in the mirror...

Israel gambled on Ariel Sharon -- a notorious hard-liner whose military 
strategy in Lebanon in the 1980s had left Israel's reputation sullied 
-- 
because he promised to deliver peace and security. He has failed 
spectacularly.

Worse, his heavy-handed tactics have started to corrode the decency, 
humanity and moral authority of the nation he seeks to defend. This is 
what 
my mother was trying to help me understand: Sinking to hatred only 
leads 
you to become that which you most despise.

-----

CAMPUS TENSIONS GROWING WITH SUPPORT FOR PALESTINIANS
By KATE ZERNIKE, The New York Times, 4/8/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/08/education/08CAMP.html

As violence in the West Bank and Gaza has escalated over the last few 
weeks, pro-Palestinian groups on campuses across the country have 
asserted 
themselves with new vigor, organizing demonstrations and national 
campaigns 
to try to counteract what they see as a better-financed, 
better-established 
effort by pro-Israel student groups...

"The ideal situation for the pro-Israel groups has been the status quo, 
where no one asks any questions," said Fadi Kiblawi, a University of 
Michigan student who was born in Kuwait and raised in this country by 
Palestinian parents. "This is a group of students who are fed up with 
how 
we are being portrayed. We've always been characterized as terrorists. 
But 
we present a logical argument, one based in international law and human 
rights..."

"When people see images of tanks rolling into Palestinian cities, of 
ambulance drivers being shot at by Israeli defense forces, women giving 
birth at the checkpoints, it becomes clear that this is not just a case 
of 
two equally wrong sides fighting," said Snehal Shingavi, a Berkeley 
student 
and a member of Students for Justice in Palestine...

-----

CHRISTIAN PALESTINIANS RALLY IN S.F.
By Heather Knight, The San Francisco Chronicle, 4/8/2002
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/04/08/MN120651.DTL

A protest organized by Arab Christians drew about 500 demonstrators to 
San 
Francisco streets yesterday to call for the withdrawal of Israeli 
troops 
from the West Bank.

The heated rally near San Francisco State University was among several 
around the nation that saw passionate crowds turn out for both sides in 
the 
Middle East conflict.

In San Francisco, members of Arab Christian churches stressed that the 
divide is not solely between Jews and Muslims, but involves many 
Palestinian Christians as well. Marchers waved Palestinian flags and 
yelled 
chants including, "Sharon, Sharon, you can't hide, we charge you with 
genocide!" Many motorists passing through the intersection at Sloat 
Boulevard and 19th Avenue honked their support. Some protesters burned 
paper Israeli flags, and one grabbed an Israeli flag from a driver who 
raised it out her sunroof.

Others carried signs equating Zionism with Nazism and Israeli Prime 
Minister Ariel Sharon with Adolph Hitler. Police broke up a minor 
scuffle 
after an Israel supporter carried that country's flag into the crowd.

Saturday saw pro-Palestine demonstrations in Los Angeles, Boston and 
New 
York, while pro-Israel groups responded yesterday with their own 
rallies in 
each of those cities.

In San Francisco, Baha Mogannam, 35, who moved to California 17 years 
ago 
and attends St. George Orthodox Church, said she called her sister's 
family 
in Ramallah every day to check on their safety. She said her sister 
began 
every conversation by saying, "Hold on, hold on. Let me sit on the 
floor 
because they're shooting around us..."

-----

ISRAELI FORCES INFLICT WIDESPREAD DAMAGE IN BETHLEHEM
Residents Describe Operation As Driven by Hatred, Revenge
By Keith B. Richburg, The Washington Post, 4/8/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10921-2002Apr7.html

BETHLEHEM, West Bank, April 7 -- When Israeli troops banged on the door 
of 
the Christmas Lutheran Church and International Center compound, the 
Rev. 
Mitri Raheb, the pastor and noted theologian, was confronted with a 
dilemma 
many Palestinians face each day: leave his residential quarters to talk 
to 
the troops and risk being arrested, or worse, stay huddled inside with 
his 
family and allow the soldiers to ransack his office.

He took what he called the "calculated risk" and went out -- to find 
the 
soldiers bashing in the door. "I have all the keys!" he shouted at them 
in 
Hebrew, then English. "You can ask me as gentlemen, and I will open all 
the 
doors!"

Instead, he said, the soldiers bashed in 31 doors and smashed 57 
windows in 
the three-story compound as they searched for gunmen and weapons. In 
one 
office, he said, they ripped out a computer hard drive and demolished a 
refrigerator, tearing out its wiring. They broke windows in a ceramics 
workshop and a small gift shop. They left bullet holes in sinks.

"They are not searching for people or ammunition," said Raheb, a 
German-trained scholar and native of Bethlehem. "They hate to see any 
positive sign of life in our town...They want to see us as the 
underdog. 
They don't want to see us as equal to them."

"It's this evil power of revenge," he said. "I think it's hatred. They 
entered, and their aim was to destroy as much as possible."

The extent of the destruction in Bethlehem became apparent today as 
reporters were able to wander through the city, which Israel has 
declared a 
closed military zone, to the edge of Manger Square. About 200 
Palestinians, 
including armed fighters, and 60 clergy members are hunkered down in 
the 
adjacent Church of the Nativity, the site where Jesus is believed to 
have 
been born.

[Palestinians inside the compound said that fighting erupted around the 
church early Monday, sparking a fire in the office of the Latin 
Patriarch, 
which is separated from the church by a wall. The Palestinians said the 
fire burned for nearly 30 minutes before Israeli forces allowed 
firefighters access to extinguish it. There were also reports that a 
Palestinian policeman inside the compound was killed by an Israeli 
sniper.]

Bethlehem, which was spruced up with $200 million in foreign donations 
for 
the millennium celebrations, now has many shops with broken windows and 
doors ripped from hinges. Cars have been crushed by tanks, or their 
windshields have been shattered...

Along with the destruction, Palestinians here spoke of what they 
considered 
unnecessary humiliation by the Israeli troops, despite President Bush's 
call Thursday for the Israeli army to show "compassion" and "concern 
about 
the dignity of the Palestinian people."

Raheb, the Lutheran pastor, said some of the Israeli soldiers searching 
his 
compound heard him speaking in Arabic on his telephone, and shouted 
"Dirty 
Arab!" and "Why are you speaking Arabic? It's an ugly language."

Maher Abu Aker, 24, said that he was detained for 24 hours by Israeli 
troops who blindfolded him and bound his wrists with tight cuffs. He 
said 
he was not fed for 24 hours, and had to sleep with 35 others in a small 
room on a concrete floor.

He said a soldier brought blankets for the group because of the 
nighttime 
cold but then poured water over the blankets. "After the blankets were 
wet, 
we could not use them," Abu Aker said. "We just put them aside" and 
slept 
on the floor.

Abu Aker, who works in his father's mechanics shop, said he was ordered 
to 
chant vulgar slogans about the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, but 
refused. He said he was slapped on the head and kicked in the legs 
while 
being interrogated. He said he was then released because he has never 
been 
a gunman and never been in trouble.

"I was really humiliated," he said. "It wouldn't have felt as bad if I 
were 
a fighter. They arrested me two or three times before. It seems they 
don't 
learn, they just keep doing this. We had old people, doctors in our 
group 
-- we all received the same treatment..."

-----

BULLDOZERS RULE BROKEN BETHLEHEM
By Rory MacMillan, The Scotsman (Scotland), 4/8/2002
http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/international.cfm?id=376232002

"I could not believe my eyes.... What I saw yesterday...is beyond 
imagination

THE Israeli army drives around Bethlehem, warning over loudspeakers 
that 
anyone in the streets will be shot.

We remain in the hotel - a planned prayer march to the Church of the 
Nativity with Muslims and Christians has been cancelled - and the 
University of Bethlehem opposite has become an Israeli army base.

We are hearing reports that the Israeli army is going from home to home 
in 
Bethlehem's suburbs of Beit, Jala and Beit Sahur arresting hundreds of 
young men. Ahmed, the hotel receptionist and now a good friend, has 
just 
heard his cousin has bled to death from a gunshot wound in Jenin 
Refugee 
Camp where there has been intense fighting.

On Saturday, for the first time since I arrived here, I could not 
believe 
my eyes.

Much of what you see in a war zone is as you would expect - not so 
different from the television pictures. Of course, the tanks are more 
sinister close up and simply terrifying when they point their barrels 
in 
your direction. You drop to the floor at the sound of gunfire close by. 
A 
town under foreign occupation after invasion is as smashed up as you 
would 
imagine.

What I saw yesterday, however, is beyond imagination - Israeli 
bulldozers 
the size of houses. At the back of them, enormous claws were poised for 
ripping up streets and buildings to make way for tanks and to destroy 
the 
homes of suicide bombers.

Israel's bulldozers have been central to its relationship with the 
Palestinians. Olive trees - a Palestinian symbol of life and hope - 
have 
been wrenched out of the soil in punishment for suicide bombings and 
resistance to Israel's 35-year illegal occupation of the Palestinian 
West 
Bank and Gaza.

Around broken Bethlehem, water gushes down streets from destroyed mains 
pipes. Water is also central to this conflict, for the Israeli 
settlements 
consume by far the majority of its water, sprinkling the green lawns on 
the 
settlements in this arid, occupied land...

-----

AREA MUSLIMS PROTEST INHOFE'S STANCE
By OMER GILLHAM, Tulsa World, 4/6/2002
http://www.tulsaworld.com

Muslim community members on Friday marched in front of Sen. Jim 
Inhofe's 
office in Tulsa, protesting the senator's Biblical position on the 
Middle 
Eastern conflict.

About 200 protesters assembled at Woodward Park, then marched in rows 
of 
two down 21st Street to Inhofe's office suite at 1924 S. Utica. The 
peaceful group carried posters that depicted violent images from the 
Jewish 
and Muslim conflict. The Oklahoma Republican recently stated that God 
gave 
Hebron, the West Bank, to Abraham, and that the Jewish people have the 
uncontestable rights" to all the occupied territories, according to a 
Senate speech posted on Inhofe's Web site.

To Houssam Soueissi, a Palestinian man who has lived in Tulsa about 22 
years, that means that the senator opposes the peace process in the 
Middle 
East."

He doesn't know his Bible or the Quran," said Soueissi, one of the 
march 
organizers. It doesn't say that. It says the Jew and the Arab are both 
sons 
of Abraham and that the land is to be used for good use and for 
justice. 
Muslims and Jews can both inhabit it."

The march was sponsored by the Muslim Students Association of the 
University of Tulsa, the Islamic Society of Tulsa and the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations.

After their four-block march to Inhofe's office, a group member 
delivered a 
letter asking the senator to change his stance, said Mujeeb Cheema, 
a  Muslim raised in Pakistan and a Tulsa resident since 1980.

The senator is making this a religious issue, and he is introducing a 
divine proclamation which means there is no hope for Palestinian 
(statehood) and there is no reason for peace talks," Cheema said.

Inhofe, who was in Washington, said he believed in his position, which 
he 
said has been researched by Bible historians...

Russell Bennett, pastor of the Fellowship Congregational Church, joined 
a 
handful of Westerners marching with the group. (Inhofe's) use of the 
Bible 
to reach his conclusion about the Jewish right to the land is the same 
as 
the Taliban using the Quran to justify their actions," Bennett said.

TO VIEW INHOFE'S ORIGINAL STATMENT, GO TO:
http://www.senate.gov/~inhofe/fl030402.html

-----

CRACKDOWN ON TERROR FUNDING IS QUESTIONED
By JOSH MEYER and ERIC LICHTBLAU, The Los Angeles Times, 4/7/2002
http://www.latimes.com/la-040702money.story

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government's much-touted financial war on 
terrorism 
has been hamstrung by bitter turf battles among federal agencies, 
questionable evidence against targeted Middle Eastern groups and a lack 
of 
cooperation by foreign allies, senior government officials said.

In recent months, President Bush and his top Cabinet members have 
hailed 
the U.S. government's effort to "shut down the money pipeline" as an 
increasingly important, and successful, component of the broad 
counter-terrorism strategy in the United States and abroad.

But privately some administration officials are voicing growing concern 
that the strategy isn't working as advertised.

"You read the papers and it seems like everything is going great," said 
one 
senior law enforcement official. "But this is no way to run an 
investigation. And the worst part is that this is the biggest case in 
existence. And so much is at stake."

Debate over the problems has occurred at the highest levels, according 
to 
interviews with more than a dozen law enforcement, intelligence and 
counter-terrorism officials familiar with the financial crackdown. 
Among 
the concerns:...

* At least some of the financial crackdowns on groups with suspected 
terrorist ties, resulting in the freezing of tens of millions of 
dollars in 
assets, were launched prematurely or based on insufficient evidence.

The asset seizures have triggered lawsuits from targeted groups, as 
well as 
a backlash from Muslims who say they are being unfairly branded as 
terrorists. Some prosecutors now say they are concerned about whether 
the 
seizure cases will hold up in court...

Matthew Piers, an attorney for the Benevolence International Foundation 
USA, agreed to the request because, he said, the charity has nothing to 
hide. Piers said the episode struck him as bizarre and symptomatic of 
what 
he described as the flimsy case the Treasury Department has brought 
against 
the charity in freezing $800,000 in assets and crippling the 
organization's 
relief efforts in Asia and Europe.

He called the Treasury Department's methods draconian and noted that no 
criminal charges have been filed against the charity or its employees.

The Treasury Department alleges that Benevolence's chief executive has 
ties 
to radical Islamic fundamentalists.

"They're wrong," Piers said. "It's just plain and simple a case of 
mistaken 
identity."

If authorities think the executive has suspected terrorist ties, Piers 
asked, "why have they not even questioned him? Why haven't they picked 
him 
up?"...

On Friday, a federal judge in Chicago supported the use of such 
evidence 
when he allowed government attorneys to present their case against 
another 
charity, Global Relief Foundation, without its lawyers present. The 
hearing 
was part of Global Relief's lawsuit to recover about $1 million in 
frozen 
assets.

Dam and Treasury General Counsel David Aufhauser said they are 
satisfied 
that there is ample evidence underlying all of the Treasury 
Department's 
searches and its orders freezing assets. Aufhauser also said all of the 
orders were issued after thorough investigations and consultation with 
the 
Justice Department.

But others within the administration dispute that. Sources who asked 
not to 
be identified said the Justice Department has expressed concerns to 
senior 
Treasury officials about the strength of the asset-freezing cases, as 
well 
as the lack of coordination.

Some officials fear that any evidentiary weakness will become an 
embarrassment when organizations whose assets are frozen bring cases in 
court here and overseas--and the Justice Department has to defend the 
government's position.

"There are going to be huge problems," one law enforcement official 
said. 
In many of the cases, "I don't think there's a lot there...It's pretty 
thin."

An official at a separate agency said that, although there may be 
legitimate reasons to target many of these groups, he believes the 
Treasury 
Department's rush to take action last fall may have been "politically 
driven" and premature. "They were running and gunning," the official 
said...

SEE ALSO:

THE AMERICAN DREAM BEGINS TO FADE
By Younus Mirza, Middle East Times
http://www.metimes.com/2K2/issue2002-14/opin/american_dream_begins.htm
Younus Mirza, a Muslim activist who resides in Herndon, VA, is a 
student at 
Georgetown University in the School of Foreign Service.

My father repeatedly told me: "Be grateful because you live in 
America." He 
should know. He grew up in a small Middle Eastern village where school 
was 
taught in the middle of a field and the chalkboard was hung from the 
branch 
of a tree.

He came to America in the early 1970s because he desired a better 
education, wanted to embrace greater opportunities and take advantage 
of 
American freedom of thought and religion. In short, he came here to 
live 
the American dream.

In many ways, my father is the embodiment of the American dream, having 
obtained a scholarship to finish his education, climbed the corporate 
ladder through hard work, and established a family in his new homeland, 
America.

His struggles and successes allowed his children greater opportunities 
and 
enabled us to pursue higher education so that we, too, could fulfill 
our 
personal dreams.

Last week, however, those dreams were called into question. My mother 
called me, asking me to come home quickly. "Younus, U.S. Customs and 
Internal Revenue Service agents came to our house. They looked through 
everything and they took many of our belongings away," she told me...

My mother described how she came back home to have agents surround her 
car 
and approach her at gunpoint.

Family friends told me that the door to their house was broken down, 
and 
that they were handcuffed for five hours as agents searched their home. 
Even more humiliating, the Muslim women involved were denied the basic 
right to wear their religiously-mandated headscarves.

My father's business, the one he and others built up from the ground, 
was 
searched; boxes of documents were seized and it was shut down for the 
day.
Sadly, I realize that the experiences of my family and friends are not 
isolated incidents. Rather they are part of a larger struggle facing 
the 
greater American Muslim community in the aftermath of the September 11 
terrorist attacks against our nation.

Our charities, which supply vital aid to orphans and widows, have had 
their 
assets frozen.

Our leaders and community organizations have become the targets of a 
vicious smear campaign.

Our elected officials constantly remind us that Islam is a great 
religion, 
one that preaches peace and tolerance, yet they hesitate to act when 
Muslim 
rights and civil liberties are taken away...

Regardless, our family loves this country, its values and its people, 
and 
we love our religion as well.

It is these intangible possessions - American ideals and unwavering 
faith - 
that have helped make our dreams come true.

And it is our dreams that the U.S. Customs and IRS agents can never 
take away.

-----

THE FACES OF THE FAITHFUL
By SETH KUGEL, The New York Times, 4/7/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/07/nyregion/07MOSQ.html

Edward Grazda, a New York photographer, and Jerrilynn Dodds, a 
professor at 
the School of Architecture of City College, spent nearly a decade 
visiting 
mosques in the five boroughs built by New York's diverse Muslim 
communities, from Albanians to Afghanis to African-Americans.

A result of their work, the book "New York Masjid: The Mosques of New 
York 
City," will be published next month by Powerhouse Books, and Mr. 
Grazda's 
photographs will go on view Tuesday at the Open Society Institute, 400 
West 
59th Street.

The research gave the pair an understanding of the role and importance 
of 
the New York mosque...

-----

SHAREEF ABDUR-RAHIM MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Sports Illustrated, 4/8/2002
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/

Shareef Abdur-Rahim is quiet by nature. But last July, when the 
Grizzlies 
sent him to his hometown team, the Hawks, in a multiplayer deal for the 
rights to rookie Pau Gasol, he resolved to become a vocal leader. "I'm 
the 
kind of person who looks at himself and asks, What could I have done 
better?" says Abdur-Rahim, 25, who grew up in suburban Marietta.

His first project in Atlanta was to seek out 21-year-old guard DerMarr 
Johnson, who had endured a frustrating rookie season. "We had mutual 
friends who asked that I look out for him," says Abdur-Rahim, who had 
his 
locker moved next to Johnson's. After their first workout last summer, 
Johnson was on his way to a fast-food lunch when Abdur-Rahim headed him 
off. He brought Johnson home to eat and began to teach him about a 
proper 
diet. The 6'9" Johnson was averaging 9.4 points in 37 starts at week's 
end, 
offering hope that he'll develop into the spectacular slasher the Hawks 
envisioned when they picked him sixth out of Cincinnati.

Abdur-Rahim attributes his maturity to his upbringing and to his 
devotion 
to Islam. After Sept. 11 he established a relief agency for families 
victimized by the attacks, Rebound America, to which he will contribute 
$ 
100 for each of his boards this season ($ 62,700 through Sunday). To 
Abdur-Rahim, the terrorists had nothing in common with Islam. "The 
media 
puts out a misperception by calling them Muslim terrorists," he says. 
"They 
weren't Muslim terrorists any more than Timothy McVeigh was a Christian 
terrorist. They were misguided people..."

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 14:13:26 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Muslims Defend Jewish Woman Fired for Marrying Palestinian

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

MUSLIMS DEFEND JEWISH WOMAN FIRED FOR MARRYING PALESTINIAN

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/9/2002) - A prominent American Muslim group today 
called on a Jewish newspaper in Kansas to apologize to a Jewish 
employee 
who was allegedly fired for marrying a Palestinian Muslim.

The employee told the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic 
Relations (CAIR) that she was terminated from her position as a staff 
writer at the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle one day after telling her 
supervisor who she had married. When informed of the marriage, the 
supervisor allegedly said: "I am going to have to think about this."

SEE: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1425

When the employee returned to work following her announcement of the 
marriage, she said her supervisor's behavior became increasingly 
hostile. 
The supervisor allegedly commented to a friend over the phone that, 
"There 
is no way Muslims can be friends with Jews, no way at all." When the 
employee asked why she was fired, newspaper officials claimed she was 
an 
unreliable worker, despite receiving many positive reviews from readers 
and 
her supervisor during seven months of employment.

In a letter faxed to the Chronicle in Overland Park, Kansas, CAIR 
Executive 
Director Nihad Awad wrote:

"The timing of the woman's termination, along with the Islamophobic 
comments of her supervisor, indicate that your publication's actions 
were 
motivated by anti-Muslim and anti-Arab prejudice. If these allegations 
are 
true, you must take immediate and concrete steps to demonstrate that 
bigotry will not be tolerated at the Chronicle or in Kansas."

Awad asked the newspaper to initiate an investigation of the incident 
and 
provide the fired employee with a formal apology, back pay and monetary 
compensation for the emotional distress she suffered as a result of the 
incident.

There are an estimated seven million Muslims in American and some 1.2 
billion worldwide. SEE: "The Mosque in America: A National Portrait," 
http://cair-net.org/mosquereport/

                                         - END -

CONTACT:        Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL - cair@cair-net.org
                 Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org

-----

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http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----



Forwarded Message

Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 18:12:17 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Columnist Says Quran is "Suicide Playbook"

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/9/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: A TREATMENT FOR EVERY DISEASE
* CAIR POLL: SHOULD A PEACE-KEEPING FORCE BE SENT TO THE OCCUPIED 
TERRITORIES?
* SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT'S CALL FOR AN END TO ATTACKS ON PALESTIANIANS
* RIGHT-WING COLUMNIST CLAIMS QURAN IS "SUICIDE PLAYBOOK"
* ELDERLY WERE USED AS HUMAN SHIELDS FOR TANK FORCES (Independent)
* U.S. JEWS CANNOT ACQUIESCE TO SHARON'S MONSTROUS BEHAVIOR (Los 
Angeles Times)
         - STUCK IN THE MIDDLE (EAST) WITH YOU (Philadelphia Weekly)
* EDITORIAL: ARIEL SHARON'S COSTLY DEFIANCE (New York Times)
* EDITORIAL: STIFFING THE U.S. PRESIDENT IS DANGEROUS (Star-Tribune)
* BLOODSHED BECOMES NABLUS' SCENERY (AP)
* PALESTINIAN BAKER'S FAMILY GO UNFED UNDER SIEGE (Reuters)
* POWELL: STALLING TO LET SHARON 'MOP UP' (Arab News)
* WE BOUGHT AND PAID FOR CARNAGE OF PALESTINIANS (Houston Chronicle)
* DETAINEE RIGHTS (NPR)
* PROBE OF FIRE OPENS IN LOS ALTOS HILLS (San Jose Mercury News)
* US RESISTS AGING DRAFT PLAN WORDING (AP)
* MUSLIM VOTE GAINS POWER IN FRANCE (UPI)
* EUROPE, PREPARE TO GREET ISLAM (Christian Science Monitor)
* CAIR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA OFFERS INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: A TREATMENT FOR EVERY DISEASE

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "There is no disease 
that 
God has created, except that He has also created its treatment."

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume, Hadith 582

-----

CAIR POLL: SHOULD A PEACE-KEEPING FORCE BE SENT TO THE OCCUPIED 
TERRITORIES?

TO VOTE, GO TO: http://www.cair-net.org

-----

SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT'S CALL FOR AN END TO ATTACKS ON PALESTIANIANS

GO TO: http://capwiz.com/cair/home/

-----

RIGHT-WING COLUMNIST CLAIMS QURAN IS "SUICIDE PLAYBOOK"

THE KORAN: SUICIDE PLAYBOOK
By Paul Perry, WorldNetDaily.com, 4/9/2002
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27149

Of course, the same media pundits who like to pretend Palestinians are 
fighting a political war for freedom and are only using suicide as a 
"cheap 
defense weapon," argue that the Koran forbids suicide. They claim 
clerics 
twist the meaning of the salient passages in the Koran to imply 
martyrdom 
paves the way to Paradise.

But don't be fooled. Typical of Islam's apologists, they are merely 
cherry 
picking verses to try to make the Koran seem less violent than it is...

ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE. Whenever this web site's 
anti-Muslim stance is challenged, they take one hostile message out of 
hundreds and use it to further defame Islam and Muslims. NOTE: This is 
the 
same site that recently advocated slaughtering 1,000 Palestinians for 
every 
Israeli killed.)

1. Let the writer and the site's editors know that they are spreading 
bigotry and hatred.

E-MAIL: psperry@worldnetdaily.com, jfarah@worldnetdaily.com, 
tambrose@worldnetdaily.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org

2. Representatives of this site are making a big push to appear on TV 
and 
radio talk shows. Whenever you see or hear someone who represents 
Worldnetdaily.com, contact that media outlets to express your concerns 
about the bigoted background of their guests.

For example, Worldnetdaily.com's Joseph Farah appeared last night on 
MSNBC's "Alan Keyes is Making Sense" program.

SEE: http://www.msnbc.com/news/736275.asp

SEND COMMENTS TO: AlanKeyes@msnbc.com

-----

ELDERLY WERE USED AS HUMAN SHIELDS FOR TANK FORCES
By Justin Huggler and Said Ghazali, The Independent, 4/9/2002
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=283026

The sound of four explosions came down the phone line. A woman could be 
heard screaming in the background: "Come and save us." This was in the 
middle of an interview with a Red Crescent ambulance official. He said 
the 
woman's house had been hit by rockets fired from an Israeli helicopter.

These were the voices that came out of Jenin refugee camp yesterday 
when it 
came under the heaviest attack since the Israeli army began its 
onslaught 
in the West Bank. The accounts are chilling: stories of Israeli forces 
using the elderly as human shields in front of their tanks, of women 
and 
children being rounded up, of homes being demolished, of bodies 
littering 
the streets...

Abu Hussein, a 55-year-old man inside the camp, said: "They used women 
and 
old men as human shields. They were walking in front of the tanks and a 
bulldozer was destroying the houses on both sides." Apparently the 
houses 
were bulldozed to clear a path for tanks through the narrow alleys - an 
old 
tactic of Ariel Sharon when he was commander of the army in the Gaza 
Strip 
in the Seventies.

Mr Hussein said he was sheltering in two rooms with 40 others. "The 
soldiers entered my neighbour's house," he said. "They killed him. His 
body 
is there for more than five days. Six missiles hit a three-floor 
building, 
just 200 metres away from my house. The house was full of families. I 
do 
not know how many people were there..."

The Israeli authorities have been refusing to allow ambulances access 
to 
the wounded, which is a war crime under the Geneva conventions...

-----

U.S. JEWS CANNOT ACQUIESCE TO SHARON'S MONSTROUS BEHAVIOR
By Robert Scheer, The Los Angles Times, 4/9/2002
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-000025268apr09.column

Some of us make a deliberate effort to disassociate from the mayhem of 
Ariel Sharon's carnage, while others seem to wallow in it, as if 
displaying 
the awesome firepower of the Israeli army is necessary to the survival 
of 
the Jewish state. I would like to think that the peacemakers still 
outnumber the militarists among U.S. Jews, but my own e-mail and 
street-corner conversations no longer bear out that hope.

While Jews are hardly monolithic, even in their views of Israel, their 
large presence in the media contrasts sharply with a near total 
exclusion 
of Palestinian Americans.

Palestinian Americans in particular, and Arabs in general, are the 
ghosts 
haunting U.S. newsrooms by their embarrassing absence. As journalists, 
we 
do not know them as a people, we have little connection with their 
slights 
and sorrows, and we can only, even with the best of intentions, 
experience 
their suffering as an abstraction...

Sharon himself is a man of barbaric impulse, demonstrated all too 
clearly 
in his terrorizing of civilians two decades ago in Lebanon and now on 
the 
West Bank. He has been a consistent provocateur, undermining peace 
efforts 
no matter their content, and now he is using his tanks to poison the 
ground 
for future generations...

SEE ALSO:

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE (EAST) WITH YOU
By LIZ SPIKOL, Philadelphia Weekly, 4/3/2002
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/article.asp?ArtID=1998

In my experience as a Jewish reporter, I've heard a great deal about 
"not 
airing our dirty laundry." I have often been told--verbally, in Jewish 
publications and in synagogues--that even if I have doubts about the 
Israeli government and its treatment of Palestinians, I should keep 
quiet 
about it and be steadfast in my support of a nation that needs to 
exist. 
And I was happy to oblige, because wasn't it important, above all, that 
Israel endure--this vulnerable and a relatively new country penned in 
by 
nations that would like to make it disappear?

But now Israel has crossed a line, and I--and many, many American Jews 
like 
me--will not be able to cross it with them...

-----

EDITORIAL: ARIEL SHARON'S COSTLY DEFIANCE
The New York Times, 4/9/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/09/opinion/_09TUE1.html

The announcement last night that the Israeli military was pulling out 
of 
two Palestinian cities was welcome but it was far from clear that it 
signaled the start of the full, immediate withdrawal from the West Bank 
towns and refugee camps repeatedly requested by President Bush. Earlier 
in 
the day, Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, brushed off Mr. Bush's 
demand in a defiant speech to the Knesset, insisting that the campaign 
would end only when its mission had been accomplished.

Perhaps Mr. Sharon does not understand. The president of the United 
States, 
speaking out of profound friendship and growing impatience, has asked 
him 
to withdraw "without delay." This was not a request made lightly. Mr. 
Bush 
has expressed sympathy with Israel's plight and made clear that its 
security and well-being are of the highest concern. He has sent his 
secretary of state to the region to try to end the bloodshed. Yet Mr. 
Sharon says he will remove the tanks and troops whenever it suits him. 
This 
is an insult to Mr. Bush and the United States...

-----

EDITORIAL: STIFFING THE U.S. PRESIDENT IS DANGEROUS
Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 4/9/2002
http://www.startribune.com/stories/561/2216058.html

Events in the Middle East are muddling. President Bush Friday called 
for 
Israel to withdraw from Palestinian areas "without delay," and Israeli 
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon indicated he would do that. Bush said 
Secretary 
of State Colin Powell would leave Sunday for the region, and 
Palestinians 
worried that Sharon would use the interim to intensify Israeli 
attacks...

Only two possibilities present themselves: Bush and Powell are telling 
Sharon publicly to withdraw, but privately are offering him more 
latitude, 
including Powell's delayed arrival; or Bush and Powell mean what they 
say 
and Sharon is thumbing his nose at them. Between the two, it's 
difficult to 
decide which would be worse. The latter explanation is the simplest and 
therefore the most likely...

-----

BLOODSHED BECOMES NABLUS' SCENERY
Associated Press, 4/9/2002

NABLUS, West Bank (AP) -- Brandishing the bandaged stump that remained 
of 
his right arm after an emergency amputation in a mosque-turned-field 
hospital in the ruined heart of Nablus' Old City, the teen-age 
Palestinian 
gunman was still defiant.

"I will keep fighting until we are liberated," 19-year-old Abed Taqouk 
said 
Monday, coolly smoking a cigarette as the groans of dozens of wounded 
men 
rose around him.

Only yards away, Israeli troops were making their way through the 
winding 
alleyways of the casbah, kicking down doors and combing blasted-out 
buildings in their search for any fighter able to wield a weapon.

Fighting still raged in the casbah's center Monday, with the staccato 
of 
heavy machine-gun fire and the roar of tank shells echoing against the 
surrounding hills. As Israeli troops took control of the outer edges of 
the 
Old City, a small group of journalists picked their way into the old 
quarter and spent two hours walking the casbah's debris-covered 
streets.

Civilians, trapped in their homes for days by street battles, called 
out 
from behind barred windows, still afraid to come outside. "I need my 
heart 
medicine!" shouted one man. "I don't have any food for my children!" a 
woman cried out...

-----

PALESTINIAN BAKER'S FAMILY GO UNFED UNDER SIEGE
By Wael al-Ahmad, Reuters, 4/9/2002

JENIN, West Bank, April 9 (Reuters) - Palestinian baker Abu Hussein not 
only has little bread to feed his family -- he has not been outside his 
home in the Jenin refugee camp for a week, while his neighbours have 
flocked in to seek shelter.

The camp has been under curfew since Israeli tanks rolled in as part of 
their incursion into the Palestinian-ruled West Bank. On Tuesday, 
house-to-house fighting and Israeli helicopter strikes made the streets 
a 
death zone.

"We have no electricity, no water. We have hardly any food," Abu 
Hussein 
said by telephone from his home.

"We have a little bread. We have some tinned food from our neighbours," 
he 
said, referring to people who sought refuge in his home after their own 
dwelling was destroyed.

The camp of 13,000 inhabitants has been the scene of determined 
resistance 
to Israeli troops by Palestinian gunmen. Palestinians estimate that at 
least 100 people have been killed since fighting started on 
Wednesday...

One woman in a nearby Palestinian Red Crescent compound, who asked not 
to 
be named, wept bitterly as she explained by telephone how she had been 
forced out of the camp.

"The soldiers came with a bulldozer to my house. They threatened us. 
They 
said if we did not leave the house they would demolish it on our 
heads."

She said her husband had been rounded up by Israeli forces and taken 
away, 
like hundreds of other Palestinians. Many have been released after 
questioning...

-----

POWELL: STALLING TO LET SHARON 'MOP UP'
By Barbara Ferguson, Arab News, 4/9/2002
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=14156

WASHINGTON, 9 April - The announcement that US Secretary of State Colin
Powell will not arrive in Israel before Thursday or Friday sent many 
Mideast observers reeling with disbelief. The announcement seems to 
confirm 
rumors that Bush is allowing Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon extra 
time to 'mop up' in the Occupied Territories.

Bush's spinmeisters were sent out to buffer the shock on the airwaves 
on 
Sunday, while it was announced that Powell's first stop, Morocco, would 
include meetings with the country's King Mohamed and Crown Prince 
Abdullah 
of Saudi Arabia.

Secretary Colin Powell said Sharon assured him Sunday that he was 
"trying 
to expedite" withdrawal of his troops in the occupied territories, but 
he 
gave no time frame.

"He did not give me a specific timetable of the withdrawal, but I know 
he 
is trying to expedite the operation, to get it over with as soon as 
possible. And we'll see what happens in the next couple of days," 
Powell 
said on NBC's "Meet the Press..."

-----

WE BOUGHT AND PAID FOR CARNAGE OF PALESTINIANS
By ROBERT JENSEN, The Houston Chronicle, 4/8/2002
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/editorial/outlook/1351792

I helped kill a Palestinian today.

If you pay taxes to the U.S. government, so did you.

And unless the policies of the U.S. government change, tomorrow will be 
no 
different.
It is easy for Americans to decry the "cycle of violence" in Palestine, 
but 
until we acknowledge our own part in that violence, there is little 
hope 
for a just peace in Palestine or the Middle East...

-----

DETAINEE RIGHTS
National Public Radio, 4/8/2002
http://search1.npr.org/opt/collections/torched/me/data_me/seg_141304.htm

NPR's Greg Allen reports on the Muslim community in Patterson, New 
Jersey, 
and those in the community who are fighting to free the many 
Arab-Americans 
being detained by the government since the September 11th terrorist 
attacks. There's a sense of anxiety, anger, and frustration that Muslim 
Americans are being deprived of their constitutionally guaranteed civil 
rights, because of their religious faith and countries of origin.

-----

PROBE OF FIRE OPENS IN LOS ALTOS HILLS
By Sean Webby, San Jose Mercury News, 4/9/2002
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/3026199.htm

Rev. Samer Yousef of the Orthodox Church of the Redeemer in Los Altos 
listens to an investigator from the Santa Clara County Fire Department 
(name unavailable). Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco 
and 
Firearms are treating the fire as a possible hate crime.

Held back by police tape, members of the Antiochian Orthodox Church of 
the 
Redeemer in Los Altos Hills began to rebuild their church from the 
sidewalk 
Monday. They collected hastily scribbled checks, devotional candles and 
pledges of prayer and support.

The church of mostly Arab American parishioners burned to the ground 
early 
Sunday. As tensions mount at home over the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict, 
members were left hoping the fire was just a terrible accident.

In Florida, a man has been charged with a hate crime after barreling 
his 
truck into a mosque in Tallahassee.

None of the 225 Antiochian Orthodox churches in the United States have 
been 
a victim of vandalism since Sept. 11, said Deacon Hans Elhayek of the 
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in Englewood, N.J.

But Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic 
Relations, said Arabic Christians could be targeted. "With emotions 
running 
so high with the conflict going on, having a remote connection to the 
Middle East may have been enough," he said...

-----

US RESISTS AGING DRAFT PLAN WORDING
By JEROME SOCOLOVSKY, Associated Press, 4/9/2002

MADRID, Spain (AP) - In an echo of previous international meetings, the 
United States is resisting language that could be construed as critical 
of 
Israel in a draft plan on problems confronting the elderly around the 
world.

Delegates on Tuesday are to agree on final wording of the 50-page 
"International Plan of Action on Aging" - which deals with matters such 
as 
pensions, affordable health care and discrimination and abuse.

However, the United States is resisting proposals by some countries to 
include references to older persons affected by "foreign occupation" - 
considered a veiled slap at Israel and its treatment of the 
Palestinians, 
an American official said.

Last year, the United States and Israel walked out of a U.N. racism 
conference in South Africa because of disagreements over references to 
the 
Middle East conflict.

Conference site: http://www.un.org/ageing

-----

MUSLIM VOTE GAINS POWER IN FRANCE
By ELIZABETH BRYANT, United Press International, 4/9/2002

As she attends a campaign rally for her favorite presidential candidate 
in 
a rundown stadium in southwestern France, Malika Ahmed, represents a 
new, 
and slowly growing force in French politics. She is a 33-year-old 
ethnic 
Moroccan woman -- and the deputy mayor of a Paris suburb.

The candidate is former minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement. "I like his 
convictions," Ahmed said. "I like his egalitarian approach." More 
precisely, Ahmed likes Chevenement's campaign promise, as head of the 
small, center-left Citizen's Movement Party, to offer equal 
opportunities 
for ethnic Moroccans like herself -- to say nothing of the memory of 
his 
1991 resignation as defense minister over French involvement in the 
Gulf 
War against Iraq.

"We second-generation immigrants are not looking for quotas," said 
Ahmed, 
who is deputy mayor of the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers. "We want our 
just 
place in this society."

Such sentiments help explain the shifting tectonics of France's Muslim 
electorate. A new crop of second- and third-generation immigrants is 
edging 
into the political scene. Old political allegiances, once neatly split 
between aging conservatives and their leftist-oriented offspring, are 
dissolving.

And as politicians gear up for this spring's presidential and 
legislative 
elections, few can afford to ignore the country's 5 million ethnic 
Arabs, 
Africans and Turks, Western Europe's largest Muslim community, who 
account 
for about 10 percent of the French population...

Only about a third of French Muslims are eligible to vote. But as the 
population shops around this election season, an eclectic array of 
presidential candidates is scrambling for their support...

-----

EUROPE, PREPARE TO GREET ISLAM
By Juraj Kittler, The Christian Science Monitor, 4/9/2002
http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2002/0409/p09s01-coop.html

Nearly every week brings news of another rusty boat loaded with 
refugees in 
the territorial waters of Italy, France, or Spain. Three hundred to 
five 
hundred "boat people" cross at a time - Kurds (from Turkey and Iraq), 
Afghans and Pakistanis, Tunisians and Moroccans. Risking it all in this 
dangerous game, they have only a miserable life to lose - but stand to 
gain 
a better life for themselves and their children.

Because of official French policy toward minorities, it is not easy to 
find 
out how many Algerians, Moroccans, or Tunisians are already living in 
the 
country. The closest one can get are religious statistics that assess 
the 
number of French Muslims at 4 million. Roughly 1 million of them live 
in 
metropolitan Paris and their numbers are growing exponentially due to a 
high birthrate.

In Italy, the center of the Arab/Muslim culture is in the country's 
financial capital, Milan. But growth of the Islamic population is 
accelerating mainly in the poorer south - around Naples and in Sicily. 
Germany chronically struggles with the cultural assimilation of second- 
and 
third-generation Turks and Kurds whose fathers came to the country as 
Gastarbeiter to work at jobs nobody else wanted. Benelux and 
Scandinavia 
became the home of huge Arab communities, too. And hundreds of 
thousands of 
Bosnian or Albanian Muslims flooded Western Europe as a result of the 
Balkan wars.

In the meantime, the wealthy western part of Europe is beginning to 
feel 
the impact of a low birthrate trend. Countries like Germany, France, 
and 
Italy need an influx of hundreds of thousands of immigrants every year 
in 
order to maintain a balanced demographic structure...

But after centuries of fighting each other, the followers of the two 
largest religions must start to build on peaceful coexistence. It won't 
be 
easy, especially for proud Europe. But any other alternative would lead 
sooner or later to total self-destruction. Lacking new ideas and new 
ideals, the old Continent has already lost the advantage of the first 
move 
in this high-stakes chess match.

-----

CAIR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA OFFERS INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY

CAIR-LA is now accepting applications for its Summer 2002 internship 
program. The program is designed to empower our community by helping 
young 
Muslims gain skills in public relations, media relations, research and 
development, public outreach, government relations, and in defending 
civil/legal rights. Interns will receive college credit or financial 
compensation.

Internships will be held at CAIR's office in Southern California. 
Interns 
must provide for their own travel, living expenses (housing & food) and 
transportation arrangements.

Candidates must be pursuing a bachelor's degree or an advanced degree. 
(Exceptions may be made for highly qualified applicants.)

Summer internships run from June 24 through August 16. Applications 
must be 
received by May 1.

Contact cair_sca@cair-california.org for an application or further 
information. Tel: 714.776.1847

-----

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To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 14:00:56 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Judge Firm on Open Hearing for Activist

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/10/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: MURDER
* JUDGE FIRM ON OPEN HEARING FOR ACTIVIST (Detroit Free Press)
* TOW TRUCK DRIVER SAYS MEN BEAT HIM ON I-495 (Washington Post)
* WOMAN FOUND GUILTY OF ASSAULTING MUSLIM NEIGHBOR (AP)
* CAIR-CALIF TALL HALL FORUM A SUCCESS
* CAIR-NY CO-SPONSORS RALLY FOR PALESTINE
* WHEN ISRAEL AND THE U.S. DON'T SEE EYE TO EYE (New York Times)
* ISRAEL'S MYTH MACHINE (Ottawa Citizen)
* WITH A WORD, ISRAELI-TURKISH STRAIN SURFACES (New York Times)
* U.S. STUDENTS RALLY FOR PALESTINIANS (AP)
* ATTORNEY WILL FIGHT TERROR AID CHARGE (AP)
* MUSLIMS' VISAS TO U.S. SLOWED (AP)
* EID STAMP SWAMPS VOTING IN MAGAZINE (AP)
* SEPT. 11 CITED BY BOTH SIDES IN DRIVER'S LICENSE WRANGLE (Houston 
Chronicle)
* THE STENCH OF BLOOD AND ROTTING CORPSES (Sydney Morning Herald)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: MURDER

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "A time will come when 
the 
murderer will not know why he has committed the murder, and the victim 
will 
not know why he has been killed."

Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1356

-----

WANT PALESTINIANS TO SURRENDER? START KILLING THEIR CHILDREN
By Adele Ferguson, The Eastside Journal, 4/7/2002
http://www.eastsidejournal.com/

"The next times a bunch of Arab youths are throwing rocks at the 
Israeli 
tanks, mow them down. Kill them. Keep doing it until the Arabs decide 
whether they really hate the Jews more than they love their 
children...I 
don't think the Israelis would have to dispose of many Arab children 
before 
the white flag would go up."

NOTE: The Eastside Journal now says it "regrets publication of the 
column."

-----

JUDGE FIRM ON OPEN HEARING FOR ACTIVIST
BY DAVID ASHENFELTER, The Detroit Free Press
http://www.freep.com/news/metro/haddad10_20020410.htm

A judge in Detroit refused to back down Tuesday from her decision 
ordering 
the federal government to stop holding secret deportation proceedings 
for a 
Muslim activist from Ann Arbor who was detained after the Sept. 11 
terrorist attacks.

But as soon as U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds rejected the U.S. 
Justice 
Department's request to reconsider her decision or delay its 
enforcement, 
federal lawyers appealed to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in 
Cincinnati.

The outcome of the appeal could determine whether federal investigators 
will be allowed to continue conducting secret deportation hearings for 
hundreds of people swept up in the investigation resulting from the 
terrorist attacks.

"I believe that the denial of press and public access to these hearings 
is 
a denial of the First Amendment," Edmunds said during a hearing...

-----

TOW TRUCK DRIVER SAYS MEN BEAT HIM ON I-495
Iranian Victim Blames Ethnic Hatred
By Tom Jackman, The Washington Post, 4/10/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23297-2002Apr10.html

When two men in a pickup started waving at the tow truck driver on the 
Capital Beltway in Fairfax, the tow truck driver willingly pulled over, 
thinking the men needed some sort of assistance. It happens all the 
time, 
the tow truck driver said, and he's happy to help.

But after they pulled to the side of busy Interstate 495, one of the 
men in 
the pickup truck walked over to the tow truck driver and said, "I have 
a 
license to kill you." The tow truck driver, who is Iranian, said he was 
confused. The assailant then head-butted the tow truck driver in the 
forehead, and he and his friend repeatedly punched the man and then 
choked 
him into unconsciousness as traffic whizzed by...

-----

WOMAN FOUND GUILTY OF ASSAULTING MUSLIM NEIGHBOR
Associated Press, 4/10/2002

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - A woman has received a suspended sentence in an 
assault against a Muslim woman allegedly prompted by the terrorist 
attacks. 
Ecaterina Svet, 43, was found guilty of assaulting her neighbor in a 
stairwell and yelling racial slurs at her on Oct. 16. Police said Svet 
elbowed Fatima Deek in the ribs, causing her to fall onto the stairs, 
and 
then taunted her with comments about the Middle East and anthrax.

Prosecutors said Svet assaulted Deek, a native of Jordan, because Deek 
is a 
Muslim. Svet was given a two- to five-year suspended sentence on a 
misdemeanor assault charge in Hillsborough County Superior Court on 
Tuesday. The case was reportedly the first incident of a hate-motivated 
crime in the state after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks...

-----

CAIR-CALIF TALL HALL FORUM A SUCCESS

CAIR Northern California and the Department of Justice successfully 
held a 
Town Hall Forum on April 4 with officials from the FBI, INS and US 
Attorney's office. The meeting addressed issues and concerns of Muslims 
living in the Bay Area.

More than 800 community members packed the Muslim Community Center to 
listen to panel guests Larry Mefford, Associate Special Agent in charge 
of 
San Francisco Department of FBI, David Still, INS Director, Matthew 
Jacobs, 
Asst US Attorney and Martha Boersch, Lead Attorney on Terrorism from 
the US 
Attorney's office.

Other organizations in attendance were the ACLU, NAACP, National 
Lawyer's 
Guild, AMA, ING, Lawyer's Committee on Civil Rights, and many more.

The speakers provided attendees information on the current climate, 
laws, 
and activities of the operating agencies in the Department of Justice 
post 
September 11, 2001 and how they are affecting the Muslim community.

"This event is part of CAIR' s mission to empower Muslims and build 
coalitions with public officials to improve the quality of life for 
all," 
said CAIR California President Fouad Khatib.

-----

CAIR-NY CO-SPONSORS RALLY FOR PALESTINE

WHEN: Friday, April 12, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
WHERE: Times Square, New York City

NYC mosques are asked to bring their congregations to pray Jum'ah at 
Times 
Square itself.

TO VIEW A FLYER FOR THE RALLY, GO TO:
http://www.cair-ny.com/

-----

WHEN ISRAEL AND THE U.S. DON'T SEE EYE TO EYE
By ARSALAN TARIQ IFTIKHAR, The New York Times, 4/10/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/10/opinion/L10MIDE.html
(The writer is Midwest communications director, Council on 
American-Islamic 
Relations.)

Re "Ariel Sharon's Costly Defiance" (editorial, April 9): It was Ariel 
Sharon's march on the Temple Mount in September 2000 that was the spark 
of 
the current intifada. And in his successful bid for prime minister, he 
vowed to negate the Oslo accords.

Mr. Sharon was dismissed as defense minister by a commission of his own 
countrymen for his "indirect responsibility" in the refugee camp 
massacres 
at Sabra and Shatila in 1982. He haughtily asserts that Israel is the 
only 
democracy in the region. However, how democratic a society can you have 
if 
you continuously violate more than 60 United Nations resolutions and 
militarily rule over three million of your inhabitants?

Granted, Yasir Arafat is also culpable in this conflict. The suicide 
bombings have to stop. However, if we cure the disease, only then can 
we 
truly quell the symptoms. Simply put, Israel must end its occupation of 
the 
Palestinian people.

-----

ISRAEL'S MYTH MACHINE
White South Africa used conquest and propaganda to keep the black 
population down. Israel is using the same logic with the Palestinians.
By Riad Saloojee, Ottawa Citizen, 4/10/2002
Riad Saloojee is executive director of the Ottawa-based Council on 
American-Islamic Relations -- Canada.

One ought to be wary of pictures, a social commentator once noted, for 
they 
cannot convey time or context. But sometimes there is nothing like the 
simple clarity of an image -- especially now, besieged as we are by the 
relentless discourse of Israel's need to "fight terror" and its need 
for 
"safety and security." (As if this newspeak is not itself sufficient to 
reveal the inner workings of a state obsessed with hiding its abuse of 
power. When Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon asserts that he intends 
to 
make Palestinians "beg for mercy," what other conclusion is deducible?)

The picture: two very young Palestinian children in the foreground and 
behind them the looming hulk of a tank. The picture is stark in all its 
allusions. It presents the current asymmetry of a conflict that has 
been 
sanitized in a million and one ways as a "war between equals" and never 
for 
what it is: a 35-year-long occupation against a civilian population by 
the 
most powerful military in the Middle East, the fourth-largest army in 
the 
world, and the largest recipient of U.S. largesse, replete with its 
modern 
armoury of tanks, Apache helicopters and heavy artillery.

The word occupation has become taboo. Hardly ever mentioned now, it has 
been confined to a memory hole. Listening to the pundits and 
self-styled 
experts, you would think the occupation is irrelevant to Israel's 
current 
predicament. But is it so unusual, so irrational, that a legacy of 
violence 
begets more violence -- that a cycle of violence simply eats into 
itself? 
We don't live in a world of disembodied reason but in a world of real 
cause 
and effect, a world of social consequences, of history.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu observed during a Christmas visit to Israel on 
Dec. 
25, 1989: "I am a black South African, and if I were to change the 
names, a 
description of what is happening in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank 
could 
describe events in South Africa (under apartheid)."

This was the first intifada. Not much has changed since.

Well, one thing has: Racist South Africa has been dismantled, so Israel 
can't be its military and political ally anymore. And from someone who 
was 
born in South Africa and whose family lived there for three 
generations, I 
am well aware of the logic of conquest: the targeting of civilians, the 
checkpoints, the daily humiliation, the illegal assassinations, the 
curfews, the collective punishments, the military abuse, the torture 
and 
the dismantling of social and economic institutions.

I am also well aware of the steady export of propaganda to attain, 
maintain 
and retain illegitimate power. In an attempt to hold on to its 
illegally 
acquired territory and settlements, Israel has generated a steady diet 
of 
myths -- some so patently racist that they would make Hendrick 
Verwoerd, 
perhaps the foremost architect of apartheid, wince: that Palestinians 
use 
their children as "human shields"; that Palestinians, indeed all Arabs, 
have a pathological hatred for Israel; that Yasser Arafat, held up in a 
broken and battered headquarters without basic amenities, can quell all 
violence; and that Palestinians spare no stones in their attempt to 
push 
"Jews into the sea," and even use ambulances for violence.

This latter argument, the latest attempt to victimize the victim, has 
been 
thoroughly debunked: one by lack of evidence and, two, by the Israeli 
human 
rights group B'Tselem. A March 14, 2002, report noted that it is 
Israeli 
Defence Forces soldiers that have fired at ambulances, killed on-duty 
Palestinian medical personnel, wounded several others and prevented 
medical 
treatment to the sick and wounded -- even leaving people to bleed to 
death.

The screw of the occupation still turns. But now, it is a renewed 
occupation. Says Zbigniew Brzezinski, former U.S. national security 
adviser: "The Israelis are becoming increasingly like the white 
supremacist 
South Africans, viewing the Palestinians as a lower form of life, not 
hesitating to kill a great many of them." And the killing of civilians 
is 
just one part of the horrific equation. Amnesty International offered a 
trenchant critique of Israel's "flagrant human-rights violations" and 
cited 
the wanton destruction of houses, cars and buildings; the deliberate 
denial 
of food, water and medicine; the humiliating confinement and curfew of 
an 
entire population; arbitrary arrests, torture and other degrading 
treatment; and the closing of areas under siege to journalists, aid 
workers 
and humanitarian organizations.

Remembering the picture, I think of my own father, a son of South 
Africa's 
occupation, and how he left South Africa to give his children a better 
future. I fear that Palestinian children might grow into their 
adulthood, 
the sons and daughters of a renewed and reinvigorated occupation. And 
even 
if we had the power to end the occupation here and now, it's not 
enough. 
History will never forgive what was done to the Palestinians. And 
history 
will never forgive our role in it.

-----

WITH A WORD, ISRAELI-TURKISH STRAIN SURFACES
By DOUGLAS FRANTZ, The New York Times, 4/10/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/10/international/middleeast/10TURK.html

ISTANBUL, April 9 -- Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit of Turkey told a 
gathering of his political party last week that Israel's military raids 
into the West Bank were genocide.

Israel might have ignored the statement had it come from another Muslim 
leader, but Turkey is Israel's best friend in the region. So Mr. 
Ecevit's 
choice of words set off protests that heightened strains in a 
relationship 
of strategic importance to both countries and to the United States...

-----

U.S. STUDENTS RALLY FOR PALESTINIANS
The Associated Press, 4/10/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Mideast-Campus-Protests.html

Marching and handing out fliers, students who sympathize with 
Palestinians 
under siege from Israel rallied on a handful of the nation's campuses.

Most events during Tuesday's loosely organized protests were modest and 
peaceful, though some demonstrators were heckled.

A rally for the Palestinian cause drew about 1,000 supporters and 
spectators at the University of California, Berkeley, including 
pro-Israel 
demonstrators who shouted their disapproval while police kept watch.

After the rally, campus police arrested 79 pro-Palestinian protesters 
who 
stormed into a classroom building. Some students hung a Palestinian 
flag 
from a third-story window, while others marched in the hallways of the 
building, which houses classrooms for Middle Eastern studies.

Students for Justice in Palestine likened the current Mideast violence 
to 
the Holocaust -- only with the Palestinians as the victims. They also 
called for the university to divest any Israel-related investments...

------

ATTORNEY WILL FIGHT TERROR AID CHARGE
By TOM HAYS, The Associated Press, 4/10/02
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Terror-Indictments.html

NEW YORK - A defense attorney with a reputation as a zealous advocate 
has 
become a defendant herself, accused of crossing the line by conspiring 
to 
help an imprisoned client relay messages to his radical Islamic 
followers.

U.S. Attorney James B. Comey accused attorney Lynne Stewart and three 
men 
of aiding terrorism by assisting blind cleric Omar Abdel-Rahman, a 
leader 
of a terrorist organization linked to al-Qaida...

Stewart pleaded "emphatically not guilty" Tuesday in a courtroom packed 
with fellow defense attorneys who labeled the case a political 
prosecution 
designed to discourage the vigorous defense of terrorist defendants...

Stewart said she hoped the indictment becomes a "touchstone case ... 
something that points out the limits the government can go through in 
prosecuting people they don't like..."

-----

MUSLIMS' VISAS TO U.S. SLOWED
By GEORGE GEDDA, The Associated Press, 4/10/02
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Visas-Muslims.html

WASHINGTON - Prolonged security checks since Sept. 11 have caused a 
slowdown of almost 14 percent in the number of overseas Muslims granted 
permission to live in the United States through a special green card 
program, officials say.

Under the program, citizens of countries with low rates of migration to 
the 
United States can try their luck in obtaining permanent U.S. residence 
visas through a lottery conducted annually by the State Department

Visa approvals were granted to 16,308 lottery winners worldwide from 
Oct. 
1, 2000 to Feb. 28, 2001, according to official figures.

But for the identical period a year later, which occurred after the 
Sept. 
11 terrorist attacks, the number approved was just 14,074 - a decline 
of 
2,234 or about 14 percent.

Almost all of that was the result of lower numbers from Muslim 
countries, 
said a State Department official, who asked not to be identified...

-----

EID STAMP SWAMPS VOTING IN MAGAZINE
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press, 4/09/02

An onslaught of online voting for the Muslim "Eid" stamp caused the 
magazine Linn's Stamp News to separate e-mail from mailed ballots in 
its 
annual poll of the most popular U.S. stamps.

A colorful 20-stamp sheet of art by American illustrators won the 
traditional mail-in voting, collecting 368 votes, and prompting Linn's 
to 
declare it the overall favorite in its April issue.

In the online balloting the Eid stamp, celebrating Muslim holidays, 
collected 13,815 votes. Carnivorous plants were second with 241.

The powerful turnout came after the American Muslim Council e-mailed 
its 
members asking them to vote for the stamp, which is dark blue with gold 
calligraphy.

"Given the stamp's importance to them, we can understand their desire 
to 
generate votes for it," Linn's editor Michael Laurence wrote in a 
column on 
the balloting. "But in the end their efforts were just too successful."

Asked about the effort, Faiz Rehman, communications director of the 
council, said: "That's what activism is all about..."

-----

SEPT. 11 CITED BY BOTH SIDES IN DRIVER'S LICENSE WRANGLE
By EDWARD HEGSTROM, Houston Chronicle, 4/9/2002
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1356309

AUSTIN -- A proposal to make it more difficult for some foreigners to 
obtain Texas driver's licenses drew heated debate Tuesday, with both 
sides 
calling on officials to learn the lesson of Sept. 11.

The proposed regulations would make it impossible for people who have a 
foreign passport to get Texas driver's licenses unless they also have 
verifiable identification issued by the U.S. government. Refugees, some 
foreign students and other immigrants -- except those from Canada -- 
would 
be excluded from getting the state identification.

Illegal immigrants already face difficulty getting licenses in Texas, 
and 
the proposed rules from the Department of Public Safety appear to make 
it 
virtually impossible for them.

State officials say the proposed changes come in response to the Sept. 
11 
terrorist attacks. Some terrorists obtained driver's licenses from 
various 
states, which they used as acceptable photo identification to board the 
planes they crashed in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

But critics -- including representatives of the Austin Police 
Department -- 
said security would be enhanced by offering driver's licenses to 
immigrants, establishing written records of immigrants' residences in 
the 
United States.

Joseph Berra, an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and 
Educational Fund, said that after Sept. 11, "there is a greater need to 
ensure that people are properly licensed and identified..."

-----

THE STENCH OF BLOOD AND ROTTING CORPSES
By Suzanne Goldenberg, Sydney Morning Herald, 4/10/2002
http://www.smh.com.au/

The stench of blood and rotting corpses carried far beyond the green 
mosque 
where the bodies were laid out, tightly wedged together like firewood: 
young men, perhaps Palestinian fighters, and those with the sagging 
paunch 
of middle age.

After five days of ferocious fighting in the vaulted stone alleyways of 
the 
old town, the Israeli Army on Monday allowed Palestinian medical 
workers to 
take the 62 wounded to hospital and carry away the dead.

Twenty-six corpses awaited them. Five had bled their lives away into 
the 
stained mattresses strewn beneath the chandeliers of the Jamal Bek 
mosque - 
now a makeshift hospital and morgue.

"The first dead [man] was here on the first day, Wednesday," said Nisar 
Smadi, a doctor. "He was killed by a shortage of medicine. It was an 
abdomen wound."

The frenzied evacuation began at sundown. As medics scrambled down a 
crater 
at the entrance to the old city - the casbah - stretcher bearers 
collided 
in vaulted alleyways in a feverish effort to collect the dead before 
the 
army re-imposed its curfew...

The corpses were stacked in a courtyard of the mosque. Some faces were 
blackened and pitted, apparently by an explosion. One wore the green 
bandana of Hamas. The face of another was masked with a black and white 
chequered keffiyeh (headdress), but it was impossible to say in the 
chaos 
how many of the dead were Palestinian fighters, and how many were 
civilians...

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 14:54:03 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims Say "War Crimes" Committed in Jenin

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

ACTION REQUESTED:

Let elected officials and the media know that you support freedom for 
the 
Palestinian people. GO TO: http://capwiz.com/cair/home/

-----

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

U.S. MUSLIMS SAY "WAR CRIMES" COMMITTED IN JENIN

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/10/2002) - The Council on American-Islamic 
Relations 
(CAIR) today condemned what it called "war crimes" by Israeli 
occupation 
forces in the Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin. According to media 
reports, the Israelis are preparing to raze the camp using bulldozers. 
The 
Washington-based Islamic advocacy group asked that President Bush stop 
the 
destruction of Jenin in order to prevent civilian deaths and to keep 
evidence of atrocities from being destroyed.

CNN's Rula Amin reported this morning: "...bulldozers now are knocking 
down 
houses there. And we have been hearing earlier in the day confirmed by 
units of officers in the field that the residents were asked through 
the 
loudspeakers by the Israeli army to leave their houses and to gather in 
locations on the outskirts of the camp. There is a lot of concern among 
the 
residents that what's happening is that Israeli bulldozers are 
bulldozing 
the houses. They are flattening the camp."

The French news agency Agence France Presse (AFP) reports that the 
Israeli 
army expelled some 800 women and children from the Jenin refugee camp 
on 
Wednesday. AFP quoted UNICEF officials who said, "The women and 
children 
were forced out on the streets of Jenin, where they have no protection, 
food or clothing." The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human 
Rights and the Environment cites eyewitness reports that Israeli forces 
are 
now digging what may be mass graves in the camp. Israel is refusing to 
allow aid groups or the media into Jenin.

Even Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres termed the army's actions in 
Jenin a "massacre."

SEE: 
http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2002/04/09/LatestNews/LatestNews.46578.html

"These war crimes, carried out using American-taxpayer-funded weapons, 
are 
being driven by blood lust and a thirst for revenge. We call on 
President 
Bush to stop this state-sponsored terror against innocent Palestinian 
civilians," said CAIR Board Chairman Omar Ahmad.

Ahmad added that Israel's actions recall the destruction of more than 
400 
Palestinian towns and villages since 1948 and the 1982 massacre at the 
Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. He reiterated 
Muslim support for President Bush's demand that Israel withdraw from 
the 
cities it has invaded, end settlement activity and cease its daily 
humiliation of Palestinian Muslims and Christians.

                                         - END -

CONTACT:        Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL - cair@cair-net.org
                 Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org
-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----











Forwarded Message

Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 15:12:19 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Help a Struggling Muslim Family

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS  4/11/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* TROUBLED FAMILY IS SPLIT AS NEIGHBORS ASK WHY (Times-Union)
* ISRAELI SOLDIERS NAME DOG “GEORGE W. BUSH” (Reuters)
* U.S. SENATORS APPLAUD FOREIGN LEADER WHO CRITICIZES PRESIDENT’S 
POLICY 
(New York Times)
* DEFIANT SHARON LOSING SUPPORT IN THE WHITE HOUSE (Washington Post)
* THE ISRAEL LOBBY (New York Press)
* THEFT, PILLAGING BY ISRAELI TROOPS (AFP)
* JENIN: 'MY MOTHER RAN FOR HELP. A SOLDIER SHOT HER IN THE HEAD' 
(Independent)
* LAW: EXTRA-JUDICIAL EXECUTIONS IN JENIN REFUGEE CAMP
* BLAMING THE VICTIMS: HATING THE PALESTINIANS (Counterpunch)
* COURT WEIGHS OPENING OF AN IMMIGRATION HEARING (New York Times)
* SURVEY IN MUSLIM NATIONS SHOWS HATRED OF POLICIES BUT A LOVE OF THE 
CULTURE (Wall Street Journal)

-----

TROUBLED FAMILY IS SPLIT AS NEIGHBORS ASK WHY
By Steve Patterson, Jacksonville Times-Union, 4/11/2002
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/041102/met_9110979.html

Jacksonville police know Riccardo Young as a bad father, a man who let 
11 
children live in squalor and ran when authorities came to his house.

His neighbors say they never met that man. The Young they described was 
a 
tireless worker and family man who kept his kids fed, healthy and happy 
-- 
even in a tiny, crowded box of a house with no electricity or running 
water.

And they don't understand how life turned so bad this week for an East 
Arlington family they described as religious, loving and devoted to one 
another.

"What happened just wasn't right," said Kevin Stafford, fuming a day 
after 
social workers put the children in emergency shelters and police locked 
up 
the children's mother on child-neglect charges.

"The kids looked clean to me, they looked well-fed," said Joian Hopke, 
whose home backs up on a yard where the family cooked meals over a fire 
in 
a metal trash can. "He was really a nice guy, very polite. We never had 
any 
problem."

Judges and prosecutors may decide whether the family will live together 
again. The wife, Antoinette Young, was in jail yesterday with a $25,000 
bond, and police indicated they would seek an arrest warrant for 
Riccardo 
Young.

But to determine the family's future, authorities will have to 
understand 
how a couple that seemed devoted to children ended up raising them in 
an 
aging cinder-block home that the city condemned.

That started about five months ago, when the Youngs moved from New 
Jersey 
to a rented house on Airport Terrace Drive, a stone's throw from Craig 
Municipal Airport.

The entire 13-member family moved into an 828-square-foot home, a 
building 
with one bathroom.

"The only thing we worried about was the kids -- all those kids," Hopke 
said. "We were counting the kids and how many there were. Me and my 
husband 
were like, 'Dude, it's time to stop'."

Antoinette Young, 39, stayed busy at home riding herd over eight boys 
and 
three girls, ranging from age 3 to 16. She was the quieter of the 
couple, 
often seen hanging laundry in the backyard, wearing a head covering 
that 
reflected the family's Islamic beliefs.

Her husband of almost 20 years was a talker with a Yankee accent, 
neighbors 
said, a courteous man who stopped to visit as he regularly walked the 
neighborhood two blocks off St. Johns Bluff Road.

Riccardo Young, 46, who was known to some as Rafik, was a car salesman 
who 
hopped from job to job in the maze of auto dealerships near Regency 
Square.

He sometimes had weeks where he made good commissions, but lately he 
was 
short of money, the neighbors said. His own car was broken down, and he 
could be seen walking home late at night, both arms full of grocery 
bags.

The family walked through the neighborhood together, and at times 
Riccardo 
Young took his sons to the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida, a 
couple of 
miles away.

"He was a very nice man," said Aatif Barbari, the center's custodian, 
who 
said he didn't know of the family's problems.

Whatever else was going on at the home, the family's electric bill 
wasn't 
being paid.

Since the power was turned on in late November, there had been no 
payments 
at all, and the bill had climbed to $378, said Bruce Dugan, a JEA 
spokesman.

Last month, the JEA cut off electricity, which also stopped the 
backyard 
pump that provided the home's water.

Someone rigged the wiring to get electricity back, but the JEA noticed 
and 
seven days ago a workman shut off service again and locked the power 
box. 
There wasn't much choice, Dugan said: "If they had said to us, we're 
having 
a lot of trouble, can we work out a payment, that would have been 
different."

With no water for a week, Stafford said, Young had come to his home 
each 
day to fill 20-gallon Gatorade vats that he carried back to the tiny, 
crowded house. He said Young had asked welfare officials for help, but 
was 
told he made too much money…

On Tuesday, case workers from the Florida Department of Children and 
Families came to the house after someone reported the children were 
living 
in squalor.

Police were called too, along with building inspectors. The city 
condemned 
the property that day, and social workers decided to take the children 
from 
their parents, a police report showed. The report said Young told his 
children to run away when he heard they would be taken, and that he ran 
off 
too. All but one son, described as either 16 or 17, eventually 
returned.

ACTION REQUESTED:

Florida's Department of Children and Families has tentatively assigned 
the 
Young family's case to a non-profit agency called the First Coast 
Family 
Center. They will help the family get better housing and possibly a new 
job 
for the father. Donations can be sent to the family can through them.

Send donations to:

First Coast Family Center
For the family of Riccardo Young
Attention: Connie Fussell
2747 Art Museum Drive, Suite 100
Jacksonville, FL 32207

Please let CAIR know if you send a donation so that we may follow-up on 
the 
case.

-----

ISRAELI SOLDIERS NAME DOG “GEORGE W. BUSH”

ISRAELIS INCREASINGLY RESENTFUL OF U.S. DEMANDS - CAUGHT OFF GUARD
By Matt Spetalnick, Reuters, 4/10/02
http://nationalpost.com/search/story.html?f=/stories/20020410/597395.html

ELON MOREH, West Bank, Occupied Palestine, - Members of an Israeli tank 
brigade waging an offensive in the West Bank found a unique way to show 
how 
they felt about the U.S. President -- they adopted a stray dog and 
named it 
"George W. Bush."

"He's a cowboy," one soldier said as the brown pit-bull terrier prowled 
an 
Israeli hilltop encampment overlooking the city of Nablus. "He barks a 
lot," said a second. "But he's useless," another chimed in…

-----

U.S. SENATORS APPLAUD FOREIGN LEADER WHO CRITICIZES PRESIDENT’S POLICY

NETANYAHU SAYS POWELL MISSION 'WON'T AMOUNT TO ANYTHING'
By ELAINE SCIOLINO, The New York Times, 4/11/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/11/international/middleeast/11POLI.html

Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister of Israel, branded the 
American peace initiative a failure today and called for the expulsion 
of 
the Palestinian president, Yasir Arafat, from the occupied West Bank…

Mr. Netanyahu was warmly received by bipartisan groups of senators and 
congressmen. He also gave a news conference at the National Press Club 
and 
spoke before the American Enterprise Institute, a policy study group…

-----

DEFIANT SHARON LOSING SUPPORT IN THE WHITE HOUSE
By Mike Allen and John Lancaster, Washington Post, 4/11/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28981-2002Apr10.html

Israel's continued defiance of President Bush's demand for an immediate 
withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian cities and towns is 
eroding 
support for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon inside the White House, 
administration sources said yesterday.

After months of steadfast backing of Sharon by the Bush administration, 
senior White House aides are beginning to express doubts about whether 
the 
Israeli leader can be a long-term partner in achieving the 
administration's 
goals in the Middle East.

White House aides also fear that Sharon's intransigence in the face of 
Bush's repeated demands over the past week for an end to the Israeli 
attacks could make the president appear ineffective and erode his 
standing 
in the world…

The administration's tougher line on Israel is already facing 
resistance in 
Congress, with some lawmakers accusing the White House of compromising 
the 
moral clarity of its anti-terrorism crusade…

Lobbyists for major American Jewish organizations have also been busy 
in 
Congress, "expressing concern about the kind of pressure that's being 
brought to bear" on Sharon's government by the administration, 
according to 
someone involved in the discussions…

-----

THE ISRAEL LOBBY
By Taki, The New York Press, 4/11/02
http://www.nypress.com/15/15/taki/taki.cfm

On Easter Sunday, during lunch, the richest woman in Israel, Irithe 
Landeau, suddenly burst into my house and began to harangue my friends 
and 
family about Adam Shapiro. Despite the fact she's one of my wife's 
oldest 
friends and was invited to drop in after lunch, I was extremely 
annoyed. I 
reminded Irithe that my house was not Israeli occupied territory, that 
it 
was Easter, and knowing how I feel about the plight of the 
Palestinians, 
she should change the subject.

Which she did, turning on the press, instead, and how they gave 
publicity 
to that godawful traitor Adam Shapiro…

-----

THEFT, PILLAGING BY ISRAELI TROOPS
Agence France Presse, 4/11/2002

Palestinian accusations of pillaging by Israeli occupation troops in 
Ramallah mounted on Wednesday, but the reports were unverifiable, as 
the 
army has made the area off-limits to journalists.

Amal Masri, public relations officer for a Peugeot agent, said 
Wednesday 
that soldiers engaged in acts completely outside the scope of their 
mission 
of finding weapons and arresting Palestinian activists.

"After blowing up the doors, they destroyed everything without reason. 
They 
tore apart the ventilation system. Our manager is an art collector. 
They 
stole some of the objects from her table,” she said.

Masri said the Israelis also urinated and defecated in the new cars 
parked 
inside the exhibition hall. In the limited movements they are able to 
make 
around Ramallah during the lifting of curfews journalists are accosted 
by 
residents wishing to report similar incidents...

Osama Abdoh told AFP that "soldiers came to search the house of one of 
my 
friends who lives in the refugee camp of Al Mari. When they left, he 
was 
missing 6,000 shekels that he left in a wardrobe as well as a necklace 
and 
some rings belonging to his wife".

Majdi AL Malki, sociology professor at Bir Zeit University, whose 
apartment 
lies near the headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, left 
immediately when the Israeli army invaded Ramallah on March 29. Dozens 
of 
soldiers took up positions in his apartment for two days.

“They went through everything, ate on the sofas and defecated on the 
ground. Despite the fact that I have no Palestinian flag and no 
pictures of 
the Palestinian leader", he explains. Even worse, Malki laments that 
"they 
stole everything they could take: My telephone charger, $4,000, the 
gold 
bracelets of my young daughters and my sun glasses.”

Al Malki, a French national, said he had complained to the French 
consulate. He added that the same happened to his neighbour.

"He noticed that they had stolen 450 shekels and he went and complained 
to 
the commander of the army, who returned the money to him", he 
continued. In 
the centre of Ramallah, Israeli soldiers painted in blue "leave, leave, 
Tsahal (Israeli army) units are arriving" in Hebrew on a massive 
portrait 
of Yasser Arafat.

Rita Giacaman, researcher in public health, denounced the "systematic 
thefts" by soldiers, saying there could be three reasons behind such 
acts. 
"Either the soldiers received the order to do these things, or the 
chief of 
staff turns a blind eye and accepts them to compensate for the 
dangerous 
character of their mission, or the army does not know and has lost 
control 
over its men", she said…

-----

JENIN: 'MY MOTHER RAN FOR HELP. A SOLDIER SHOT HER IN THE HEAD'
By Justin Huggler, The Independent (UK), 4/11/2002
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=283752

(UK) April 11, 2002 Abdullah Washai had to watch his 17-year-old 
brother, 
Munir, slowly bleed to death. He took several hours to die. A hole had 
been 
ripped in his shoulder by a round from an Israeli helicopter.

When the boy's mother, Mariam, ran into the street screaming for help, 
Mr 
Washai says, Israeli soldiers shot her dead. These are typical of the 
claims of those who have managed to escape the carnage of Jenin refugee 
camp, the scene of the worst fighting of Israel's onslaught in the West 
Bank. The question that was facing Israel yesterday was: what will 
happen 
when the full story of what Israel has wreaked in the Jenin camp is 
revealed?

As the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv said in an editorial: "We can begin 
thinking today about the war after the war: the public relations war in 
the 
media in which Israel can be expected to be placed in the international 
defendant's seat, when the television screens around the world become 
filled with the spectacle of bodies lined up, destroyed houses and 
crying, 
distraught relatives..."

As friends shuffled past to pay their respects, Mr Washai told his 
story, 
which cannot be confirmed, in the home of a friend who had taken the 
family 
in. "My brother was shot on Saturday afternoon," he said. "A helicopter 
round came through the wall. It went into his chest and out through the 
back of his shoulder. We called for an ambulance, but when it came 
outside 
the Israeli soldiers shot at it. It had to go…"

-----

LAW: EXTRA-JUDICIAL EXECUTIONS IN JENIN REFUGEE CAMP
LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and 
the 
Environment, 4/10/02

SEE ALSO: Israel digs mass graves - covering up war crimes
http://www.lawsociety.org/Press/Preleases/2002/April/apr10u.html

Reports from witnesses in Jenin refugee camp to LAW indicate that from 
those Palestinian fighters resisting the Israeli military assault on 
Jenin 
refugee camp, a number of those sought to surrender to Israeli forces 
and 
were summarily executed. It has been difficult to confirm exact numbers 
of 
those executed, due to the fact that Israeli forces prevent any of the 
residents of the refugee camp or any independent monitors from 
returning or 
entering the refugee camp.

However, LAW has received the names of two of those fighters, who were 
apparently executed after their surrender: Ala' Sabagh and Mahmoud al- 
Hilou.

Reports indicate that other fighters remaining within the refugee camp, 
who 
have stopped their resistance, and seek to surrender, are being 
summarily 
executed.

Witnesses report that when leaving the refugee camp, they saw bodies of 
residents that appeared to be run over by military bulldozers and 
bodies 
within the rubble of homes and shelters that had been destroyed. They 
expressed their fears that they did not know whether all the bodies in 
the 
rubble were dead or injured persons.

LAW understands that the majority of the residents from the camp, after 
being forcibly expelled by Israeli forces, earlier today, have still 
not 
been allowed to return. These refugees are now currently scattered 
throughout the area, surrounding the refugee camp.

Various sources from the refugee camp, estimate that at least 30 
percent of 
the total area of the camp, including homes and shelters, have been 
totally 
destroyed…

-----

BLAMING THE VICTIMS: HATING THE PALESTINIANS
By M. Junaid Alam, Counterpunch, 4/10/2002
http://www.counterpunch.org/alam0410.html

With Israeli troops currently ravaging entire Palestinian cities, 
urinating 
in homes, beating civilians, strapping them to tanks as human shields, 
shooting them like dogs in the streets--in a word, defending 
civilization--American pundits have come up with a timely answer to the 
situation: blame the Palestinians.

Who is responsible for Sharon being put into power, but the wicked 
Palestinians who forced the poor Israelis to elect him; who is being 
called 
to "end terror" as Palestinian civilians starve and bleed to death in 
the 
streets, but a man literally hiding behind barb wires in a shelled-out 
compound, Yassir Arafat.

The gravest offense of the dark-hearted and dark-skinned Palestinians, 
however, is suicide bombing. Op-ed writers feign absolute horror, 
disbelief, and disgust at this most inhumane act, assuring us that no 
people on earth now or ever before were capable of such hatred, save 
the 
Palestinians.

A week and a half into an Israeli invasion that has left 200 
Palestinian 
slaughtered, media experts invite representatives of the Palestinian 
people 
on television, only to interrogate them like Al-Qaeda detainees about 
this 
heinous crime of suicide bombing. Every assessment of the conflict 
begins 
and ends with denunciations of the suicide bombings, with nothing in 
between but the occasional clearing of the throat to emphasize the 
moral 
authority of the assertion. But do these moralistic tirades contain a 
single ounce of consistency, sincerity, or truth in them?..

-----

COURT WEIGHS OPENING OF AN IMMIGRATION HEARING
By DANNY HAKIM, The New York Times, April 11, 2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/11/national/11DETA.html

A federal appeals court in Cincinnati agreed today to a speedy review 
of a 
lower court's decision to open to the news media an immigration hearing 
for 
a man seized in the government's terrorism sweep.

News organizations, including The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit 
News, 
are seeking access to the hearings of the man, Rabih Haddad, the 
co-founder 
of a Muslim charity that has come under federal scrutiny as having ties 
to 
terrorist groups. The organizations, which have been joined in their 
efforts by the American Civil Liberties Union, are also seeking 
transcripts 
and documents from Mr. Haddad's past hearings. The United States Court 
of 
Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a temporary stay of the lower 
court's 
order, meaning that the government is not required at this time to 
release 
the transcripts and documents from past hearings. The court will 
probably 
decide next week whether to issue a lengthier stay to keep the past and 
future hearings closed while the appeals process continues…

-----

SURVEY IN MUSLIM NATIONS SHOWS HATRED OF POLICIES BUT A LOVE OF THE 
CULTURE
By Jim VandeHei, The Wall Street Journal, 4/11/2002

WASHINGTON -- Muslims in the Arab world largely dislike U.S. foreign 
policy, but a significant number of them enjoy American popular 
culture, a 
new poll has found.

Contrary to perceptions that Arab and non-Arab Muslim nations hate 
everything American, the Zogby International poll, to be released 
today, 
found widespread Muslim approval of this country's consumer products, 
movies and television programs. For instance, 75% of Iranians polled 
and 
54% of Kuwaitis surveyed have a favorable view of American movies and 
television shows. But only 1% of Iranians and 6% of Kuwaitis polled 
said 
they back U.S. policies toward Arab nations and Palestinians.

The results of Zogby's latest "Impressions of America" survey are 
derived 
from face-to-face interviews with what Zogby describes as "randomly 
selected" people, conducted in March and early April in five Arab 
nations 
and three non-Arab Muslim nations…

While leading a global war against terror, Mr. Bush has worked with 
Britain 
and other nations to better explain what he sees as U.S. altruism. He 
has 
highlighted foreign aid and offered more of it, and talked frequently 
of 
U.S. humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

But Zogby's numbers suggest that those efforts have done little to 
allay 
hostility toward the U.S. "They don't hate us, but the policy does 
appear 
to be taking its toll," says John Zogby, the Utica, N.Y.-based pollster 
who 
oversaw the survey.

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 15:18:11 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Aid Offers for Family Flow In

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/12/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* AID OFFERS FOR FAMILY FLOW IN (Times-Union)
* DEADLINE FOR CAIR SUMMER INTERNSHIP FAST APPROACHING
* JENIN: TRAILS OF DESTRUCTION, TALES OF LOSS (Washington Post)
         - AMID ISRAELI ATTACK, TALES OF ABUSE (Christian Science 
Monitor)
* BILL O'REILLY: "I COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT THE MUSLIM WORLD" 
(WorldNetDaily)
* CONTROVERSIAL SPEAKER GIVES TALK ON MIDEAST (Seattle Times)
* CANADIAN MUSLIMS CONDEMN VANDALISM AGAINST JEWISH INSTITUTIONS

-----

AID OFFERS FOR FAMILY FLOW IN
Home condemned; 11 children taken
By Steve Patterson, Jacksonville, Times-Union4/12/2002
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/041202/met_9122761.html

A Jacksonville couple separated from their 11 children when their home 
was 
condemned this week could receive state help finding housing and 
resolving 
financial problems.

And a national Islamic organization yesterday began asking supporters 
to 
raise money for Riccardo and Antoinette Young, who were raising eight 
sons 
and three daughters in a cramped house with no electricity or running 
water.

Social workers put the children in state custody Tuesday, although one 
son 
was reported to have evaded them.

Late yesterday, five supporters of the Washington-based Council on 
American-Islamic Relations reported sending $1,700 for the family, who 
are 
Muslim.

Hitting home:

Additionally, 20 Times-Union readers yesterday called the newspaper 
seeking 
to contact the family and offer assistance.

Antoinette Young, 39, remained in jail with a $25,000 bail yesterday, 
facing a child-neglect charge. Riccardo Young, a 46-year-old car 
salesman, 
has been missing since he ran from the home Tuesday.

The family's situation -- neighbors generally described them as 
industrious, healthy and happy but cash-strapped -- has touched people 
from 
a variety of backgrounds and financial means.

Neighbors near the Youngs' old home, an area of modest houses and 
mobile 
homes by Craig Municipal Airport, yesterday discussed ways to support 
Antoinette Young when she goes to court.

Newspaper readers responded from affluent Ponte Vedra Beach to 
working-class North Jacksonville neighborhoods. And social service 
advocates expressed a desire to reunite the family if at all practical.

Barbara Alexander, executive director of the non-profit First Coast 
Family 
Center, said she lobbied the state Department of Children and Families 
this 
week for a chance to work with the family.

"It could be the only sin they committed is running out of money," said 
Alexander, whose center runs a pilot program to prevent child abuse and 
neglect by helping financially struggling families. Unless case workers 
find a deeper problem, she said, "this is exactly the kind of case that 
this [program] is set up for."

Social workers took the Youngs' children, ages 3 to 16, after the 
family's 
electricity was cut off and a pump for a backyard well was disabled. 
The 
family had carried water from a neighbor's home, used hurricane 
lanterns 
for light and cooked meals over a fire in a trash can before the home 
was 
condemned Tuesday.

The Family Center will begin by trying to find a larger home, in the 
hope 
that the children and parents will be reunited. The state-funded pilot 
program, the Neighborhood Partnership for the Protection of Children, 
can 
also help parents find new jobs and pay for utilities or other basic 
services...

ACTION REQUESTED:

1) More funds are needed to provide housing so the family may be 
re-united. 
Donations to help the Young family should be mailed to:

First Coast Family Center
Attention: Connie Fussell
2747 Art Museum Drive, Suite 100
Jacksonville, FL 32207

Tel: 904-348-3251 Fax: 904-348-3256
URL: http://www.firstcoastfamilycenter.org/about.asp

2) NOTE on your check, made payable to "First Coast Family Center," 
that 
the funds should go to the Riccardo and Antoinette Young family.

3) INFORM CAIR about your donation so that we may follow up on this 
case.

-----

DEADLINE FOR CAIR SUMMER INTERNSHIP FAST APPROACHING

Interested in gaining valuable first-hand experience in the fields of: 
Community Outreach and Chapter Development, Public and Media Relations, 
Legal and Civil Rights, Research and Leadership Training? Then the CAIR 
Internship Program is made for you! The application deadline for the 
Summer 
2002 Internship Session is April 29th. For more information, please 
visit 
our website:
http://www.cair-net.org/downloads/internshipapplication.doc
CALL: (202) 488-8787

-----

JENIN: TRAILS OF DESTRUCTION, TALES OF LOSS
By Lee Hockstader, The Washington Post, 4/12/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34518-2002Apr11.html

JENIN, West Bank, April 11 -- There is the Fashafsheh family. According 
to 
their relatives, the mother, father and 9-year-old son were killed when 
an 
Israeli tank fired a shell through their living room in downtown Jenin 
and 
an Israeli bulldozer plowed into the thick walls of their home, 
smashing it 
down on top of them.

There is Rina Zayyed, 15, who said she was struck in the chest by a 
bullet 
as she sat at home with her father and brother. An Israeli helicopter 
gunship opened fire on a man in the street below who was recharging a 
cell 
phone with his car battery, she recounted, and a fragment hit her.

And there is Khadra Samara, 33, who said she shepherded more than a 
dozen 
children as she fled from house to house to house in the adjacent Jenin 
refugee camp, under repeated assault from Israeli bulldozers and 
missiles 
that, house by house, nearly toppled the walls on top of them.

These are some of the stories people told today in Jenin...

Many refugees who had fled to town to escape the camp's dusty streets 
and 
cinder-block hovels where the bloodiest fighting unfolded said their 
homes 
had been pulverized. They described bodies lying in the streets...

Israeli officials have estimated that 150 to 200 Palestinians died in 
the 
camp. Some Palestinians put the figure closer to 500 but acknowledged 
they 
had no hard count because the camp has been closed off by Israeli 
forces. 
Nearly 700 Palestinians were arrested in the camp, including many 
fighters...

Palestinians emerged from their houses during the four-hour respite to 
gawk 
at the razed houses and shattered facades downtown. On Old Castle 
Street, 
where the Fashafsheh family lived, their corner house, with its walls 
three 
feet thick, was a wreck, half of it shorn away and turned to rubble. In 
the 
crater that was once the family's living room, the stench of death hung 
in 
the air.

About 9 a.m. one day last weekend, an Israeli tank fired a shell into 
the 
house without warning, according to neighbors. Then an Israeli armored 
bulldozer pulverized the wall, possibly to clear a passage for the tank 
to 
pass. Ahmad Fashafsheh, 50, his wife, Sameera, and their son Hisham 
were 
killed. Two other sons, 11 and 13, were hurt.

Issam Fashafsheh, a relative who lives across the street, watched the 
scene. "I heard the kids screaming, then the bulldozer came and started 
destroying the house," he said. "They were entombed under the wall in 
their 
living room where they sat..."

"A few days ago a woman called from home and said, 'I'm in labor,' " 
said 
Ziad Ayaseh, the hospital director. "I told her what to do, but she 
said 
the child was not breathing. I said, 'He's dead. You can put him on the 
list of the martyrs like those in the refugee camp.' "

When the curfew was lifted today, the family of a 52-year-old 
Palestinian 
woman arrived with her corpse. The woman had been shot in the face and 
chest by helicopter gunships, her family said; they needed a death 
certificate...

Samara tried to get out the front door, but found it was blocked by 
rubble. 
She handed the children through a side window into a neighbor's house.

"I was so furious I wanted to make a suicide bomb and use it on them," 
she 
said. "I picked up a cylinder of cooking gas to carry with me so I 
could 
blow it up. I was so scared I was screaming. I thought I was going to 
die.

"When I picked up the cylinder my daughter said, 'Mom, don't do it! For 
God's sake don't do it!'"...

SEE ALSO:

AMID ISRAELI ATTACK, TALES OF ABUSE
As Israel pulled out of some West Bank towns yesterday, Jenin, a center 
of 
Palestinian militancy, remained closed.
By Cameron W. Barr, The Christian Science Monitor, 4/12/2002
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0412/p01s01-wome.html

BURQIN, WEST BANK - From a rocky olive orchard above this West Bank 
village, Jenin and its refugee camp seemed placid yesterday. Almost 
nothing 
moved. A few Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers rumbled along 
deserted streets. Inside the camp, two burning buildings sent streams 
of 
smoke into a hazy sky.

But here in Burqin and several other nearby villages, refugees from 
Israel's 10-day-old invasion of Jenin and its camp spoke loudly and 
incessantly of horrors: a cigarette stubbed out on a man's skin, five 
young 
men executed in plain sight, mass burials by bulldozer.

Sitting down to relate her story yesterday, Atra Nijmi looked at a 
handful 
of reporters and burst into tears. Her words came in torrents as well. 
"They destroyed the house, they killed children and they killed boys," 
she 
said, the "they" being Israeli soldiers...

The young men had hidden in their homes rather than obey the orders of 
Israeli soldiers that men and boys come out for questioning. When the 
men 
were eventually discovered, the punishment for disobedience was death. 
She 
said the Israeli soldiers dragged the bodies away.

Nijmi also said the Israeli soldiers had buried 13 bodies at a 
hospital, 
five at a mosque, and 15 to 20 bodies in mass graves dug by bulldozers. 
She 
said she had heard nothing from her husband and teenage son since they 
were 
taken away by Israeli soldiers on April 3...

In one house, Khazem said he pulled down his blindfold and saw an 
Israeli 
soldier stub a cigarette out on the skin of a detainee who had ignored 
an 
order not to smoke.

-----

BILL O'REILLY: "I COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT THE MUSLIM WORLD"

PRAY FOR PEACE, POLISH THE WEAPONS
By Bill O'Reilly, WorldNetDaily.com, 4/12/2002
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27189

If you strip all the side shows away, you are left with the fact that 
America will sooner or later have to defeat the Muslims who hate us, or 
be 
subjected to continuous terror and violence...

Arabs are oppressed and poor, and their leaders blame that condition on 
Israel and the United States. That is fallacious, of course, but when 
you 
can't read or think outside of the Koran, it is easy to swallow hateful 
propaganda.

Most Arabs live lives of poverty and hopelessness...Most Arabs have no 
money and no freedom. No wonder they are angry. All Americans should 
realize that these people are dangerous...

I don't know about you, but I couldn't care less about the Muslim 
world...

SEND NOTES OF CONCERN TO: Oreilly@foxnews.com, 
boreilly@worldnetdaily.com, 
Viewerservices@foxnews.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org

-----

CONTROVERSIAL SPEAKER GIVES TALK ON MIDEAST
By Sara Jean Green, The Seattle Times, 4/11/2002
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27189

As Daniel Pipes took the podium inside a packed University of 
Washington 
lecture hall last night, hundreds of people stood outside in the 
university's Red Square, unable to get in.

Some attendees admitted they'd been nervous coming to hear Pipes 
because of 
the potentially volatile atmosphere surrounding the controversial 
Middle 
East expert. Pipes' writings on militant Muslims, which date back to 
the 
early 1980s, have garnered much attention since the Sept. 11 terrorist 
attacks. But aside from a few cat calls and one man's shouted assertion 
that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is a hero, those who came to hear 
Pipes' speech on "The War on Terrorism and Militant Islam" were 
attentive 
and civil.

The dozen or so members of the UW Muslim Students' Association, who 
handed 
out information sheets as people filed into the hall, weren't 
interested in 
holding an angry protest.

"He's a blatant, anti-Muslim bigot who's gone around and accused 
Muslims of 
doing things in the past," said student-association president Humza 
Chaudhry, pointing to Pipes' statements blaming Muslims in the days 
after 
the Oklahoma City federal building bombing. "Daniel Pipes knows better, 
but 
to make his money and keep his notoriety, he's willing to say just 
about 
anything against us.

"I believe in free speech so I'm not all that upset (about Pipes' 
visit)," 
Chaudhry said, adding that the UW's Jackson School of International 
Studies 
should also sponsor speakers representing the Muslim viewpoint...

SEE: WHO IS DANIEL PIPES?
http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.html

-----

CANADIAN MUSLIMS CONDEMN VANDALISM AGAINST JEWISH INSTITUTIONS

(Ottawa, Canada - 4/12/2002) - The Canadian office of the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) today condemned recent attacks 
against Jewish institutions and places of worship in Toronto, York 
Region, 
Ottawa and Saskatoon.

In a statement released today, CAIR-CAN Board member Faisal Kutty 
wrote:

"Canadian Muslims are very sensitive to the type of racist scapegoating 
directed against the Jewish community. Since September 11th, CAIR-CAN 
has 
documented widespread and unprecedented hate activity against Canadian 
Muslims that has included attacks against Muslim institutions and 
places of 
worship.

"We strongly denounce the attacks against the Jewish community.  Such 
violence is immoral and unacceptable. In times of heightened tension, 
it is 
the duty of all Canadians to protect religious tolerance and civic 
harmony.

"We call on police services to investigate these hate-crimes against 
the 
Jewish community and apprehend the perpetrators."

Contact:  Riad Saloojee at 613-798-0003; E-mail: canada@cair-net.org

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
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To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 13:38:54 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: JENIN - The Camp that Became a Slaughterhouse

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS  4/14/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* SUPPORT CAIR’S IMPORTANT WORK, BECOME A MEMBER FOR ONLY $10
* DEMONSTRATORS SET TO DESCEND ON D.C.
* CAIR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR APPEARS ON NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
* JENIN ATROCITIES COMING TO LIGHT
         - The Camp that Became a Slaughterhouse (Independent)
         - Israel Buries the Bodies, but Cannot Hide the Evidence
         - Refugee Camp Is a Scene of Vast Devastation (New York Times)
         - Jenin Prisoner Executed After Arrest (UPI)
         - Is this Proof of an Israeli Massacre? (Mail on Sunday)
         - Days of Bloody Fighting Leave Jenin Refugee Camp in Ruins 
(Reuters)
         - Israeli Army Accused of Atrocities (Los Angeles Times)
         - BBC Shows Israelis Preventing Aid for Elderly Woman in Jenin
         - Powell Cautions Israelis on West Bank Operations (AFP)
         - Tanks Bar Aid Agencies and Journalists from Camp (Guardian)
         - Israel’s War of Words Gets Dirty (Independent)
         - Despite Court's Decision, Israeli Forces Move Bodies from 
Jenin 
(LAW)
* ISRAEL REOPENS NOTORIOUS DESERT PRISON CAMP (PCHR)
* 'DIVEST IN ISRAEL' CALL SURFACES ON U.S. CAMPUSES (Reuters)
* 5 MONTHS AFTER SANCTIONS AGAINST SOMALI COMPANY, SCANT PROOF OF QAEDA 
TIE 
(New York Times)
* U.S. GIVEN 10 DAYS TO RELEASE DETAINEE DATA (Bergen Record)
* JUDGE TO CONSIDER SECRET EVIDENCE (AP)
* MUSLIMS HONOR BRIDGE BUILDER (Harrisburg Patriot)

-----

SUPPORT CAIR’S IMPORTANT WORK, BECOME A MEMBER FOR ONLY $10

https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp

-----

DEMONSTRATORS SET TO DESCEND ON D.C.
By DAVID HO, The Associated Press, 4/14/2002

The White House protest is planned by International ANSWER, an anti-war 
coalition that originally intended to oppose the war on terrorism, but 
changed its focus after the increase in Mideast violence. Organizer 
Sarah 
Sloan said thousands of demonstrators, including many Arab and Muslim 
groups, will march in support of the Palestinians and against U.S. aid 
to 
Israel.

SEE: International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism): 
http://www.internationalanswer.org

-----

CAIR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR APPEARS ON NBC NIGHTLY NEWS

SHOW: NBC Nightly News (6:30 PM ET), April 12, 2002 Friday
HEADLINE: Fund-raiser airing on Arab TV benefits Palestinian victims of 
Mideast violence

ANCHORS: TOM BROKAW
REPORTERS: KELLY O'DONNELL

TOM BROKAW, anchor: Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Arab world the phones 
are 
ringing off the hook for an unusual around-the-clock fund-raiser airing 
on 
Saudi television. The Saudi Arabians say this telethon is to help the 
Palestinian victims of the violence. But some are asking, is this 
really a 
way to bankroll terror? More on that from NBC's Kelly O'Donnell 
tonight. 
KELLY O'DONNELL reporting:

O'DONNELL: The government-sponsored event, a huge money maker, claiming 
$100 million and counting. The question, will donations support victims 
or 
more violence? A Saudi princess donated her Rolls Royce. Schoolchildren 
emptied their piggy banks. A billionaire prince gave $27 million, the 
same 
man whose $10 million gift was accepted, later rejected by then-Mayor 
Rudolph Giuliani when the donor criticized US support of Israel. The 
charity here, spelled out on that banner: the Palestinian people's 
campaign. Help for Palestinians and their families harmed in the 
violent 
conflict with Israel. Help some call suspicious, criticized as 
bankrolling 
suicide bombers.

O'DONNELL: Much of the controversy is over the word 'martyr,' a term 
Palestinians use to describe all their casualties in the Israeli 
fighting, 
a term recognized by Saudis. A senior US government official tells NBC 
News 
Saudis give financial help to the families of all Palestinians killed, 
drawing no distinction between suicide bombers and others killed.

Mr. NIWAD AWAD (Council on American-Islamic Relations): It is only 
controversial in the United States because people do not see the 
magnitude 
of the suffering.

-----

JENIN ATROCITIES COMING TO LIGHT

The Camp that Became a Slaughterhouse
By Justin Huggler, The Independent, 4/14/2002
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=284823

A woman with her leg all but ripped off by a helicopter rocket, the 
mangled 
remains hanging on by a thread of skin as she slowly bleeds to death. A 
10-year-old boy lying dead in the street, his arm blown off and a great 
hole in his side. A mother shot dead when she ran into the street to 
scream 
for help for her dying son. The wounded left to die slowly, in horrible 
agony, because the ambulances were not allowed in to treat them.

A terrible crime has been committed by Israel in Jenin refugee camp, 
and 
the world is turning a blind eye. Colin Powell, the US Secretary of 
State, 
visited the scene of a suicide bombing that murdered six Israelis in 
Jerusalem, but he did not visit Jenin, where the Israelis admit they 
killed 
at least 100 Palestinians. The Israel army claims all of the dead were 
armed men, that it took special care to avoid civilian casualties. But 
we 
saw the helicopter rockets rain down on desperately crowded areas: 
civilian 
casualties could not have been prevented.

The Israeli army sealed off the entire area around Jenin yesterday, 
arresting journalists who ventured into it. That is because they have 
something to hide in Jenin: the bodies.

The Israeli army has told the Israeli courts that it will not start 
burying 
the bodies until Sunday. But there are abundant eyewitnesses who say 
they 
have already seen the soldiers piling the bodies in mass graves. Hiding 
the 
bodies is what Slobodan Milosevic did in Kosovo.

Either way, the Palestinians are not allowed to bury their own dead, 
because Israel does not want the world to see what happened inside 
Jenin 
refugee camp. The grieving have no way of knowing where to find the 
bodies 
of those they have lost.

For nine days, Jenin camp became a slaughterhouse…

---

Israel Buries the Bodies, but Cannot Hide the Evidence
By Justin Huggler and Phil Reeves, The Independent, 4/13/2002
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?dir=75&story=284436

Israel was trying to bury the evidence in Jenin refugee camp yesterday, 
but 
it cannot bury the terrible crime it has committed: a slaughter in 
which 
Palestinian civilians were cut down alongside the armed defenders of 
the camp.

Israeli tanks circled journalists menacingly as foreign reporters tried 
to 
get into the camp, cutting off their approach. But a man who had just 
fled 
the camp said he had seen Israeli soldiers burying the bodies of the 
dead 
in a mass grave.

"I saw it all with my own eyes," said the man. "I saw people bleeding 
to 
death in the streets. I saw a 10-year-old child lying dead. There was a 
big 
hole in his side and his arm had been blown away.

"I saw them burying the bodies. They started work on the grave a few 
days 
ago. I recognised some of the bodies in it. I can give you the names."

And he reeled them off: "Mohammed Hamed, Nidal Nubam and Mustafa 
Shnewa". 
He said the mass grave he saw was in a neighbourhood called Harat 
Al-Hawashiya.

"They dug a big hole in the ground. I saw them filling it in today. 
They 
had a big bulldozer pushing dirt in on top of it."

And so the grieving of Jenin will not be certain where their relatives 
lie. 
They will not return to bury their dead, however  the Israeli army will 
have done that to keep the devastating sight of the carnage away from 
the 
eyes of the waiting world.

Yesterday, though, they were unable to stifle the evil smell. The reek 
of 
putrefying bodies wafted out of the narrow, rubble-strewn alleys which 
were 
barred for a fifth day to international aid agencies trying to send 
ambulances and doctors to evacuate the many wounded, and recover the 
dead.

One after another, international officials, angered by Israel's rampant 
violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the human misery that 
has 
resulted, confided to The Independent yesterday that they had reached 
the 
inevitable conclusion: a crime has been committed which Israel is 
trying to 
cover up.

"It is clear they have something to hide  that is the bottom line," 
said 
one senior diplomatic source. Red Cross and Red Crescent ambulances 
waited 
on stand-by for yet another day, without getting in to the camp…

---

Refugee Camp Is a Scene of Vast Devastation
By JAMES BENNET, The New York Times, 4/14/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/14/international/middleeast/14JENI.html

JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank, April 13 - A three-hour tour here today, 
made with local guides who picked paths around Israeli tanks, showed 
destruction on a scale far greater than that seen in the other 
Palestinian 
cities that have fallen before Israel's offensive, its biggest ground 
operation in 20 years…

Palestinians described hiding in caves, hearing a neighbor's 
handicapped 
son crying out as a house was demolished on top of him, piling 
mattresses 
over children so that Israeli patrols would not hear them wail. They 
rushed 
up to strangers to tell their stories.

"My father, my brother, my son I have no one!" wailed a woman in a pink 
housecoat and pale blue head scarf, standing on the debris in the 
midday 
sun. "There are many bodies, many bodies, under the stones, under the 
sand!"…

The evidence of the fighting was everywhere. Children had collected 
spent 
cartridges, some, from helicopter machine guns, the size of cans of 
frozen 
juice concentrate.

A grenade pin lay in the dust, not far from a missile's steel fins.

Palestinians displayed 18-inch rockets, marked in English as Tow 
missiles, 
that they said were fired into their homes. The slender filaments used 
to 
guide rockets hung from buildings and power lines…

Beneath one house, its second floor pierced by a missile, was a dark 
cave. 
It was carved from the rock and it smelled of damp earth. Thirty-five 
people hid here for at least two days, according to Fatmeh Ahmed, who 
said 
she had stayed there with her four children.

"Whenever we wanted to go out of the cave to bring water or food for 
the 
children, they opened fire on us," she said…

Another resident of the camp, Umm Samir Sabbagh, said that a 
neighboring 
family escaped to her home when a bulldozer approached their house. 
They 
left behind a handicapped son, she said. She said she returned with his 
mother to retrieve the man, Jamal, but arrived in time only to hear him 
crying out as the house collapsed…

---

Jenin Prisoner Executed After Arrest

Palestinian Militant Killed in Jenin
United Press International, 4/14/2002

A leading Palestinian militant was shot dead after he was arrested by 
Israeli troops in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin on Saturday, 
Palestinian eyewitnesses said Sunday.

The witnesses said that dozens of Israeli troops found Abu Jandal, the 
leader of militants in the camp, hiding in one of the houses. They said 
he 
was executed by Israeli troops in the center of the camp after being 
taken 
into custody.

There was no immediate comment by Israeli officials.

"I know Abu Jandal, I saw him being arrested, then the soldiers took 
him to 
a yard in the center of the camp and shot two bullets at his head after 
his 
hands were tied and his eyes were blindfolded," said the witness.

Palestinian National Authority officials said that at least 500 
Palestinians were killed in Jenin refugee camp since the Israeli army 
entered into Jenin area two weeks ago, and thousands were detained…

Several international humanitarian organizations warned Sunday that 
disease 
would spread in the camp if the bodies left in the narrow streets of 
the 
camps were not removed immediately.

The officials said that most of the bodies were buried in mass graves 
and 
their families were not allowed to receive the bodies and bury them.

---

Is this Proof of an Israeli Massacre?
By BOB GRAHAM, Mail On Sunday, 4/14/2002
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/

A CHARRED and deformed corpse lies amongst the rubble of what was once 
a 
family home.

One arm clutching her chest, the other supporting herself in her 
terrible 
grief, stands an elderly woman…

By yesterday, stories that Israeli soldiers had carried out 
indiscriminate 
slaughter in Jenin led to a growing international outcry and demands 
that 
the extent of their operations be revealed.

As dusk fell over the refugee community of Palestinians, the Sharon 
government finally allowed journalists to see the devastation.

Survivors interviewed by The Mail on Sunday spoke of cold-blooded 
assassinations of unarmed men - at least one carrying a white flag of 
surrender - and of systematic destruction of the camp, inhabited by 
around 
10,000 people.

One blind woman, Sabha Abu Sayidieh, wept openly as she told how her 
son 
and grandson were missing after leading her to safety when her house 
was 
attacked. 'Please, tell me you have found my son and his son,' she 
said.

One of the original settlers in Jenin Refugee Camp in 1948, she sat in 
the 
house of a friend in a suburb of Jenin weeping and rocking backwards 
and 
forwards in prayer. 'I could not see the tanks or the soldiers but I 
could 
hear them,' she said. 'They were breaking everything with their 
explosions. 
I could hear them shooting and I could hear people screaming. I could 
also 
smell death, from bodies that had not been buried, that's how bad it 
was.'

Another survivor, carpenter Nidal Abdul Rashid, spoke of watching his 
best 
friend Jamal al Samagh gunned down in cold blood by Israeli soldiers…

Rashid, 32, who left his wife Rasha and two young children, Abdul, 
eight, 
and Maram, six, in the house to surrender believed he, too, would die. 
Instead, he endured a public humiliation, forced to strip naked and 
parade 
along the camp street in front of a tank.

'They were using us all as human shields in case the road had been 
booby-trapped or it was shot at,' Rashid explained.

For 36 hours he was forced to lie naked on the ground, his hands tied 
behind his back, and bound together with four other men. Mousa Hasan 
Ali 
Ghoul, a 60-year-old grocer, told of soldiers and tanks firing 
indiscriminately. 'There was heavy shelling and firing of automatic 
weapons, hitting buildings and anyone in its way. They had no certain 
targets although there were some Palestinian fighters trying to stop 
them. 
If I had a gun I would also have fought...

Ali Ghoul said that bodies were piled up and taken away by lorry. 'We 
believe they have been taken away to a place in the Jordan Valley where 
the 
army buries people they call terrorists. It is closed to the outside 
world.

'The soldiers are now treating us the way the Germans treated their 
ancestors. They should know better than to do this...'

---

Days of Bloody Fighting Leave Jenin Refugee Camp in Ruins
By Mark Heinrich, Reuters, 4/14/2002
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/3062087.htm

JENIN, West Bank - A Reuters news team slipped past tanks roaring back 
and 
forth around the walled camp to find the closely packed concrete houses 
and 
labyrinth of alleyways smashed by tank and helicopter gunship fire and 
riddled with bullet holes.

The contorted bodies of four Palestinian men lay in the ruins of a 
living 
room that had apparently been hit by a missile.

In a room of a house 100 yards away, the bloated body of a middle-age 
man 
lay next to a bookcase…

Some houses not damaged in the fighting appeared to have been 
ransacked…

 From the shattered upstairs window of one house, reporters could see 
the 
camp's central square. It had been pulverized to rubble and dust. It 
was 
not clear whether it had been destroyed in battle or bulldozed.

But many residents said bulldozers had been busy in the camp for days. 
They 
could be heard at work overnight by reporters a few hundred yards from 
the 
camp entrance…

No males from the ages of around 15 to 50 were seen in the camp. Women 
said 
males of that age had either been killed or taken prisoner.

Women said they were surviving on basic food stores and had some access 
to 
well water, but there had been no electricity for over a week. Children 
were filthy and some looked ill…

---

Israeli Army Accused of Atrocities
Mideast: Residents of Jenin say soldiers targeted civilians and gunmen 
alike.
By RICHARD BOUDREAUX, The Los Angeles Times, 4/13/2002
http://www.latimes.com/la-041202jenin.story

JENIN, West Bank -- Khadra Samara, her family and closest neighbors 
lived 
in three adjacent cinder-block houses on Rwabe Street, a relatively 
quiet 
corner of the Palestinian refugee camp here.

For 17 terrifying hours this week, she says, the 30 unarmed neighbors 
fled 
on hands and knees from one three-story home to the next, huddling 
together 
as Israeli helicopter gunships, tanks and bulldozers reduced the 
buildings 
to rubble in methodical succession…

According to the accounts, which couldn't be independently verified, 
the 
Israelis fired on unarmed civilians, used them as human shields and 
obstructed medical workers trying to save the wounded. One camp 
resident, 
Ali Ramile, a 40-year-old truck driver, said he watched Israeli 
soldiers 
kill seven or eight disarmed Palestinian fighters execution-style and 
dump 
several loads of bodies in a mass grave within 100 yards of his home…

But interviews with more than a dozen Palestinians from the Jenin camp 
indicated a heavy loss of civilian life there. Nearly everyone 
interviewed 
said they had watched neighbors die from Israeli shelling or sniper 
fire, 
or at least seen bodies in the street.

And Palestinian human rights organizations, citing reports that they 
said 
came from camp residents and witnesses, have accused Israeli troops of 
executing prisoners and digging graves in the camp…

When Israeli troops entered the camp on foot to search homes for armed 
militants, they sent captive Palestinian men ahead of them at gunpoint 
to 
knock on the doors or break through the walls. The army has 
acknowledged 
the practice, saying it discourages armed resistance…

---

BBC Shows Israelis Preventing Aid for Elderly Woman in Jenin

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1920000/video/_1924313_mideast_guerin17_vi.ram

---

Powell Cautions Israelis on West Bank Operations
Agence France Presse, 4/13/2002

US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Saturday expressed concern over 
the 
humanitarian situation in the Jenin refugee camp and other Palestinian 
areas and called on Israeli forces to "refrain from the excessive use 
of 
force" on the West Bank…

"Israeli forces must exercise their utmost restraint and discipline and 
refrain from the excessive use of force in the conduct of military 
operations in order to ensure that civilians are protected and to avoid 
worsening the already grave conditions inside Palestinian areas."

"We are particularly concerned at the humanitarian situation in Jenin," 
he 
said, referring to the refugee camp in the northern West Bank where 
fierce 
fighting left hundreds of Palestinians dead.

Powell called upon Israel "to allow full and unimpeded access to 
humanitarian organizations and services to provide basic humanitarian 
services, including the evacuation of the wounded and deceased."

---

Tanks Bar Aid Agencies and Journalists from Camp
By Suzanne Goldenberg in Jenin, The Guardian, 4/13/2002
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,683780,00.html

The stench of death rose from the Fashafshe family home on Old Castle 
Street, or what remains of it: a five-foot high mound of rubble topped 
by a 
television aerial.

A few days ago an Israeli army tank and a bulldozer prowling the narrow 
lanes of the town's main square were boxed in by this old stone house. 
So 
they demolished it, burying a Palestinian family of five beneath its 
two-foot thick stone walls.
"They got stuck so the tank fired a shell at the house. I could hear 
the 
kids screaming," said Issam Fashafshe, a cousin who lives diagonally 
across 
from the home. "Then the bulldozers came and started bulldozing. The 
wall 
fell on people, and their blood was here," he said.

The bodies of Ahmed Fashafshe, his wife Samira and their son Bassam 
were 
interred in the ruins until Thursday when a brief relaxation of the 
curfew 
allowed for a hurried burial. Two other children survived.

The battle of Jenin is over. But a day after the Israeli army said it 
had 
crushed the last resistance from the Palestinian gunmen inside the 
refugee 
camp there was no clear picture yesterday of how many people were 
killed 
there, or where the bodies were buried...

---

Israel’s War of Words Gets Dirty
By Phil Reeves in Jerusalem, The Independent, 4/14/2002
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=284812

Joel is a reserve captain in the Israeli army. He has a warm handshake 
and 
a line in rapid-fire patter that betrays his New York upbringing.

He introduces himself as a "military source", but it swiftly emerges 
that 
he is a headline machine, churning out slurs.

Joel is in the front line of a multi-million dollar propaganda drive by 
the 
Israeli government to try to prevent an international backlash over its 
military invasion into Palestinian-run parts of the occupied West Bank.

They face their toughest challenge yet: limiting the damage to Israel 
over 
the atrocities committed in the Jenin refugee camp, where its army has 
killed and injured hundreds of Palestinians…

We cut straight to the question of Jenin. "Believe me, we would love to 
let 
you guys into Jenin, but unlike the Palestinian terrorists, we respect 
the 
dignity of the dead," he said. "They want to gather up the bodies and 
show 
them off to the international media as evidence of a massacre that is 
typical of the sort of PR tricks they play."

The press was also not being allowed into Jenin because of the 
"abundance 
of terrorists" looking for "Western targets". The Israeli army has 
frequently shot at journalists, injuring more than 40 and killing one. 
Suddenly, it was concerned for our safety…

The propaganda war between the Israelis and Palestinians has always 
been a 
dirty business, but now it has sunk to new depths. Israel's media 
centre 
issued a statement boasting of "countless examples" of humanitarian aid 
to 
the Palestinians. This will be staggering news to the Red Cross and Red 
Crescent, who have been barred from entry, shot at and repeatedly 
humiliated, all in violation of the Geneva Convention...

---

Despite Court's Decision, Israeli Forces Move Bodies from Jenin

14 April 2002 - LAW

Statements from eyewitnesses, collected by LAW, confirm that despite 
Friday's Israeli High Court's interim order, Israeli forces have 
continued 
moving bodies outside Jenin refugee camp. Eyewitness accounts confirm 
reports that an Israeli truck was seen with bodies inside plastic bags. 
The 
bodies were taken out of the truck and put in holes dug by bulldozers.

Later, eyewitnesses saw bulldozers coming back to the location, which 
is 
outside Jenin refugee camp, taking out an estimated thirty bodies from 
the 
holes and loading the bodies back on the truck. Reports indicate that 
the 
bodies were then taken in the direction of the 'Green Line', the 
demarcation line between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian 
Territories.

Individuals, including next-door neighbors, have seen bulldozers 
demolishing homes and shelters in which there were still people, 
including 
women and children. Various eyewitnesses have seen bodies, including 
bodies 
of women and children, in the rubble of demolished homes. Eyewitnesses 
have 
seen bulldozers driving back and forward over bodies in Jenin refugee 
camp.

Eyewitnesses told LAW they saw a family trying to flee from their home, 
that was about to be demolished by Israeli bulldozers. When the family, 
including a woman carrying her child, stepped outside their home in 
Jenin 
refugee camp, they were fired upon from an Apache helicopter with heavy 
machinegun fire. In this attack a 14-years old boy was killed.

There have been consistent testimonies from residents of Jenin refugee 
camp 
who have been used by Israeli forces as human shields. These are 
similar 
testimonies to reports we received from other Palestinian cities, towns 
and 
refugee camps, describing similar use of human shields by the Israeli 
occupation forces…

LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and 
the  Environment is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to 
preserving 
human rights through legal advocacy. LAW is affiliate to the 
International 
Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the Federation Internationale des Ligues 
de 
Droits de l'Homme (FIDH) and the World Organization Against Torture 
(OMCT).

LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and 
the 
Environment, PO Box 20873, Jerusalem, tel. +972-2-5833530, fax. +972-2-
5833317, email: law@lawsociety.org, web: www.lawsociety.org

-----

ISRAEL REOPENS NOTORIOUS DESERT PRISON CAMP

14 April 2002 - Palestine Center For Human Rights

This week, Israeli authorities reopened the Ketziot prison camp in the 
Negev desert in southern Israel, popularly known as “Ansar 3.” During 
the 
1980s and
1990s, thousands of Palestinian prisoners were held in the facility. 
PCHR 
fears that the reopening of Ansar 3 indicates that mass arbitrary 
detentions in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) will continue and is deeply 
concerned that detainees transferred to Ansar 3 may be subject to 
torture 
or other forms of ill-treatment.

PCHR has received information that Ansar 3 is due to receive 
approximately 70
Palestinians currently being held in administrative detention in 
Megiddo 
prison in Israel. A further 281 Palestinians placed in administrative 
detention during
Israel’s current military offensive in the West Bank will also be 
transferred to the facility. This latter group is currently being held 
at 
the Ofer military base in the West Bank. Administrative detention 
orders 
are issued by the military and allow Israeli forces to place 
Palestinians 
in detention for indefinitely renewable periods of six months without 
charge or trial. The transfer of Palestinian prisoners from the OPT 
into 
Israel is a grave breach under the Fourth Convention.

Ansar 3 was opened on 16 March 1988 to absorb increasing numbers of 
Palestinians arrested during the first Intifada. At its peak, it was 
the 
largest prison in Israel, holding approximately 7,000 Palestinians, 
including 3,000 in administrative detention. At one time or another 
during 
its six years of operation, approximately 170,000 Palestinians were 
detained at the facility.

The prison camp is administered by the Israeli army rather than the 
civil 
penal system. It consists of tents surrounded by barbed wire and 
watchtowers. Prisoners are confined with little or no protection from 
the 
harsh weather conditions of the Negev desert, including temperatures 
ranging from 54 degrees during the day to 0 degrees at night. Hygiene 
and 
sanitation conditions at the facility fail to meet minimum 
international 
standards of conditions of detention, including those specified in 
Article 
85 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

According to PCHR’s documentation, guards at the camp regularly abused 
detainees when it was in operation. In a number of cases, soldiers in 
watchtowers fired at prisoners, including Asad Jaber Shawa from Gaza 
city, 
shot and killed on 16 August 1988. For years, Israeli authorities 
denied 
detainees in Ansar 3 the right to receive family visits. Palestinian 
lawyers seeking to visit their clients inside were regularly subject to 
degrading treatment and even beatings.

PCHR believes that the reopening of Ansar 3 indicates that Israeli 
occupying forces will continue mass arbitrary detentions, especially 
under 
Israeli Military Order 1500, which grants army officers wide latitude 
to 
detain Palestinians without charge or judicial review. Israeli 
occupying 
forces are holding an estimated 4,000 Palestinians detained during the 
current offensive in the West Bank military bases of Ofer, Etzion (near 
Hebron), and Hawara (near Nablus).

-----

'DIVEST IN ISRAEL' CALL SURFACES ON U.S. CAMPUSES
By Andrew Quinn, Reuters, 4/14/2002

BERKELEY, Calif., April 14 (Reuters) - As Middle East violence 
intensifies, 
a small but growing number of U.S. students are calling on universities 
to 
divest from companies that do business in Israel -- an echo of the 
successful drive to isolate South Africa's former apartheid regime.

Led by activists at the University of California, Berkeley, a famous 
hotbed 
of student protest, pro-Palestinian and human rights groups are 
organizing 
demonstrations and staging sit-ins, hoping to force officials to pull 
billions of dollars out of investments in Israel.

While their pleas have received a cool reception from university 
authorities -- and they themselves admit that the Israeli divestment 
would 
be a complicated endeavor -- they say the time has come for major U.S. 
investors to take what they call a moral stand for Palestinian human 
rights.

"Something, no matter how small, must be done to express our utter 
opposition to what is being done by Israel," said Sarah Weir, a 
Berkeley 
senior and member of the group Students for Justice in Palestine 
(SJIP).

While loudest at Berkeley, the divestment call has also been made at 
Princeton, the University of Illinois and several other large U.S. 
schools…

Pro-Palestinian activists say Berkeley should be a leader in the drive 
to 
exert financial pressure on Israel. The school, the centerpiece of the 
vast 
University of California system, has long been one of the nation's most 
politically active, and played an important role in opposing the 
Vietnam War…

Launched with the beginning of the latest Palestinian uprising in 
September 
2000, Students for Justice in Palestine demanded the university's Board 
of 
Regents take steps to drop more than $6.4 billion invested in companies 
that do big business in Israel, including General Electric (GE.N), 
Raytheon 
(RTN.N), Hewlett-Packard (HWP.N), Cisco Systems (CSCO.O), AOL Time 
Warner 
(AOL.N) and Microsoft (MSFT.O).

At Princeton, where a group called Students for Progressive Education 
and 
Action has mounted a pro-divestment petition, students say the 
university 
should ditch at least $100 million in investments in companies ranging 
from 
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) to McDonalds Corp. (MCD.N)…

-----

5 MONTHS AFTER SANCTIONS AGAINST SOMALI COMPANY, SCANT PROOF OF QAEDA 
TIE
By Tim Golden, Bill Berkeley, Donald G. McNeil Jr., The New York Times, 
4/13/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/13/international/africa/13SOMA.html

The Bush administration's assault on Somalia's biggest money-transfer 
company was swift and severe.

In November, American officials announced that they had proof that the 
company, Al Barakaat, was providing as much as $25 million a year to 
Osama 
bin Laden's terrorists in weapons, cash and other support. With the 
help of 
dozens of countries, the Treasury Department froze nearly all the 
company's 
assets, paralyzing the biggest employer in one of the poorest 
countries.

Five months later, however, some United States officials now 
acknowledge 
that the evidence of Al Barakaat's backing for terrorism is more 
tenuous. 
Some European countries that assisted in shutting down Al Barakaat say 
proof of a terror link has not materialized…

-----

U.S. GIVEN 10 DAYS TO RELEASE DETAINEE DATA
By MITCHEL MADDUX AND ELIZABETH LLORENTE, The Bergen Record, 4/13/2002
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_3_id=45&page=3189229

A state judge on Friday ruled that information about immigration 
detainees 
being held in the Passaic and Hudson county jails must be released 
within 
10 days unless an appeals court decides otherwise.

Assignment Judge Arthur N. D'Italia in Superior Court in Hudson County 
issued the written ruling that expanded upon his decision two weeks 
ago. 
That decision already held that federal authorities had no right to 
keep 
secret the identities and other details about detainees being held as 
part 
of the Sept. 11 terror probe.

"I'm pleased that the court recognized in expressed terms that the 
government cannot hide behind a cloak of secrecy," said Ed Barocas, 
legal 
director of the American Civil Liberties of New Jersey, which filed the 
case.

The case was one of several the ACLU filed to force the federal 
government 
to grant human-rights activists and the public access to the detainees. 
At 
a previous court hearing before D'Italia, the organization had 
requested 
information on the detainees by citing a state law that mandates that 
the 
names and the dates of entry of all inmates in county jails "shall be 
open 
to public inspection."

The judge's ruling now narrows the time the federal Justice Department 
has 
to persuade a higher court that the information should not be released. 
Justice attorneys had said they would appeal the earlier ruling; they 
would 
not say whether Friday's ruling would alter those plans…

-----

JUDGE TO CONSIDER SECRET EVIDENCE
By MIKE ROBINSON, The Associated Press, 4/13/2002

CHICAGO (AP) - A federal appeals panel has refused to stop a judge from 
considering secret evidence against an Islamic charity whose assets 
were 
frozen during the government's terrorism investigation.

The decision came late Thursday in a lawsuit filed by the Global Relief 
Foundation, which is trying to regain control of its assets and an 
estimated 500,000 pages of records seized in a Dec. 14 government raid.

U.S. District Judge Wayne Andersen is preparing to view secret evidence 
offered by the government in an effort to have the suit dismissed. The 
government says national security would be jeopardized if the evidence 
were 
to become public.

A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said 
Global 
Relief's request was premature and there would be plenty of time to 
appeal 
after Andersen decides the case.

The classified evidence has been shown only to the judge without Global 
Relief's lawyers present…

Global Relief denies it has anything to do with terrorism…

The government is due to file papers Tuesday explaining why it must use 
secret evidence against another Islamic charity, Benevolence 
International 
Foundation. Both charities are based in suburban Chicago.

Benevolence International's assets were also frozen Dec. 14 and the 
group 
has filed a similar suit.

-----

MUSLIMS HONOR BRIDGE BUILDER
By MARY WARNER, The Harrisburg Patriot, 4/12/2002
http://www.patriot-news.com/

The Rev. Robert Stoudt's first thought after the attacks of Sept. 11 
was 
for himself, his family, his congregation. But in the days that 
followed, 
he began to worry about the Muslims in his community and reached out to 
them.

"For me, it was easy to recognize the fact that you were not the 
enemy," he 
told local Muslims last week. "I had been in your midst. I had prayed 
with 
you on a number of occasions. ... I had been the beneficiary of your 
hospitality."

His sympathy, he said, came of an "informed felt kinship."

Stoudt was honored Saturday by leaders of the local Muslim community as 
a 
bridge builder between their communities. His church, Penbrook United 
Church of Christ, was the first to invite local Muslims to speak in the 
wake of Sept. 11 -- and he helped to arrange contacts with other 
congregations.

Parvez Ahmed, president of the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the 
Council 
on American Islamic Relations, gave Stoudt a plaque before a capacity 
crowd 
of more than 100 at the Aangan restaurant in Susquehanna Twp. The 
dinner 
honored bridge builders and local residents who have returned from the 
recent annual pilgrimage to Mecca…

Stoudt cautioned that the two communities must not stop short at 
"polite 
comfortableness" and seek instead a greater goal "of being able to 
embrace 
each other authentically as brothers and sisters…"

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 12:35:00 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Israel Rally "Spins" Brutal Occupation Say Muslims

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ISRAEL RALLY SEEKS TO "SPIN" BRUTAL OCCUPATION SAY MUSLIMS

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/15/2002) - A Washington-based Islamic advocacy 
group 
said today this afternoon's rally in support of Israel on Capitol Hill 
is a 
desperate attempt to put positive spin on that state's brutal 
occupation of 
another people and to distract attention from recent atrocities 
committed 
by Israeli forces in the Occupied Territories.

A statement by Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), read in part: (Awad and other CAIR 
representatives are available for interviews on this issue.)

"Those who offer blind support for Israel's brutal policies do a 
disservice 
to our nation's interests worldwide and violate the values of freedom 
and 
justice that all Americans hold dear. No amount of public relations 
'spin' 
will convince ordinary Americans that complicity in Israel's denial of 
Palestinian rights is anything but a strategic liability that serves to 
isolate the United States and harm the ongoing war on terrorism. In 
fact, a 
recent survey indicated that 60 percent of Americans believe the United 
States should cut off or reduce aid to Israel if it refuses to heed 
President Bush's call for withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian 
territories. (Time/CNN Poll, 4/12/2002)

"Rally organizers claim they are standing up for 'democratic values,' 
yet 
would deny Palestinians the right to choose their leaders. They call 
for an 
end to incitement and hate-filled rhetoric, while at the same time 
demonizing an entire culture and faith in a vain attempt to avoid 
discussion of the real source of the conflict, the occupation. They ask 
others to condemn attacks on civilians, but ignore or even deny 
atrocities 
committed by Israeli forces in places like Jenin and Nablus.

SEE: "Residents of the Jenin refugee camp speak of the viciousness of 
the 
Israeli attack,"
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-000026946apr15.story

"Just today, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights condemned 
Israel 
for 'mass killings' of Palestinians. There is no moral equivalence 
between 
the war on terrorism and Israel's unjust and ultimately self-defeating 
war 
on Palestinian Muslims and Christians."

Awad reiterated Muslim condemnation of terrorism and support for 
President 
Bush's demand that Israel withdraw from the cities it has invaded, end 
settlement activity and cease its "daily humiliation" of Palestinian 
Muslims and Christians. He also said that spontaneous rallies in 
support of 
Palestinian rights drew hundreds of thousands worldwide.

                                    - END -

CONTACT:        Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787
            E-MAIL - cair@cair-net.org,
            Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787
            E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----



Forwarded Message

Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 16:22:48 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Wolfowitz Booed at Pro-Israel Rally

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/15/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: ENDURANCE IN AFFLICTION
* SUPPORT CAIR'S IMPORTANT WORK, BECOME A MEMBER FOR ONLY $10
* CAIR POLL: SHOULD ARIEL SHARON BE TRIED FOR WAR CRIMES?
* WOLFOWITZ BOOED AT PRO-ISRAEL RALLY (AP)
* A PALESTINIAN STATE FROM ASHES OF JENIN (Arab News)
* SHARON'S BRUTAL PHILOSOPHY (Rocky Mountain News)
* TUTU CALLS US SOFT ON ISRAEL (Boston Globe)
* ISRAEL SEEKS TO STEM OUTCRY OVER DESTRUCTION IN JENIN (New York 
Times)
* UN RIGHTS BODY CONDEMNS ISRAEL FOR 'MASS KILLINGS' (Reuters)
* PALESTINIAN CAPTIVES 'TORTURED AND HUMILIATED' AT ISRAELI ARMY BASE 
(Independent)
* WHY BUSH DANCES TO SHARON'S TUNE (Toronto Sun)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: ENDURANCE IN AFFLICTION

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Happy is the man who 
avoids 
dissension, but how fine is the man who is afflicted and shows 
endurance.

Sunan of Abu Dawood, Hadith 1996

-----

SUPPORT CAIR'S IMPORTANT WORK, BECOME A MEMBER FOR ONLY $10

https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp

-----

CAIR POLL: SHOULD ARIEL SHARON BE TRIED FOR WAR CRIMES?

To vote, go to: http://www.cair-net.org/

Last week's poll: Should a peace-keeping force be sent to the Occupied 
Territories?

Yes: 88%
No: 12%

Total Votes: 1186

-----

WOLFOWITZ BOOED AT PRO-ISRAEL RALLY
By JIM ABRAMS, The Associated Press, 4/15/2002

WASHINGTON (AP) - A top administration official was interrupted and 
booed 
Monday when he told thousands of people gathered at the Capitol for a 
pro-Israel rally that Palestinians as well as Israelis have been 
victims of 
Mideast violence.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz was drowned out by chants of 
"no 
more Arafat" and booed as he told a packed crowd of thousands that 
"innocent Palestinians are suffering and dying as well. It is critical 
that 
we recognize and acknowledge that fact..."

-----

A PALESTINIAN STATE FROM ASHES OF JENIN
By Uri Avnery, Arab News, 4/15/2002
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=14339
Uri Avnery is an Israeli journalist and former member of Knesset.

Some 105 years ago, the day after the First Zionist Congress in Basel, 
Theodor Herzl, wrote in his diary: "In Basel I founded the State of the 
Jews." This week, Ariel Sharon should note in his diary: "In Jenin I 
founded the State of the Palestinians."

Of course, he did not mean to. Quite the contrary, his intention was to 
destroy the Palestinian nation, its institutions and leadership, once 
and 
for all, leaving only bits and pieces, human wreckage that could be 
disposed of anywhere.

In practice, something quite different happened. Faced with the 
onslaught 
of the biggest military machine in the region and the most modern arms 
in 
the world, submerged in a sea of suffering, surrounded by bodies, the 
Palestinian nation straightened its back as never before.

In the small refugee camp near Jenin a group of Palestinian fighters 
from 
all the organizations gathered for a battle of defense that will be 
enshrined forever in the hearts of all Arabs...

In the end, only one thing will be remembered: Our giant military 
machine 
assaulted the small Palestinian people, and the small Palestinian 
people 
and its leader held on. In the eyes of the Palestinians, and not only 
theirs, it will look like a tremendous victory, the victory of a modern 
David against Goliath.

-----

SHARON'S BRUTAL PHILOSOPHY
By HOLGER JENSEN, Rocky Mountain News, 4/12/2002
http://24hour.startribune.com/24hour/opinions/story/357826p-2907647c.html
Holger Jensen is international editor of the Rocky Mountain News.

Nicknamed "The Bulldozer," Israel's prime minister is a 
soldier-politician 
whose career has been dogged by persistent accusations of war crimes.

But what kind of man is Secretary of State Colin Powell trying to 
persuade 
to make peace with the Palestinians?...

During the Lebanese invasion, Sharon gave a revealing interview to Amos 
Oz, 
a leading Israeli author, in which he bluntly explained his military 
doctrine and railed against pacifist Jews who thought he was being too 
tough.

It was published in the daily Davar on Dec. 17, 1982. Excerpts:

"You can call me anything you like. Call me a monster or a murderer. 
... 
Better a live Judeo-Nazi than a dead saint.

"Even if you prove to me that the present war in Lebanon is a dirty 
immoral 
war, I don't care. Even if Galilee is shelled again by Katyushas in a 
year's time, I don't really care. We shall start another war, kill and 
destroy more and more, until they will have had enough.

"Let them tremble, let them call us a mad state. Let them understand 
that 
we are a wild country, dangerous to our surroundings, not normal, that 
we 
might go crazy if one of our children is murdered, just one! If anyone 
even 
raises his hand against us we'll take away half his land and burn the 
other 
half, including the oil. We might use nuclear arms.

"Even today I am willing to volunteer to do the dirty work for Israel, 
to 
kill as many Arabs as necessary, to deport them, to expel and burn 
them, to 
have everyone hate us. ... And I don't mind if after the job is done 
you 
put me in front of a Nuremberg Trial and then jail me for life. Hang me 
if 
you want, as a war criminal.

"What you don't understand is that the dirty work of Zionism is not 
finished yet, far from it."

Twenty years later, Sharon is still applying that brutal philosophy to 
a 
captive West Bank. And he is so obsessed with destroying Israel's 
enemies 
he won't listen to friends, including the President of the United 
States.

-----

TUTU CALLS US SOFT ON ISRAEL
By Steven Wilmsen, The Boston Globe, 4/14/2002
http://www.boston.com/globe/
Search using the term "Tutu."

Lkening Israel's treatment of Palestinians to the oppression of blacks 
by 
the white apartheid government in South Africa, Nobel laureate Desmond 
Tutu 
yesterday chided the Bush administration for being too soft on prime 
minister Ariel Sharon...

Tutu said the Bush administration should demand Israel withdraw from 
the 
Gaza and the West Bank, adding that Israel's isolation of Yasir Arafat 
was 
"bizarre and humiliating."

-----

ISRAEL SEEKS TO STEM OUTCRY OVER DESTRUCTION IN JENIN
By SERGE SCHMEMANN and JOEL GREENBERG, The New York Times, 4/15/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/15/international/middleeast/15JENI.html

The soldiers acknowledged that they used Palestinian civilians as 
shields 
as they moved house to house.

"Yes, because of the snipers. If the sniper sees his friend there, he 
won't 
shoot," a soldier said, adding that the Palestinians were instructed to 
open the doors...

-----

UN RIGHTS BODY CONDEMNS ISRAEL FOR 'MASS KILLINGS'
By REUTERS, 4/15/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/mideast-rights-resolution.html

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations top human rights body condemned 
Israel on Monday for ``mass killings'' of Palestinians and demanded it 
end 
its military offensive in the occupied territories.

The annual session of the Geneva-based Commission on Human Rights 
approved 
a resolution from Arab and Muslim states that blasted Israel for 
``gross 
violations'' of humanitarian law and affirmed the "legitimate right of 
Palestinian people to resist."

The motion, backed by some European Union states including France, 
expressed grave concern at ``the killing of men, women and children'' 
in 
West Bank refugee camps, among them Jenin where Palestinians accuse 
Israeli 
troops of massacring Palestinian women and children as well as 
fighters...

-----

PALESTINIAN CAPTIVES 'TORTURED AND HUMILIATED' AT ISRAELI ARMY BASE
By Justin Huggler, The Independent, 4/15/2002
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=285082

Hundreds of Palestinians have disappeared since Israel began its 
onslaught 
in the West Bank less than two weeks ago. Details are only now emerging 
about what has happened to them, and how they say they have been 
tortured 
and humiliated by Israeli forces...

It appears that many of the disappeared are still alive. But that is 
where 
the good news ends. Inside Ofer up to 1,000 Palestinians are detained 
and 
have been regularly beaten with wooden batons. They are forced to spend 
nights sitting in the dirt outside in the cold, in their underwear. 
They 
are refused food for days at a time.

This is according to evidence collected by respected Israeli human 
rights 
organisations, and interviews The Independent has conducted with 
released 
prisoners. Those held in Ofer are not allowed to see lawyers or anyone 
else 
from the outside world. Yesterday, the International Red Cross was 
trying 
to negotiate access after having an earlier request refused.

The Israelis are opening more centres to hold the huge number of 
detainees. 
The Israeli authorities have admitted in an Israeli court that many of 
the 
men being held in Ofer are not suspected Palestinian militants, but 
innocent civilians who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong 
time.

Nour Hamed lives in Beit Rur, a small village close to the forbidding 
gates 
of Ofer. Mr Hamed has just been released after 10 days. His family did 
not 
know that, while they feared for his safety, he was near by in Ofer. Mr 
Hamed is a director of Ajaill, a Palestinian radio station in Ramallah. 
He 
was detained with 10 of his colleagues, on 31 March, after Israeli 
forces 
moved into Ramallah.

"Nine soldiers came into the office and arrested us," Mr Hamed said. 
"They 
searched us and then blindfolded us.

"They made us sit on the ground outside. There were between 300 and 400 
of 
us sitting there waiting to go in and be questioned. There was heavy 
rain 
and a cold wind. We spent three days in that situation. We had no food. 
Every day the soldiers came and hit us very hard with wooden batons...

Another recently released man, Mohammed, said Israeli soldiers told him 
and 
16 others that they would be killed "in revenge for the Israelis". He 
recalled: "They made us stand in a group and drove an armoured 
personnel 
carrier at us. It swerved away at the last minute."

It is impossible to verify the claims, not least because the Israeli 
authorities are refusing anyone access to Ofer. But many of the details 
are 
similar to accounts obtained by respected independent Israeli human 
rights 
organisations.

An Israeli soldier inside Ofer told B'Tselem, the Israeli Information 
Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, that torture was 
being 
used inside the camp and that he had seen captives whose toes had been 
broken.

Captives can be held without charge or evidence under Israeli military 
law. 
A warrant has been issued allowing the authorities to refuse access to 
lawyers for up to 18 days.

-----

WHY BUSH DANCES TO SHARON'S TUNE
By ERIC MARGOLIS, The Toronto Sun, 4/14/2002
http://www.canoe.com/Columnists/margolis_apr14.html

Who really is running America's Mideast policy? Last week, the 
astounded 
world saw the grotesque spectacle of President George W. Bush pleading 
in 
vain with Ariel Sharon, leader of a nation of only 6.3 million people 
which 
receives almost $5 billion in annual U.S. aid, to cease laying waste 
the 
Occupied West Bank...

President Bush and senior aides Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell were 
left 
looking weak, indecisive, and inept. Bush clearly is a political 
soulmate 
of ultra-hawk Sharon; they share a mutual detestation for Yasser Arafat 
and, it would seem, for Arabs in general...

In an act of sheer farce, Powell was sent on a slow boat to Israel, via 
Madrid and Morocco. Before Powell even arrived, former Israeli PM 
Benjamin 
Netanyahu summoned fawning U.S. senators and arrogantly informed them 
Powell's mission would fail.

While the rest of the world condemned Israel's invasion and destruction 
of 
the Palestinian ghettos, not a peep was heard from the White House, 
Congress or America's media about Israel's violation of U.S. law in 
using 
U.S.-supplied armour and warplanes against civilians. Nor about 
Israel's 
violation of the Geneva Conventions and other international laws. There 
were no protests when Israel's Shimon Peres described massacres of 
Palestinian civilians by Israeli soldiers...

To be sure, there is deep and justified sympathy in the U.S. for the 
frightful suffering Israel has endured at the hands of suicide bombers, 
and 
its need for self-defence.

Still, why was America alone in defending Israel's ruthless punishment 
of 
the Palestinians?

How could Bush, only a few weeks ago, still bathing in the bogus glory 
of a 
military "triumph" against a few thousand medieval tribesman in 
Afghanistan, be so suddenly made to look foolish and impotent by events 
in 
the Mideast?

Simply put, Sharon's right-wing Likud party has come to dominate U.S. 
Mideast policy through its powerful American lobby, which "guides" 
Congress.

Under pressure from the Israel lobby, 89 out of 100 senators and at 
least 
280 congressmen recently demanded Bush give Sharon carte blanche to 
crush 
Palestine. As the Israeli writer Uri Avnery wryly noted, if the Israel 
lobby gave orders to repeal the Ten Commandments, Congress would vote 
in 
favour.

America's media is strongly pro-Israel and averse to dissenting views. 
A 
coterie of hawkish, Israel-first neo-conservatives dominates media 
opinion-making and the Pentagon, leading the charge for a war against 
Iraq, 
Iran, and Syria. One even helped to write Bush's foolish "axis of evil" 
speech...

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 13:14:04 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Dept. Store Chain Settles Muslim Discrimination Complaint

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DEPARTMENT STORE CHAIN SETTLES MUSLIM DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT
Conn. shoppers say they were falsely accused of shoplifting because of 
religious attire

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/16/2002) - A national department store chain has 
settled a discrimination complaint by two Muslim shoppers in 
Connecticut 
who say they were falsely accused of shoplifting because of their 
Islamic 
attire.

May Department Stores Company, the parent company of the Meriden, 
Conn., 
Lord & Taylor store in which the incident took place, reached the 
settlement with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a 
Washington-based Islamic advocacy group. That settlement includes an 
apology and monetary compensation.

In September 2000, the two female shoppers were accused of shoplifting 
after exiting a ladies' fitting room. The Muslim women said that even 
after 
store security realized they had not stolen any merchandise, a security 
guard continued to accuse them of theft and attempted to remove the 
religiously-mandated headscarf of one of the women.

"Although many companies have clear non-discrimination guidelines, the 
real 
test for any policy comes when an incident such as this takes place. 
May 
Department Stores passed that test by demonstrating that they value 
Muslim 
customers," said CAIR Civil Rights Manager Joshua Salaam.

The May Department Stores Company currently operates 436 department 
stores 
in 44 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

There are an estimated seven million Muslims in America. SEE: CAIR's 
"The 
Mosque in America: A National Portrait" at:
http://www.cair-net.org/mosquereport

                                         - END -

CONTACT:        Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL - cair@cair-net.org,
                 Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----











Forwarded Message

Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 16:27:14 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: April 20 Rally for Palestine in DC

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/16/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: JUSTICE
* LETTER TO PALESTINIAN CHILDREN FROM AN AMERICAN MUSLIM CHILD
* DOWNLOAD THE FLYER FOR THE APRIL 20 RALLY FOR PALESTINE IN DC
          - MUSLIM VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE RALLY
* CAIR-NY OFFICIAL TO APPEAR ON CNN
* O'REILLY: "AMERICANS DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE DANGER THAT IS BEING POSED 
BY 
THE MUSLIM WORLD" (Fox)
* WOMAN SAYS TALE OF AFGHAN ORPHANS FALSE (Los Angeles Times)
* THE DEAD AND THE ANGRY AMID JENIN'S RUBBLE (New York Times)
* JENIN: INSIDE THE CAMP OF THE DEAD (The Times)
* AMID THE RUINS OF JENIN, THE GRISLY EVIDENCE OF A WAR CRIME 
(Independent)
* BLASTED TO RUBBLE BY THE ISRAELIS (Daily Telegraph)
* THE LUNAR LANDSCAPE THAT WAS THE JENIN REFUGEE CAMP (Guardian)
* CORRECTION: A MEA CULPA (SHNS)
* MUSLIM SCHOOL LINKS LEARNING, FAITH (Deseret News)
* JEWS AND MUSLIMS, LEARNING TO LIVE TOGETHER (Christian Science 
Monitor)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: JUSTICE

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "He who has been a ruler 
over ten people will be brought shackled on the Day of Resurrection, 
until 
the justice (by which he ruled) loosens his chains or tyranny brings 
him to 
destruction."

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1037

-----

LETTER TO PALESTINIAN CHILDREN FROM AN AMERICAN MUSLIM CHILD

The following is a letter sent to CAIR by an American Muslim child:

Dear Palestinian Children,

Here in America, your fellow brothers and sisters are doing everything 
we 
can to stop the bloodshed. As for me, my family and I are going to try 
and 
give up some of our favorite things to support you. Inshallah, 
Palestine 
will be free from Israel, and inshallah, all Muslims in the world will 
be 
free from all bad things, and I hope you have a better life in the 
future.

As-salaamu Alaykum

Your brother

-----

DOWNLOAD THE FLYER FOR THE APRIL 20 RALLY FOR PALESTINE IN DC

http://www.internationalanswer.org/a20.pdf

MUSLIM VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE RALLY

There will be a meeting Wednesday, April 17 for Muslims who wish to 
volunteer for the rally in Washington.

WHEN: Wednesday, April 17, 7 p.m.
WHERE: ADAMS Center, Sterling, Virginia
DIRECTIONS: Take Route 7 west, cross Sugerland Road, turn into 
Community 
Plaza Shopping Center, ADAMS is located behind the Burlington Coat 
Factory

CONTACT: 202-879-6723

-----

CAIR-NY OFFICIAL TO APPEAR ON CNN

CAIR-NY Executive Director Ghazi Khankan will appear tonight on CNN 
between 
6 and 7 p.m. (Eastern).  Please watch the program and contact Lou Dobbs 
to 
show your support for having invited a Muslim guest.

Religious roundtable
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/moneyline/

Secretary of State Colin Powell continues his push to end violence in 
the 
Middle East. We'll look beyond the politics to the impact on faith 
around 
the world in a discussion with Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious 
leaders.

-----

O'REILLY: "AMERICANS DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE DANGER THAT IS BEING POSED 
BY 
THE MUSLIM WORLD"

'It's Shaping Up To Be a World War'
The O'Reilly Factor, April 15, 2002
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,50425,00.html

BILL O'REILLY, HOST: Now for the Top Story tonight, a closer look at 
the 
merging of Islam and violent terrorism. Joining us now from Miami is 
Dr. 
Walid Phares, a professor of Middle East studies at Florida Atlantic 
University.

What say you, professor?

WALID PHARES, PH.D., FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY: Good evening, Bill. 
Islam 
originally had clerics, which at some point in history have legitimized 
the 
use of violence as a way of defending the Muslim societies. However, 
when 
they opened this Pandora box, then more radical clerics legitimized the 
use 
of violence not just against the perceived enemy but also in order to 
achieve political victories....

O'REILLY: That's right. So their religion, Islam, in that context has 
lost 
all credibility among clear-thinking people who see it as now a threat.

PHARES: Actually Islam itself, if we go to the texts by themselves, 
does 
not condone suicide bombing or does not...

O'REILLY: But it doesn't matter.

PHARES: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE) so...

O'REILLY: It doesn't matter. The people who are in charge of it do...

O'REILLY: ... for the entire world, it's dangerous because you have a 
holy 
war now directed at infidels, non-Muslims. And now we find ourselves in 
a 
modern crusade, pitting Christians and Jews against Muslims, do we not?

O'REILLY: What do we do? I mean, we're, we're - it's shaping up to be a 
world war, and I'm not over-exaggerating here, because there are, what, 
300 
million Arabs in the world? All right? (UNINTELLIGIBLE) It's shaping it 
up 
to be a world war between Muslim fanatics and the rest of us, who don't 
want to be killed by people who say Allah wants it done...

O'REILLY: That's an excellent point, professor. You just made one of 
the 
best points that I've heard on The Factor in quite some time. Americans 
do 
not understand the danger that is being posed by the Muslim world to 
our 
way of living right now...

SEND NOTES OF CONCERN TO: Oreilly@foxnews.com, 
Viewerservices@foxnews.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org

-----

WOMAN SAYS TALE OF AFGHAN ORPHANS FALSE
By KIMI YOSHINO, The Los Angeles Times, 4/16/2002
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000027159apr16.story

A Culver City woman who claimed hundreds of Afghan women and children 
are 
on their way to the United States now admits they don't exist.

Speaking through her husband, she apologized for "building up the hopes 
in 
people wanting to adopt Afghan orphans." Julie Fahrer's descriptions of 
needy orphans at a meeting last month spawned federal investigations 
and 
prompted scores of Afghan families across the United States to sign up 
for 
foster-care licenses, even though officials warned it was likely a 
hoax...

The Afghan-orphans story is a web of tales that Julie Fahrer went to 
lengths to make seem real. On several occasions, she told officials at 
University Christian Church--the church she rented space from--that 
children would be arriving and asked them to beef up security on the 
nights 
the orphans needed temporary housing. She even spent nights away from 
home--purportedly because she was greeting the children flown from 
Afghanistan by military transport.

Then last month, she gathered a group of local Afghans and interested 
colleagues for a meeting in a Van Nuys church. She told them that 529 
Afghan women and orphans were in the United States or on their way and 
45 
of them had already been placed in homes stretching from Fresno to San 
Diego.

She passed out handwritten descriptions of several children. They were 
realistic, including tragic-sounding psychological and physical 
evaluations 
of children with "frequent crying episodes" or "severe scars."

The Afghan community immediately began mobilizing. Mohammad Daoud 
Abedi, an 
Afghan American who lives in Calabasas, sent an e-mail after attending 
the 
meeting with Julie Fahrer. The e-mail spread rapidly through Afghan and 
Muslim Internet message boards.

Hundreds of families responded, prompting calls to federal and local 
agencies.

-----

THE DEAD AND THE ANGRY AMID JENIN'S RUBBLE
By David Rohde, The New York Times, 4/16/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/16/international/middleeast/16JENI.html

JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank - Palestinians returning to this ruined 
place 
recovered a wounded man today, skeletal and semiconscious, who said he 
had 
been lying in the rubble beside a body and waiting for help for nine 
days.

Cradling the wounded man in a blanket, a dozen men carried him up a 
narrow 
alley where flies swarmed a corpse and over a mound of rubble that 
smelled 
of rotting dead. When the group emerged onto the vast field of 
destruction 
that was once the heart of this refugee camp, a woman began screaming, 
"Ambulance! Ambulance! Ambulance!"

"It's a disaster," said Ruba Al Ruzi, a young woman who watched the 
scene. 
"I hope the Arab countries and the Americans who watched us being 
slaughtered will face the same situation..."

United Nations officials said today that Israeli forces blocked a 
convoy 
carrying 25 tons of aid from entering the camp, where 2,000 of the 
camp's 
original 13,000 residents remain...

-----

INSIDE THE CAMP OF THE DEAD
By Janine di Giovanni, The Times (UK), 4/16/2002
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,3-268533,00.html

BASHIR died in agony. The hands of the 23-year-old Palestinian are 
clenched 
into tight fists, his body charred. He lies buried under rubble and 
cement, 
his head twisted towards the door as if crying out for help. His tomb 
is a 
wasted house that crashed around him after the Israelis tried to 
bulldoze 
it to make a road.

Next door, up a blackened stairway and across shards of glass, is the 
body 
of Ashran Abu Hadel, also 23. Someone tried to pull him out of the 
rubble 
but gave up. His arm lies straight out, as though he tried to push 
himself 
away from the cement as he lay dying. Elsewhere in the Jenin refugee 
camp I 
saw bodies of men who were clearly fighters, replete with ammunition 
belts 
and other paramilitary trappings. Bashir and Ashran had nothing.

The refugees I had interviewed in recent days while trying to enter the 
camp were not lying. If anything, they underestimated the carnage and 
the 
horror.

Rarely, in more than a decade of war reporting from Bosnia, Chechnya, 
Sierra Leone, Kosovo, have I seen such deliberate destruction, such 
disrespect for human life....

This was not only a town of fighters, as Israeli soldiers told me. It 
was a 
town of women, children and old men, who have seen the camp grow into a 
warren of ramshackle homes over half a century. Amnesty International 
called for an immediate investigation into "the killings of hundreds of 
Palestinians," saying crucial evidence may be destroyed as Israel 
"continues to impede access...

The dead are everywhere. Kamal Anis, a labourer, leads us to an area 
called 
Harat al-Hawashim, a mound of rubble the size of four football pitches 
where 200 houses once stood.

He says the Israelis levelled the place; he saw them pile bodies into a 
mass grave, dump earth on top, then ran over it to flatten it. There 
are 
still bulldozers and tanks at work, sending us fleeing into destroyed 
buildings. There is the sound of children crying. There are people 
looking 
for survivors under rubble...

-----

AMID THE RUINS OF JENIN, THE GRISLY EVIDENCE OF A WAR CRIME
By Phil Reeves in Jenin, The Independent (UK) 4/16/2002
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=285413

A monstrous war crime that Israel has tried to cover up for a fortnight 
has 
finally been exposed. Its troops have caused devastation in the centre 
of 
the Jenin refugee camp, reached yesterday by The Independent, where 
thousands of people are still living amid the ruins. A residential area 
roughly 160,000 square yards about a third of a mile wide has been 
reduced 
to dust.

Rubble has been shovelled by bulldozers into 30ft piles. The sweet and 
ghastly reek of rotting human bodies is everywhere, evidence that it is 
a 
human tomb...

We could not see the bodies. But we could smell them. A few days ago, 
we 
might not have believed Kamal Anis. But the descriptions given by the 
many 
other refugees who escaped from Jenin camp were understated, not, as 
many 
feared and Israel encouraged us to believe, exaggerations. Their 
stories 
had not prepared me for what I saw yesterday. I believe them now....

We were welcomed by people desperate to tell what had occurred. They 
spoke 
of executions, and bulldozers wrecking homes with people inside. "This 
is 
mass murder committed by Ariel Sharon," Jamel Saleh, 43, said. "We feel 
more hate for Israel now than ever. Look at this boy." He placed his 
hand 
on the tousled head of a little boy, Mohammed, the eight-year-old son 
of a 
friend. "He saw all this evil. He will remember it all..."

-----

BLASTED TO RUBBLE BY THE ISRAELIS
By David Blair, The Daily Telegraph (LONDON), 4/16/2002
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;$sessionid$IWRB3RYAAF115QFIQMGSFF4AVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2002/04/16/wmid16.xml&sSheet=/portal/2002/04/16/ixport.html

ISRAEL'S onslaught on the Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin has led to 
the 
systematic devastation of once teeming streets inhabited by 15,000 
people. 
Inside the camp, a vast open space 400 yards by 400 yards has been 
pounded, 
blasted and ground to rubble by tanks, helicopters and bulldozers...

When we penetrated into the exclusion zone yesterday, by walking across 
a 
hilltop and finding an unguarded flank, it became clear why the 
Israelis 
had done their utmost to shield Jenin camp from prying eyes. The camp, 
still a closed zone, lies in the heart of Jenin Town that once 
consisted of 
tightly packed flat-roofed houses. All but a few streets have been 
blown 
apart.

As machinegun fire echoed outside, the frightened girls huddled 
together 
for comfort...

-----

THE LUNAR LANDSCAPE THAT WAS THE JENIN REFUGEE CAMP
By Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian (UK), 4/16/2002
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,685133,00.html

A fortnight ago, before Israeli forces invaded, this was a crowded, 
bustling place. The narrow alleys between the cinderblock homes - 
spanning 
barely the width of outstretched arms - were packed with children.

Yesterday, the Hart al-Hawashin neighbourhood, the heart of the Jenin 
refugee camp, was a silent wasteland, permeated with the stench of 
rotting 
corpses and cordite.

The evidence of lives interrupted was everywhere. Plates of food sat in 
refrigerators in houses sheared in half by Israeli bulldozers. Pages 
from 
children's exercise books fluttered in the breeze...After the 13 
soldiers 
were killed, Israel appears to have abandoned foot patrols. Instead, 
the 
army began knocking houses down indiscriminately, creating a vast plaza 
of 
rubble in the centre of the camp, a crossroads for the Israeli tanks.

"They just started demolishing with the people inside," said Hania 
al-Kabia, a mother of six whose flat is on the edge of the lunar 
landscape. 
"I used to hear them on the loudspeaker saying come out, come out. Then 
they stopped doing that, but they went on bulldozing..."

-----

CORRECTION: A MEA CULPA
By Holger Jensen, Scripps Howard News Service, 4/15/02

This is a mea culpa. I made a grievous error in not verifying the 
authenticity of 20-year-old quotes attributed to Ariel Sharon that I 
used 
in my April 12 column on the Israeli leader. As it turns out, they were 
made not by Sharon but another unnamed Israeli soldier who died 11 
years 
ago. The interview in question was conducted by Amos Oz, one of 
Israel's 
leading authors and prominent in the Peace Now movement. He had access 
to 
many Israeli generals and politicians of that era but identified some 
of 
his interview subjects only by letters of the alphabet, leaving it up 
to 
his readers to decide who they were...

(Holger Jensen is international editor of the Rocky Mountain News. 
E-mail: 
hjens@aol.com)

-----

MUSLIM SCHOOL LINKS LEARNING, FAITH
By Elaine Jarvik, Deseret News, 4/15/2002
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,380012344,00.html

Iman El-Shahidi draws a letter on the board: two half circles connected 
to 
a bigger half circle. See, she says. "It's the happiest letter in the 
Arabic language because it has the most smiles. Isn't that a happy 
letter?"

To teach Arabic to 4-year-olds means teaching not just a second 
language 
but a second alphabet, a whole new set of intricate symbols that must 
be 
decoded and mastered. El-Shahidi has the children try their own hands 
at 
making a smiling letter; then she cheerfully erases their squiggles and 
helps guide their pencils across the page, right to left.

At Iqra Academy of Utah, the state's only Muslim day school, 
preschoolers, 
kindergartners and first-graders learn Arabic as well as English, 
because 
Arabic is the language of the Quran, Islam's holy book. Like the nearly 
500 
other Muslim schools in the United States, the Iqra Academy tries to 
create 
a bridge between American culture and Islam -- because America is where 
the 
children live and Islam is their moral compass.

Kergaye, who attended Catholic schools in Jordan and Cypress, then 
American 
public schools in California, thinks that a Muslim school has more to 
offer 
-- and less to distract -- a Muslim child.

"Our moral standards are much higher than in public schools," she says. 
There is no swearing, no disrespect, no peer pressure to smoke, do 
drugs or 
wear the kinds of revealing clothes or tattoos or piercings that Islam 
prohibits...

-----

JEWS AND MUSLIMS, LEARNING TO LIVE TOGETHER
By Alexandra Marks, The Christian Science Monitor, 4/16/2002
http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2002/0416/p03s01-ussc.html

Mehrba Kahn is dependent on his hands. As a barber, he makes his living 
with them. But they're also his tools to help explain why his Brooklyn 
neighborhood a bustling 10 square blocks where more Orthodox Jews and 
Muslims live closely together than in almost any other place in the 
country 
- works so well as a community. That, despite the Sept. 11 terrorist 
attacks and heightened tensions in the Middle East.

"See these hands?" asks Mr. Kahn at his shop on Coney Island Avenue. 
"The 
Jews, the Christians, the Muslims here, they're like these fingers: 
They 
work together because they have to. We're all connected."

Called Midwood, this is a place where Jewish and Muslim women shop side 
by 
side, wearing slightly different head coverings but often pushing the 
same 
brand of strollers. Admittedly, the community is sometimes tense. But 
through work, dedication, and a tacit agreement to disagree, it has, on 
the 
whole, remained productive and peaceful.

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 17:51:31 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Largest-Ever Rally for Palestine - April 20

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

CAIR ACTION ALERT #327

LARGEST-EVER RALLY FOR PALESTINE - APRIL 20

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/17/2002) -  On Saturday, April 20, thousands of 
concerned Americans will gather in Washington, D.C., on the White House 
Ellipse to protest Israel's brutal attacks on Palestinian civilians and 
to 
call on our government to adopt a Mideast policy that is based on 
justice 
and on American, not Israeli interests. It is essential Muslims and 
people 
other faith turn out to make our voices heard on this important issue 
and 
to counter the disinformation being put out by the pro-Israel lobby. 
Organizers expect this to be the largest-ever rally in support of 
Palestine 
in the United States.

"It is our duty to show our solidarity with the suffering Muslims and 
Christians of Palestine," said CAIR Board Chairman Omar Ahmad.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "He who amongst you sees 
something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand; and if 
he 
has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue; 
and 
if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor 
it) 
from his heart and that is the least of faith." Sahih Muslim, Hadith 16

WHEN: Saturday, April 20, 11 a.m.

WHERE: The White House Ellipse (South side of the White House, 16th and 
Constitution N.W.)

DOWNLOAD A FLYER FOR THE RALLY AT:
http://www.internationalanswer.org/a20.pdf

FOR INFORMATION ON GETTING TO WASHINGTON, GO TO:
http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/april/logistics.html

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED:

1) Plan to attend the rally.
2) Inform your friends, neighbors and colleagues about the rally and 
encourage them to attend.
3) Distribute this alert to your personal e-mail list and ask that 
recipients do the same.
4) Organize bus or car caravans from your community to the rally.
5) Distribute this alert at local mosques and community centers 
following 
Friday prayers.
6) Make Du'ah for the Palestinian people suffering under Israeli 
occupation.

THERE WILL BE A SIMULTANEOUS RALLY FOR PALESTINE IN SAN FRANCISCO, SEE:
http://www.internationalanswer.org/a20sf1.pdf

TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION IN SUPPORT OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE, GO TO:
http://capwiz.com/cair/home/

TO SUPPORT CAIR'S WORK BY BECOMING A MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp

- PLEASE ANNOUNCE, POST AND DISTRIBUTE AT FRIDAY PRAYERS -

-----

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To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----



Forwarded Message

Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 18:21:01 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Is the Pro-Israel Media Lobby Losing its Grip?

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/17/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: GOOD CHARACTER
* IS THE PRO-ISRAEL MEDIA LOBBY LOSING ITS GRIP? (Salon.com)
* INTERNET USED BY ORGANIZERS OF PALESTINIAN, ISRAELI RALLIES 
(Washington Post)
* CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP TO SUE OVER U.S. HANDLING OF MUSLIM MEN (New York 
Times)
* 3 IN SEPT. 11 PROBE SAY THEY WERE ABUSED IN TOP SECURITY (Washington 
Post)
* TREASURY BOSS MAY LET THROUGH SOME DONATIONS (Detroit Free Press)
* CANADIAN MUSLIM RETURNS TO TORONTO AFTER BEING DETAINED IN NYC AFTER 
SEPT. 11 (CP)
* GUNMEN DEFIANT IN BETHLEHEM CHURCH, SAYS ESCAPEE (Reuters)
* U.N.'S ROBINSON PRESSES ISRAEL OVER RIGHTS PROBE (Reuters)
* WITHDRAW SUPPORT AND ASSIST THE PALESTINIANS (St. Paul Pioneer Press)
* EVIDENCE OF ISRAELI CONTEMPT FOR GENEVA CONVENTION (The Guardian)
* AID GROUPS CRITICIZE ISRAEL OVER RESCUE EFFORT IN JENIN (New York 
Times)
* SICK PALESTINIANS DIE AT ISRAELI CHECKPOINTS, UNABLE TO GET TO 
HOSPITAL (AFP)
* SPIELBERG TARGET OF BOGUS REPORT (Hollywood Reporter)
* PAYMENT, APOLOGY FOR STORE INCIDENT (AP)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: GOOD CHARACTER

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "By his good character, 
a 
believer will attain the degree of one who prays during the night and 
fasts 
during the day."

Abu Dawood, Hadith 2233

-----

IS THE PRO-ISRAEL MEDIA LOBBY LOSING ITS GRIP?
By Eric Boehlert, Salon.com, 4/17/2002
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2002/04/17/media/index_np.html

The current chaos in the Middle East has left partisans on both sides 
angry 
and bitter. Among the most frustrated, though, may be the pro-Israel 
pundits who have dominated the debate in the U.S. for decades.

Israel's aggressive incursion into the West Bank, in which 5,000 
Palestinians have been arrested and hundreds killed, may mark a turning 
point in how the conflict is seen in the United States. Suddenly the 
pro-Israel media mantra -- that Israel's fight is America's fight, and 
that 
the two countries aren't simply allies, but brothers in arms with 
inseparable goals -- is being viewed with some new skepticism.

Polls show Americans remain strongly committed to Israel's security. 
Yet 
there's evidence that the nation's cadre of relentlessly pro-Israeli 
commentators, most of them neoconservatives, have quietly lost their 
corner 
on American public opinion. Instead of shaping it, they're caught 
chasing 
it. Their media crusade to topple Iraq's Saddam Hussein, for instance, 
seems to be foundering, thanks to weeks of Israeli/Palestinian chaos.

A majority of Americans told NBC/Wall Street Journal pollsters that an 
Iraqi invasion should be delayed until Middle East violence subsides. 
And 
other major national polls show that Americans increasingly question 
the 
premises of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's incursion into the 
West 
Bank, Israel's most aggressive military operation in two decades, and 
how 
it will achieve peace...

But it was odd on Monday to hear the mostly Jewish crowd boo longtime 
pro-Israel hawk Paul Wolfowitz, now a deputy defense secretary, merely 
for 
suggesting at a Washington rally that innocent Palestinians hurt in the 
current conflict deserve some sympathy too. The crowd clearly opposed 
Secretary of State Colin Powell's peace mission, as well as President 
Bush's attempts to get Sharon to rein in his military operation.

The boos for Wolfowitz were a measure of how embattled many pro-Israel 
American Jewish hawks feel, especially given Bush's call last week for 
Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories "without delay" (a 
call, it must be noted, that Sharon has ignored with impunity). Clearly 
Israel's media lobby is not having the success it once did calling the 
shots in Washington and maintaining public support.

The dynamics could soon change, particularly if another wave of suicide 
bombers is unleashed. But for now, a Palestinian perspective that was 
once 
almost completely absent from America's mainstream press is being heard 
by 
Americans...

It's already clear that an increasingly open debate is underway here 
about 
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It's a debate the conservative press 
has 
long tried to stifle. As Eric Alterman recently wrote at MSNBC.com, 
"For 
reasons of religion, politics, history and genuine conviction, the 
punditocracy debate of the Middle East in America is dominated by 
people 
who cannot imagine criticizing Israel."

SEE: Intractable Foes, Warring Narratives
http://www.msnbc.com/news/730905.asp?cp1=1#BODY

You know who they are: William Safire of the New York Times; George 
Will, 
Charles Krauthammer and Michael Kelly at the Washington Post; Lally 
Weymouth of Newsweek; Martin Peretz of the New Republic; Daniel Pipes 
and 
Andrea Peyser at the New York Post; Peggy Noonan and Robert Bartley at 
the 
Wall Street Journal; William Kristol of the Weekly Standard; Mortimer 
Zuckerman at U.S. News and World Report; Morton Kondracke, Fred Barnes, 
Brit Hume and Tony Snow at Fox News; and William Bennett, a paid CNN 
contributor, just to name a few.

They still cannot imagine criticizing Israel. But others can. 
Conservatives 
could not have enjoyed watching pro-Israel advocate Daniel Pipes 
getting 
grilled recently by Fox News' self-styled blue-collar moderate Bill 
O'Reilly. In what until recently would have been considered an 
unthinkably 
aggressive stance regarding Israel, O'Reilly, who's made no secret of 
his 
suspicion of American Muslims post-Sept. 11, belittled Pipes' claim 
that 
the Israeli incursion into the West Bank was analogous to America's 
bombing 
of Afghanistan, took issue with his suggestion that 90 percent of 
Palestinians "want Israel destroyed," and pressed Pipes about what 
people 
were supposed to think when they saw Page 1 photographs of Israeli 
policemen clubbing peace activists in Tel Aviv...

SEE: Who is Daniel Pipes?
http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.html

Meanwhile, MSNBC's Chris Matthews, usually a fan of the mainstream's 
conventional wisdom, recently derided the claim that Arab leaders would 
privately welcome a U.S. action in Iraq, as "neo-con claptrap." 
Matthews 
has gotten increasingly fed up with uncritical defenders of Israel as 
well 
as proponents of an immediate Iraq invasion. Both O'Reilly and Matthews 
pride themselves on their scrappy, common-sense approach to politics, 
so 
their change of heart spells trouble for staunch defenders of Ariel 
Sharon.

Perhaps more worrisome for the Israeli media lobby is that, at least 
for 
the moment, it has lost some of its pull inside the White House. And 
worse, 
lost it to its least favorite Cabinet member, Secretary of State Colin 
Powell.

Just as the current crisis was unfolding, the Weekly Standard's 
Kristol, 
along with more than two dozen other conservatives, sent Bush an open 
letter advising him how to proceed. The letter suggested that the U.S. 
treat Arafat as a terrorist, that Bush give Israel unconditional 
support, 
and that he move ahead swiftly on his plans to topple Saddam Hussein.

To date, none of those recommendations have been embraced, which is why 
the 
Israeli punditocracy in America has been lashing out at the White 
House, 
washing its hands of Powell's trip and publicly ridiculing the 
administration. While there's some suspicion that Powell does not have 
full 
White House backing for his peace mission, the fact that he's there at 
all, 
meeting with Arafat, riles pro-Israel hawks in the press...

Perhaps most surprising is the fact that nearly 40 percent of Americans 
consider the violence committed by Israel against Palestinians to be 
terrorism, according to an ABC News poll. The Israeli lobby's pundits 
have 
for weeks argued relentlessly that Israel is merely fighting terrorism 
alongside Uncle Sam. Yet 4 out of 10 Americans think Israel is 
conducting 
terrorism in the West Bank...

-----

INTERNET USED BY ORGANIZERS OF PALESTINIAN, ISRAELI RALLIES
By Mary Beth Sheridan, The Washington Post, 4/17/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63371-2002Apr17.html

The pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrations organized in 
Washington 
this week represent the emotional culmination of weeks of smaller 
rallies 
across the country, indications of how the violence in the Middle East 
has 
alarmed many Americans.

The proliferation of demonstrations reflects the strength of Jewish 
organizations and efforts by much smaller Muslim and Arab American 
groups 
to play a bigger role in U.S. politics. Adding to the mix is the power 
of 
the Internet, both to pull together rallies and to connect Americans 
with 
those suffering in the Middle East...

Some pro-Palestinian activists said the rallies are a sign of the 
political 
maturing of Arab Americans and Muslims, who represent a small but 
rapidly 
growing percentage of the U.S. population.

"I've noticed, compared to previous protests [over Middle East crises], 
that these are a lot more. You find them all over the country -- 
Michigan, 
California, Texas, the Northwest," said Hodan Hassan, communications 
coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations...

-----

CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP TO SUE OVER U.S. HANDLING OF MUSLIM MEN
By SUSAN SACHS, The New York Times, 4/17/2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/17/national/17MUSL.html

In a new challenge to the Bush administration's prolonged detention of 
hundreds of Muslim men after Sept. 11, a civil rights group says it 
will 
ask a federal court to declare the government's treatment of the men 
biased 
and unconstitutional.

A class-action lawsuit prepared by the group, the Center for 
Constitutional 
Rights, accused the government of arbitrarily holding Muslim detainees 
in 
prison for months on minor immigration violations, with no hearings to 
determine whether the government had probable cause to hold them.

They have also been subjected to excessively harsh treatment in jails 
in 
New Jersey and Brooklyn, the complaint said, and in some cases could 
not 
practice their religion, contact their families or seek the help of 
their 
consular officials.

The lawsuit will be filed today in United States District Court in 
Brooklyn, said Barbara J. Olshansky, a lawyer for the center.

"We want the world to know that we are treating students, tourists, 
people 
here for short period of time, as criminals," Ms. Olshansky said. 
"We're 
putting them into arbitrary detention, just like the worst totalitarian 
regimes we cry out all the time about in this country."

About 1,200 Muslim men were arrested in the first weeks after the 
terror 
attacks, most eventually charged with minor immigration violations such 
as 
overstaying a visa...

One detainee named in the lawsuit said that guards at the Metropolitan 
Detention Center bent his thumbs back, pushed him and kicked him in the 
face when he first arrived there. For the first week, he said, he did 
not 
have a bar of soap or a towel and he did not get his eyeglasses back 
from 
the guards for three months.

The detainee, Asif-ur-Rehman Saffi, said in the lawsuit that guards 
constantly called him a terrorist and insulted his religion. Mr. Saffi, 
who 
was born in Pakistan, is a French citizen and last month was released 
from 
prison and deported to France. The only charge against him was working 
while in the United States on a tourist visa...

Another detainee named as a plaintiff, Syed Amjad Ali Jaffri, was held 
in 
the Metropolitan Detention Center for nearly seven months, four months 
after an immigration judge ordered him deported. He said a guard at the 
federal prison slammed his head against a wall, loosening some of his 
teeth...

-----

3 IN SEPT. 11 PROBE SAY THEY WERE ABUSED IN TOP SECURITY
By Steve Fainaru, The Washington Post, 4/17/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62853-2002Apr16.html

NEW YORK, April 16 -- Inside the Special Housing Unit of the 
Metropolitan 
Detention Center in Brooklyn, dozens of detainees held for months in 
connection with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have been confined to 
their 
cells nearly 24 hours a day.

The lights are always on, making it difficult to sleep. The prisoners 
are 
subject to body cavity searches after each meeting with their 
attorneys. 
They are transported in shackles, handcuffs and waist chains. In some 
cases, the detainees have been subject to harassment by prison guards 
and 
rough treatment that has left them bloodied.

The conditions were described by three detainees recently released from 
the 
Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) who offered a rare glimpse of life 
inside the federal prison's maximum security unit, supposedly reserved 
for 
some of the most important suspects in the government's terrorism 
investigation...

Although the Justice Department has conducted its investigation in 
total 
secrecy, the government has announced no terrorism-related charges 
against 
any of those held under maximum security conditions at MDC...

-----

TREASURY BOSS MAY LET THROUGH SOME DONATIONS
By NIRAJ WARIKOO, Detroit Free Press, 4/17/02
http://www.freep.com/news/nw/treas17_20020417.htm

Speaking to Arab-American leaders in Dearborn on Tuesday, U.S. Treasury 
Secretary Paul O'Neill said he would consider allowing donors to give 
money 
to certain people through charities that have been frozen by the U.S. 
government for alleged links to terrorism. But he didn't say who could 
give 
and receive the money, and he stopped short of unfreezing all of the 
assets.

According to people who attended the meeting, O'Neill said he was 
concerned 
that donors could not give money to needy people in the Arab and Muslim 
worlds. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. Treasury froze 
the 
assets of two Muslim charities -- the Global Relief Foundation, 
cofounded 
by Rabih Haddad of Ann Arbor, and the Holy Land Foundation, based in 
Texas. 
"I told him we've been looted as a community," said Osama Siblani, 
publisher of the Arab-American News. "We can't donate money to our 
brothers 
and sisters." Siblani was among about a dozen Arab-American and Muslim 
leaders who met with O'Neill and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge 
at La 
Shish restaurant in Dearborn for 90 minutes. Over plates of humus and 
rice, 
the meeting started with a prayer in English by Imam Hassan Qazwini, 
head 
of the Islamic Center of America.

Qazwini told the officials that he was concerned about the profiling of 
Arab Americans and Muslims at airports. He also expressed concern about 
what he saw as the U.S. government's bias against Palestinians...

Haddad was arrested in December for overstaying a 6-month tourist visa 
that 
expired in 1999. He was detained the same day that federal officials 
raided 
Global Relief offices. He is currently in custody in Chicago pending a 
deportation hearing.

Speaking briefly outside the restaurant, O'Neill said the meeting went 
well, but didn't comment further.

-----

CANADIAN MUSLIM RETURNS TO TORONTO AFTER BEING DETAINED IN NYC AFTER 
SEPT. 11
BY ANGELA PACIENZA, The Canadian Press, 4/16/02

TORONTO (CP) _ A Canadian man who was detained for seven months in the 
United States in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was 
deported 
home to Toronto on Tuesday and now plans to sue U.S. authorities. 
Surrounded by reporters in the middle of Toronto's busy airport, Shakir 
Baloch, a Canadian citizen born in Pakistan, appeared relaxed and calm 
as 
he said he felt safe for the first time in months.

Clad in an oversized white T-shirt and baggy brown prison-issued track 
pants, a frail Baloch said he felt dejected trying to understand why he 
was 
singled out from the thousands of South Asians living in the United 
States. 
"I'm depressed. Why did they do it to me?" he said, clutching the only 
belonging given to him by American authorities _ a manila envelope 
containing his airline ticket and deportation certificate. "I don't 
have 
any answer for that." The 39-year-old Torontonian was arrested in 
Queens, 
N.Y., two weeks after the deadly Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade 
Center 
and the Pentagon.

He was plucked from a classroom in a taxi driver school where he was 
trying 
to renew his licence.

At that time, American authorities had rounded up about 1,500 men of 
Middle 
Eastern or South Asian descent in the aftermath of the attacks. Most 
were 
held on immigration charges. Baloch said American police officers often 
shackled him, roughed him up, called him a terrorist and threatened to 
keep 
him in jail indefinitely. He spent five of his seven months in jail in 
solitary confinement.

"I couldn't talk to my family, couldn't talk to my lawyer, nobody," he 
said. It was three months after his initial arrest that authorities 
allowed 
Baloch access to a lawyer and charged him with illegally entering the 
United States...

-----

GUNMEN DEFIANT IN BETHLEHEM CHURCH, SAYS ESCAPEE
By Michael Georgy, Reuters, 4/17/2002

BETHLEHEM, West Bank, April 17 (Reuters) - A teenager who escaped from 
Bethlehem's besieged Church of the Nativity said on Wednesday that 
Palestinian gunmen inside were defiant even after two weeks of 
psychological warfare waged by Israeli troops.

Sixteen-year-old Jihad Abu Qamil said an Israeli soldier who detained 
him 
minutes after he climbed over the church's walls on Monday had been 
eager 
to know if people inside were cracking.

"First he made me strip off my clothes in the street. Then he asked me 
if 
we were scared of the shooting over the church at night, if the sound 
of 
ambulance sirens or the sounds of a screaming girl from the 
loudspeakers 
scared us," said Abu Qamil.

"I said no, it was not working. The people inside were not scared," he 
told 
Reuters at his family home at Deheisheh refugee camp, near Bethlehem...

"The soldier asked me who was bringing us food. I told him the monks 
inside 
the church, and he was very angry," he said.

Abu Qamil, earlier reported as aged 14, said he had tried to bring 
bread 
and cans of fish to friends in the church on the second day of the 
siege, 
only to find himself trapped there...

-----

U.N.'S ROBINSON PRESSES ISRAEL OVER RIGHTS PROBE
Reuters, 4/17/2002

GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) - United Nations human rights chief Mary 
Robinson pressed Israel Wednesday to let a U.N. mission visit the 
occupied 
territories and the Jewish state amid rising international concern at 
recent violence.

Robinson was asked by the U.N. Human Rights Commission to lead the team 
of 
inquiry and report back before the end of its annual six-week session 
in 
Geneva on April 26...

"It is important that the visiting mission should be able to leave as 
soon 
as possible (and) meet with people from both sides of the conflict," 
Robinson said in a statement.

The Commission, which Israel accuses of bias against it, wants the 
mission 
to probe the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian refugee camps, 
where 
some aid agencies warn of a catastrophe if help does not get through 
soon...

The Palestinians have accused Israeli forces of a massacre of women and 
children as well as Palestinian fighters during a military offensive in 
the 
West Bank that began on March 29. Israel says the offensive is to round 
up 
those it considers responsible for a wave of suicide bombings in 
Israel...

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees said 
Wednesday 
Israel security forces were still denying them entry into Jenin refugee 
camp, scene of the heaviest fighting in the offensive.

"We have dozens of trucks ready to go and distribute aid, medical 
supplies 
and shelters. We are ready, but we are not getting the necessary 
cooperation (from the Israelis)," Rene Aquarone, a Geneva-based UNRWA 
spokesman, said.

-----

WITHDRAW SUPPORT AND ASSIST THE PALESTINIANS
BY TIMOTHY BRENNAN and DOUG ROSSINOW, St. Paul Pioneer Press, 4/16/2002
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/opinion/3070397.htm

What we have witnessed in recent days in the Middle East is not a 
law-abiding nation defending itself against terror, but rather 
"asymmetric 
warfare" between a nation, Israel, armed with the most modern weapons 
and a 
people, the Palestinians, armed with their willingness to die while 
taking 
others with them.

Although Americans have seen extensive press coverage of the violence, 
few 
readers grasp its actual character. In the last week, the Israeli 
military 
dragged people from their homes and indiscriminately shot them in the 
streets. Able-bodied men and boys were rounded up, arbitrarily 
incarcerated 
and physically abused. Snipers stationed in Ramallah killed anyone 
attempting to leave their homes to resist the march of Israeli tanks.

There are, in short, deeply disturbing similarities between what Israel 
is 
doing to the Palestinians at this very moment and what was roundly 
condemned only a few years ago as "ethnic cleansing" in Serbia.This 
historical lack of context makes it difficult for Americans to 
understand 
why Israel has so enraged Arabs and Muslims both. Few Americans 
appreciate, 
for example, that non-Jews within the state of Israel are not accorded 
the 
same rights under the law as Jews. It is an openly discriminatory 
state, 
and in this sense shares features with what we used to call "apartheid" 
in 
South Africa...

-----

EVIDENCE OF ISRAELI CONTEMPT FOR GENEVA CONVENTION
By Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian, 4/17/02
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,685594,00.html

The accusation from British and Palestinian politicians that Israel has 
been involved in war crimes raises questions about the extent to which 
its 
military incursion into the occupied territories may have broken the 
terms 
of the Geneva convention.

Human rights workers say the definition of a war crime hinges on a 
cardinal 
principle of a body of international humanitarian law, including the 
Geneva 
convention. "The spirit and soul is to limit the effect of armed 
violence 
on those not taking part in the fighting," said Antonella Notari, a 
spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva. 
"It 
is primarily the responsibility of those fighting the war to look after 
the 
wellbeing of civilians." On that count, Israel has failed on a massive 
scale - and not just in Jenin. Nineteen days of curfew and siege on 
West 
Bank towns have deprived one million Palestinians of access to medical 
care, food and drinking water. Israeli tanks trundled over water mains, 
and 
ploughed through electricity and phone wires, depriving most 
neighbourhoods 
of basic services.

In Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Nablus, as well as Jenin, there is 
indisputable 
proof that the Israeli army denied Palestinian civilians the basic 
protection of medical care. Bodies rotted in homes and streets for 
days; 
the wounded bled to death because the Israeli army banned ambulances 
from 
entering the battle zones.

In Jenin, junior surgeons performed brain surgery from phone 
instructions 
given by leading practitioners in Jordan. Likewise in Ramallah several 
mothers were talked through the delivery of their children over mobile 
phones.

There are also widespread accounts from Palestinians in Ramallah, 
Nablus 
and Jenin that the Israeli army regularly seized male civilians from 
their 
homes and used them as human shields. They forced the men to walk ahead 
of 
soldiers as they searched homes in camps and towns, putting them first 
in 
the line of fire from Palestinian fighters...

-----

AID GROUPS CRITICIZE ISRAEL OVER RESCUE EFFORT IN JENIN
By DAVID ROHDE, The New York Times, 4/17/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/17/international/middleeast/17JENI.html

Aid workers, who were allowed to move back into the bomb- and 
rubble-strewn 
refugee camp at Jenin two days ago, said today that Israeli officials 
have 
failed to keep their promises to provide the specialized rescue teams 
and 
heavy excavation equipment needed to search for survivors, remove 
bodies 
and feed and reunite families.

The aid groups also said that, even though the fighting here ended 
seven 
days ago, a strict Israeli military curfew is still in place that 
interferes with the movement of food, aid and men separated from their 
families during the Israeli operation...

-----

SICK PALESTINIANS DIE AT ISRAELI CHECKPOINTS, UNABLE TO GET TO HOSPITAL
By Imad Saada, Agence France-Presse, 4/17/2002

NABLUS, West Bank, April 16 (AFP) - Mohammad Oudeh watched his 18- 
month-old niece die as he waited in vain to get her through an Israeli 
army 
checkpoint on the outskirts of Nablus for urgent treatment in hospital. 
"Leila died at the checkpoint. We went back to the village to bury 
her," he 
said, her name joining a swelling list of Palestinians paying with 
their 
lives because Israel's occupation of the West Bank denied them access 
to 
ambulances and hospitals.

The victims include children unable to receive treatment for bullet 
wounds 
and kidney patients prevented from receiving access to dialysis, they 
said. 
The problem has become critical since Israel invaded the West Bank on 
March 
29, with the army shutting down whole cities and imposing strict 
curfews. 
Leila underwent open-heart surgery six months ago and needed regular 
hospital treatment. "We are suffering a humanitarian disaster. Dozens 
of 
people are dying each day from the closure of the villages," Mustafa 
Barghuti, head of Palestinian medical relief, told AFP...

-----

SPIELBERG TARGET OF BOGUS REPORT
By Gregg Kilday, Hollywood Reporter, 4/16/02
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hollywoodreporter/morenews/brief_display

Steven Spielberg was hit Monday by a false report circulating on the 
Internet claiming that he is planning a DreamWorks feature film 
sympathetic 
to the Palestinian cause. The director's spokesman, Marvin Levy, called 
the 
report "an obvious, vicious hoax."

The bogus news story was attributed to The Hollywood Reporter and 
carried 
the bylines of fictitious reporters. It was posted on several news 
lists 
and also forwarded to several Canadian-based news organizations as well 
as 
Jewish political-action groups and other activists.

Under a headline that read "Spielberg to direct feature based on 
Palestinian Uprising," the false news story purported to quote 
Spielberg 
speaking out on behalf of the Palestinians and criticizing both Israel 
and 
Hollywood. The original source of the story, which circulated by 
e-mail, 
could not be determined.

-----

PAYMENT, APOLOGY FOR STORE INCIDENT
Associated Press, 4/17/2002

MERIDEN, Conn. (AP) - Two Muslim women detained after being accused of 
stealing merchandise have received an apology and a payment from a 
clothing 
store in a Meriden mall.

May Department Stores Co., the parent of the Lord & Taylor outlet in 
the 
Westfield Shoppingtown mall, agreed to apologize and offer a cash 
settlement. "Settlements of $3,700 were reached with two customers who 
claimed they were falsely arrested and accused of shoplifting," May Co. 
officials said in a prepared statement.

The women filed a discrimination complaint after they were detained, 
but 
never charged with a crime in the September 2000 incident.

The two shoppers, who were dressed in traditional Islamic garb, were 
stopped as they left a fitting room, according to Hodan Hassan, a 
spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which 
represents 
the women.

A store security guard checked their merchandise and sales receipts and 
determined they had taken nothing.

However, another guard insisted they were guilty of shoplifting and 
tried 
to remove the head coverings that the Islamic faith requires of all 
women 
believers, said Hassan.

"This happened in front of many people and it was very embarrassing for 
the 
two women," Hassan said.

Meriden police officers arrived a short time later and the women were 
allowed to go. No charges were filed, Hassan added.

-----

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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
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-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 16:18:58 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Emerson Says Islam Needs "Reform," is "Outmoded"

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/18/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: MARRIAGE INCREASES LOVE
* STEVEN EMERSON SAYS ISLAM NEEDS "REFORM," IS "OUTMODED"
         - TERRORISTS UNDER THE BED (Salon.com)
         - WHO IS STEVEN EMERSON?
         - STEVEN EMERSON'S CRUSADE (FAIR)
* RIGHT-WING WEB SITE SAYS U.S. MUSLIM IMMIGRATION HARMS ISRAEL
         - MUSLIM INVASION? (National Review)
* INS ORDERS STATE, LOCAL AGENCIES TO KEEP DETAINEE INFO SECRET (AP)
* ANTI-TERRORISM BILL FOCUSES ON IMMIGRANTS (Denver Post)
* PALESTINIANS SIFT THROUGH JENIN RUBBLE FOR CORPSES (Reuters)
* ISRAELI ARMY WAS "MORALLY REPUGNANT" IN JENIN, UN ENVOY SAYS (AFP)
* AT STONY BROOK, A CALL FOR PEACE IN MIDEAST (Newsday)
* ISRAEL QUIETLY SETS UP PERMANENT HOMES IN HEBRON (AP)
* ISRAELI SIEGE OF JESUS' BIRTHPLACE UNITES PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS 
(AFP)
* ISRAELI ARMY USING CIVILIANS AS HUMAN SHIELD: US RIGHTS REPORT (AFP)
* COMMENTARY: START WITH PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD (Los Angeles Times)
* FRESH EVIDENCE OF JENIN ATROCITIES (Independent)
         - Jenin camp 'horrific beyond belief' (BBC)
         - Jenin massacre 'evidence growing' (BBC)
* MUSLIM WOMEN BRUTALIZED IN INDIA'S GUJARAT - REPORT (Reuters)
* AFTER 9-11, OFFICIAL TERROR KICKS IN VICTIMS OF THE DRAGNET (Village 
Voice)
* FROM TANKS TO TALKS, WILL FUTURE HOLD CONFLICT OR CALM? (Tyler 
Morning 
Telegraph)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: MARRIAGE INCREASES LOVE

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "You have seen nothing 
like 
marriage for increasing the love between two people."

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 921

-----

STEVEN EMERSON SAYS ISLAM NEEDS "REFORM," IS "OUTMODED"

EXPERT ON TERRORISM WARNS ABOUT GENOCIDE
By Emilie Astell, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE, 4/16/2002
http://www.telegram.com/extra/terror/html/10expert.html

WORCESTER - ...During an address yesterday, author Steven Emerson said 
the 
Islamic religion needs to undergo a reformation just as Christianity 
did to 
have a center of gravity and a separation of church and state.

"Without reformation, much of the Islamic world is mired in outmoded 
philosophy," Mr. Emerson told an audience at Clark University.

He was the featured speaker during a celebration of a new name for the 
university's nationally-recognized Center for Holocaust and Genocide 
Studies...

His book, "American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us," details his 
discoveries of the inner workings of Islamic extremists...

SEE:

TERRORISTS UNDER THE BED
"Terrorism expert" Steven Emerson paints a terrifying picture of lethal 
Muslim fundamentalists among us in "American Jihad." But he doesn't 
know 
the difference between Osama bin Laden and Yasser Arafat.
By Eric Boehlert, Salon.com, 3/5/2002
http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2002/03/05/emerson/index.html

WHO IS STEVEN EMERSON?
http://www.cair-net.org/html/emerson.htm

STEVEN EMERSON'S CRUSADE: "Why is a journalist pushing questionable 
stories 
from behind the scenes?"
http://www.fair.org/extra/9901/emerson.html

-----

RIGHT-WING WEB SITE SAYS U.S. MUSLIM IMMIGRATION HARMS ISRAEL

MUSLIM INVASION?
By Mark Krikorian, National Review, 4/17/2002
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-krikorian041702.asp
Mark Krikorian is executive director of the Center for Immigration 
Studies 
and an NRO contributor.

Support for Israel has been a cornerstone of our foreign policy, backed 
by 
Republicans and Democrats, for close to four decades, but it is 
increasingly being challenged, partially because of Muslim 
immigration...Muslim immigration is helping shape a less pro-Israel 
policy, 
for a few reasons:

The first, and most important, is that more Muslim immigration means 
more 
Muslim voters and campaign contributors. This is more than simply a 
matter 
of numbers; because politically active Muslims are so focused on 
changing 
U.S. policy in the Middle East, and because they are relatively 
well-educated and prosperous, their intensity and commitment can have a 
disproportionate affect on policy...

A final, longer-term threat to Israel from U.S. Muslim immigration 
comes 
from the possibility of terrorism fatigue. Muslim immigration helps 
facilitate domestic terrorism, with immigrant communities serving, as 
Mao 
might have said, as the sea within which the terrorists swim as fish...

U.S. support for Israel at a crossroads - we can continue with our 
current 
policy of high immigration and guarantee a steady erosion of support 
for 
Israel; or we can reduce immigration, slowing the growth of the Muslim 
population and allowing America's powerful assimilative forces to work. 
We 
can't have both.

SEE ALSO: "The Jewish Stake in America's Changing Demography: 
Reconsidering 
a Misguided Immigration Policy"
http://www.cis.org/articles/2001/back1301.html

NOTE: An editor of this same publication recently made the "sarcastic" 
suggestion that "nuking Mecca" would send a "signal" to Muslims. In 
response to Muslim concerns about that statement, major advertisers 
considered pulling their ads from the National Review.

SEE: CANCEL MY SUBSCRIPTION
United Press International, 4/8/2002

Word is traveling through editorial circles in Washington and New York 
that 
a major opinion journal is under fire because of intemperate remarks 
made 
by some of its writers about Muslims. The story is that some 
Islamic-American organizations have been leaning on major advertisers, 
complaining about anti-Islamic statements that have appeared in the 
magazine and on the Web site since Sept. 11. Some of the advertisers 
are 
reportedly considering pulling their ads from the journal in response 
to 
the complaints.

ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE. The National Review has a 
history 
of taking one or two hostile comments out of hundreds of messages and 
using 
them to paint a negative image of Islam and Muslims.)

CONTACT ONE OF THE NATIONAL REVIEW'S ADVERTISERS to express your 
concerns 
about the anti-Muslim content of the publication in which they 
advertise.

CONTACT:

THOMPSON CIGAR COMPANY
5401 Hangar Court, P.O. Box 30303, Tampa, FL 33630-3303
800-216-7107 FAX 813-882-4605
http://www.thompsoncigar.com/

E-MAIL: (through the web site)
COPY TO: jonahemail@aol.com, letters@nationalreview.com, 
sbudd@nationalreview.com, cair@cair-net.org

-----

INS ORDERS STATE, LOCAL AGENCIES TO KEEP DETAINEE INFO SECRET
By WAYNE PARRY, The Associated Press, 4/18/2002

NEWARK, N.J. - The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service issued 
an 
order barring state and local governments from releasing the identities 
of 
post-Sept. 11 detainees.

A New Jersey judge has ordered the identities of those being held in 
county 
jails to be made public, but gave the federal government until Monday 
to 
seek a stay of his ruling from a higher court.

Asserting that national security and the safety of the detainees could 
be 
endangered by releasing their names, the agency issued a new rule 
Wednesday, claiming that federal law supersedes any state or local 
claims 
to the information. The order by INS Commissioner James W. Ziglar 
clarifies 
what had been INS policy already, according to a government official 
who 
spoke on condition of anonymity.

It came five days before the deadline set by a New Jersey judge for the 
U.S. Justice Department and authorities in Hudson and Passaic counties 
to 
release the names of detainees being held in their jails.

"This is the government codifying its right to secretly arrest and 
detain 
people," said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the Newark chapter 
of 
the American Civil Liberties Union...

Sohail Mohammed, an immigration attorney who has represented dozens of 
detainees, said the INS is making an argument that was already rejected 
in 
state court.

"The federal government made that argument before the judge, and the 
judge 
wasn't impressed," he said. "To carve out a distinction for one class 
of 
prisoners is playing with fire. This is just another roadblock they're 
trying to throw up..."

According to the most recent count by the INS, 327 detainees remained 
in 
custody in mid-February, most of them in jails in northern New 
Jersey...

-----

ANTI-TERRORISM BILL FOCUSES ON IMMIGRANTS
Those without papers could be detained
By Trent Seibert, The Denver Post, 4/17/2002
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,61%257E532293,00.html

The legislature will consider an anti-terrorism measure to give 
Colorado 
law enforcement officers the power to detain those who may be in 
violation 
of immigration laws.

"In light of 9/11, we need to do our part to help regulate the illegal 
immigrants in this country," said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Don Lee, 
R-Littleton.

Critics of his proposal are gearing up for a fight. They say Lee's 
House 
Bill 1448 gives police too much power and would allow officers to lock 
up 
immigrants for nothing more than simply forgetting to keep their 
paperwork 
with them...

-----

PALESTINIANS SIFT THROUGH JENIN RUBBLE FOR CORPSES
By Christine Hauser, Reuters, 4/18/2002

JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (Reuters) - Broken concrete hung 
precariously 
above dusty Palestinians as they sifted through the rubble of a home in 
Jenin refugee camp Thursday in a grisly search for corpses.

"Careful, careful, look for the body parts," said one of the excavators 
as 
he handed up a sheet filled with dirt to helpers standing on the heaped 
remains of the house.

Using household brooms, Palestinians wearing green surgical face masks 
to 
ward off the stench gently brushed away the dust, gradually uncovering 
chunks of flesh and bones. Above them, the upper story of the shattered 
building threatened to cave in.

Flies swarmed as what appeared to be a broken rib cage and other body 
pieces were lifted from the ruins, loaded onto a stretcher, and carted 
off 
across the hillocks of rubble that now make up much of the center of 
the 
camp...

Those nearby handed out perfume bottles to workers to try to sweeten 
the 
acrid air...

Palestinians have struggled to find enough places to keep the 
decomposing 
corpses. In the garden of Abu Ghali's hospital, small mounds of earth 
mark 
the temporary graves of some 15 bodies recovered from the camp...

Islam Abed pulled a shredded Koran from a window sill of one broken 
building and leafed through its pages, kissing it gently and touching 
the 
Muslim holy book to his forehead in respect...

-----

ISRAELI ARMY WAS "MORALLY REPUGNANT" IN JENIN, UN ENVOY SAYS
By CLAIRE SNEGAROFF, Agence France Presse, 4/18/2002

JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank, - Israel faced growing scrutiny on 
Thursday 
over its assault on Palestinians in the West Bank after the UN Middle 
East 
envoy said the Jewish state had been "morally repugnant."

Terje Roed-Larsen denounced Israel for blocking aid to the wounded at a 
Palestinian refugee camp in one of the fiercest battles of its military 
campaign, now easing slightly after three weeks.

The accusations came a day after US Secretary of State Colin Powell 
wrapped 
up a would-be peace mission that failed to hammer out a truce between 
Israel and the Palestinians.

"It is totally unacceptable and horrific beyond belief," Roed-Larsen 
told 
AFP as he toured the Jenin camp. The Palestinians claim around 500 
people 
were massacred in Jenin, many of them women and children, and that some 
were summarily executed after surrendering...

"It is totally unacceptable that the government of Israel for 11 days 
did 
not allow search and rescue teams to come. This is morally repugnant," 
said 
Roed-Larsen, UN Special Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian 
territories.

"The stench of death is horrible," he said. "We have expert people here 
who 
have been in war zones and earthquakes and they say they have never 
seen 
anything like it."

Meanwhile the US group Human Rights Watch issued a report claiming 
Israeli 
soldiers have used Palestinians as human shields, forcing them to open 
suspicious packages, orchestrate raids on houses, and inform on their 
neighbours...

-----

AT STONY BROOK, A CALL FOR PEACE IN MIDEAST
By Olivia Winslow, Newsday (New York, NY), 4/18/2002
http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-limusl182674608apr18.story

About 100 people gathered near the fountain on the SUNY Stony Brook 
campus 
yesterday, their signs proclaiming: "Stop the Apartheid," "End the 
Killings," "End Media Bias Against Palestine," "No U.S. $$$ for 
Occupation."

The rally for "a just peace in the Middle East" was sponsored by three 
student groups: the Muslim Student Association, Students for Peace and 
Humanity and Radicals Against War.

"We thought on campus there wasn't a voice heard from the other side, 
said 
Azlan Tariq, president of the Muslim Student Association. Tariq said 
the 
group wanted to "bring awareness" to people about the Palestinians' 
plight. 
The demonstration followed a pro-Israel rally on the campus Tuesday, 
which 
took note of Memorial Day in Israel, when the nation remembers its 
dead.

At yesterday's rally, many speakers said Israel should withdraw its 
military and settlers from the occupied territories, and said the 
United 
States should end military aid to Israel to force it to do so.

Ghazi Khankan, executive director of the tristate chapter of the 
Council on 
American Islamic Relations and director of interfaith affairs at the 
Islamic Center of Long Island, told the crowd that Islam stood for 
peace. 
He condemned acts of violence and offered condolences to the families 
of 
Palestinians and Israelis killed in the conflict.

However, he said, "The Palestinians are an occupied people and the 
occupation is brutal. It is apartheid."

In an interview earlier, Khankan said, "It's about time we implement 
all 
the UN Security Council resolutions calling on Israel to withdraw." He 
sought students' support for a petition calling on President George W. 
Bush 
to end military aid to Israel in light of Israel's refusal to bow to 
Bush's 
demand it withdraw its military from the West Bank...

-----

ISRAEL QUIETLY SETS UP PERMANENT HOMES IN HEBRON
The Associated Press, 4/18/2002

Israel has granted final approval for the construction of permanent 
housing 
in a Jewish settlement in the center of the West Bank city of Hebron, 
defense officials said Thursday.

Palestinian officials in the city did not immediately comment on the 
decision, but local Palestinians had tried to block the move in Israeli 
courts.

Eighteen homes are to be built on the site in the Tel Romeida 
neighborhood, 
said a leader of the Hebron settlers, Noam Arnon. The city is divided, 
with 
Israeli troops controlling 20 percent in the center where about 450 
Jewish 
settlers live. Palestinians number 130,000...

Nationalist Jews moved into Hebron the year after it was captured from 
Jordan in the 1967 war and established the first Jewish settlement in 
the 
newly occupied territories.

-----

ISRAELI SIEGE OF JESUS' BIRTHPLACE UNITES PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS
By SEBASTIEN BLANC, Agence France Presse, 4/18/2002

RAMALLAH, West Bank, April 18 - Israel's campaign in the West Bank, and 
especially the siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, has 
united 
the dwindling number of Palestinian Christians.

Each day, as the curfew is lifted briefly in this Israeli-occupied 
town, 
groups of people gather in front of the city's churches. As 
humanitarian 
aide is distributed, voices rise in condemnation of the army. "The 
Israeli 
offensive, notably at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem unites 
all 
the Christians in the West Bank and upsets those abroad," says one man 
at 
the Greek Orthodox Convent of the Transfiguration.

Churchgoer Rabab Sous says "the Nativity is not just a building of 
stone, 
but a sacred place that they (the Israelis) do not respect."

Yacoub Khoury, a priest, says "this war has united us all the more."

Just over a century ago, Christians made up about 13 percent of the 
population of what are now Israel and the Palestinian territories, but 
emigration has reduced that figure to only about two percent today.

Most of them are Palestinian Arabs.

There are about three million people in the Palestinian territories, 
but 
only some 50,000 Christians.

Ramallah is an exception to the general rule. Khoury says Christians 
were 
in a majority there until the war that followed the creation of Israel 
in 
1948 drove many Muslims out of their homes.

But even today, there are an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 Christians out 
of a 
total population of about 40,000...

-----

ISRAELI ARMY USING CIVILIANS AS HUMAN SHIELD: US RIGHTS REPORT
By DMITRY ZAKS, Agence France Presse, 4/18/2002

JERUSALEM, April 18 - A leading US rights group issued a damning report 
Thursday on the Israeli army's conduct, accusing soldiers of routinely 
forcing Palestinian civilians to open suspicious packages and search 
homes 
of suspected militants.

New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said witness testimony suggests 
discipline among Israeli troops has unraveled severely over the past 
six 
months, and that some recent army violations on the West Bank amounted 
to 
war crimes.

The 24-page report concludes that the army regularly ignores 
international 
conventions by placing the life of civilians in jeopardy by forcing 
them -- 
often at gunpoint -- to help orchestrate house raids and inform on 
their 
neighbors.

"We think that such incidents continue in more or less every raid 
conducted 
by the Israeli army on the West Bank," said Peter Bourkhaerdt, a senior 
HRW 
researcher for emergency situations who led the investigation. "The IDF 
(Israeli Defense Forces) must stop using civilians in these very 
dangerous 
and inappropriate roles," Bourkhaerdt told AFP. "They are placing 
civilians 
in serious risk."

He said only Russian forces in the separatist Muslim republic of 
Chechnya 
have been known to engage in similar practices in recent years...

In the Beit Rima raid of October 24, HRW quoted a woman named Radi 
Yusuf 
Ahmad Hajjaj as saying the Israeli army "broke down the door of my 
house, 
took my husband, and compelled him to assist them in carrying out 
arrests."

In Salfit, Amal, a 30-year-old nurse, reported Israeli soldiers 
"pointing a 
gun at my son and threatening my husband. They told him they would take 
his 
wife and children hostage and kill them if he did not do what we say."

The report said Israeli troops demolished dozens of buildings with 
civilians still inside in Tulkarem, while in Artas at least one 
civilian 
was shot after initially failing to lead soldiers to his brother, a 
suspected militant.

An Israeli soldier shot Ahmad al-Yas Aysh "in the upper leg in order to 
pressure his brother to surrender to IDF forces," the report said...

-----

COMMENTARY: START WITH PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD
A European plan to end the occupation first is the best formula.
By GRAHAM E. FULLER, The Los Angeles Times, 4/18/2002
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-000027505apr18.story
Graham E. Fuller is former vice chairman of the National Intelligence 
Council at the CIA.

What does it take to recognize failure? Secretary of State Colin 
Powell's 
trip has ended in complete collapse, as the administration remains 
mired in 
a "peace process" that is empty of content. We are back to a brutal and 
hopeless impasse. The reason for continuing failure? Let's reduce it to 
a 
bumper sticker: "It's the occupation, stupid." Until that issue is 
addressed, nothing else will fall into place.

It is time for some radical new thinking. The European foreign 
ministers in 
February unanimously backed a proposal that reverses the sequence of 
the 
whole game, calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state as the 
starting point of a negotiating process.

The new state would receive immediate international recognition by the 
world's states, including the U.S. and Israel, a seat at the United 
Nations 
and immediate global financial assistance and would be empowered to 
negotiate with Israel on terms of legal equality...

-----

FRESH EVIDENCE OF JENIN ATROCITIES
By Phil Reeves in Jerusalem, The Independent, 4/18/2002 
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=286197

Evidence of atrocities by Israeli troops in Jenin refugee camp grew 
yesterday when a British pathologist said he found "highly suspicious" 
wounds during the first autopsy on a victim.

Derrick Pounder, professor of forensic medicine at Dundee University, 
who 
is working with Amnesty International, visited the ruined camp and 
said: 
"Claims that a large number of civilians died and are under the rubble 
are 
highly credible. It is not believable that only a few people have been 
killed, given the reports we have that a large number of people were 
inside 
three and four-storey buildings when they were demolished."

The autopsy on the 38-year-old Palestinian revealed that "he was either 
shot in the foot, and then in the back, or shot in the back first - 
receiving a fatal wound - and his corpse was for some reason shot in 
the 
foot," he said.

"Whichever order the shots occurred in, it was highly suspicious..."

Richard Cook, head of operations for Unrwa - the UN agency for 
Palestinian 
refugees - visited the camp yesterday. He said: "I was absolutely 
appalled. 
I anticipated it to a degree but the devastation was much greater than 
I 
expected."

The Foreign Office said "disproportionate and excessive" force had been 
used by Israel, and "clearly civilians were not properly protected".

SEE ALSO:

Jenin camp 'horrific beyond belief'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_1937000/1937387.stm

Jenin massacre 'evidence growing'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_1937000/1937048.stm

-----

MUSLIM WOMEN BRUTALIZED IN INDIA'S GUJARAT - REPORT
By Sugita Katyal, Reuters, 4/18/2002

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The day after 59 people were burnt alive in a 
train 
in India's western state of Gujarat last month, a screaming mob chased 
Sultani Sheikh and her family with sticks, swords and cans of kerosene 
in 
their hands.

"My clothes were stripped and I was left stark naked. One by one the 
men 
raped me," Sultani, a Muslim woman from Delol village told a panel 
examining the impact on Muslim women of the country's worst religious 
bloodshed in a decade.

"I lost count after three," a report by the panel quotes her as saying. 
"All the while I could hear my son crying."

According to the report by a coalition of women's groups, many Muslim 
females suffered the most "bestial forms of sexual violence" including 
rape, insertion of objects into their bodies and burning in the 
violence.

More than 750 people, most of them belonging to India's minority Muslim 
population, have died in a wave of reprisal killings and communal 
clashes 
in Gujarat since a Muslim mob torched the train carrying Hindu 
activists in 
Godhra.

The six-member team of women's activists spoke to hundreds of witnesses 
and 
survivors of the religious mayhem to prepare the report, entitled "How 
has 
the Gujarat Massacre Affected Minority Women: The Survivors Speak."

"Many of the women who were raped were then burnt to death," Malini 
Ghose, 
a member of the team, told Reuters on Thursday.

But survivors and witnesses had horrific tales to tell the panel.

Saira Banu, living in a refugee camp in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's main city 
which bore the brunt of the violence, says a group of men cut open her 
nine-month pregnant relative's stomach, took out her fetus with a sword 
and 
threw it into a blazing fire.

Medina Mustafa Sheikh, another refugee in an Ahmedabad camp, says she 
heard 
her young daughter screaming for help as a group of men raped her in a 
maize field where her family had hidden to escape a bloodthirsty mob of 
500 
people.

"My daughter was screaming in pain asking the men to leave her alone. 
My 
mind was seething with fear and fury. I could do nothing to help my 
daughter from being assaulted sexually and tortured to death," Medina 
told 
the women's panel.

"My daughter was like a flower, still to see life...the monsters tore 
my 
beloved daughter to pieces," she said.

Activists working at a relief camp in Ahmedabad said many women arrived 
naked at the camp.

One woman was brought to the camp unconscious, bleeding profusely, her 
body 
covered with bites and marks and relief workers dressing her wounds 
said 
they had to removed pieces of wood that had been pushed up her 
vagina...

-----

AFTER 9-11, OFFICIAL TERROR KICKS IN VICTIMS OF THE DRAGNET
By James Ridgeway, The Village Voice, 4/17-23/2002
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0216/ridgeway.php

Syed Ali likes to tell the story of taking his family down to 
Washington to 
attend President George W. Bush's inauguration. He had contributed to 
Bush's presidential campaign. As a Pakistani immigrant who came to the 
U.S. 
more than 20 years ago, Ali is the model immigrant success story, 
working 
his way up to being a partner in a Manhattan security firm. A 
half-million-dollar home in the suburbs, three cars, kids in private 
schools, trips to France, Sweden, and Great Britain. He also 
contributed 
money to Al Gore, but he has a picture of Bush on his computer. He was 
waiting for his citizenship papers to come through.

But September 11 brought an end to Ali's dream. He sat in a New York 
City 
courtroom listening to himself described as a likely terrorist.

He is one of perhaps 1200 Muslim men who have been held in New Jersey 
and 
New York jails, often on the pretext of violating the immigration laws. 
The 
FBI, using the INS as a "front," as one attorney puts it, pulled in 
every 
Muslim it thought to be suspicious. A police check of a car parked in 
front 
of a fire hydrant led to one arrest. Another detainee had renewed his 
driver's license in a Florida motor-vehicle office shortly after one of 
the 
September 11 terrorists renewed his license. An executive was pulled 
over 
for a traffic violation and suddenly found half a dozen cops all over 
him, 
screaming, "Terrorist!"...

-----

FROM TANKS TO TALKS, WILL FUTURE HOLD CONFLICT OR CALM?
By LAURIE DAVIES, The Tyler Morning Telegraph, 4/16/2002
http://www.tylerpaper.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=3867294&BRD=1994&PAG=461&dept_id=226369&rfi=6

With a violent past behind them and a nervous present at hand, one 
thing is 
sure for the inhabitants of the sliver of land on the coast of the 
Mediterranean Sea: They will have a future.

The question is, what kind of future will it be?

Even as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell reported progress in talks 
with Israelis and Palestinians Tuesday, Israeli tanks rolled into three 
Palestinian suburbs of Jerusalem and re-entered a fourth West Bank 
city.

And while Israelis prepared to observe Israel Independence Day 
Wednesday, 
Red Cross teams began gathering bodies in what Palestinians called a 
"massacre" at the Jenin refugee camp on the northern edge of the West 
Bank.

There are those who believe Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is not a 
nation-builder but a bloodstained terrorist.

Then again, there are those who believe Israel Prime Minister Ariel 
Sharon 
is not a peace-broker but a bully sending tanks to face rock-throwing 
protesters.

Will there ever be a solution? If so, what will it cost?...

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 15:12:42 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Rep. McKinney Requests Hearing on Palestinian Relief Restrictions

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/19/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* VERSE OF THE DAY: LIGHT UPON LIGHT
* MUSLIM WOMEN IN VA MARK ANNIVERSARY OF RAIDS WITH VIGIL
* REP. MCKINNEY REQUESTS HEARING ON PALESTINIAN RELIEF RESTRICTIONS
* PALESTINIAN SAYS ISRAEL ROADBLOCKS COST BABY'S LIFE (Reuters)
* DOZENS OF BODIES FOUND IN WEST BANK REFUGEE CAMPS (Scottish Daily 
Record)
* ONCE-PROUD CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP DEFENDS ATROCITIES OF FOREIGN ARMY
* AGENTS OF INFLUENCE (Antiwar.com)
* POLL: AMERICANS CONTINUE TO PLACE EQUAL BLAME ON PALESTINIANS AND 
ISRAELIS
* ARABS FUEL A BOYCOTT OF U.S. GOODS (Wall Street Journal)
* PALESTINIANS IN US LAMENT THE UNHEARD SIDE IN CONFLICT (Los Angeles 
Times)
* U.S. CAMPAIGNERS PROMISE BIGGEST EVER PRO-PALESTINIAN DEMO (AFP)
* PALESTINIANS BURY THEIR DEAD BURY THEIR DEAD IN COMMON GRAVES 
(Reuters)
* ARE THE ISRAELIS GUILTY OF MASS MURDER? (The Scotsman)
* JENIN CAMP A SURREAL WASTELAND OF SURVIVAL, DEATH (Reuters)
* US MAY VETO U.N. RESOLUTION ON PROBE OF JENIN (Reuters)
* PALESTINIAN SURVIVES 10 DAYS BURIED BENEATH JENIN RUBBLE (AFP)
* FAMILIES SCRABBLE IN THE DUST TO FIND THEIR DEAD (Independent)
* U.S. LAWMAKERS TO PUSH MEASURES BACKING ISRAEL (Reuters)
* SECRECY IS SWEPT FROM HEARING (Detroit Free Press)
* STATES ARE TOLD TO KEEP DETAINEE INFORMATION SECRET (New York Times)
* ISRAELIS REJECT VISIT FROM BAY AREA 'SHIELDS' (San Francisco 
Chronicle)
* EXECUTIVE'S SUIT ALLEGES ETHNIC BIAS (San Jose Mercury News)
* FBI's DALLAS BOSS IS RETIRING (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

-----

VERSE OF THE DAY: LIGHT UPON LIGHT

God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light 
is 
as if there were a Niche, and within it a lamp; the Lamp enclosed in 
Glass; 
the glass a brilliant star, lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive neither 
of 
the East nor of the West whose Oil is well-nigh luminous though fire 
scarce 
touched it. Light upon Light! God doth guide whom He will to His Light.

The Holy Quran, Chapter 24, Verse 35

-----

                                 - MEDIA ADVISORY -

MUSLIM WOMEN IN VA MARK ANNIVERSARY OF RAIDS WITH VIGIL

WHAT: On Sunday, April 21, Sisters in Solidarity, an interfaith and 
inter-community women's group, will hold a candle-light prayer vigil 
and 
"teach-in" to mark the one-month anniversary of government raids on 
Muslim 
institutions and homes in Northern Virginia and Georgia.

Islamic advocacy groups expressed outrage over the March 20th raids and 
called them a "fishing expedition" that used McCarthy-like tactics and 
unconstitutional procedures against highly-respected members of the 
Muslim 
community.

At the evening event, civil rights activists will discuss how citizens 
can 
proactively defend their legal rights and will outline the negative 
civil 
liberties implications of the Patriot Act.

Event participants will also create a quilt representing "Sisters Stand 
Firm" to show strength through unity.

WHEN: Sunday, April 21, 6-8 p.m. (Vigil will take place rain or shine.)

WHERE: Herndon Town Green, Downtown Herndon, 717 Lynn St., Herndon, VA

CONTACT: Tel: 571-217-4034, E-mail: afeefas@aol.com, 
umjibreel@yahoo.com

-----

REP. MCKINNEY REQUESTS HEARING ON PALESTINIAN RELIEF RESTRICTIONS

April 18, 2002

The Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Chair, Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights
2160 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen:

I would like to request that our subcommittee hold a hearing on 
restrictions on the proper functioning of the United Nations Relief 
Works 
Agency (UNRWA), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), 
and 
other international relief agencies operating in the occupied West Bank 
and 
Gaza Strip.

Since the start of the violence in fall 2000, there have been numerous 
reports of UNRWA, ICRC, and other relief agencies being prevented from 
reaching, evacuating, and treating the sick and wounded throughout the 
West 
Bank and Gaza Strip.

The Jenin refugee camp, for example, which is administered by UNRWA, 
has 
been the scene of massive devastation and as yet unknown numbers of 
civilian casualties. Both UNRWA and ICRC officials, along with other 
relief 
agencies were denied access to the camp for 15 days while curfews have 
prevented the camp's residents from accessing what little aid has been 
allowed to enter. UNRWA officials report that many of the wounded have 
been 
allowed to bleed to death and that many wounded and dead are still 
trapped 
underneath the rubble.  The camp has been without water for more than 2 
weeks and there are growing concerns about the spread of disease.

In addition, UN and other international agencies' personnel and 
property 
have themselves been targets of military attack.  UNRWA and ICRC 
ambulances 
have been shot at and, in some cases, confiscated.  Internationally 
accredited medical personnel have also been shot at and sometimes are 
arrested. UNRWA's facilities in Jenin sustained widespread damage, 
including to its school and clinic, and its Camp Services Office and 
Sanitation Stores were leveled to the ground.

As you know, international humanitarian law prohibits such attacks, as 
well 
as restrictions on access to water, food, medicine, emergency 
assistance, 
and medical attention during times of conflict. Yet these attacks and 
restrictions are carried out routinely in the Occupied Territories and 
have 
increased dramatically since March 29.

The U.S. government has called on Israeli authorities to allow 
humanitarian 
aid workers and supplies to reach affected civilian populations.  
Secretary 
of State Colin Powell told reporters in Jerusalem on April 13, "The 
United 
States is deeply concerned about the serious humanitarian situation of 
the 
Palestinian people...We call upon Israel to respect international 
humanitarian principles and to allow full and unimpeded access to 
humanitarian organizations and services to provide basic humanitarian 
services, including evacuation of the wounded and deceased. In this 
regard, 
we are particularly concerned at the humanitarian situation in Jenin." 
Likewise, on April 14, President Bush's national security advisor 
Condoleezza Rice told NBC's Meet the Press that she too has informed 
the 
Israeli government "about the importance of getting the International 
Committee of the Red Cross into the area as soon as is physically 
possible."

The United States contributed $115 million to the ICRC worldwide in FY 
2001, and provides over $100 million (or roughly 20-25% of its annual 
budget) to UNRWA each year.

A hearing by the International Operations and Human Rights subcommittee 
should look at the current restrictions on UNRWA, ICRC, and other 
international relief agencies and consider ways to facilitate the 
proper 
functioning and protection of these international agencies.

Sincerely,

Cynthia A. McKinney
Member of Congress

SEND NOTES OF THANKS TO:

The Honorable Cynthia A. McKinney
U.S. House of Representatives
124 Cannon Building
Washington, DC 20515

Tel: 202 225 1605
Fax: 202 226 0691

E-MAIL: cymck@mail.house.gov
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.house.gov/mckinney/

-----

PALESTINIAN SAYS ISRAEL ROADBLOCKS COST BABY'S LIFE
Reuters, 4/19/02

NABLUS, West Bank, April 19 (Reuters) - A Palestinian photographer said 
on 
Friday his newborn daughter had died overnight because delays at 
Israeli 
army checkpoints had prevented him from getting her to a Nablus 
hospital.

"I have lost my only baby -- whom I called Dunya, Arabic for life -- 
because of these damned roadblocks," Nasser Shtayyeh, 32, who covers 
Nablus 
for The Associated Press, told reporters...

Shtayyeh said he had tried to get the five-day-old infant to hospital 
in 
the West Bank town of Nablus from the family home in the village of 
Salem, 
about five km (three miles) away...

-----

DOZENS OF BODIES FOUND IN WEST BANK REFUGEE CAMPS
Scottish Daily Record & Sunday Mail Ltd., 4/19/02
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/news/page.cfm?objectid=11801450&method=full

MORE horrific evidence of Israel's continuing massacre in the West Bank 
emerged yesterday.

In the Nablus refugee camp, 35 bodies were found. In Jenin, 
Palestinians 
looking for survivors clawed with bare hands at the ruins of their 
refugee 
camp. They believe hundreds may be buried beneath the rubble.

The UN envoy to the Middle East called the scene in Jenin "horrifying 
beyond belief".

Terje Roed-Larsen added: "It looks like there's been an earthquake here 
and 
the stench of death is over many places where we are standing."

He said 300 buildings had been destroyed and 2000 people left homeless. 
He 
added: "Not any objective can justify such action with colossal 
suffering".

Jenin hospital director Muhammed Abu Ghali said 36 bodies had been 
recovered so far.

Israel, who lost 23 soldiers during their two- week military operation, 
claim 70 people have been killed - all militants.

US President George Bush, meanwhile, praised Israeli Prime Minister 
Ariel 
Sharon as "a man of peace."

-----

ONCE-PROUD CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP DEFENDS ATROCITIES OF FOREIGN ARMY

ADL SAYS UN ENVOYS COMMENTS ABOUT CONDITION IN JENIN 'ONE-SIDED'
U.S. Newswire, 04/18/2002

NEW YORK, N.Y., April 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Anti-Defamation League 
(ADL) today expressed concern with U.N. envoy to the Middle East Terje 
Roed-Larsen's one-sided comments about conditions in the Jenin refugee 
camp 
without further reference to Jenin's use as a base for anti-Israel 
terrorist planning and operations.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director, issued the following 
statement:

"Unfortunately, Mr. Roed-Larsen's one-sided comments contain no 
reference 
to Jenin's use as a planning and operations base by terrorists striking 
at 
Israeli targets, nor to the fierce battles necessitated by the armed 
offensive by Palestinians in these locations.

"Israel is doing all it can to improve conditions in Jenin. However, 
the 
Israeli Army needed to ensure that the area was safe and that all 
threats 
from snipers and booby traps were removed before full access to aid 
agencies could be granted...

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading 
organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that 
counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

-----

AGENTS OF INFLUENCE
By Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j041902.html

Israel Firsters rally against Bush-Powell peace plan We don't really 
need 
to know much about the recent "We stand with Israel, now and forever" 
rally 
held in Washington, D.C., except the following report from Associated 
Press:

"A top administration official was interrupted and booed Monday when he 
told thousands of people gathered at the Capitol for a pro-Israel rally 
that Palestinians as well as Israelis have been victims of Mideast 
violence. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz was drowned out by 
chants of 'no more Arafat' and booed as he told a packed crowd of 
thousands 
that 'innocent Palestinians are suffering and dying as well. It is 
critical 
that we recognize and acknowledge that fact...'"

"On September 12th, the day after the terrorist attack on our country, 
my 
neighbor and friend, Bill Bennett, said to me, 'Now we are all 
Israelis.'"Here is the perfect device to evade the present conflict 
between 
American and Israeli interests in the Middle East: simply deny the 
divergence by proclaiming that, somehow, Americans are Israelis. But is 
America really analogous to an occupying power, one that, furthermore, 
finds itself in natural collision with the entire Arab-Muslim world?...

Israel wants the right to be left alone - as long as the US foots the 
bill. 
Those IDF tanks, those modern weapons, those bloody bulldozers - all 
were 
paid for by the US taxpayers. That's $90 billion-plus since 1949. Oh, 
yes, 
I'm sure they want to be left alone to spend our money on building 
"settlements" over bulldozed Palestinian communities - and attack 
helicopters to do battle with stone-throwing children - and yet surely 
the 
US has some interest in not being seen as an accomplice to Sharon's 
crimes. 
But since "we are all Israelis now," there are no American interests, 
only 
Israeli interests...

The outrageousness of sending Benjamin Netanyahu to openly lobby the US 
Senate, and make a direct appeal to the Democrats - who flocked to 
support 
him - was equaled only by the nerve of inviting Natan Sharansky, 
Israel's 
deputy prime minister, to address the rally. The spectacle of a high 
Israeli official at an American political rally, on American soil, 
not-so-implicitly scolding an American President for his Mideast 
policy, 
was an act of brazen insolence, the sort of behavior that wouldn't be 
tolerated from any other country...

Whether or not the Israeli government was directly involved, or merely 
encouraged and indirectly supported these activities, the reality is 
that 
the Israel Firsters are little more than a small, somewhat wacky, 
albeit 
vociferous fifth column, whose influence is way out of proportion to 
their 
actual numbers.

A Time-CNN poll, released April 12, shows that most Americans would 
reduce 
or completely eliminate aid to Israel if Sharon doesn't withdraw his 
troops 
from Palestinian areas. 60 percent would cut or eliminate aid; and a 
full 
75 percent support America's diplomatic initiative.

As such a great believer in the virtues of "democracy," will Bennett 
now 
accede to the wishes of the majority and accept the end of aid to 
Israel? I 
thought not...

-----

AMERICANS CONTINUE TO PLACE EQUAL BLAME ON PALESTINIANS AND ISRAELIS
Harris Interactive Survey Shows Only Slight Support For Saudi Arabian 
Peace 
Plan

ROCHESTER, N.Y., April 19 - (PR Newswire) As U.S. Secretary of State 
Colin 
Powell heads home, after nearly a week of unproductive "shuttle 
diplomacy" 
between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Chairman 
Yasser 
Arafat, more Americans continue to blame both sides equally for the 
violence there.  Furthermore, both Sharon's and Arafat's ratings 
continue 
to be very negative, although slightly improved from their high 
negatives a 
month ago.

Americans seem to favor -- but only slightly -- the recent peace 
initiative 
proposed by Saudi Arabia and endorsed by The Arab League which states 
that 
all Arab states would recognize and make peace with Israel in return 
for 
the creation of an independent Palestinian state on the West Bank and 
Gaza. 
A very slight majority (51%) of the American public supports this plan 
with 
22% opposing it. Just over a quarter (26%) are not sure reflecting, 
perhaps, the complexity and the fluidity of the events in the Middle 
East.

These are some of findings of the latest issue of The Harris Poll(R), 
conducted by telephone by Harris Interactive(SM) among a national 
cross-section of 1,021 adults aged 18 or over, between April 9 and 15, 
2002.

Other key findings include:

While it seems that Americans are slightly more negative to the 
Palestinians, this doesn't mean that support for Israel is increasing. 
The 
ratings of both Prime Minister Sharon (66% negative, 23% positive) and 
Chairman Arafat (85% negative, 6% positive) have worsened in the  past 
four 
weeks.  This might be attributed to the perceived  intransigence of 
both men...

-----

ARABS FUEL A BOYCOTT OF U.S. GOODS
By Hugh Pope, The Wall Street Journal, 4/19/02

Calls for a boycott of U.S. products are spreading in the Middle East 
amid 
anger over U.S. policies that many Arabs say favor Israel. So far, 
boycotts 
haven't cut noticeably into sales, say U.S. companies doing business in 
the 
Middle East.

Still, the persistent appeals differ from past boycott efforts, which 
were 
often organized by governments. The current efforts arise from women's 
groups, citizen committees, trade unions and other grass-roots 
organizations -- sources some executives fear will inflict 
longer-lasting 
damage to U.S. franchises and brand names.

"We expect that it will have an impact," says Ahmed Linjawi, manager of 
Procter & Gamble Co.'s joint venture in Saudi Arabia. "The biggest 
concern 
is our image." Consumers shunning U.S. products could eventually hit 
sales, 
contributing to a projected 10% to 15% fall in U.S. exports to Saudi 
Arabia 
this year, diplomats say.

U.S. companies, from Coca-Cola Co. to McDonald's Corp., sold $6 billion 
worth of goods and services to Saudi Arabia in 2001 and $3.7 billion 
worth 
to Egypt -- two of the region's biggest economies. Overall, exports to 
the 
Arab world make up about 3% of the U.S. total...

"It's not organized," says Saudi businesswoman Suzan al-Dakhil. "I felt 
it 
from inside. It spreads by word of mouth." Ms. Dakhil says she won't 
buy 
U.S. goods in supermarkets or eat at Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets. 
When 
her son wanted to buy a car two weeks ago, she steered him away from 
the 
GMC Yukon he was considering, she said. He chose a Toyota...

Participants and callers on "For Women Only," a chat show on the 
popular 
pan-Arab television program al-Jazeera, were unanimous this week on 
Arab 
women's duty to boycott Israeli and American products. "Women must 
break 
with American capitalist culture," said Amuza Ghabbash of al-Quds 
University in the United Arab Emirates...

-----

PALESTINIANS IN US LAMENT THE UNHEARD SIDE IN CONFLICT
By JOHANNA NEUMAN, Los Angeles Times, 4/19/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-000027973apr19.story

Laguna Beach shop owner Samera Sood is reluctant to discuss politics 
with 
patrons of her Native American art store. So when a customer recently 
noted 
her accent and asked where she was from, Sood said simply that she was 
born 
near Jerusalem.

Taking Sood for an Israeli, the customer said she was glad the 
Palestinians 
were "getting what they deserved."

Sood told the customer of the recent Israeli assault on the West Bank 
town 
of Jenin and the 1982 massacre of hundreds of Palestinians by Israeli 
allies at refugee camps in Lebanon.

History, she said, should not be repeating itself. Jews, "of all 
people, 
should stand up," said Sood, who is president of the Palestinian 
American 
Women's Assn. of Southern California...

"People are being killed," Sood said. "Why is the world not saying 
anything? Is their blood so cheap?"...

"The core problem for us as citizens of this country is this disparity: 
Every effort by Palestinians to resist occupation is seen as an act of 
terrorism and every effort by Israel is seen as self-defense," said 
Nihad 
Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations 
in 
Washington.

They are also angry that their tax dollars, in the form of U.S. 
military 
aid to Israel, are helping finance the Apache attack helicopters and 
M-16s 
used in the current Israeli offensive, which has resulted in the deaths 
of 
relatives and the destruction of property.

-----

U.S. CAMPAIGNERS PROMISE BIGGEST EVER PRO-PALESTINIAN DEMO
Agence France Presse, 4/18/02

Campaigners are promising the biggest-ever pro-Palestinian 
demonstration in 
the United States on Saturday, hoping to wrest influence from the 
mighty 
pro-Israel lobby in US politics.

Organisers of a coalition of pro-Palestine pressure groups are 
promising 
that tens of thousands of demonstrators will gather here to denounce US 
Middle East policy...

Opponents of US foreign policy in the Middle East believe it is slanted 
too 
far towards Israel and hope to erode the power of the pro-Israel lobby, 
which musters strong support in Congress and the US government.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the Palestinians have 
been 
suffering at the hands of the Israelis helped by the American 
government," 
said Nihad Awad, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic 
relations.

Awad said he has sensed an "awakening" among the US public to the 
Palestinian cause during more than 18 months of Israeli-Palestinian 
violence.

The Palestinian protest, which hopes to draw marchers from across the 
United States, is to begin near the White House (White House Ellipse, 
Saturday, 11 a.m.), before tracing a course through the streets of 
Washington...

-----

PALESTINIANS BURY THEIR DEAD BURY THEIR DEAD IN COMMON GRAVES
By Christine Hauser, Reuters, 4/19/02

JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank - Thirty-five Palestinians swathed in 
white 
shrouds and some decked with purple flowers were buried on Friday in 
common 
graves in an olive grove on the edge of the Jenin refugee camp...

Hospital officials believe the toll will climb into the hundreds as 
corpses 
are recovered from the rubble of the camp. Women in Muslim headscarves 
sat 
on the edges of five trenches carved into the olive field. Men, faces 
covered with green surgical masks to ward off the stench of rotting 
corpses, stood neck-deep in the trenches, arranging bodies head to 
foot...

Women screamed and wailed as flatbed trucks bearing the bodies drove up 
to 
the graves. They ran up alongside the trucks as they were still moving, 
grabbing at the edges to hold on and trying to clutch at the bodies 
stacked 
on top.

Arabic calligraphy in red was scrawled across the bodies, proclaiming 
the 
dead as martyrs. It was not possible to confirm how many of the 35 
bodies 
buried were fighters or civilians. The bodies had been provisionally 
covered in shallow soil in the back lot of the main hospital before 
being 
dug up for a proper burial after Israeli forces withdrew from town.

As women cried, a group of men sat silently with blank stares in a 
semi-circle under the shade of an olive tree. Women were carried away 
from 
the pits, their feet dragging in the dust. Others covered their heads 
with 
the dirt of the grave and some sobbed silently, turning their heads 
away.

Mohammad Ali Ghali, director of Jenin's main hospital, said the final 
death 
toll could climb to anywhere between 200 and 400 once all corpses had 
been 
extracted from the rubble...

-----

ARE THE ISRAELIS GUILTY OF MASS MURDER?
By Ben Lynfield And Rory Macmillan, The Scotsman, 4/19/02

THEY left as departing heroes, waving victory salutes and grinning as 
they 
went. But even as Israel's forces pulled out of the Jenin refugee camp 
on 
the West Bank, relief workers were claiming the carnage and destruction 
left behind was like an earthquake.

They spoke of a war crime on the scale of the Bosnia and Kosovo wars.

The United Nations, allowed access after 12 days during which 
ambulances 
were turned away and scores of injured bleed to death, struggled to 
find 
words to describe the devastation.

Terje Roed-Larsen, the UN special envoy, said simply: "We have expert 
people here who have been in war zones and earthquakes and they say 
they 
have never seen anything like it. It is horrifying beyond belief." The 
UN 
was at last beginning to extract the corpses and search for survivors 
beneath the rubble, as well as provide food, water and shelter to camp 
residents. Its officials were unable to bring to mind a time when they 
had 
been so obstructed as they had been by the Israelis.

Peter Hansen, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency , who 
had 
served in the Balkans, said: "I and my colleagues working in crisis 
situations for decades do not recall a situation where co-operation 
from 
the authorities has been less than what we have experienced from the 
Israeli government. It is beyond any human decency to let ambulances, 
food 
and water stand outside the camp, as has been the case."

Mr Hansen said soldiers had shot up the UN clinic in the camp. 
Destroyed, 
along with everything else, was a storage container for vaccines.

He was shaken by what he had seen: "I today have seen decomposed bodies 
dug 
out. One was an 11-year-old child, judging from the size of his 
rib-cage..."

-----

JENIN CAMP A SURREAL WASTELAND OF SURVIVAL, DEATH
By Christine Hauser, Reuters, 4/19/02

JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank, April 19 (Reuters) - What do you say to 
a 
Palestinian refugee drenched with sweat from the effort of digging out 
his 
bombed house with a garden hoe, filling bucket after bucket with 
rubble?

"Trust in God," were the only words a neighbour found to tell Yahya 
Salih 
as the 42-year-old stood ankle-deep in a hole he had made atop a 
mountain 
of dirt and concrete wreckage in the centre of the Jenin refugee camp 
in 
the West Bank.

"My house is under here," said Salih, straightening up from his toils 
under 
the hot sun. "This was our bedroom," he said, plucking at an edge of 
foam 
rubber -- the corner of a mattress still buried deep in the ruins.

"That is our pillow," he continued, pointing to the dusty stuffing 
where 
his little girl sat watching him from the edge of the shallow pit he 
had dug.

"I am trying to find our identity cards at least, and to get to my 
wife's 
jewellery. My children need their clothes."

For now, all Salih, who had worked as a car painter, had were the tools 
he 
was using to save his home, wife and children. He sat in the dirt to 
rest 
next to his five-year-old son Ahmed, who cuddled close to kiss his 
father's 
dusty beard...

-----

US MAY VETO U.N. RESOLUTION ON PROBE OF JENIN
Reuters, 4/19/200

UNITED NATIONS, April 19 (Reuters) - The United States appeared headed 
toward a veto on Friday of an Arab-drafted Security Council resolution 
that 
demands a probe of the devastation in the Jenin refugee camp by Israeli 
troops.

Although the White House said it was not against some kind of 
investigation 
of Jenin, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said Washington wanted no 
resolution at all, despite compromises made by Arab delegates after 
discussions with Britain.

"Alleviating the situation in Jenin should be our priority humanitarian 
objective at this time. Further Security Council action is not the best 
way 
to meet this objective," he told an open council meeting.

"Rather, we can make more of an impact by working directly with the 
parties 
on the ground," Negroponte said. Israel has opposed all council 
measures, 
calling them unbalanced.

Diplomats said Negroponte threatened a veto in private consultations, a 
step the United States in recent weeks has been loathe to do, 
presumably to 
avoid further inflaming tensions in the Arab world...

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told reporters on Thursday he would 
approve an investigation but his first priority was to help the living 
in 
the Jenin camp, administered by the Palestinian Authority.

He called on Israel to allow humanitarian workers full access, 
describing 
the destruction as "horrific."

U.N. officials visiting the camp found "people digging out corpses from 
the 
rubble with bare hands," Annan said.

"Meanwhile, no major emergency rescue operation has been allowed to 
begin. 
The destruction is massive and the impact on the civilian population is 
devastating," he said.

Despite Israeli and U.S. opposition, Annan also renewed appeals for a 
"robust" international force in Palestinian territory to halt the 
latest 
upsurge of violence that begin in September 2000.

But Aaron Jacob, Israel's deputy U.N. ambassador, immediately said "no" 
and 
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said "the president thinks the 
purpose 
of America's military is to fight and win wars..."

-----

PALESTINIAN SURVIVES 10 DAYS BURIED BENEATH JENIN RUBBLE
Agence France Presse, 4/19/02

JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank - A Palestinian man was recovered alive 
Friday 10 days after being buried beneath rubble in the Jenin refugee 
camp 
in the West Bank, site of the heaviest fighting in Israel's three-week 
military offensive, a Palestinian Red Crescent official said.

Hossam Sharkawi, who is in charge of emergency services, said the 
survivor 
had been taken to hospital but he had no information on his condition. 
He 
said it was the first true case of a survivor being pulled from the 
debris 
of the camp which was devastated during an Israeli army incursion.

"Others were half-trapped in the remains or were afraid to come out," 
he 
told AFP, adding an international aid team had arrived in Jenin to 
assist 
with attempts to locate other survivors.

Sharkawi said 26 bodies had been found in the ruins, including four 
children, two women and two elderly people who were more than 65 years 
old. 
An additional 10 bodies were unearthed from shallow, sand-covered 
graves in 
the grounds of the camp hospital Friday to be given a formal burial in 
the 
cemetery. Several other bodies were to be disinterred later...

-----

FAMILIES SCRABBLE IN THE DUST TO FIND THEIR DEAD
By Justin Huggler, The Independent (UK), 4/19/02
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=286615

WHEN THEY found the body it was in pieces and so they gathered it all 
up 
out of the rubble, great chunks of blackened, rotting flesh with bits 
of 
bone sticking out, and piled them up on a blanket. The smell made us 
retch 
and stumble away gasping for clean air. The Palestinians said the pile 
of 
putrefying flesh and bone was Mohammed Massoud Abu Sb'a.

The people of Jenin refugee camp returned to look for their dead 
yesterday 
amid the devastation that the Israeli army had made of their homes. The 
destruction here was more devastating than an earthquake, yet the 
Israelis 
have not allowed any heavy lifting equipment in here, so the 
Palestinians 
dug out the bodies with their hands, scrabbling in the dust and heaving 
away the broken blocks. They had brought a stretcher for the body we 
saw 
being dug up but a stretcher was not needed for fragments so they 
bundled 
them all up in a blanket and carried them away.

Aid workers and human rights monitors have started to call this ground 
zero. The television pictures do not convey the devastation. You have 
to 
come here to walk over the dust and rubble that used to be people's 
homes, 
picking your way through the little pieces of their lives, the 
children's 
schoolbooks and discarded clothing. You have to smell the stench of 
death 
that clings to certain corners. The piles of rubble tower high above 
your 
head and the work of removing the bodies is nerve-racking and 
haunting...

Another woman stopped us angrily outside the hospital. She was saying 
something had happened to her sister, but would not explain what. "See 
what 
Sharon has done to us," she said hysterically. "America is with Sharon, 
Britain is with Sharon."

-----

U.S. LAWMAKERS TO PUSH MEASURES BACKING ISRAEL
By Vicki Allen, Reuters, 4/18/02

WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - Key members of the House of 
Representatives said on Thursday they would seek up to $200 million in 
emergency aid to Israel, as U.S. lawmakers pushed bipartisan measures 
to 
support the Jewish State amid its campaign in Palestinian cities.

Separately, two senators offered a bill that would impose sanctions on 
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and the Palestine Liberation 
Organization, and two House members introduced a non-binding resolution 
expressing solidarity with Israel and citing Arafat's "ongoing support 
and 
coordination of terror..."

Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, the top Democrat on the House 
Appropriations 
foreign aid subcommittee, said she and other members of the panel would 
push for up to $200 million in emergency aid for Israel as part of a 
$27 
billion counter-terrorism package moving through Congress.

Israel already receives $3 billion in U.S. assistance annually, and had 
sought up to $800 million more.

-----

SECRECY IS SWEPT FROM HEARING
By DAVID ASHENFELTER, Detroit Free Press, 4/19/02
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/haddad19_20020419.htm

A U.S. appeals court dealt the Justice Department a blow Thursday in 
its 
efforts to conduct secret deportation hearings against people swept up 
in 
the federal terrorism probe.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in 
Cincinnati 
gave the Free Press and other Detroit-area newspapers access to 
transcripts 
and documents from deportation proceedings against Ann Arbor Muslim 
activist Rabih Haddad.

The judges also said Detroit Immigration Judge Elizabeth Hacker must 
open 
Haddad's court appearances to the public, while the appeals court 
considers 
the Justice Department's appeal to keep them private.

The judges concluded that open hearings won't compromise the federal 
terror 
probe as the Justice Department contends. The appeals judges -- Martha 
Daughtrey, Karen Moore and Guy Cole -- said they decided to give the 
newspapers immediate access to Haddad's deportation hearings because 
the 
government isn't likely to win its appeal, which will be heard in 
coming 
weeks.

The judges said deportation hearings enjoy the same constitutional 
protections as civil and criminal trials, which are presumptively open.

-----

STATES ARE TOLD TO KEEP DETAINEE INFORMATION SECRET
By DANNY HAKIM, The New York Times, 4/19/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/19/national/19HEAR.html

The Bush administration ordered state and local officials today not to 
release information about immigration detainees even as the government 
lost 
a crucial related battle in federal appeals court.

The new directive was issued by James W. Ziglar, the commissioner of 
the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service, in consultation with the 
Justice 
Department. The rule prohibits state and local employees from 
disclosing 
the names of immigration detainees in their custody. The regulation 
follows 
a ruling last month by a New Jersey judge that ordered two county jails 
to 
release the names of immigrants detained after Sept. 11. The order is 
part 
of the government effort to keep secret the names of people taken into 
custody after Sept. 11 and bar access to their immigration hearings.

That effort was dealt a legal setback today when a federal appeals 
court in 
Cincinnati said the government must release transcripts of past 
immigration 
court hearings in the case of Rabih Haddad, a detainee and a co-founder 
of 
a Muslim charity whose assets the government has frozen.

The court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 
said 
there was just a "slim likelihood" that it would reverse a lower court 
decision that compelled the government to open Mr. Haddad's future 
immigration hearings.

Michigan newspapers, including The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit 
News, 
have sued to open the hearing of Mr. Haddad, a native of Lebanon who 
lived 
with his family in Ann Arbor. The newspapers were joined in the suit by 
the 
American Civil Liberties Union and Representative John Conyers Jr., 
Democrat of Michigan...

-----

ISRAELIS REJECT VISIT FROM BAY AREA 'SHIELDS'
By Ilene Lelchuk, The San Francisco Chronicle, 4/19/02
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/04/19/MN140893.DTL

Eight Americans, most from the Bay Area, who tried to reach the 
Palestinian 
territories this week to act as "human shields" were turned away at the 
Tel 
Aviv airport by Israeli officials, relatives and friends said 
yesterday...

-----

EXECUTIVE'S SUIT ALLEGES ETHNIC BIAS
By Howard Mintz, San Jose Mercury News, 4/19/02
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/business/3093849.htm

A former top executive at Advanced Micro Devices sued the chip giant 
Thursday, claiming company founder Jerry Sanders and other leaders 
humiliated him and forced him out after Sept. 11 because he is an 
Arab-American.

Walid Maghribi claims Sanders and AMD President Hector Ruiz repeatedly 
directed ethnic slurs and jokes at him, according to a complaint filed 
in 
U.S. District Court in San Jose.

-----

FBI's DALLAS BOSS IS RETIRING
By BILL MILLER and JACK DOUGLAS JR., The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 
04/18/2002

DALLAS - Danny Defenbaugh, the top FBI official who innovated 
anti-terrorism units in North Texas but was sharply criticized for his 
role 
in the Oklahoma City bombing investigation, is retiring.

Defenbaugh, an Ohio native, has been special agent in charge of the 
Dallas 
field office since 1998. He joined the FBI in 1969 and became a bomb 
expert. He was sent to Beirut to investigate the 1983 terrorist 
explosion 
that killed 241 U.S. military personnel. Defenbaugh, 51, was 
unavailable to 
comment Wednesday, but in a Tuesday e-mail obtained by The Associated 
Press, Defenbaugh told colleagues: "I have been so fortunate to live a 
dream beyond my dreams. I plan on staying in the area and begin my 
search 
for a new and challenging career."

Council on American-Islamic Relations, praised Defenbaugh's prompt 
deployment of the bureau's hate crime specialists when the lives, 
property 
and mosques of Arab-Americans in North Texas were targeted for 
retaliation 
after Sept. 11.

-----

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CAIR
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-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 18:19:55 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Rally for Palestine Attracts 100,000 Americans

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/20/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* RALLY FOR PALESTINE ATTRACTS 100,000 AMERICANS
* TENS OF THOUSANDS GATHER FOR LARGEST PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTEST IN US 
(AFP)
* THOSE WHO COULD NOT ATTEND THE RALLY CAN STILL HELP STOP ISRAELI 
AGGRESSION (Action Alert #328)

-----

RALLY FOR PALESTINE ATTRACTS 100,000 AMERICANS

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/20/02) - An estimated 100,000 Americans from 
diverse 
ethnic, religious and political backgrounds turned out today in the 
nation's capital to call for an end to the Israeli occupation of 
Palestinian land. The largest-ever national rally in support of the 
Palestinian people filled the White House Ellipse and poured into 
streets 
leading to Capitol Hill during the six-hour gathering.

"Today's event brought together Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and 
Jews, 
as well as people from a rainbow of ethnic backgrounds and political 
philosophies. The tremendous success of the rally shows that elected 
officials who offer blind support for Israel's brutal polices are out 
of 
step with their constituents," said Council on American-Islamic 
Relations 
(CAIR) Executive Director Nihad Awad, who spoke on the Ellipse.

Awad noted that rally participants included Korean-Americans, 
Filipinos, 
Native Americans and Hispanics. They chanted: "We are all 
Palestinians."

"Today marks the beginning of a national broad-based coalition that 
will 
seek to put America's interests before those of a foreign government 
engaged in an Apartheid-like occupation of another people," said Awad.

CAIR, a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, called on all those at 
the 
rally to contact their elected representatives and demand an end to 
billions of American tax dollars being sent to Israel and an 
international 
investigation of the Israeli massacre of Palestinian civilians in the 
Jenin 
refugee camp.

The main organizer of the protest was International A.N.S.W.E.R.
SEE: http://www.internationalanswer.org

NOTE: The rally was carried live on C-SPAN. Go to http://www.c-span.org 
to 
see if the rally video will be re-run over the weekend.

-----

TENS OF THOUSANDS GATHER IN WASHINGTON
FOR LARGEST PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTEST IN US
By LAUREN GELFAND, Agence France Presse, 4/20/2002

WASHINGTON, April 20 - In the largest pro-Palestinian demonstration 
ever in 
the United States, tens of thousands of protesters gathered here 
Saturday 
to condemn what they saw as the US administration's pro-Israeli bent in 
the 
Mideast conflict...

Police estimated that around 50,000 people took part in the peaceful 
protest although organizers, a coalition of pro-Palestinian pressure 
groups, put the figure at 100,000. Saturday's pro-Palestinian 
demonstration 
was billed as an answer to a mass protest by a reported 100,000 
supporters 
of Israel Monday at the US Capitol, where speakers linked the Israeli 
offensive against the Palestinians to the US-led war on terror.

The pro-Palestinian protesters came from across the United States, 
including chapters of Muslim American Societies from New Jersey, New 
York, 
Maryland, Virginia and Michigan, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the 
Islamic American Institute and the Council on American-Islamic 
Relations.

While Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz spoke at Monday's 
pro-Israel 
rally, there was no representative of George W. Bush's administration 
at 
Saturday's pro-Palestinian protest.

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, a Democrat from Georgia, was due to 
address 
the crowd at the Capitol and the protesters heard a tape message of 
jailed 
former Black Panther member Mumia Abu-Jamal in support of the 
Palestinian 
cause.

Iyad Hindi, 42, was in a group of some 400 who bussed in from Raleigh, 
North Carolina to participate in the event.

Hindi, who belongs to Raleigh's Muslim-American Society, said the crowd 
was 
in Washington "to tell the Israelis there should be no occupation" of 
Palestinian territories -- and "as long as there is (occupation) there 
will 
be resistance."

The group's "other message is to the United States government to stop 
the 
clear bias towards Israel," he said...

Speakers took to the podium to decry the two billion dollars in 
military 
assistance the United States provides Israel annually.

Among the protesters were members of "Orthodox Jews against Zionism" 
who 
led chants of "Judaism: yes, Zionism: No".

Some families traveled from far to lend their support to the 
Palestinian 
cause and add their voices to the chorus for peace.

Jesmin Saikh, 15, came with a group of 200 from Gaithersburg, Maryland. 
She 
said she wears a head scarf at school, and "obviously disagree(s)" with 
her 
Jewish friends at school over events in the Middle East.

"But the thing that we share is that we know that both sides want 
peace," 
she said...

-----

CAIR ACTION ALERT #328

THOSE WHO COULD NOT ATTEND THE RALLY CAN STILL HELP STOP ISRAELI 
AGGRESSION
The media and elected officials need to hear from you

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/20/2002) - As Israeli forces rampage throughout 
Palestine and attempt to cover-up their massacres in places like the 
refugee camp of Jenin, elected officials harm American interests by 
blindly 
supporting Israel's brutal actions. CAIR is calling on people of 
conscience 
to take positive steps in defense of the Palestinian people and in 
support 
of America's real interests in the region.

Take two minutes to make your voice heard. Ask for the following:

* An immediate and impartial investigation of the Israeli massacre 
committed in Jenin

* An end to U.S. taxpayer dollars being used to kill innocent 
civilians, 
including Americans

* An end to Israel's illegal use of American-taxpayer-funded weapons

* An international peacekeeping force to protect the Palestinian people

* A promise not to block U.N. resolutions that seek to investigate 
Israeli 
atrocities

* A meeting with American Muslim leaders to discuss the Mideast crisis

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED:

1) CONTACT: President George W. Bush, The White House, 1600 
Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500 TEL: 202-456-1414, Press 1 FAX: 
202-456-2461
E-MAIL: president@whitehouse.gov, secretary@state.gov, 
cair@cair-net.org

2) CONTACT your elected representatives to make the same point. To 
obtain 
contact information for your representative, go to: 
http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ or call 202-224-3121. Have your Zip Code 
ready.

3) CONTACT local and national media outlets to express your concerns.
TALKING POINTS:

* The occupation is the source of the conflict. Until the occupation 
ends, 
there can never be peace.

* America's true interests are served by standing up for freedom and 
justice, not by blindly following the dictates of a foreign government 
and 
its domestic lobby. American officials must stop parroting the Israeli 
line 
and step in as honest brokers.

* Palestinians will not stop resisting the Israeli occupation until 
they 
feel there is a just political solution in sight.

* Israel has committed massacres in places like Jenin refugee camp. 
This 
fact has been witnessed by the international media, relief agencies and 
United Nations representatives.

* Israeli attacks are a form of collective punishment, not strikes on 
perpetrators of crimes.

* American weapons are supplied on the premise that they will be used 
only 
in self-defense, not in revenge attacks or to enforce an illegal 
military 
occupation.

* This conflict pits one of the world's strongest armies against an 
unarmed 
civilian population.

* Israeli actions could lead to a wider war in the region.

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 14:18:22 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Congress Seeks $200 Million in Added Aid for Israel

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

NOTE: Please send CAIR e-mail addresses of anyone who would like to be 
added to CAIR-NET. Send to: cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR ACTION ALERT #329

CONGRESS SEEKS $200 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL MILITARY AID FOR ISRAEL
Your tax dollars would reward Israeli aggression

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/22/2002) - CAIR is calling on members of the 
Muslim 
community and other people of conscience to contact President Bush and 
state representatives to ask that they not support an effort in 
Congress 
going over the president's head to gain an additional $200 million in 
aid 
for Israel's military.

That aid, if approved, would in effect be a reward for the recent 
aggression against Palestinian civilians. The congressional effort came 
to 
light today in a Washington Post article, "Supporters Consider How to 
Increase Military Aid for Israel."

SEE: 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25511-2002Apr21.html

The call for additional aid comes as former President Jimmy Carter said 
that a possible REDUCTION in American taxpayer aid to Israel could be 
used 
as pressure to achieve peace in the region. Carter wrote Sunday in the 
New 
York Times:

"[Ariel Sharon's] rejection of all peace agreements that included 
Israeli 
withdrawal from Arab lands, his invasion of Lebanon, his provocative 
visit 
to the Temple Mount, the destruction of villages and homes, the arrests 
of 
thousands of Palestinians and his open defiance of President George W. 
Bush's demand that he comply with international law have all been 
orchestrated to accomplish his ultimate goals: to establish Israeli 
settlements as widely as possible throughout occupied territories and 
to 
deny Palestinians a cohesive political existence...

"There are two existing factors that offer success to United States 
persuasion. One is the legal requirement that American weapons are to 
be 
used by Israel only for defensive purposes, a premise certainly being 
violated in the recent destruction of Jenin and other villages...The 
other 
persuasive factor is approximately $10 million daily in American aid to 
Israel...The existing situation is tragic and likely to get worse. 
Normal 
diplomatic efforts have failed. It is time for the United States, as 
the 
sole recognized intermediary, to consider more forceful action for 
peace..."

SEE: America Can Persuade Israel to Make a Just Peace
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/21/opinion/21CART.html

The 2002 foreign aid program provides Israel with more than $2 billion 
in 
military aid and some $730 million in financial assistance. This is 
nearly 
one-fifth of total U.S. foreign aid. Israel has been the largest annual 
recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since 1976 and the largest 
cumulative 
recipient of assistance since World War II, according to government 
statistics. (AFP, 4/21/2002)

"It is unconscionable that Congress would consider rewarding Israel 
with 
American tax dollars for its ongoing atrocities in the Occupied 
Territories. America is sending relief aid to the devastated 
Palestinian 
refugee camp in Jenin. Taxpayers should not be forced to send more 
weapons 
to those who caused that devastation," said CAIR Governmental Affairs 
Director Jason Erb. Erb noted that recent polls show public broad 
support 
for a reduction in aid to Israel. (Time/CNN Poll, 4/12/2002)

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be polite.)

1) CONTACT President Bush to request that he veto any additional 
taxpayer 
aid to Israel and instead CUT aid to that state and its military.

CONTACT:

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

TEL: 202-456-1414, Press 1
FAX: 202-456-2461

E-MAIL: president@whitehouse.gov, secretary@state.gov, 
nita.lowey@mail.house.gov, jim.kolbe@mail.house.gov, cair@cair-net.org

2) CONTACT your elected representatives to make the same point. To get 
contact information for your representative, go to: 
http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ or call 202-224-3121. Have your Zip Code 
ready.

3) CONTACT local and national media outlets to express your concerns.

                 - PLEASE ANNOUNCE, POST AND DISTRIBUTE -

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----











Forwarded Message

Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 15:21:18 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Muslim Mother of 11 Freed in Florida

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/22/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* GOOD NEWS: MUSLIM MOTHER OF 11 FREED IN FLORIDA
* DANIEL PIPES SMEARS IMAM W.D. MOHAMMED (Worldnetdaily.com)
* WEEKLY STANDARD SAYS "THERE ARE NO PALESTINIANS"
* AMNESTY CALLS FOR WAR CRIMES PROBE OVER JENIN (AFP)
* U.N. MIDDLE EAST ENVOY STANDS BY JENIN COMMENTS (Reuters)
* UN NAMES JENIN INQUIRY TEAM (BBC)
* FRESH KILLINGS IN WESTERN INDIA BRING DEATH TOLL TO 850 (AP)
* TRANSCRIPTS OFFER FIRST LOOK AT SECRET FEDERAL HEARINGS (New York 
Times)
* [ISRAELI] SOLDIERS ARE ACCUSED OF LOOTING (Washington Post)
* EVANGELICAL MISSIONARIES UNDERCOVER IN MUSLIM WORLD (Mother Jones)
* APRIL 22ND PROTEST AT AIPAC CONFERENCE
* DEMONSTRATORS RALLY TO PALESTINIAN CAUSE (Washington Post)
* SHARON PLAN FOR WEST BANK CONFIRMED (Washington Times)
* FRONTLINE'S "MUSLIMS" WILL AIR MAY 9, AT 9 PM

-----

GOOD NEWS: MUSLIM MOTHER OF 11 FREED IN FLORIDA

MOM OF 11 FREED; JUDGE QUESTIONS NEGLECT CASE
By Steve Patterson, Jacksonville Times-Union, 4/20/2002
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/042002/met_9195937.html

A Jacksonville woman who was jailed for raising 11 children in a 
crowded 
house without power or water was released yesterday on a judge's order. 
Antoinette Young had been locked up for 11 days, unable to pay a 
$25,000 
bond. Circuit Judge Henry Davis ordered her released on her own 
recognizance and expressed confusion about why Young, 39, is facing a 
felony child-neglect charge.

"I'm just trying to figure out the charge...Why is this case in court?" 
Davis asked rhetorically during a brief hearing.

At least 10 of Young's children have been in the Florida Department of 
Children and Families' custody since April 9, when city housing 
inspectors 
condemned their rented 828-square-foot home in East Arlington. A 
teenage 
son is thought to have eluded social workers and left with Young's 
husband, 
Riccardo Young.

An arrest warrant charges Riccardo Young with child neglect as well, 
but he 
hasn't been located, Assistant State Attorney Mac Heavener said.

The family's problems have sparked an outpouring of sympathy, with 
people 
and charities around Northeast Florida offering help. A 
Washington-based 
Islamic group sought help for the family, who are Muslim.

"We've had a huge amount of support, especially from the Islamic 
community," said Barbara Alexander, executive director of the 
non-profit 
First Coast Family Center, a group trying to aid the family. She said 
the 
center, which has a Children and Families contract, has received more 
than 
$6,000 in donations for the Youngs and is trying to arrange for a 
larger 
home...

The court hearing was attended by members of the Islamic Center of 
Northeast Florida, who arrived ready to speak on Young's behalf.

Supporters arranged temporary housing for her and were trying to assist 
the 
family center, said Shakur Bolden, the Islamic center's president.

Donations labeled as help for the Youngs can be mailed to:

First Coast Family Center
Attention: Connie Fussell
2747 Art Museum Drive, Suite 100
Jacksonville, FL 32207

Make checks payable to "First Coast Family Center." Note on the check 
that 
the donation is for the Riccardo Young family.

-----

DANIEL PIPES SMEARS IMAM W.D. MOHAMMED

U.S.-Saudi oil imports fund American mosques
By Paul Sperry, WorldNetDaily.com, 4/22/02
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27327

Bilal is just one of many black mosques funded by Saudi. Most of them, 
including Bilal, are associated with Imam W. Deen Mohammed, head of the 
Chicago-based Muslim American Society, or MAS, which has been credited 
with 
helping convert more than a million U.S. blacks to Islam...

Mohammed originally took over the Nation of Islam after the death of 
his 
father, Elijah Muhammad, who founded the group...But [Daniel] Pipes 
notes 
that Mohammed has recently been steering MAS toward fundamentalism to 
cater 
to the growing number of immigrants attending his mosques...

Though he expressed "shock" at the Sept. 11 terrorism, W. Deen Mohammed 
didn't categorically condemn the attacks in a statement to MAS 
members...

SEE: Who is Daniel Pipes?
http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.html

-----

WEEKLY STANDARD SAYS "THERE ARE NO PALESTINIANS"

Whosoever Blesses Them
The intifada and its defenders.
By Larry Miller, The Weekly Standard, 4/22/2002
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/161yaihr.asp

There are no Palestinians. It's a made up word. Israel was called 
Palestine 
for two thousand years. Like "Wiccan," "Palestinian" sounds ancient but 
is 
really a modern invention...As soon as the Jews took over and started 
growing oranges as big as basketballs, what do you know, say hello to 
the 
"Palestinians," weeping for their deep bond with their lost "land" and 
"nation."

So for the sake of honesty, let's not use the word "Palestinian" any 
more 
to describe these delightful folks, who dance for joy at our deaths 
until 
someone points out they're being taped. Instead, let's call them what 
they 
are: "Other Arabs From The Same General Area Who Are In Deep Denial 
About 
Never Being Able To Accomplish Anything In Life And Would Rather Wrap 
Themselves In The Seductive Melodrama Of Eternal Struggle And Death..."

-----

AMNESTY CALLS FOR WAR CRIMES PROBE OVER JENIN
Agence France Presse, 4/22/02

Amnesty International called Monday for an international war crimes 
probe 
into the events surrounding the recent Israeli incursion into Jenin, 
following a recent fact-finding mission to the West Bank town.

"We have concluded that very serious breaches of international law were 
committed, and we are talking here of war crimes," said Amnesty 
delegate 
Javier Zuniga, who visited Jenin last week as part of a three-day 
survey by 
the human rights group.

A second Amnesty delegate, Derrick Pounder, added: "The claim that only 
fighters were killed is simply not true -- a mixture of bodies were 
clearly 
civilians and combatants."

He said what was needed was "the same type of investigation as in the 
Balkans."

SEE: Preliminary findings of Amnesty International delegates' visit to 
Jenin
http://www.amnesty.org

-----

U.N. MIDDLE EAST ENVOY STANDS BY JENIN COMMENTS
Reuters, 4/22/2002

BEIRUT, Lebanon (Reuters) - U.N. Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen 
Monday 
stuck by his criticism of Israel's assault on the Jenin refugee camp, 
saying he reacted as any decent human being would have.

His remarks came a day after Israel's cabinet discussed cutting ties 
with 
Roed-Larsen, who Thursday accused its army of using "morally repugnant" 
means in Jenin.

The refugee camp was the scene of fierce fighting during Israel's 
incursion 
into Palestinian areas of the West Bank, which it said was to crack 
down on 
militants responsible for a wave of suicide bombings against Israelis.

"What I did -- on the basis of what I saw, what I heard, what I smelt 
-- 
was to say that this was shocking and horrifying and I think that any 
decent human being with a heart would have reacted the same way I did 
and 
used similar words," Roed-Larsen said after a meeting with Lebanon's 
Prime 
Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

"I described what I saw, people with their bare hands digging deformed 
bodies out of the rubble," he told reporters. "I stand by what I said."

-----

UN NAMES JENIN INQUIRY TEAM
BBC Worldservice, 4/22/02
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_1944000/1944434.stm

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has appointed Finland's former 
President 
Martti Ahtisaari head of a team to probe events at the refugee camp in 
Jenin, where Palestinians say the Israeli army "massacred" civilians. 
The 
commission will investigate claims of human rights abuses during 
Israel's 
eight-day incursion into the camp.

Palestinians say hundreds of civilians died, but Israel insists the 
number 
of dead was fewer than 100, and that most of them were gunmen. 
Criticism of 
Israel has also come the Red Cross and the UN relief agency for 
Palestinian 
refugees (UNRWA) which on Monday accused it of violating international 
humanitarian laws during its operation in the Jenin camp.

The UN commission also includes Sadako Ogata of Japan, former head of 
the 
UN refugee agency, and Cornelio Sammaruga, the Swiss former head of the 
International Red Cross.

Retired US General William Nash, a former UN regional administrator in 
Kosovo, will be military adviser to the team, and Peter Fitzgerald of 
Ireland, a former UN civilian police officer, will be police adviser.

Mr Annan said: "The team will start its work without delay. It will 
first 
assemble in Europe this week and then travel to the region as soon as 
possible...

The decision to send a commission was agreed by the UN Security 
Council.

The US agreed to it on the condition that the team would report to Mr 
Annan 
and not to the Security Council, which Israel regards as biased against 
it.

-----

FRESH KILLINGS IN WESTERN INDIA BRING DEATH TOLL TO 850
By RUPAK SANYAL, Associated Press, 4/22/02

AHMADABAD, India - Police fired into a crowd when Hindus and Muslims 
clashed in western Gujarat state. At least 17 people were killed in the 
new 
wave of sectarian fighting, including nine Muslims who were shot to 
death 
by officers, officials said Monday.

Sunday's violence took the death toll from India's worst religious 
rioting 
in a decade to 850. At least 91 people also were seriously injured, 
with 
burns and bullet wounds, said police in Ahmadabad, the commercial hub 
of 
Gujarat state. The renewed violence came on the same day that Prime 
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee vowed to protect Muslims...

According to the police control room in the state capital Gandhinagar, 
groups were assembling for a Hindu festival in Ahmadabad when clashes 
started between Hindu and Muslim neighbors. Stones were thrown and 
petrol 
bombs were hurled from both sides. Police said they had to fire at the 
mob 
in an attempt to end the violence. Nine Muslims were killed...

The inability of the state government to stop the rioting, and 
allegations 
that police have supported the Hindu rioters, have provoked widespread 
demands for the dismissal of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the 
top 
elected official...

The opposition blames the Hindu-nationalist party of Vajpayee and its 
ideological affiliates for the carnage. Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata 
Party 
has declined Modi's offer of resignation and insists he is doing 
everything 
he can to end the attacks.

-----

TRANSCRIPTS OFFER FIRST LOOK AT SECRET FEDERAL HEARINGS
By DANNY HAKIM, The New York Times, 4/22/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/22/national/22DETA.html

DETROIT - The first glimpse into the secret immigration hearings of 
Arab 
men came after the federal government reluctantly agreed on Friday to 
make 
public partial records of its case against a Muslim cleric.

The cleric, Rabih Haddad, 41, has been held since December on charges 
of 
overstaying his visa. Mr. Haddad, a native of Lebanon who lived with 
his 
family in Ann Arbor, Mich., is the chairman of the Global Relief 
Foundation, a Muslim charity whose assets were frozen after it came 
under 
federal scrutiny.

His case file -- parts of which were made public as the result of a 
court 
ruling -- includes transcripts of his past immigration hearings as well 
as 
numerous documents and exhibits, though material considered sensitive 
by 
the government was withheld. In making its case, the government said 
Mr. 
Haddad had been seen in places affiliated with the Qaeda terrorist 
network 
during stays overseas in the late 1980's and early 1990's. But a 
detailed 
account of the charges, made in a declaration by a Federal Bureau of 
Investigation agent, was not included in the documents made public.

Mr. Haddad's lawyer, Ashraf Nubani, said in an interview that the 
purpose 
of Mr. Haddad's travels, mostly to Pakistan, was to take part in relief 
efforts.

"At the time he was in Pakistan, Al Qaeda didn't exist," Mr. Nubani 
said. 
"It was a bunch of people going to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan..."

Mr. Nubani contends that Mr. Haddad is a cleric who has been harshly 
punished for a minor offense. The Global Relief Foundation has denied 
it 
has ties to terrorist organizations and has sued several news media 
organizations for defamation, including The New York Times Company. The 
group has also brought a civil suit against the government.

Many of the documents that were made public reveal legal skirmishing 
over 
issues that offer no clear evidence of serious wrongdoing...

Mr. Haddad's immigration file became public after several Michigan 
newspapers, along with Mr. Conyers, sued the government to force them 
to 
open the hearings. They have been represented by, among others, the 
American Civil Liberties Union. The suit, and similar ones filed by 
news 
media organizations in New Jersey, pit First Amendment rights against a 
law 
passed after the Sept. 11 attacks that permits the secret detention of 
immigrants. But Mr. Haddad's case is the first in which the federal 
courts 
have ruled...

Mr. Haddad's next immigration hearing is set for Wednesday, but the 
government could seek to delay it as the federal appeals process 
proceeds.

-----

[ISRAELI] SOLDIERS ARE ACCUSED OF LOOTING
By Doug Struck, Washington Post, 4/21/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25727-2002Apr21.html

RAMALLAH, West Bank, April 21 -- Israeli tanks clanked out of the 
center of 
two major West Bank cities today as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon 
declared 
"we have finished this stage" of the military operation. Palestinians 
said 
they found the buildings that had been occupied by Israeli soldiers 
ransacked, vandalized and looted...

Office managers said computer equipment had been stolen. Shop owners 
said 
their businesses had been vandalized. Residents alleged that soldiers 
had 
taken money or valuables from their homes. Attempts were made to break 
open 
the safes at a bank.

"I'm shaken. I have no words to say how I feel," said Salwa Diabis, 41, 
as 
she surveyed her office at Mattin, a human rights organization that 
Israeli 
troops had left only hours before. The furnishings had been heaped in a 
pile and littered with garbage. The fax machine had been thrown onto a 
ledge. Photos of Diabis's family had been stripped from the wall. A 
reporter saw that in their place was a message written in English with 
a 
marker, starting with an obscenity and adding: "Arabs, never mess with 
us 
again..."

Upstairs, in a room strewn with broken glass, Amar Khudiri, a computer 
specialist in a white shirt and tie, fussed over his mainframe 
computer, 
opened and stripped of much of its electronic guts. Seven of eight hard 
drives had been taken, as well as the hard drives from about 50 other 
computers in the bank, he said.

"This was professional looting. They are thieves," Khudiri said.

-----

EVANGELICAL MISSIONARIES UNDERCOVER IN MUSLIM WORLD
THEIR MISSION: TO WIPE OUT ISLAM
By Barry Yeoman, Mother Jones, May/June 2002

"The Stealth Crusade," Mother Jones magazine's May/June cover story, 
takes 
readers inside a Southern university where evangelical Christians are 
trained to go undercover in the Muslim world and win converts. Reporter 
Barry Yeoman wrote the article after attending an intensive two-week 
course 
at Columbia International University in South Carolina. The CIU course, 
taught by Rick Love, international director of a Christian group called 
Frontiers, focused on stealth strategies for winning converts while 
disguised as teachers, aid workers, or businesspeople.

Love acknowledges that Muslim converts face "imprisonment, torture, 
even 
martyrdom," and critics point out that stealth proselytizing disrupts 
the 
delivery of humanitarian aid and fuels resentment of Westerners. "But 
to 
those at the heart of the movement, including Rick Love's students," 
writes 
Yeoman, "any damage done by their work is outweighed by the importance 
of 
their mission: to wipe out Islam." As one fellow student who worked 
undercover as an English teacher in Kazakhstan put it to Yeoman, "Satan 
has 
deceived [Muslims] away from a relationship with their creator God."

One of the more controversial tactics taught by Love and others is 
"contextualization," a technique that calls on missionaries to take on 
Muslim names, dress in veils and other local clothing, prostrate 
themselves 
during prayer, and even fast during Ramadan. As CIU Professor David 
Cashin 
put it, "We must become Muslims to reach Muslims." This practice is 
particularly troublesome to other religious groups that provide 
humanitarian relief without proselytizing. As Donna Derr of Church 
World 
Service told Mother Jones, "Groups that have the need to proselytize 
color 
us all with the same brush," making it harder to win the trust of 
communities her group is trying to help. Mother Jones reports that the 
number of missionaries trying to convert Muslims has increased fourfold 
in 
the past decade, to more than 3,000.  The urgency they feel about their 
mission is underscored by Warren Larson, who directs Muslim studies at 
CIU. 
"Islam is biologically taking over the world," Larson told his class.

Excerpts from the article:

"We see Islam as the final frontier," says David Cashin, a professor of 
Intercultural Studies at CIU [Columbia International University] who 
used 
to don Muslim clothing and pursue converts in the tea shops of 
Kalioloir, 
Bangladesh. Like many of his fellow evangelicals, Cashin regards the 
Islamic world as the hinterland that must be penetrated before the 
Messiah 
can return"

"The issue is the disproportional power relationship," says Ibrahim 
Hooper, 
a spokesman for the Council On American-Islamic relations, a 
Washington, 
D.C.- based organization  that works to promote a positive image of 
Muslims. "They use their resources to coerce people to do what they 
want 
them to do."

To read entire article, pick up the May/June 2002 Mother Jones magazine 
at 
your local newsstand or go to http://market.motherjones.com/

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIMS FOR JERUSALEM

APRIL 22ND PROTEST AT AIPAC CONFERENCE

We urge all who are able to attend a protest on Monday, April 22nd at 
6:15 
PM outside of the Washington Hilton Hotel where AIPAC is holding its 
annual 
convention. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be 
addressing the crowd that evening on the topic "Celebrating the 
US-Israel 
Relationship."

WHEN: MONDAY, APRIL 22
WHAT:  Pro-Palestine, Pro-Peace Rally
WHEN: Assemble at 6:15 pm
WHERE: Washington Hilton, Connecticut and T Streets, NW - 4 blocks 
north of 
the Dupont Circle Metro (red-line)

-----

DEMONSTRATORS RALLY TO PALESTINIAN CAUSE
Arab Americans, Supporters Drown Out Other Issues
By Manny Fernandez, Washington Post, 4/21/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22230-2002Apr20.html

Tens of thousands converged on downtown Washington yesterday to 
demonstrate 
for a variety of causes, but it was the numbers and passion of busloads 
of 
Arab Americans and their supporters that dominated the streets. Eager 
to 
make their presence felt and their voices heard in the nation's capital 
as 
never before, Arab and Muslim families marched and chanted for an end 
to 
U.S. military aid to Israel, overwhelming the messages of those with 
other 
causes in a peaceful day of downtown rallies and marches.

Young men wore the Palestinian flag around their necks like a cape. 
Arabic 
was heard nearly as often as English, and cardboard signs held by women 
and 
children denounced Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President 
Bush. 
Protesters rallying against corporate wrongs and the global economy 
found 
themselves tweaking Vietnam War-era chants to the Palestinian cause, 
shouting, "One, two, three, four: We don't want no Mideast war!"

"The message here is we must support the Palestinian people against a 
military occupation and an apartheid state," said Randa Jamal, a 
graduate 
student at New York's Columbia University who joined thousands at a 
pro-Palestinian rally near the White House. She said her cousins were 
killed in Ramallah, and her 16-year-old sister has been unable to 
attend 
school because of the Israeli occupation. "What they are going 
through," 
she said, "is crimes against humanity..."

-----

SHARON PLAN FOR WEST BANK CONFIRMED
By Joyce Howard Price, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 4/22/2002
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020422-8855812.htm

Israel's foreign minister yesterday confirmed a report that Prime 
Minister 
Ariel Sharon wants to annex up to half of the West Bank. But Shimon 
Peres 
said he does not see this as a permanent solution to the crisis in the 
Middle East.

Interviewed yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press," the foreign minister 
was 
asked about the accuracy of a report yesterday in the London Sunday 
Telegraph, also published in The Washington Times, that Mr. Sharon has 
a 
plan calling for Israel to annex 50 percent of land in the West Bank. 
"It's 
accurate for a while, because that's what Sharon suggests as an interim 
agreement," Mr. Peres said. "My judgment is they know this is not a 
solution" and that this is an "unofficial proposal."

Existence of the Sharon plan was disclosed by Ephraim Sneh, the Israeli 
transport minister, who, like Mr. Peres, is a member of the Labor 
Party, 
not Mr. Sharon's Likud Party. Mr. Sneh told the London paper that the 
annexation plan is "incompatible with a two-state solution" since it 
suggests Mr. Sharon wants a Palestinian entity with far less land than 
envisioned under other peace plans. "It is not realistic," Mr. Sneh 
said.

-----

FRONTLINE'S "MUSLIMS" WILL AIR MAY 9, AT 9 PM
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/muslims/

The events of September 11 left many Americans asking how such 
atrocities 
could be perpetrated in the name of religion: specifically, the 
religion of 
Islam.  Yet even as U.S. opinion polls reflect a collective sense of 
mistrust toward a religion few Americans know much about, Islam 
continues 
to be one of the fastest growing religions in the United States and 
around 
the world today.

What does it mean to be a Muslim?  How does their faith shape their 
lives, 
identities, and politics?  Does Islam deserve its reputation as a 
patriarchal, authoritarian, and anti-Western religion?  And what role 
does 
militancy play in the Muslim world?

FRONTLINE and the Independent Production Fund join forces to explore 
these 
and other questions in "Muslims," a special two-hour film investigating 
the 
different faces of Islam's worldwide resurgence. Reporting from Iran, 
Nigeria, Egypt, Malaysia, Turkey, and the United States, FRONTLINE 
tells 
the stories of Muslims struggling to define how Islam will shape their 
lives and societies...

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 14:28:56 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Fla. Editorial Cartoon Defames Palestinian Mothers

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/23/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: EVIDENCE
* EDITORIAL CARTOON DEFAMES PALESTINIAN MOTHERS (Palm Beach Post)
* MUSLIM CHARITY'S LAWSUIT RAISES 'DISTRESSING' ISSUES, JUDGE SAYS 
(Washington Post)
* PUBLIC VOICES DOUBTS ON U.S. MIDEAST ROLE (Washington Post)
* BUSH REACHES OUT TO ARAB WORLD (AP)
* MUSLIM AND ARAB-AMERICANS FIGHT AGAINST DISCRIMINATION AFTER 
SEPTEMBER 
11TH ATTACKS (CBS)
* A CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM DIVIDE CLOSES (Christian Science Monitor)
* THE PALESTINIAN SIDE MUST BE TOLD (Los Angeles Times)
* PLAZA HOTEL ACCUSED OF BIAS (New York Times)
* ISRAELI PULL-OUT STRATEGY CRITICIZED (AP)
* WHAT ISRAEL HAS DONE (The Nation)
* ROUNDUP UNNERVES OKLAHOMA MUSLIMS (Chicago Tribune)
* PALESTINIANS SAY TROOPS VANDALIZED, LOOTED WEST BANK (Washington 
Times)
* NOBEL REGRETS PERES PRIZE (AP)
* DASCHLE DEMANDS SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL (Washington Times)
* CRITICISM LEADS CANADIAN JEWISH CONGRESS TO PULL OUT OF INTERFAITH 
GROUP 
(Ecumenical News)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: EVIDENCE

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Should I not tell you 
of 
the best witness? He is the one who produces his evidence before he is 
asked for it."

Sahih Muslim, Hadith 799

-----

MUSLIM CHARITY'S LAWSUIT RAISES 'DISTRESSING' ISSUES, JUDGE SAYS
By Neely Tucker, The Washington Post, 4/23/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31094-2002Apr22.html

A federal judge said yesterday that a lawsuit filed by the nation's 
largest 
Muslim charity raised "significant and distressing allegations" about 
government actions in its war on terror.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler said in Washington that the 
government's 
decision to shut down the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief 
and 
Development in December -- on allegations that the charity was a 
fundraising front for the Islamic Resistance Movement, known as Hamas 
-- 
was a matter of "great significance."

She also warned government lawyers that she would not look favorably on 
their request to keep classified information concealed from public 
view. 
"I'll make no secret that the government is going to have a very heavy 
burden to submit information ex parte [in secret, in the judge's 
chambers]," Kessler said. "In a case with as many serious ramifications 
as 
this one, unless the law is crystal clear...everything should be in 
public 
and on the record..."

The Holy Land Foundation, based in Richardson, Tex., was shut down Dec. 
4. 
The government alleged that the foundation funneled at least $ 13 
million 
in 2000 to Hamas, the hard-line Muslim organization that for years has 
used 
terrorism to combat Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza 
Strip...

In an internal memorandum that drew heavily on information supplied by 
the 
Israeli government, Dale L. Watson, the FBI's executive assistant 
director 
for counterterrorism and counterintelligence, described the foundation 
as 
"the primary fund-raising entity for Hamas." Parts of the memo are 
included 
in Holy Land's legal filings.

But John D. Cline, the charity's attorney, said the allegations are 
false, 
misleading and may draw on testimony elicited by Israeli intelligence 
officers using torture, which would make it illegal in U.S. courts.

"Holy Land unequivocally, flatly denies" the charges, he told Kessler.

"Isn't this much more than an administrative procedures case?" Kessler 
asked, not pausing for an answer. "Aren't there very serious legal 
issues 
involved here?...It seems the government's approach is too 
simplistic..."

-----

EDITORIAL CARTOON DEFAMES PALESTINIAN MOTHERS
http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/opinion/wright_gallerywed.html

The Palm Beach Post cartoon, titled "Kids and Parents" is made up of 
four 
panels with kids from various ethnic groups stating what their mothers 
would like them to be when they grow up. The last panel shows a 
Palestinian 
child who says: "My mother wants me to be a martyr, exploding into a 
thousand pieces."

Please contact the editors of the Palm Beach Post to express your 
concerns 
about the offensive depiction of Palestinian mothers.

CONTACT INFO FOR THE PAPER:

Letters to the Editor
The Palm Beach Post
P.O. Box 24700
West Palm Beach, FL 33416-4700

Fax: (561) 820-4728

E-MAIL: letters@pbpost.com, randy_schultz@pbpost.com, 
don_wright@pbpost.com, lou_ann_frala@pbpost.com, 
john_bartosek@pbpost.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org

Include your complete home address and telephone number, along with a 
daytime telephone number, in case our staff needs to contact you?

-----

PUBLIC VOICES DOUBTS ON U.S. MIDEAST ROLE
Poll Finds Blame for Israel, Palestinians
By Richard Morin and Claudia Deane, Washington Post, 4/23/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30757-2002Apr22.html

As the Israeli military operation on the West Bank winds down, the 
American 
public is wary of seeing the United States continue to take the lead in 
brokering deals between the two warring sides, according to a new 
Washington Post-ABC News Poll.

A narrow majority -- 54 percent -- said the United States should stand 
aside and let Israel and the Palestinian Authority take the lead role 
in 
crafting a peace agreement. Six in 10 say they want Israel to negotiate 
directly with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to end the current 
conflict 
-- a move rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

A majority also fault both sides for failing to control the bloodshed 
that 
has enveloped the region in recent months, the survey found. Most 
Americans 
blame Israel for not doing enough to prevent Palestinian civilian 
casualties during its military incursion into the West Bank and Gaza 
Strip. 
But an even larger majority fault Arafat for not doing more to end the 
wave 
of terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens.

In question after question, the poll suggests the American public is 
frustrated and largely confused about what, if anything, the United 
States 
can or should do to bring Israel and the Palestinians closer to peace. 
Many 
Americans doubt that either side is truly serious about reaching an 
agreement...

-----

BUSH REACHES OUT TO ARAB WORLD
By BARRY SCHWEID, The Associated Press, 4/23/2002

WASHINGTON (AP) - Reaching out to the Arab world, President Bush 
renewed 
his call Tuesday for a Palestinian state and said Israeli Prime 
Minister 
Ariel Sharon should keep pulling back on the West Bank.

Bush, in an exchange with reporters while seeing King Mohammed VI of 
Morocco in the Oval Office, also insisted that Palestinian leader 
Yasser 
Aafat renounce and fight terror. But the weight of his remarks seemed 
to 
respond to Arab demands.

``Our government means what we say, and we said that the only way for 
there 
to be lasting peace is for there to be two states, living side by side 
with 
each other.''

On Thursday, Bush will receive Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, 
whose 
proposal for a settlement between Israel and the Arabs already has been 
embraced by the president...

-----

MUSLIM AND ARAB-AMERICANS FIGHT AGAINST
DISCRIMINATION AFTER SEPTEMBER 11TH ATTACKS
CBS Evening News, 4/21/02

JOHN ROBERTS, anchor:

Arab-Americans and Muslims, in this country, say the alleged 
discrimination 
that started soon after the September 11th terrorist attacks is still 
going 
strong. Joie Chen tells us the experience has them frustrated and 
angry.

JOIE CHEN reporting:

The man, who plowed his pickup truck into a Tallahassee mosque just 
before 
evening prayers, said he did it because he hated Muslims. No one was 
hurt, 
but for many Arab-Americans and Muslims, the attack underlies a growing 
sense of discrimination against them.

Mr. IBRAHAM HOOPER (Council on American-Islamic Relations): We hear now 
links to this, ties to that. It--it becomes like the Kevin Bacon game, 
where no one is more than six degrees away from Kevin Bacon. It seems 
no 
Muslim is more than six degrees away from Osama bin Laden, and we 
object to 
that.

CARLSON: Last month, federal agents swept through Islamic homes and 
businesses in suburban Washington looking for ties to terrorist 
organizations. There were no arrests. And Islamic advocacy groups 
accused 
the government of conducting fishing expeditions against law-abiding 
Muslims.

Ms. LAURIE JAGHLIT (Muslim-American): They had surrounded the entire 
house 
with their weapons drawn.

CARLSON: Though the warrant didn't spell out exactly why they were 
selected, Jaghlit believes it is because her Palestinian husband, a 
naturalized US citizen, is a doctor who's done some charity work for 
Arab 
organizations, including some that the government is keeping a watch on 
for 
possible ties to terrorism.

Ms. JAGHLIT: What happened here was--is they're basically trying to 
terrorize people, citizens, Americans, and it--it's wrong...

-----

A CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM DIVIDE CLOSES
By Danna Harman, The Christian Science Monitor, 4/23/02
http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2002/0423/p06s01-wome.html

BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK - The food in the besieged Church of the Nativity 
is 
running out. The priests, nuns, monks, and friars trapped between 
Israeli 
soldiers stationed in Manger Square and some 200 Palestinians gunmen 
hiding 
inside the church have almost gone through their stocks of beans and 
spaghetti - and are reportedly rationing pretzels and drinking well 
water...

"Before, our identity as a Christian minority within the Palestinian 
community was threatened - so we held onto it tight. Today, what is 
being 
threatened is our national identity as Palestinians, and that is the 
important struggle," says Nuha Khoury, a Christian Palestinian 
professor at 
Bethlehem University.

"Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon never heard of divide and rule," 
she 
says sarcastically. "He started with an assault on Al Aqsa," she 
explains, 
referring to Sharon's trip in September 2001 to the holy Muslim site in 
Jerusalem which sparked the current intifada. "And now he is ending 
with 
the Church of the Nativity. Nothing is sacred to him. We are all the 
same 
to him. Palestinians. The enemy..."

Peter Qumri, the Christian Palestinian director of Bethlehem's general 
hospital points at another aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 
that 
is pushing the Christians here closer to their Muslim brothers.

"The support of the Christian right in the US for Israel has 
embarrassed us 
and forced us to prove our identity and become even more 
nationalistic," he 
says. Sitting in his office surrounded by a framed photograph of 
himself 
kissing the pope's hand on one side and a giant poster of Arafat on the 
other, Dr. Qumri says that "any Christian that comes to support Israel 
is 
not a real Christian."

-----

THE PALESTINIAN SIDE MUST BE TOLD
By ROBERT SCHEER, The Los Angeles Times, 4/22/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-000028852apr23.story

Is there media bias against Israel?

The claim, hotly expressed in thousands of angry e-mails and 
subscription 
cancellations, that the U.S. media are anti-Israel is so absurd as to 
suggest hysteria. Are American Jews in such deep denial about the 
brutality 
of Israel's recent actions that they would damn those who report the 
truth?

Certainly the American media are far more sympathetic to Israel than 
publishers and journalists in the rest of the world. This is 
particularly 
true in Western Europe, perhaps reflecting the widespread public 
sympathy 
there for the Palestinians, as measured in recent polls. Not that 
sympathy 
for Israelis, bloodied repeatedly by a merciless bombing campaign 
targeting 
civilians, is not equally warranted...

Moreover, no group is so safely denigrated in the mass media of this 
country, particularly in film, as "the Arabs," who became the enemy of 
choice in post-Cold War movie-making in such films as "True Lies." And 
no 
group is as underrepresented in the media work force; there are more 
than 3 
million Arab Americans, yet it is exceedingly rare to find one working 
as a 
newspaper reporter or TV news personality...

To humanize a people does not mean to apologize for the behavior of 
murderous individuals, movements or institutions representing the dark 
revenge fantasies of a people's consciousness, of course. But to 
blindly 
endorse the outrage of one side while ignoring the pain of the other 
does 
both a disservice...

-----

PLAZA HOTEL ACCUSED OF BIAS
By Susan Sachs, The New York Times, 4/23/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/23/nyregion/23MBRF3.html

Eight present and former employees of the Oak Room in the Plaza Hotel, 
all 
of them Muslims, have accused supervisors at the hotel of insulting and 
mistreating them immediately after Sept. 11. In a discrimination 
complaint 
filed yesterday, the employees said they were called terrorists and 
"dumb 
Muslims," had their work hours cut and, in the case of two men, were 
dismissed -- all because of their religion and national origins...

-----

ISRAELI PULL-OUT STRATEGY CRITICIZED
By BARRY SCHWEID, The Associated Press, 4/23/2002

WASHINGTON (AP) - Israel's strategy of keeping some army troops on the 
outskirts of Palestinian-controlled territory was rejected on Monday by 
the 
State Department, which renewed a U.S. demand for a total withdrawal 
from 
the West Bank.

The department also did not support Israel's demand that the 
Palestinians 
surrender suspects in terror attacks. Spokesman Richard Boucher said 
Yasser 
Arafat's Palestinian Authority claims jurisdiction over the wanted men, 
and 
it is up to the two sides to work out a settlement.

The department's position on Israeli troop deployments and on terror 
arrests gave further evidence that, after tilting in Israel's direction 
for 
months, the Bush administration has taken a more neutral stance. 
President 
Bush's chief of staff, Andrew Card, told more than 4,000 members of a 
pro-Israel lobbying group that "real sacrifices by all sides" are 
required 
to achieve peace.

-----

WHAT ISRAEL HAS DONE
By EDWARD W. SAID, The Nation, 5/6/02
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020506&s=said

Despite Israel's effort to restrict coverage of its destructive 
invasion of 
the West Bank's Palestinian towns and refugee camps, information and 
images 
have nevertheless seeped through. The Internet has provided hundreds of 
verbal as well as pictorial eyewitness reports, as have Arab and 
European 
TV coverage, most of it unavailable or blocked or spun out of existence 
from the mainstream US media. That evidence provides stunning proof of 
what 
Israel's campaign has actually--has always--been about: the 
irreversible 
conquest of Palestinian land and society...

By what inhuman calculus did Israel's army, using dozens of tanks and 
armored personnel carriers, along with hundreds of missile strikes from 
US-supplied Apache helicopter gunships, besiege Jenin's refugee camp 
for 
over a week, a one-square-kilometer patch of shacks housing 15,000 
refugees 
and a few dozen men armed with automatic rifles and no missiles or 
tanks, 
and call it a response to terrorist violence and a threat to Israel's 
survival? There are reported to be hundreds buried in the rubble, which 
Israeli bulldozers began heaping over the camp's ruins after the 
fighting 
ended. Are Palestinian civilian men, women and children no more than 
rats 
or cockroaches that can be attacked and killed in the thousands without 
so 
much as a word of compassion or in their defense?...

-----

ROUNDUP UNNERVES OKLAHOMA MUSLIMS
By Cam Simpson, Chicago Tribune, 4/21/02
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/showcase/chi-0204210346apr21.story

NORMAN, Okla. -- To his friends, Hussein Ali Hassan Alattas was a 
gentle 
young man who used his precise knowledge of the Koran to tutor children 
and 
adults alike at the small mosque here. But to law enforcement he became 
something more threatening after Sept. 11, when they began 
investigating 
his close relationship with Zacarias Moussaoui, the man now alleged to 
be 
the "20th hijacker," and learned of Alattas' apparent interest in armed 
jihad.

As federal investigators searched for terrorist cells across America 
last 
fall, they conducted an intense sweep in this college town. The probe 
landed Alattas and at least 17 other Muslims in jail and left in its 
wake 
fear, anger and disrupted lives.

As the Alattas case illustrates, the law-enforcement actions in Norman, 
where Moussaoui attended flight school, were rooted in legitimate 
concerns 
about national security. But what happened in Norman also provides a 
glimpse into the lives of countless others nationwide who, despite 
having 
no apparent connection to terrorism, were jailed in the frenzy to 
thwart 
further attacks...

-----

PALESTINIANS SAY TROOPS VANDALIZED, LOOTED WEST BANK
By Betsy Pisik, The Washington Times, 4/23/02
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20020423-76370332.htm

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinians returning to homes and offices in 
the 
West Bank after Israel's pullout yesterday accused Israeli soldiers of 
looting and vandalism.  They said computers and television cameras had 
been 
taken and that money was stolen from safes. Reporters saw graffiti 
scrawled 
in English and Hebrew, much like the graffiti scrawled by soldiers in 
other 
military campaigns...

Ramallah is the site of Al Quds University, where staff of the Center 
for 
New Media returned to their offices and television studio on Sunday for 
the 
first time since learning the building had been used by Israeli forces 
as 
barracks and for sniper positions. During a tour of the premises 
yesterday, 
the staff showed a reporter three empty tripods that they said had held 
television cameras, an empty classroom where they said 12 computers had 
stood, a ransacked library and offices, and graffiti saying, "No 
Palestine. 
Ever."

Wassim Abdullah, the technical director for educational television at 
the 
university, described the damage as evidence of "pure hatred."

-----

NOBEL REGRETS PERES PRIZE
By Doug Mellgren, The Associated Press, 4/23/2002
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20020423-73728078.htm

OSLO - The committee that awards the century-old Nobel Peace Prize, 
spurred 
by violence in the Middle East, has broken with a tradition of never 
second-guessing itself in public.

Some of its five members are saying the 1994 prize shouldn't have gone 
to 
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.

The trigger was committee member Hanna Kvanmo, a retired left-wing 
politician who broke with the tradition of silence in early April. 
Replying 
to a newspaper's questions, she said she wished Mr. Peres' prize could 
be 
revoked, because as a member of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's 
coalition government, he was party to the Israeli military incursion...

-----

DASCHLE DEMANDS SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL
By Ben Barber, The Washington Times, 04/23/02
http://www.washtimes.com/world/20020423-99885272.htm

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle yesterday said U.S. backing for 
Israel 
must remain "absolute," and he criticized European, Arab and U.N. 
officials 
for anti-Semitism and unfairness toward the Jewish state.

"Our commitment to Israel must be unshakable - it must be absolute," he 
told a luncheon crowd of several thousand at the American Israel Public 
Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the country's largest pro-Israel lobbying 
group..."The United States must honor a commitment to preserve Israel's 
military superiority," he said...

"As long as I am majority leader of the United States Senate, we will 
be a 
friend to Israel in fair weather and in foul..."

-----

CRITICISM LEADS CANADIAN JEWISH CONGRESS TO PULL OUT OF INTERFAITH 
GROUP
By Ferdy Baglo, Ecumenical News International, 4/23/02

Vancouver, 23 April (ENI)--Canada's most prominent Jewish organisation 
has 
withdrawn its participation of 30 years from an interfaith consultation 
following the appearance of a website message critical of Israeli 
policy 
written by a church dialogue partner.

The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) announced on 10 April that it was 
mulling out of the inter-religious Canadian Christian Jewish 
Consultation 
(CCJC).

A message on the Anglican Church of Canada's website was "the straw 
that 
broke the camel's back", said Manuel Prutschi, the CJC's national 
director 
of community relations, who accused the Anglican church and the United 
Church of Canada of being "one-sided".

In the message, Archbishop Michael Peers, head of the Anglican Church 
of 
Canada, wrote: "The current violence in Palestine has deep roots, but 
Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory in defiance of United 
Nations 
resolutions is at its heart...When Israel withdraws from its illegal 
occupation of Palestine, when Palestinians are free to return in peace 
to 
their homeland, when civilians are no longer the targets of terror, 
either 
for suicide bombers or government tanks, then healing will begin..."

Archbishop Peers expressed regret about the Jewish Congress's decision 
to 
withdraw from the interfaith consultation. He said the message that 
appeared on the church's website was rooted in policies and resolutions 
of 
the church's synod and in statements by governing bodies of the 
world-wide 
Anglican communion.

It reflected the church's attempt "to stand with the church leaders in 
Jerusalem in particular," Peers said. That's the principle that we have 
used in places like South Africa and other places around the world. 
That 
kind of solidarity is important."

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----



Forwarded Message

Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 16:03:19 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Dr. Laura Says Muslims Have a "Plan" to Dominate World

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/24/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: DO NOT HATE ONE ANOTHER
* CAIR OFFICIAL MEETS WITH KING OF MOROCCO
* LETTERS: LAND DEAL FOR COTLER (Globe and Mail)
* EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AT CAIR
* DR. LAURA SAYS MUSLIMS HAVE "PLAN" TO DOMINATE WORLD
* OREGON COALITION CHALLENGES HATE RADIO
         - OREGON-WASHINGTON GROUPS CALLS FOR END TO 'HATE RADIO' (AP)
* BATTLE FOR THE TRUTH IN JENIN (The Guardian)
* LETTERS: DRIVEN TO WAR (Dallas Morning News)
* ISRAEL BEGINS WEST BANK CONSTRUCTION (AP)
* PALESTINIANS SAY ISRAEL AIMS TO HIDE JENIN 'CRIMES' (Reuters)
* ANNAN REFUSES JENIN MISSION DELAY (AP)
* TERRORISM AND NATIONALISM (Washington Post)
* VOA TARGETS WIDER ARAB AUDIENCE (AP)
* FUNDRAISING DINNER FOR MUSLIMS VICTIMS OF GUJARAT VIOLENCE
* MUSLIMS SURROUND POLICE STATION, DEMAND END TO MOB VIOLENCE IN 
GUJARAT (AP)
* ABC'S "NIGHTLINE" PROFILES IRANIAN FILM-MAKER
* TIME TO CONSIDER PRAYER ROOMS? (HRFocus)
* SECRETARY MINETA SAYS RACIAL PROFILING IS WRONG AND INEFFECTIVE

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: DO NOT HATE ONE ANOTHER

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Do not hate one 
another, 
and do not be jealous of one another, and do not desert each other...It 
is 
not permissible for any Muslim to desert (not speak to) his brother 
(because of a dispute) for more than three days."

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 91

-----

CAIR OFFICIAL MEETS WITH KING OF MOROCCO

CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, along with other American Muslim 
and 
Arab-American leaders, met yesterday with King Mohammed VI of Morocco 
in 
Washington, D.C. Awad thanked the king for his strong support for the 
Palestinian people and offered a briefing on issues related to the 
American 
Muslim community.

-----

LETTERS: LAND DEAL FOR COTLER
By SHEEMA KHAN, The Globe and Mail, 4/24/2002
http://www.globeandmail.com Search using the term "Sheema Khan."
(Khan is chair of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Canada.)

Ottawa -- Re: Sounding The Alarm On Hate (April 22): While occupiers of 
Irwin Cotler's offices were removed within a matter of hours, 
Palestinians 
have been waiting for 35 years while their occupiers break numerous 
United 
Nations resolutions, build roads and settlements on their land, uproot 
trees, install checkpoints, and receive $10-million (U.S.) daily to 
sustain 
such illegal activity.

Mr. Cotler has often stated that, in 2000, the Palestinians walked away 
from a "generous" offer to reclaim 95 per cent of the occupied land, 
omitting the fact that Palestinians would have been left with loosely 
connected cantons, rather than a viable state. Would Mr. Cotler have 
agreed 
to the occupiers of his office returning 95 per cent of his real 
estate, 
while maintaining control of the doors, hallways, stairs and elevators 
in 
the building?

-----

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AT CAIR

Position: CHAPTER & INTERNSHIP COORDINATOR

CAIR has an immediate opening for an experienced dynamic person to fill 
the 
position of Chapter & Internship Coordinator. This person will be 
responsible for developing, coordinating and managing chapter marketing 
and 
development, as well as CAIR's internship program. Successful 
candidates 
will have a college degree, (Management or related field will be 
preferred), substantive organizational and supervisory skills and 
experience working with non-profit organizations and Muslim groups will 
be 
an asset.

This position also requires working knowledge of MS Office that 
includes 
data management. Experience with developing, organizing and conducting 
other internship and training programs will be an asset.

Salary Range: Based on education, skills and experience
CAIR offers an excellent health and dental benefit for its full-time 
employees.

All those interested and eligible to work in the U.S. (citizens or 
those 
with employment visas) are encouraged to apply before May 3, 2002 via 
e-mail to: hr@cair-net.org, or by fax 202-488-0833. When applying via 
e-mail, please write the position title "Chapter and Internship 
Coordinator" in the subject of the e-mail.

Position: WEBMASTER

CAIR has an immediate opening for an experienced web designer 
responsible 
for developing, and updating CAIR's website. The successful applicant 
should have:

1. A bachelors degree or a minimum of 5 years web development 
experience, 
including advanced experience in ASP (VB script), HTML, Java Script, 
SQL, 
MS Access and Photoshop.
2. Experience in programming web databases with knowledge of database 
driven content management.
3. An eye for developing a clean user interface with experience in 
graphics 
design using Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Flash.
4. Familiarity with streaming audio and video using Windows Media 
Player 
and Real Player.
5. Good working knowledge of how to integrate office components to 
create 
charts, graphs, and reports using Excel, Word, and Power Point.
6. Ability to work independently and formulate an exhaustive and 
extensive 
plan to keep the website current and maintaining content that is fresh.
7. An understanding of online security including credit card processing 
and 
online shopping cart.
8. An ability to juggle multiple tasks and be deadline oriented.
9. Knowledge of Internet applications as they apply to civil rights / 
activism driven organization, effective writing, presentation, and 
interpersonal skills.

This position requires travel and weekend work.

Salary Range: Based on education, skills and experience
CAIR offers an excellent health and dental benefit for its full time 
employees.

All those interested and eligible to work in the U.S. (citizens or 
those 
with employment visas) are encouraged to apply before May 10, 2002 via 
e-mail to: hr@cair-net.org, or by fax 202-488-0833. When applying via 
e-mail, please write the position title "Webmaster" in the subject of 
the 
e-mail.

-----

DR. LAURA SAYS MUSLIMS HAVE "PLAN" TO DOMINATE WORLD

CAIR expressed concern over remarks by syndicated radio talk-show host 
Dr. 
Laura Schlessinger who claimed today that there is a "Muslim plan" to 
take 
over the world.

In a letter to Schlessinger, CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim 
Hooper wrote:

"Many Muslim listen to your program and appreciate your emphasis on 
morality and righteous behavior.

"However, it is my unfortunate duty to bring to your attention our 
concerns 
about remarks you made on today's program that could negatively impact 
the 
lives of ordinary American Muslims.

"In a segment promoting the controversial views of Worldnetdaily.com 
CEO 
Joseph Farah, you claimed that there is a 'Muslim plan' to dominate the 
world.

"One has to wonder how you would react to anyone who made a similarly 
offensive reference to a 'Jewish plan' to take over America and Europe. 
Your comments can only serve to promote anti-Muslim prejudice and 
bigotry.

"I would therefore respectfully request that you take a moment on 
tomorrow's program to clarify your remarks and to mitigate the damage 
done 
to interfaith relations. At this time of international crisis and 
conflict, 
we all must seek to unite, not divide Americans.

"It should also be noted that Mr. Farah is on record as approving of a 
proposal to slaughter 1,000 Palestinians for every Israeli death. (He 
did 
not indicate whether those to be slaughtered would include his fellow 
Christians.) Farah wrote that he found the proposal to be 'a very 
thoughtful and quite responsible contribution to the Middle East 
debate.' I 
am sure you do not wish to be associated with such genocidal views.

SEE: 'A real peace plan,' Worldnetdaily.com, 3/28/2002
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26995

I realize that instead of addressing the issues raised in this letter, 
you 
could use your program to once again attack our organization, Muslims 
and 
Islam. But I would ask that you search your conscience and then 'do the 
right thing.'

-----

OREGON COALITION CHALLENGES HATE RADIO

WHAT: The Coalition Against Hate Radio, a group of more than 20 
faith-based 
and community organizations in the Portland metro area, will announce 
the 
beginning of a campaign against local hate radio, talk and call-in 
radio 
programs that promote bigotry and prejudice.

WHEN: The press conference will be held at 10:00 a.m., on Wednesday, 
April 
24th,

WHERE: Portland State University's Campus Ministries (Koinonia House), 
at 
633 SW Montgomery in downtown Portland.

The focus of the coalition's campaign is Paul Allen's Blazers Station, 
KXL 
(750AM), and its daily program, Savage Nation, hosted by Michael 
Savage.

The Coalition is calling on the station owner, Paul Allen, and on 
station 
managers at KXL to find an alternative to the hate-mongering 
programming of 
Michael Savage. Savage's statements against Muslims include declaring 
that 
the 1.2 billion world Muslim population could handle the extermination 
of 
200 million given how large the population is; referring to Hispanics 
as 
'leaf blowers," comparing immigrants to geese who defecate all over the 
country, and stating that America was on the wrong side in Kosovo, 
apparently meaning that the U.S. should have backed those engaged in 
overt 
genocide.

For more information, please contact:
Antihateradio@aol.com or (503) 888-7455

SEE ALSO:

OREGON-WASHINGTON GROUPS CALLS FOR END TO 'HATE RADIO'
By JOHN ENDERS, Associated Press, 4/24/02

PORTLAND, Ore. - Church, community and political groups in Oregon and 
Washington are demanding an end to what they call 'hate radio' and have 
called on a station owned by billionaire Paul Allen to drop talk show 
host 
Michael Savage.

Savage, whose home base is KSFO in San Francisco, is syndicated on more 
than 350 radio stations nationwide. He is featured on KXL radio in 
Portland 
during the key afternoon drive-time slot, 4-7 p.m.

"The content is an unbroken stream of hate and chauvinism directed 
against 
women, people of color, liberals, immigrants and in particular people 
of 
Middle Eastern heritage and people of the Muslim faith. We condemn this 
message of hate..." said Tom Nelson, spokesman for the Coalition 
Against 
Hate Radio.

The coalition consists of the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, the 
Interfaith Councils of Greater Seattle and Greater Portland, the 
Islamic 
Societies of Southwest Washington and Portland, the Multnomah County 
Democratic Party, the Muslim Educational Trust, Oregon Friends of the 
Middle East, Jews for Global Justice, the Catholic Archdiocese of 
Portland, 
Centro Cultural and several other churches and groups.

"The message that KXL is sending to communities of color, immigrants, 
and 
in particular to all people of Middle Eastern ancestry and to Muslims, 
is 
that you are not wanted in this country, that you have no value and 
that 
you should not expect any respect here," said Mona Goode, spokeswoman 
for 
the newly formed Coalition Against Hate Radio...

Members of the coalition said they will ask corporate advertisers to 
withhold their support from KXL until the station drops Savage.

"We're going to engage with the corporations that advertise on the 
radio 
station and appeal to their sense of corporate responsibility," Goode 
said.

"In a sense, Michael Savage has done us a favor. He's kind of united 
the 
coalition in and of himself," she said.

-----

BATTLE FOR THE TRUTH IN JENIN
By Brian Whitaker, The Guardian (UK), 4/23/02
http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,689398,00.html

Israel insists it has nothing to hide in Jenin. So why is it trying to 
prevent the world discovering its innocence, asks Most people would 
know a 
massacre if they saw one. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, 
"massacre" is a noun meaning "general slaughter, carnage; utter defeat 
and 
destruction" or a verb meaning to "murder cruelly or violently a number 
of 
persons."

The Israeli government objects to the word "massacre" being used to 
describe what happened in Jenin refugee camp earlier this month.

"Only" 40 or so Palestinians were killed, it says, and they were all 
terrorists. There are good reasons for believing both these Israeli 
claims 
to be false but, even if they were true, the nature of the act is no 
less 
important than its scale.

Both the International Committee of the Red Cross and Amnesty 
International 
say there is enough evidence to justify a full-scale investigation for 
war 
crimes.

Amnesty has collected a number of witness statements alleging, among 
other 
things, that extra-judicial executions took place, that some 
Palestinians 
were shot while in the process of surrendering or even afterwards, that 
detainees were used as human shields and that medical workers were 
attacked 
in circumstances where there was no reason to suspect they were 
terrorists 
in disguise...

-----

LETTERS: DRIVEN TO WAR
By Karen de Olivares, Dallas Morning News, 4/23/02
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/letters/stories/042302dnedituesdayletters.9ff9c.html

Letter to the Editor:

After listening to how the Israeli army was bulldozing orchards, I 
started 
to ask questions. Maybe it's because members of my family are farmers 
and 
ranchers.

I grew up eating fruit from trees my grandparents planted. I spent 
vacations watching cattle and wrestling hay bales off wagons at my 
great-aunt's ranch. The land will always be part of who and what we are 
now. We knew the hard work that went into taking care of what grew on 
the 
land. Thus, the abject sorrow choking the voice of a Palestinian woman 
as 
she described the churned-up, bare ground seemed very real. Bits of 
broken 
branches were all that remained of her family's groves of olive and 
fruit 
trees. Her pain and anger were as deeply piercing as any victim of this 
tragic war.

After I heard about the deliberate destruction of orchards, homes and 
farms, I didn't have to think very hard about what my family would have 
done if they saw groves of trees falling beneath the blade. Before the 
first tree fell, they would have taken out their guns.

I'm not saying that this justifies suicide bombings, but it makes me 
wonder 
if all of those desperate people can be dismissed as insane terrorists. 
It 
makes me wonder about cruel and repressive policies that breed 
violence.

When you've worked nights trying to save your crop or an animal going 
through a difficult birth, when your sweat and tears have mingled with 
the 
soil, what is anchored in the earth is also rooted in your soul.

Karen de Olivares, Irving

-----

ISRAEL BEGINS WEST BANK CONSTRUCTION
By CELEAN JACOBSON, The Associated Press, 4/24/02

JERUSALEM (AP) - The first stages of construction work are under way to 
connect two West Bank settlements by building housing for 480 Jewish 
families, an Israeli official said Wednesday.

The settlement linking the Elkana and Shaarei Tikva settlements near 
Tel 
Aviv will cover about 90 acres, making it among the largest in the 
northern 
West Bank region, said Marcel Ganz, mayor of the Elkana Council, which 
is 
responsible for the development.

Ganz said the construction was approved by the Israeli government more 
than 
two years ago and ground preparations are well under way. Building is 
to 
start in a few months and families could begin moving in within a year, 
he 
said.

About 700 Jewish families now live in Elkana and Shaarei Tikva 
settlements. 
Throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, about 200,000 Jews live in 150 
settlements among 3 million Palestinians.

The settlement issue is one of the main stumbling blocks in the search 
for 
a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace. The Palestinians demand removal of 
settlements from West Bank land they consider part of any future 
state...

-----

PALESTINIANS SAY ISRAEL AIMS TO HIDE JENIN 'CRIMES'
By Rawhi Abeidoh, Reuters, 4/24/02

JERUSALEM - The Palestinian Authority said on Wednesday that Israel's 
threat to block a U.N. fact-finding mission showed its government was 
trying to hide its "crimes" in the Jenin refugee camp.

After agreeing to the mission approved by the U.N. Security Council 
last 
week, Israel said overnight the team would not be allowed to visit 
unless 
it included military and counter-terrorism experts.

"The Israeli government is trying to hide the contours of its crimes at 
Jenin camp and...prevent the world from witnessing its continuous 
massacres 
against the Palestinian people," the Authority, led by Yasser Arafat, 
said 
in a statement.

U.N. and European officials have said was Israel's disproportionate use 
of 
force against Palestinian militants and television footage of houses 
flattened by Israeli bulldozers in the Jenin camp.

-----

ANNAN REFUSES JENIN MISSION DELAY
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press, 4/24/02

UNITED NATIONS - Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday refused 
Israel's 
demand to delay and change a U.N. team that will investigate Israel's 
assault on the Jenin refugee camp, directing its members to arrive in 
the 
Mideast by Saturday.

The U.N. Security Council held emergency consultations Tuesday night 
after 
Israel suddenly announced it was delaying the fact-finding mission...

The secretary-general said the mandate of the team was the Security 
Council's resolution adopted unanimously last Friday which welcomes the 
fact-finding mission. It also expresses concern at "the dire 
humanitarian 
situation of the Palestinian civilian population," especially in Jenin.

At the end of a nearly two-hour meeting, the council issued a statement 
saying it expects "fast implementation" of Friday's resolution - and 
Israel's "full cooperation" with the secretary-general and the team...

-----

TERRORISM AND NATIONALISM
Washington Post Editorial, 4/24/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38046-2002Apr24.html

ISRAELI PRIME Minister Ariel Sharon has insisted that his army's 
offensive 
in the West Bank has been aimed at uprooting the infrastructure of 
Palestinian terrorism, in the same way that the United States has used 
military force to drive al Qaeda from Afghanistan.

That seems a worthy goal, and to some a valid comparison -- and yet it 
doesn't explain why Israeli troops would have raided and deliberately 
destroyed the civilian ministries of the Palestinian Authority in 
Ramallah.

At the Ministry of Higher Education, the Israelis stripped all the 
computers of their hard drives, then piled them together and blew them 
up. 
They also destroyed Palestinian television studios, knocked down radio 
antennas and looted Palestinian banks.

Perhaps some of these acts were carried out by undisciplined troops. 
But 
the pattern of destruction also suggests a crucial distinction between 
Israel's campaign and that of the United States. Both invasions are 
aimed 
at crushing terrorist organizations that have carried out savage 
attacks on 
innocent civilians. But Israel also has another target: the Palestinian 
national movement, which aims at ending the Israeli military occupation 
of 
the West Bank and Gaza Strip and creating a Palestinian state in its 
place.

The problem with equating Israel's campaign against terrorism with that 
of 
the United States, as Mr. Sharon and some of his American supporters 
do, is 
that it overlooks this contest for territory and sovereignty underlying 
the 
Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed...

-----

VOA TARGETS WIDER ARAB AUDIENCE
By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press, 4/24/02

WASHINGTON (AP) - Newton Minow, a former chairman of the Federal 
Communications Commission, complained not long ago that Voice of 
America 
broadcasts to the Middle East were so ineffectual they amounted to 
"barely 
a whisper..."

That may be changing with the advent of VOA's Middle East Radio 
Network, 
which went on the air March 23 with the avowed aim of getting the ear 
of 
Arabs from Morocco to Oman - more than a dozen countries. The AM-FM 
station 
is known in the region as "Radio Sawa," which means "Radio Together" in 
Arabic.

The music features American favorites such as Jennifer Lopez and the 
Back 
Street Boys - and Arab pop stars from Egypt, Lebanon and other 
countries.

"Music is a tool," says Norman Pattiz, a member of the Broadcasting 
Board 
of Governors, the government entity that oversees U.S. foreign 
broadcast 
operations.

"The target audience is 25 and under. The best way to reach them is 
with 
music."

If music is the bait, the main dish for listeners, as the U.S. 
government 
sees it, is the airing of U.S. policy.

Next week, Sawa will begin broadcasting policy programs, editorials and 
reviews and critiques of Arab press reports.

-----

FUNDRAISING DINNER FOR MUSLIMS VICTIMS OF GUJARAT VIOLENCE

WHAT: The Tragedy of Gujarat and the Muslim Ummah - A lecture given by 
Dr. 
Omar Khalidi, Professor at MIT

WHERE:  Muslim Community Association, MCA, 3003 Scott Blvd., Santa 
Clara 
(between San Tomas & Central Expressways)

WHEN: Saturday, April 27th, 7 - 10 p.m.

(Relief funds raised will be given to the Indian Muslim Relief 
Committee 
[IMRC] for distribution in India)

SPONSORS: Muslim Community Association (MCA), South Bay Islamic 
Association 
(SBIA), India Muslim Action Committee (IMAC), Muslim American Society 
(MAS), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and American 
Muslims 
for Global Peace and Justice (AMGPJ)

Dinner will be served at $10 per person at the door; babysitting 
provided.

-----

MUSLIMS SURROUND POLICE STATION, DEMAND END TO MOB VIOLENCE IN GUJARAT
By RUPAK SANYAL, Associated Press, 4/24/02

AHMADABAD, India - About 3,000 people, mostly Muslims, surrounded a 
police 
station in western Gujarat state on Wednesday, demanding officers stop 
sectarian violence after rampaging Hindus burned much of the 
neighborhood.

The death toll in nearly two months of violence in the state rose to at 
least 863 on Wednesday when a body with multiple stab wounds was found 
in 
the exclusive Law Garden area of Ahmadabad, the commercial capital, and 
a 
burned body was found near a temple in the Khanpur area of the city, 
police 
said.

The officers did not know the religion of the two dead or how they were 
killed. More than 500 Hindu and Muslim women and children were 
sheltering 
inside the besieged station in the Shahibaug area of Ahmadabad after 
the 
night of violence, as India's worst religious riots in a decade 
continued.

On Tuesday night, an armed mob of 5,000 Hindus tore through Shahibaug, 
blowing up cooking gas canisters to ignite fires in the mostly Muslim 
area. 
They destroyed 30 shops and a Muslim shrine.

Some of the mob burst into the office of the local police commissioner 
and 
demanded the closing of a relief camp housing 4,500 Muslims who were 
burned 
out of their homes earlier in the sectarian violence.

The Gujarat violence began on Feb. 27, when Muslims set fire to a train 
carrying Hindu activists returning from a pilgrimage aimed at building 
a 
Hindu temple on the site of a mosque destroyed by a Hindu mob in 1992. 
Since then, most of those killed have been Muslims, many burned alive 
and 
their businesses and homes destroyed by Hindu mobs.

-----

ABC'S "NIGHTLINE" PROFILES IRANIAN FILM-MAKER
http://abcnews.go.com/Sections/Nightline/

WHAT: 2nd part in four-part series that explores Islam, Muslims, and 
the 
West. Tonight's program is a profile of Iranian film-maker Bahman 
Farmanara. He reflects on recent events and the impact of western 
influence 
on Iranian and Islamic culture and tradition.

WHEN: Tonight at 11:35 p.m. (Eastern)

-----

TIME TO CONSIDER PRAYER ROOMS?
HRfocus, May 2002

Employers with Muslim employees are beginning to add prayer rooms, 
according to Ibrahim Hooper, spokesperson for the Council on American 
Islamic Relations (CAIR; Washington, D.C.; 202-488-8787; 
www.cair-net.org). 
Having a space set aside for prayer can save time and disruption, 
Hooper 
said, since devout Muslims pray five times a day.

The rooms are usually designated for prayer at the request of an 
informal 
employee committee, Hooper said. For help in addressing issues related 
to 
Muslim religious practices and possible accommodations, CAIR has 
published 
An Employer's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices.

TO OBTAIN A COPY OF CAIR'S GUIDE, SEND A REQUEST TO:
publications@cair-net.org

-----

SECRETARY MINETA SAYS RACIAL PROFILING IS WRONG AND INEFFECTIVE

REMARKS FOR THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
U.S. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
ARAB COMMUNITY CENTER FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SERVICES
DETROIT, MICHIGAN, APRIL 20, 2002
http://www.dot.gov/affairs/042002sp.htm

It is very tempting to take false comfort in the belief that we can 
spot 
the bad guy based on appearance alone.  Some are yielding to that 
temptation in their arguments for racial profiling, but false comfort 
is a 
luxury we cannot afford. It is true that each of the hijackers involved 
in 
the September 11th hijackings had some characteristics in common -- 
they 
were all young men of
Arab ancestry.

But we cannot, we must not, and we will not assume that all future 
terrorists will fit that particular profile.  Without more information, 
we 
simply cannot tell  --  and it certainly has not been true in the 
past...

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----




Forwarded Message

Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 16:23:14 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Palestinians in Jenin Turn Down U.S. Relief Aid

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/25/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* FOR MANY AMERICAN MUSLIMS, COMPLAINTS OF QUIET BUT PERSISTENT BIAS 
(New 
York Times)
* RIGHTS GROUPS TEAM UP TO AID ARABS, MUSLIMS (Chicago Tribune)
* OPENNESS: THE AMERICAN WAY (Toledo Blade)
* THE NEW YORK SUN'S NOT-SO-BRIGHT DEBUT (Salon.com)
* ONCE UPON A TIME IN JENIN (The Independent)
* PALESTINIANS IN JENIN CAMP TURN DOWN U.S. RELIEF AID (Reuters)
* SHARON'S BEST WEAPON (The Guardian)
* OPERATION DESTROY THE DATA (Haaretz)
* PRO-ISRAEL LOBBY TAKES A RIGHT TURN (Time)
* ADL FOUND GUILTY OF SPYING BY CALIFORNIA COURT (Arab News)
* WHITE HOUSE OPPOSES ISRAELI AID IN EMERGENCY BILL (Reuters)

-----

FOR MANY AMERICAN MUSLIMS, COMPLAINTS OF QUIET BUT PERSISTENT BIAS
By SUSAN SACHS, The New York Times, 4/25/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/25/nyregion/25MUSL.html

In ways large and small, from perceived prejudice in the workplace to a 
heightened sense of anxiety at home, the events of Sept. 11 continue to 
reverberate in the lives of American Muslims.

State and federal civil rights agencies have been flooded with 
complaints 
from Muslims who contend that their employers and co-workers openly 
denigrated Islam after the terror attacks, sneeringly labeled them 
terrorist and, in some cases, fired them solely because of religion or 
national origin. Many other Muslims say they see evidence of a quiet 
but 
persistent discrimination against them in their everyday social 
transactions. It is not necessarily tangible. A once-friendly 
acquaintance 
no longer says hello. A child is repeatedly teased over his Arabic 
name. A 
customer calls the police to suggest that a foreign-looking merchant 
might 
be a terrorist...

In a national survey by the Zogby International polling company in 
March 
2000, 35 percent of the American Muslims polled reported having 
experienced 
discrimination because of their religion. Thirty-nine of Arab-Americans 
polled said they had experienced prejudice based on their ethnic 
heritage. 
But feelings appeared to have shifted significantly after Sept. 11. In 
November 2001, another Zogby poll found that 57 percent of American 
Muslims 
believed Americans held unfavorable opinions of Muslims and Arabs.

The unease that many people now feel is not necessarily linked to a 
concrete event or overt behavior.

"What we have now is a feeling of insecurity, a feeling that I can't 
really 
describe in words," said Zaheer Sharaf, a grocer and service station 
owner 
who immigrated from Pakistan six years ago...

-----

RIGHTS GROUPS TEAM UP TO AID ARABS, MUSLIMS
By Oscar Avila, Chicago Tribune, 4/25/02
http://www.chicagotribune.com Search using the Term "Oscar Avila."

Motivated by post-Sept. 11 hostility toward Muslims and Arab-Americans, 
a 
diverse network of civil-rights groups is starting an initiative to 
offer 
them better legal education and representation through training and 
more 
efficient referrals to legal-aid organizations.

Muslim and Arab-American activists say they hope the yearlong project, 
to 
be announced Thursday, will combine their community connections with 
the 
legal and political expertise of partners such as the American Civil 
Liberties Union and National Lawyers Guild. Launching Project LINC is 
vital, they said, in an environment of hate crimes, discrimination and 
a 
law-enforcement focus on Muslims and Arab-Americans since Sept. 11...

Kausar Ahmad, executive director of the Muslim Civil Rights Center in 
Hickory Hills, said the new project formalizes talks that started 
before 
Sept. 11.

"It's not that the Muslim community has not been reaching out, but this 
is 
the first massive and unified effort we've had," Ahmad said.

In addition to helping Muslims and Arab-Americans tap into a network of 
civil-rights lawyers, the project will enlist the Leadership Council 
for 
Metropolitan Open Communities to improve the groups' reporting of hate 
crimes and housing discrimination...

-----

OPENNESS: THE AMERICAN WAY
The Toledo Blade, 4/25/02
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=TO&Date=20020425&Category=OPINION02&ArtNo=104250118&Ref=AR

At last our federal courts are showing themselves willing to buck the 
Star 
Chamber mentality that John Ashcroft's Justice Department has foolishly 
tried to establish in the name of fighting terrorism.

Hopefully they will consistently uphold our Constitution as the 
department 
continues to try to thwart an April 3 decision by U.S. District Judge 
Nancy 
Edmunds. Judge Edmunds ordered the release of transcripts of 
immigration 
hearings involving Rabih Haddad, 41, a Lebanese citizen and Muslim 
activist 
picked up in Ann Arbor in December for overstaying his six-month visa 
as a 
Chicago-based charity he helped found was shut down. Judge Edmunds 
struck 
down the department's new policy of keeping immigration court hearings 
closed, an act by the attorney general that can only be called anathema 
to 
the most basic of American ideals.

In reviewing the judge's ruling, which had been stayed briefly, the 6th 
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it was highly unlikely that 
releasing 
the data would affect the government's probe of terrorists.

That remark attests to the dangers of Mr. Ashcroft's blanket claims to 
secrecy. It also explains why southeast Michigan's Congressman John 
Conyers 
and news publications in the area - the Detroit News, the Detroit Free 
Press, the Ann Arbor News, and the weekly Metro Times - rightly pressed 
for 
access on behalf of themselves and the public they serve...

-----

THE NEW YORK SUN'S NOT-SO-BRIGHT DEBUT
By Eric Boehlert, Salon.com, 4/25/02
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2002/04/25/nysun/index.html

The Sun's president and editor, Seth Lipsky, recently told an 
interviewer 
that he wanted the Sun's editorial page to champion "limited 
government, 
individual liberty, constitutional fundamentals, equality under the 
law, 
economic growth...standards in literature and culture, education." But 
the 
paper's primary passions are clearly Israel and Jewish causes. Lipsky 
once 
edited the Forward, the New York Jewish daily newspaper, and has been 
described by the New Yorker as a "Jabotinskyite Zionist." The Sun's 
worldview was summed up on launch day in an unsigned editorial, "The 
War 
Against the Jews." Decrying anti-Semitism, "a virus that has claimed 
millions of lives over the centuries," the editorial drew a parallel 
between the Holocaust and recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations held in 
America, because they "are by and large rallies that support an 
anti-Semitism that is unthinkable to those who know the history."

Elsewhere in the Sun's limited news hole last week, there were stories 
about Jewish book awards, a synagogue cantor facing sexual assault 
charges, 
Jean-Marie Le Pen wooing Jews in France, an upcoming book about Anne 
Frank, 
additional editorials about Israel, as well as ads purchased by the 
Anti-Defamation League, Peace4israel.com and the Zionist Organization 
of 
America. And of course there was plenty of coverage of the violence in 
the 
Middle East. The Sun reported on Page 1 last Thursday that by backing a 
U.N. resolution, "Austria, Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain and Sweden 
are 
throwing their support behind the PLO's terrorist attack on Israeli 
civilians."

The next day a Sun headline reported that U.S. "Taxpayers Send $92 
Million 
More to Palestinians." The accompanying article explained that the 
White 
House had waived restrictions on aid to Palestinians, but it never 
explained where the $92 million figure came from. In fact, the figure 
never 
even appeared in the article. A related editorial suggested the White 
House 
waiver "will open the way for something like $100 million in taxpayer 
funding to make its way to the Palestinians..."

-----

ONCE UPON A TIME IN JENIN
What really happened when Israeli forces went into Jenin? Just as the 
world 
is giving up hope of learning the truth, Justin Huggler and Phil Reeves 
have unearthed compelling evidence of an atrocity
By Justin Huggler and Phil Reeves, The Independent (UK), 4/25/02
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=288592

The Israeli army insists that its devastating invasion of the refugee 
camp 
in Jenin earlier this month was intended to root out the infrastructure 
of 
the Palestinian militias, particularly the authors of an increasingly 
vicious series of suicide attacks on Israelis. It now says the dead 
were 
mostly fighters. And, as always - although its daily behaviour in the 
occupied territories contradicts this claim - it insists that it did 
everything possible to protect civilians.

But The Independent has unearthed a different story. We have found 
that, 
while the Israeli operation clearly dealt a devastating blow to the 
militant organisations - in the short term, at least - nearly half of 
the 
Palestinian dead who have been identified so far were civilians, 
including 
women, children and the elderly. They died amid a ruthless and brutal 
Israeli operation, in which many individual atrocities occurred, and 
which 
Israel is seeking to hide by launching a massive propaganda drive...

-----

PALESTINIANS IN JENIN CAMP TURN DOWN U.S. RELIEF AID
REuters, 4/25/02

JENIN, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian officials at Jenin refugee 
camp 
Thursday turned down a U.S. aid shipment of tents, food and children's 
toys, saying the camp had been destroyed by Israel with U.S.-made 
weapons.

They said residents refused to unpack the shipment, which included 800 
tents and other relief supplies from the U.S. Agency for International 
Development (USAID), after it arrived in U.N. trucks Tuesday.

"Residents do not accept this assistance presented by the United States 
because their camp has been demolished, its youth killed by American 
weapons in Israeli hands," said Fakhri Turukman, a Palestinian 
legislator 
from the camp.

"We would rather die of hunger than be fed by our killers," said 
Ibrahim 
Hussein, a member of the camp's relief committee...

-----

SHARON'S BEST WEAPON
Anti-semitism sustains Israel's brutal leader -
the fight against it must be reclaimed
Naomi Klein, The Guardian, 4/25/02
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/comment/0,10551,690227,00.html

The primary and familiar fear that Sharon draws on, the one that allows 
him 
to disguise all aggressive actions as defensive ones, is the fear that 
Israel's neighbours want to drive the Jews into the sea. The secondary 
fear 
Sharon manipulates is the fear among Jews in the diaspora that they 
will 
eventually be driven to seek a safe haven in Israel. This leads 
millions of 
Jews around the world, many of them sickened by Israeli aggression, to 
shut 
up and send their cheques, a down-payment on future sanctuary.

The equation is simple: the more fearful Jews are, the more powerful 
Sharon 
is. Elected on a platform of "peace through security", Sharon's 
administration could barely hide its delight at Le Pen's ascendancy, 
immediately calling on French Jews to pack their bags and come to the 
promised land. For Sharon, Jewish fear is a guarantee that his power 
will 
go unchecked, granting him the impunity needed to do the unthinkable: 
send 
troops into the Palestinian Authority's education ministry to steal and 
destroy records, bury children alive in their homes, block ambulances 
from 
getting to the dying, sabotage all international attempts to get at the 
truth of what happened in Jenin.

Jews outside Israel now find themselves in a tightening vice: the 
actions 
of the country that was supposed to ensure their future safety are 
making 
them less safe right now. Sharon is deliberately erasing distinctions 
between the terms "Jew" and "Israeli", claiming he is fighting not for 
Israeli territory but for the survival of the Jewish people. When 
anti-semitism rises at least partly as a result of his actions, it is 
Sharon who is positioned once again to collect the political 
dividends...

-----

OPERATION DESTROY THE DATA
By Amira Hass, Haaretz, 4/25/02
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=155181&contrassID=2&subContrassID=4&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y

It's a scene that is repeating itself in hundreds of Palestinian 
offices 
taken over by IDF troops for a few hours or days in the West Bank: 
smashed, 
burned and broken computer terminals heaped in piles and thrown into 
yards; 
server cabling cut, hard disks missing, disks and diskettes scattered 
and 
broken, printers and scanners broken or missing, laptops gone, 
telephone 
exchanges that disappeared or were vandalized, and paper files burned, 
torn, scattered, or defaced - if
not taken...

Let's not deceive ourselves; this was not a mission to search and 
destroy 
the terrorist infrastructure....There was a decision made to vandalize 
the 
civic, administrative, cultural infrastructure developed by Palestinian 
society.

-----

PRO-ISRAEL LOBBY TAKES A RIGHT TURN
By Douglas Waller, Time, 4/23/02
http://www.time.com/time/columnist/waller/article/0,9565,233157,00.htm

Who's the current darling of the pro-Israel lobby? Who fired up more 
than 
2,000 delegates attending the convention of the American Israeli Public 
Affairs Committee in Washington on Tuesday morning? Who had them 
standing 
on their feet cheering after practically every sentence he uttered? Not 
a 
liberal Democrat, as you might expect. It was a conservative Republican 
from Sugar Land, Texas, a born-again Christian whose nickname is the 
"Hammer."

Tom DeLay, the take-no-prisoners House Republican Whip, has already 
lapped 
Democrats in the race to prove who is Israel's strongest ally on 
Capitol 
Hill...

-----

ADL FOUND GUILTY OF SPYING BY CALIFORNIA COURT
By Barbara Ferguson, Arab News, 4/25/2002
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=14650

WASHINGTON, 25 April - The San Francisco Superior Court has awarded 
former 
Congressman Pete McCloskey, R-California, a $150,000 court judgment 
against 
the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

McCloskey, the attorney in the case, represented one of three civil 
lawsuits filed in San Francisco against the ADL in 1993. The lawsuit 
came 
after raids were made by the San Francisco Police Department and the 
FBI on 
offices of the ADL in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, which found 
that 
the ADL was engaged in extensive domestic spying operations on a vast 
number of individuals and institutions around the country.

During the course of the inquiry in San Francisco, the SFPD and FBI 
determined the ADL had computerized files on nearly 10,000 people 
across 
the country, and that more than 75 percent of the information had been 
illegally obtained from police, FBI files and state drivers' license 
data 
banks.

Much of the stolen information had been provided by Tom Gerard of the 
San 
Francisco Police Department, who sold, or gave, the information to Ray 
Bullock, ADL's top undercover operative.

The investigation also determined that the ADL conduit, Gerard, was 
also 
working with the CIA.

Two other similar suits against ADL were settled some years ago, and 
the 
ADL was found guilty in both cases, but the McCloskey suit continued to 
drag through the courts until last month...

-----

WHITE HOUSE OPPOSES ISRAELI AID IN EMERGENCY BILL
Reuters, 4/25/2002

WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - The Bush administration is considering 
additional aid to Israel, which already receives about $3 billion in 
U.S. 
aid annually, but does not want to include it in a counterterrorism 
bill 
moving through Congress, the White House's budget chief said on 
Thursday.

"From a foreign policy standpoint it's under review, but not right now 
and 
not in this bill," budget director Mitchell Daniels told reporters.

"This is not the time. We want to confine this supplemental bill to 
things 
that we feel are immediately necessary," Daniels said after addressing 
a 
conservative judicial group.

Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, the top Democrat on the House 
Appropriations 
Committee on foreign aid, last week said she would push for up to $200 
million for Israel in the emergency spending bill.

That move was expected to pick up support among lawmakers from both 
parties 
eager to back Israel in the conflict with Palestinians.

The Republican-led House of Representatives is expected to vote next 
week 
on a resolution expressing solidarity with Israel and supporting more 
aid.

-----

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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----




Forwarded Message

Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 16:00:04 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Report on American Muslim Civil Rights to be Released

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/26/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: CONTENTMENT
* REPORT ON AMERICAN MUSLIM CIVIL RIGHTS TO BE RELEASED
* U.S. EVADES CURBS IN TERROR LAW (Newsday)
* CAIR-NY OFFICIAL ON CNN'S MONEYLINE WITH LOU DOBBS
* WINNING THROUGH INTIMIDATION (Antiwar.com)
* UNION SEES USF SHIFT ON AL-ARIAN (Tampa Tribune)
* BUSH SAYS NOW IS TIME FOR ISRAEL TO WITHDRAW (Reuters)
* POLICY DIVIDE THWARTS POWELL IN MIDEAST EFFORT (Washington Post)
* CARTOON: ISRAEL V. PALESTINE:  WHERE DO YOU STAND? (New York Times)
* ISRAEL'S HISTORIC MISCALCULATION (New York Times)
* BUSH'S DOMESTIC POLITICS AND THE PRO-ISRAELI TILT (Union-Tribune)
* WHITE HOUSE AND DELAY AT ODDS (Washington Post)
* IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER (Haaretz)
* CONFERENCE TO HELP MUSLIM WOMEN, GIRLS DEAL WITH CHALLENGES 
(Tennessean)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: CONTENTMENT

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Being rich does not 
mean 
having a great amount of property, but [it] is being content [with what 
one
has]."

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 453

-----

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                         - MEDIA ADVISORY -

REPORT ON AMERICAN MUSLIM CIVIL RIGHTS TO BE RELEASED
Study includes impact of September 11 attacks on Muslim civil liberties

WHAT: On Tuesday, April 30, the Council on American-Islamic Relations 
(CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, will hold a news 
conference in the nation's capital to release its seventh annual report 
on 
the status of Muslim civil rights in the United States, titled 
"Stereotypes 
and Civil Liberties."

The report, the only national study of its kind, details incidents and 
experiences of anti-Muslim violence, stereotyping, discrimination, and 
harassment during the past year. It also outlines the Islamophobic 
backlash 
that occurred following the September 11 terrorist attacks and examines 
the 
impact anti-terrorism policies prompted by the attacks have had on 
American 
Muslim civil liberties.

Policies examined by the report include passenger profiling, post-9/11 
detentions, the closure of Muslim relief organizations, the use of 
secret 
evidence, so-called "voluntary" interviews of legal visa-holders, and 
the 
recent raids on Muslim homes and institutions in Virginia and Georgia.

"There is a growing sense of apprehension in the Islamic community 
about 
what are viewed as unconstitutional policies targeting ordinary 
Muslims. 
American Muslims have been thrust to the forefront of the civil rights 
movement in this country," said CAIR Research Director Dr. Mohamed 
Nimer.

CAIR began documenting anti-Muslim incidents following the 1995 attack 
on 
the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. There are an estimated 7 
million Muslims in this country and some 1.2 billion worldwide.

WHEN:           Tuesday, April 30, 2002, 10:30 a.m. (Eastern)

WHERE:  CAIR's Capitol Hill Headquarters
                 1st Floor, 453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, 
D.C.

                                         - END -

CONTACT:        Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL - cair@cair-net.org
             Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org
-----

U.S. EVADES CURBS IN TERROR LAW
By Tom Brune, Newsday (NY), 4/26/02
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usjust262684101apr26.story

Washington - In its first report to Congress required by the sweeping 
anti-terrorism law passed six months ago, the Justice Department said 
this 
week it has not invoked its new powers to certify or detain any 
noncitizens 
as terrorists.

The report, one of the few required by the 326-page USA Patriot Act, 
prompted a sharp response yesterday from congressional critics and 
civil 
liberties advocates who have protested Attorney General John Ashcroft's 
domestic war on terrorism.

"The entire justification for Ashcroft's dragnet approach to detaining 
Arab 
and Muslim Americans has collapsed with this admission that he hasn't 
been 
able to identify a single terrorist," Rep. John Conyers of Michigan 
said 
yesterday. "I believe it reflects the Bush administration's arrogant 
disregard for the Constitution and the haphazard response to Sept. 11," 
added Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee...

The report is not totally surprising, civil liberties advocates and 
experts 
said, because the FBI has already indicated it had found no Sept.11 
accomplices among the 1,200 aliens arrested and detained...

The law that passed and became the Patriot Act allows the attorney 
general 
to certify aliens as terrorists and detain them. But it also requires 
the 
government to file charges against aliens in seven days, limits 
detention 
of them to renewable six-month periods and requires reports to Congress 
on 
them every six months.

This week's report, Edgar and other civil liberties advocates said, 
shows 
the Justice Department avoided the law by instead charging aliens under 
existing immigration law and using rewritten administrative rules to 
hold 
aliens without charges...

-----

CAIR-NY OFFICIAL ON CNN'S MONEYLINE WITH LOU DOBBS - 4/25/02

DOBBS: ...We`re rejoined, I`m glad to say, by Rabbi Eric Yoffie. He`s 
the 
president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. And Al-Haj 
Ghazi 
Khankan, executive director of the Council of American Islamic 
Relations 
here in New York. And, Haj, it is good to have you with us.

HAJ GHAZI KHANKAN, COUNCIL ON AMER. ISLAMIC RELATIONS: Thank you.

DOBBS: Let me begin first with a very simple question. This area, so 
important to so many religions, why is religion not making its force 
felt 
in this conflict? It seems to be the one element in all of this contest 
that it is not -- it is not public. It is not at the forefront. It`s 
not 
the leading expression of view. Haj, could I ask you that question 
first?

KHANKAN: Possibly because our cousins don`t recognize that Ismail is 
also 
the son of Abraham, and indeed, is an inheritor of the gift that God is 
giving the children of Abraham. "To thy seed, Abraham, I give this 
land," 
includes the children of Ismail. And Ismail is the Arab side of the 
equation.

DOBBS: Haj Khankan, the question of the role of humanitarianism and 
what 
your religion can do to relieve the suffering.

KHANKAN: I think we -- all religion, because the religion with God is 
one. 
Jews, Christians and Muslims must sit down and talk. But should not use 
words that are aggressive and antagonistic. And therefore, we need to 
work 
together. We do a lot of, through the Islamic Center of Long Island and 
other organizations, we do a lot of interfaith dialogue between Jewish, 
Christians and Muslims. And when it comes to the problem of Jerusalem, 
nobody knows why Jerusalem is so important for Muslims.

And that is a subject by itself which makes many in the United States 
think 
that it`s only important for Jews and Christians but not for Muslims.

-----

WINNING THROUGH INTIMIDATION
By Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, 4/19/02
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j042602.html

There's a move afoot to stifle political discourse in this country: 
Israel's lobby in the US is trying to drag us into a war with Iraq, and 
the 
entire Muslim world, without a national debate, by smearing anyone who 
opposes their agenda as an "anti-Semite." But it won't work. Americans 
don't like being told what to think and what to write; they don't like 
pushy lobbyists with not-so-hidden agendas - and, contra Tunku, they do 
indeed believe the First Amendment serves their best interests, and 
aren't 
likely to get rid of it any time soon.

----

UNION SEES USF SHIFT ON AL-ARIAN
By BEN FELLER, Tampa Tribune, 4/25/02
http://tampatrib.com/

TAMPA - The University of South Florida's president shows signs she 
will 
let a banished professor return to work, and the school will almost 
certainly be censured if she doesn't, according to a report for the 
nation's leading voice on academic freedom.

President Judy Genshaft's recent language and actions show she is 
poised to 
"back away from the brink' of firing Sami Al-Arian and tarnishing her 
school, wrote the lawyer heading the American Association of University 
Professors' investigation of USF...

Genshaft said Wednesday the characterization is wrong. She stands by 
her 
announced intention Dec. 19 to fire Al-Arian, and she said her 
deliberate 
pace in making a final decision does not mean she is wavering.

Genshaft said she will make a decision by August. The story keeps 
moving, 
she said, with developments such as law enforcement's confirmed 
investigation of Al-Arian. Al-Arian, meanwhile, draws his $67,500 
salary 
and waits for resolution. His attorney, Bob McKee, said he hopes the 
AAUP 
report will help show USF it should reconsider...

-----

BUSH SAYS NOW IS TIME FOR ISRAEL TO WITHDRAW
Reuters, 4/26/02

CRAWFORD, Texas, Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday 
said 
the time had now come for Israel to complete its withdrawal from 
Palestinian areas occupied in a campaign to halt suicide bombings.

"There has been some progress but it's now time to put it all together.
It's time to end this. Well, we'll see what happens. I know they've 
heard 
us," Bush told reporters at his ranch in Texas.

Bush's comments came a day after he met with Saudi Crown Prince 
Abdullah 
and was warned U.S. ties with the Arab world were at risk over Middle 
East 
violence.

-----

POLICY DIVIDE THWARTS POWELL IN MIDEAST EFFORT
By Alan Sipress, Washington Post, 04/26/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51099-2002Apr25.html

State Department officials say Secretary of State Colin L. Powell has 
been 
repeatedly undercut by other senior policymakers in his effort to break 
the 
Middle East deadlock, warning this has left U.S. diplomacy paralyzed at 
an 
especially volatile moment...

They partly fault what they said was the administration's unwillingness 
to 
stand behind Powell, especially in pressuring Israeli Prime Minister 
Ariel 
Sharon to withdraw his forces from West Bank cities and hold 
accelerated 
talks with the Palestinians. Department officials said they continue to 
face objections as they seek to fashion a diplomatic initiative aimed 
at 
creating a Palestinian state.

Powell has displayed little public frustration. But his employees' 
complaints, reflecting their own exasperation and deep loyalty to him, 
reveal the depth of divisions inside the administration, especially 
between 
the State Department and the Pentagon.

Many in the State Department cite resistance to their diplomatic 
efforts 
coming from Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who has more of a 
voice 
in shaping Middle East policy than his predecessors. The opinions of 
Rumsfeld and his key lieutenants, notably Deputy Defense Secretary Paul 
D. 
Wolfowitz and Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith, figure 
prominently because the Pentagon has been given a seat at interagency 
discussions over the Middle East conflict. In recent years, the peace 
process was largely the purview of the State Department and the White 
House.

The rift in President Bush's inner circle, some State Department 
officials 
said, has left the administration's policy "dead in the water." These 
officials use words like "despondent" and "disheartened" to describe 
the 
mood in Foggy Bottom, saying they cannot remember a time in recent 
years 
when they have felt so badly beaten up.

-----

CARTOON: ISRAEL V. PALESTINE:  WHERE DO YOU STAND?
http://www2.uclick.com/client/nyt/tr/

-----

ISRAEL'S HISTORIC MISCALCULATION
The New York Times, 4/26/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/26/opinion/_26FRI1.html

Late last week, senior Israeli Army officers called for uprooting 
several 
dozen isolated Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip 
because of the military burden involved in protecting them. Even though 
the 
proposal was focused on Israeli security interests, Prime Minister 
Ariel 
Sharon angrily dismissed it at a cabinet meeting, saying that as long 
as he 
was in power there would be no discussion of removing a single 
settlement.

It is hard to imagine a more dispiriting statement for those hoping for 
a 
negotiated land-for-peace end to hostilities in the Middle East. If Mr. 
Sharon sticks to this view he will leave little hope for peace between 
Israel and the Palestinians. We recognize that this is an exceptionally 
painful moment in a region where the focus has been on death and human 
suffering rather than on land. But ultimately this dispute is over 
land.

Just as terror is the greatest Palestinian threat to Middle East peace, 
so 
are settlements on territory captured in the 1967 war the greatest 
Israeli 
obstacle to peace. They deprive the Palestinians of prime land and 
water, 
break up Palestinian geographic continuity, are hard to defend against 
Palestinian attack and complicate the establishment of a clear, secure 
Israeli border...

-----

BUSH'S DOMESTIC POLITICS AND THE PRO-ISRAELI TILT
By James Goldsborough, San Diego Union Tribune, 4/25/02
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/thu/opinion/news_1e25golds.html

How are Americans to understand President Bush's kowtowing to Israeli 
Prime 
Minister Ariel Sharon? Told to withdraw Israeli forces from the West 
Bank 
"without delay," Sharon refused. As Israel reduced the Jenin refugee 
camp 
to rubble using U.S.-supplied arms, Bush praised him as a "man of 
peace." 
The man of peace now wants to dictate the composition of a U.N. 
fact-finding mission, approved with U.S. support, into Jenin.

As former President Carter pointed out Sunday, presidents don't just 
spin 
their wheels. Presidents have power levers. In the case of Israel, said 
Carter, the levers are two: We provide $10 million per day in aid to 
Israel; we supply Israel weapons for defensive purposes only, not for 
attacks on refugees...

-----

WHITE HOUSE AND DELAY AT ODDS
By Mike Allen and Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post, 4/26/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50644-2002Apr25.html

House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) is promoting a strongly worded 
declaration of congressional support for Israel over the objection of 
Bush 
administration officials, who contend it would further alienate Arab 
states 
crucial to the war on terrorism and the Middle East peace process.

A White House official said the administration has warned DeLay that he 
could hamper the U.S. effort to persuade Israel's Arab neighbors -- 
including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia -- to help curb Palestinian 
violence. "Nobody doubts our support for Israel, but putting it in neon 
lights and throwing it in the face of moderate Arab states is not 
helpful," 
the official said...

-----

IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
By Sara Leibovich-Dar, Haaretz, 4/26/02
http://news.haaretz.co.il/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=155638&contrassID=2&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y&itemNo=155638

More than 1,000 foreign journalists have arrived in Israel in the past 
several weeks. While they have reported from war zones all over the 
world, 
many say they have never encountered such rough treatment as they are 
receiving from the Israeli army.

-----

CONFERENCE TO HELP MUSLIM WOMEN, GIRLS DEAL WITH CHALLENGES
By ANITA WADHWANI, The Tennessean, 4/25/02
http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/02/04/16573935.shtml

Sabina Mohyuddin remembers the day she first covered her head to go to 
junior high. It was 1983 and when she walked into J.T. Moore Middle 
School, 
she became the first and only Muslim girl in Nashville public schools 
to 
wear the traditional hijab, or head scarf - a symbol of womanhood and 
religious devotion.

"It was isolating," she said. The memory of that experience led 
Mohyuddin, 
now 30, to help organize a conference for Muslim women and girls 
Saturday 
at Tennessee State University.

The Muslim community in Nashville has changed considerably since 
Mohyuddin's childhood, when there was no mosque for area Muslims. 
Today, 
there are at least four mosques in Nashville, and mosques in 
surrounding 
counties, as well as prayer rooms in local universities. About 15,000 
Muslims live in Middle Tennessee. There is also a Muslim school.

But, while the sight of a Muslim girl wearing a hijab is no longer 
uncommon 
in Nashville public schools, conference leaders say there are still 
many 
challenges for Muslim women in the Bible Belt, especially since Sept. 
11...

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----




Forwarded Message

Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2002 08:42:04 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: CAIR Mourns the Loss of Dr. Hala Maksoud

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

CAIR MOURNS THE LOSS OF DR. HALA MAKSOUD

The board and staff of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) 
offer their heartfelt condolences to the family of Dr. Hala Salaam 
Maksoud 
who died Friday after a long illness. Dr. Maksoud served as president 
of 
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) from 1996 to 2001.

She held a Ph.D. in political theory and an M.A. in government from 
Georgetown University, and an M.A. in mathematics from the American 
University of Beirut.She taught courses at George Mason University and 
at 
Georgetown.

In addition to her academic career, Dr. Maksoud was a prominent 
Arab-American leader and participated in the founding of several 
organizations, including the American Committee on Jerusalem, the 
Association of Arab-American University Graduates, and the Arab Women's 
Council.Dr. Maksoud was a nationally recognized advocate of civil and 
human 
rights, and was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the 
American Immigration Law Foundation in March 2002.

Dr. Maksoud is survived by her husband, Dr. Clovis Maksoud, former 
Ambassador of the League of Arab States to the United States and the 
United 
Nations, and current professor of international relations at American 
University.

-----

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR DR. MAKSOUD

A prayer service will be held on Saturday, April 27, during midday 
prayers 
(1 p.m. EST) at the Islamic Center, located at 2551 Massachusetts Ave., 
NW, 
in Washington, DC.A private burial ceremony will be held after the 
prayer 
service.

The family will receive condolences on Saturday (April 27) in the late 
afternoon, Sunday (April 28) and Monday (April 29) at their home 
located 
at: 2815 Ellicott St. NW, Washington, DC 20008

-----

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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 21:17:42 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: More Nebraskans Converting to Islam After Sept. 11

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/28/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* MORE NEBRASKANS CONVERTING TO ISLAM AFTER SEPT. 11 (AP)
* ISRAEL BANS U.N. MISSION TO JENIN (AP)
* TEENAGERS SHOT BY ISRAELIS, THEN RUN OVER WITH A TANK (Independent)
* ACROSS WEST BANK, DAILY TRAGEDIES GO UNSEEN (Guardian)
* SHOUTING FIRE: CIVIL LIBERTIES IN A TURBULENT AGE (The Nation)
* UP CLOSE: TAYYIBAH TAYLOR (Atlanta Journal)
* CONTROVERSIAL SHEIK DRAWS CRITICISM FOR PRO-ISRAEL VIEWS (Ottawa 
Citizen)
* BOOK REVIEWS: FIGHTING SPIRITS (Washington Post)
* PBS FRONTLINE AIRS “MUSLIM” MAY 9

-----

MORE NEBRASKANS CONVERTING TO ISLAM AFTER SEPT. 11
By MARGERY BECK, Associated Press, 4/27/2002

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - For much of his life, Leslie Craig struggled to 
reconcile being a black man with an Anglican name.

Then came the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Little more than a month 
later, 
the 46-year-old Omaha man became Bilal Rohman Abdul-Shakour. He 
officially 
converted to Islam and adopted his new name on Oct. 19.

Abdul-Shakour is not the only new Muslim in Nebraska. Islamic leaders 
say 
more people in the state have converted since the attacks, and many 
also 
have adopted traditionally ethnic Muslim names.

"As the spotlight has been focused on Islam, people have said, `I want 
to 
learn more about this.' A number of those people have found Islam to be 
something they like and want to follow," said Ahmad Ghosheh, president 
of 
Islamic Center in Omaha.

Just as the increase in hate crimes against U.S. Muslims can be traced 
to 
the attacks, so can the growing number of converts, Ghosheh said.

"This gives Muslims in America a chance to show the world what Islam is 
all 
about," Abdul-Shakour said. "Osama bin Laden is not Islam."

Abdul-Shakour, who was raised Baptist and began studying Islam in 
earnest 
as a teen during the 1960s civil rights movement, said he took the 
attacks 
and a car accident he was involved in shortly thereafter as a divine 
sign.

"The end is coming, and I'm out here in the cold," he said. "I saw it 
as 
Allah sending me a message…"

Some officials at the Omaha mosque say the number of converts since the 
attacks is about 50 percent to 60 percent higher than the same period 
last 
year. They did not release exact numbers…

Saidi Liwaru, vice president of the Islamic Center in Omaha, has 
noticed an 
increase in Muslims in Nebraska adopting habits prescribed by the 
Islamic 
faith, including more Muslim women covering their hair with scarves.

"Whenever there's turmoil, especially when Muslims are around it, the 
increase in the number of people accepting Islam is phenomenal," Liwaru 
said.

Zahra Cheema, a 20-year-old journalism student at the University of 
Nebraska at Omaha, has been a Muslim all her life, but only began 
covering 
her head in March.

The terrorist attacks were not the sole reason she made the decision, 
but 
were a factor, she said.

"After Sept. 11, every Muslim almost became an ambassador for their 
religion," Cheema said…

On The Net - Islamic Center of Omaha:
http://www.ico-ne.org/

-----

ISRAEL BANS U.N. MISSION TO JENIN
By JACK KATZENELL, The Associated Press, 4/28/2002

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's Cabinet decided Sunday not to allow a U.N. 
fact-finding team to come to the region to look into the battle in the 
Jenin refugee camp, a Cabinet minister said…

Rivlin, speaking for the Cabinet, criticized the team's composition and 
said it was inevitable that the mission's report would blame Israel.

“This awful United Nations committee is out to get us and is likely to 
smear Israel and to force us to do things which Israel is not prepared 
even 
to hear about, such as interrogating soldiers and officers who took 
part in 
the fighting,” Rivlin said…

In an eight-day battle that ended April 11, the center of the Jenin 
refugee 
camp was devastated by Israeli bulldozers and tanks. Palestinians 
charged 
that Israeli soldiers massacred hundreds of civilians…

After an international outcry, the United Nations, following a U.S. 
initiative, put together the inquiry team to look into what happened at 
the 
camp. At first Israel agreed, but then objected to the framework and 
procedures the team was to follow, as well as the composition of the 
team.

-----

TEENAGERS SHOT BY ISRAELIS, THEN RUN OVER WITH A TANK
By Robert Fisk in Gaza City, The Independent  UK, 4/26/2002
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=288987

Two of the schoolboys were 14, the other was 15; they were internet 
surfers 
in the local cyber cafe, one of them idling his hours away drawing 
children's cartoons; all three were football enthusiasts. Hours after 
they 
had been shot dead by the Israeli army near the Jewish settlement of 
Netzarim, their fathers received the three young bodies. They had been 
driven over by an armoured vehicle which in 14-year-old Ismail 
Abu-Nadi's 
case cut his corpse in half…

-----

ACROSS WEST BANK, DAILY TRAGEDIES GO UNSEEN
Suzanne Goldenberg reveals the extent of abuses against civilians in 
Israel's four-week military offensive
The Guardian (London), The Guardian (London), 4/27/2002
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4402751,00.html

Arif Said Ahmed's life ended at 5.05am on April 9 when two Israeli 
helicopter gunships soared over the hillside, firing a rocket at him 
and 
his cousin Naif as they walked home from morning prayers.

The helicopters returned, firing their machine guns for several 
terrifying 
minutes as Arif's wife, Samira, stumbled out to their bodies with her 
infant daughter. Mother and daughter were saved from serious injury by 
her 
brother Farooq, who flung himself over them.

A bullet pierced his side and fragments ripped his leg.

That was the beginning of the invasion of Dura, a village south-west of 
Hebron which marks the southernmost extent of the Israeli army's 
offensive 
in the West Bank. The Jenin refugee camp, whose physical erasure has 
come 
to symbolise the devastation and death inflicted by the Israeli army in 
the 
past four weeks, lies at the northern extremity of the territory.

While the world has been preoccupied with the camp, the stories 
beginning 
to unfold from the Palestinian cities, towns, refugee camps and 
villages 
that lie between Jenin and Dura show that the Israeli army has been 
engaged 
in systematic abuse the length of the West Bank…

-----

SHOUTING FIRE: CIVIL LIBERTIES IN A TURBULENT AGE
By WILLIAM F. SCHULZ, The Nation, 5/13/2002
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020513&s=schulz

Alan Dershowitz prides himself on his credentials as a civil 
libertarian, 
and to judge by most of the essays in his latest book, Shouting Fire: 
Civil 
Liberties in a Turbulent Age, he has good reason to do so. The Harvard 
law 
professor has built a considerable reputation on his defense of free 
speech, due process and the separation of church and state, to say 
nothing 
of his propensity for controversial clients and clamorous talk shows…

If this were all Dershowitz had done in Shouting Fire, the book might 
have 
received its share of kind reviews and headed off to Remainderland. But 
in 
less than two of the book's 550 pages, he manages to guarantee the 
collection a longer shelf life. For in an addendum to a 1989 article in 
the 
Israel Law Review, Alan Dershowitz, civil libertarian, champion of 
progressive causes, counsel to human-rights hero Anatoly Shcharansky, 
makes 
a case for torture or, more exactly, for the creation of a new legal 
device 
that he dubs a "torture warrant." And then, through a deft combination 
of 
newspaper editorials, public appearances and an extended interview on 
60 
Minutes, Dershowitz has expanded upon that proposition in a way 
designed to 
make talk of torture routine and, not incidentally, banter about his 
book 
robust…

-----

UP CLOSE: TAYYIBAH TAYLOR
Muslim magazine gives women a sense of self
By SUSAN HARTE, The Atlanta Journal, 4/28/2002
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/sunday/business_c3bca72d2022f0190066.html

"I grew up singing 'God Save the Queen,'" says Tayyibah Taylor of her 
cosmopolitan Canadian background. The Trinidad native grew up in 
Toronto 
and has lived in the Caribbean and in Saudi Arabia. It was in Seattle 
that 
she conceived the idea of a magazine for Muslim women. She began 
publishing 
the quarterly Azizah in Atlanta a year and a half ago.

"I wanted it to be for all ethnicities," Taylor recalls, "a forum where 
the 
Muslim woman's interests, issues and voices could find expression. I 
wanted 
it to be inspiring, informative and filled with ideas for the Muslimah 
striving for spiritual and personal growth in today's world."

The contents have touched on a range of topics, including helping 
disabled 
Muslims, examining successful marriages and investment strategies. 
Spotlights have been shone on a doctoral candidate in Islamic studies 
at 
Duke University, a judge in the Baltimore City Circuit Court and a 
clinical 
psychologist focusing on depression. The relationship between feminism 
and 
Islam is examined in the current issue. Future issues will look at 
marriage 
contracts, AIDS in the Muslim community, acupuncture and Muslim summer 
camps for children. Standing features include fashion, food, decor, 
well-being, travel, books and money.

Last year, Azizah even made a little money…

SEE: http://www.azizahmagazine.com/

-----

CONTROVERSIAL SHEIK DRAWS CRITICISM FOR PRO-ISRAEL VIEWS
Italian Imam uses Koran to back his ideas, but U.S. expert calls stance 
'not credible'
By David Rider, The Ottawa Citizen, 4/28/2002
http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/story.asp?id={696C734A-65B9-4E15-BA86-0D62D3A02C5C}

TORONTO -- A Muslim cleric who says Israel should control Jerusalem and 
that the U.S. is anti-Semitic for urging Israel to withdraw from 
Palestinian settlements is drawing praise and condemnation on his first 
Canadian speaking tour.

Sheik Abdul Hadi Palazzi is being hailed as a beacon of sanity by the 
Canadian Institute for Jewish Research, which is hosting the tour, and 
an 
"anti-Islam campaigner" by the Canadian Islamic Congress…

While decrying Palestinian violence, he says Israel is fully justified 
in 
its current incursion into the West Bank. Complaints about it from 
Canada, 
the U.S. and the United Nations are fuelled by anti-Semitism, he 
says...

The cleric spoke in Montreal last Thursday, and will appear at a 
Toronto 
synagogue tomorrow and a University of Toronto seminar on Tuesday…

The Canadian Institute for Jewish Research, a Montreal-based 
pro-Israel, 
think-tank, says hosting Sheik Palazzi is giving voice to a peaceful 
Muslim 
tradition that is drowned out by fundamentalist voices…

But John Esposito, author of Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam 
and a 
professor of Islamic studies at Georgetown University in Washington, 
said 
Sheik Palazzi's Koran interpretations are "not credible."

"I'm not too sure who, other than Palazzi, supports his position" that 
the 
Koran endorses Jerusalem as an Israeli-held capital, said Mr. Esposito, 
who 
is also editor of the Oxford History of Islam.

"I understand why Jewish groups like him -- he's got a good product to 
sell 
-- but when you talk about top scholars on Islam, I've never heard his 
name 
mentioned."

-----

BOOK REVIEWS: FIGHTING SPIRITS
Reviewed by Benjamin Schwarz, The Washington Post, 4/28/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51282-2002Apr25.html

WHY WE FIGHT
Moral Clarity and the War On Terrorism
By William J. Bennett
Doubleday. 160 pp. $19.95

WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT AMERICA
By Dinesh D'Souza
Regnery. 218 pp. $27.95

PERPETUAL WAR FOR PERPETUAL PEACE
How We Got to Be So Hated
By Gore Vidal
Thunder's Mouth. 144 pp. Paperback, $10

A steady stream of books has been chronicling the immediate horror of 
the 
Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but only 
now 
are commentators stepping forward to spell out the wider ramifications 
of 
the attacks and the ensuing war on terrorism. What does the present 
conflict seem to presage for the use of American power across the 
globe? 
And how does the war on terrorism play out in a cultural framework, 
with 
all the ways it resonates as a clash of beliefs  if not, as is often 
asserted, of entire civilizations? To judge by this first trio of such 
books, it's still too soon to be hazarding confident answers; patient 
readers will be hard-pressed to imagine any less thoughtful and 
illuminating efforts to place the dramatically new atmosphere into 
perspective…

-----

PBS FRONTLINE AIRS “MUSLIM” MAY 9
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/muslims/

The events of September 11 left many Americans asking how such 
atrocities 
could be perpetrated in the name of religion: specifically, Islam. On 
Thursday, May 9, at 9 P.M. on PBS (check local listings), FRONTLINE and 
the 
Independent Production Fund present "Muslims," a two-hour examination 
of 
one of the fastest growing religions in the world today. Through the 
lives 
of ordinary Muslims from Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Turkey, Nigeria, and 
the 
United States, "Muslims" illuminates the diverse interpretations of 
Islam 
and the many facets of its worldwide resurgence.

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----










Forwarded Message

Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 17:02:17 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Desmond Tutu: Apartheid in the Holy Land

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/29/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: ACTS OF GOODNESS
* DESMOND TUTU: APARTHEID IN THE HOLY LAND (The Guardian)
* ISRAELI TROOPS KILL NINE PEOPLE IN HEBRON RAID (Reuters)
* EDITORIAL: FREE PASS ON CHECHNYA (Washington Post)
* DISCORD OVER KILLING OF INDIA MUSLIMS DEEPENS (New York Times)
* IN HOWARD, IMMIGRANTS WINNING EAR OF POLITICIANS (Washington Post)
* MIDEAST: WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON THERE (Sacramento Bee)
* ARAB CAMPAIGN TO BOYCOTT U.S. GOODS PICKS UP STEAM (Reuters)
* ISRAEL'S JEWISH CRITIC'S AREN'T SELF-HATING (Los Angeles Times)
* HILLEL LAUNCHES PRO-ISRAEL CAMPAIGN ON U.S. CAMPUSES (Ha'aretz)
* "SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY" PROMPTS AUTHORITIES TO TURN US AIRWAYS FLIGHT 
AROUND (AP)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: ACTS OF GOODNESS

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "He who sets a good 
example 
in Islam, there is a reward for him for this (act of goodness) and 
(added 
to it the) reward of those also who acted according to it subsequently, 
without any deduction from their rewards."

Sahih Muslim, Hadith 501

-----

DESMOND TUTU: APARTHEID IN THE HOLY LAND
By Desmond Tutu, The Guardian (UK), 4/29/02
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,706878,00.html

In our struggle against apartheid, the great supporters were Jewish 
people. 
They almost instinctively had to be on the side of the disenfranchised, 
of 
the voiceless ones, fighting injustice, oppression and evil. I have 
continued to feel strongly with the Jews. I am patron of a Holocaust 
centre 
in South Africa. I believe Israel has a right to secure borders.

What is not so understandable, not justified, is what it did to another 
people to guarantee its existence. I've been very deeply distressed in 
my 
visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us 
black 
people in South Africa. I have seen the humiliation of the Palestinians 
at 
checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like us when young white police 
officers prevented us from moving about...

Injustice and oppression will never prevail. Those who are powerful 
have to 
remember the litmus test that God gives to the powerful: what is your 
treatment of the poor, the hungry, the voiceless? And on the basis of 
that, 
God passes judgment...

Desmond Tutu is the former Archbishop of Cape Town and chairman of 
South 
Africa's truth and reconciliation commission. This address was given at 
a 
conference on Ending the Occupation held in Boston, Massachusetts, 
earlier 
this month. A longer version appears in the current edition of Church 
Times.

-----

ISRAELI TROOPS KILL NINE PEOPLE IN HEBRON RAID
By Mazen Dana, Reuters, 4/29/02

HEBRON, West Bank, April 29 (Reuters) - ...Palestinian security sources 
said nine people, including at least two militants and three security 
men, 
were killed after Israeli forces backed by helicopter gunships surged 
into 
Hebron overnight and began house-to-house searches.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Israel 
should "finish its withdrawal" from reoccupied Palestinian areas and 
"refrain from further incursions..."

Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles prowled the hilly streets of 
Hebron, 
where some 400 militant Jewish settlers live in heavily guarded 
enclaves 
among 120,000 Palestinians.

Troops ransacked homes, smashing equipment and emptying cupboards, amid 
loudspeaker warnings a curfew was in force.

"They damaged everything. The children were crying," Ahmed Atiya, a 
31-year-old Palestinian policeman said.

He told Reuters 10 soldiers had smashed through his front door. All men 
of 
fighting age were ordered to stand in the street with their hands 
raised 
for more than two hours.

-----

EDITORIAL: FREE PASS ON CHECHNYA
By Jackson Diehl, The Washington Post, 4/29/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64783-2002Apr28.html

Watching the rapidly escalating pressure on Israel from the safe 
distance 
of Moscow -- the hostile delegations of U.N. investigators, the demands 
for 
an international conference, the talk of European sanctions -- Vladimir 
Putin might afford himself a secret smile. Even as Israeli Prime 
Minister 
Ariel Sharon is pilloried for using a campaign against terrorism to 
assault 
Palestinian civilians and their self-government, Putin is quietly 
getting 
away with almost exactly the same crime...

-----

DISCORD OVER KILLING OF INDIA MUSLIMS DEEPENS
By CELIA W. DUGGER, The New York Times, 4/29/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/29/international/asia/29INDI.html

NEW DELHI -  Leaders of the Hindu nationalist-led government have 
warned 
Western nations in recent days to stop lecturing India about the 
official 
failure to prevent Hindu mobs from killing hundreds of Muslims. But the 
issue refuses to die.

In the last week, more than 40 people have perished in the continuing 
violence, in the western state of Gujarat. The official death toll in 
the 
last two months has risen to 900. More than 100,000 people, mostly 
Muslims, 
are estimated to have fled to relief camps. On Tuesday, Parliament will 
debate whether the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party -- which 
has 
led a national coalition government for most of the last four years and 
controls the state of Gujarat, its last major state stronghold -- has 
been 
complicit in the carnage...

Indian officials were particularly stung by the leak of a confidential 
assessment by British diplomats who estimated the death toll at 2,000, 
more 
than twice the official tally, and said the anti-Muslim violence had 
been 
planned and carried out with the state government's support...

-----

IN HOWARD, IMMIGRANTS WINNING EAR OF POLITICIANS
By Christian Davenport, The Washington Post, 4/29/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64364-2002Apr28.html

In many ways, it was just another political fundraiser. Businessmen 
passed 
their cards around, politicians exchanged gossip and the hosts gave 
rah-rah 
speeches about how their candidate was going to win the coming 
election.

But this event, held recently for Howard County Executive James N. 
Robey 
(D), was something new -- for him and for the county. The speeches were 
laced with Arabic, pauses for prayer and praise for Allah. The 
attendees, 
in suits and shawls, were members of the new Muslim Council of Howard 
County. For them, extending Robey's political career was only part of 
the 
evening's agenda: The group was also proclaiming its newfound 
involvement 
and influence in local politics. That night, Robey collected about $ 
12,000, not nearly as much as the $ 60,000 he got at a previous 
fundraiser 
hosted by more familiar players in local politics -- developers and 
business leaders. But as Robey seeks a second term, he knows he can't 
afford to ignore the growing number of immigrants in Howard who are 
beginning to stake a claim in the political process...

-----

MIDEAST: WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON THERE
By Ron Unz, The Sacramento Bee, 4/28/02 
http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/2409891p-2860142c.html

In support of this dream [Greater Israel], Israeli governments have for 
decades encouraged some 200,000 Jewish settlers to make their homes in 
these Palestinian territories, and the ultimate disposition of these 
settlers is regularly cited as the most nettlesome part of any future 
peace 
agreement...

If Ariel Sharon continues to wantonly sacrifice the lives of his people 
for 
messianic expansionism, then his arms are the ones elbow-deep in the 
blood 
of innocent Jews. He faces the world not as a David Ben Gurion or as 
our 
own Washington or Lincoln, but instead as someone whose extremism leads 
his 
own followers to their doom.

-----

ARAB CAMPAIGN TO BOYCOTT U.S. GOODS PICKS UP STEAM
By Nadim Ladki, Reuters, 4/29/02

AMMAN - From cigarettes to Big Macs, a growing number of ordinary Arabs 
are 
shunning U.S. goods in protest against Washington's perceived 
pro-Israel 
policies.

But a grassroots campaign across the Arab world to support the 
Palestinians 
by boycotting everything American appears so far to be having a 
symbolic 
rather than economic impact.

Arabs enraged by Israel's crackdown on Palestinians have taken to the 
streets of Arab capitals in recent weeks in the most widespread 
demonstrations in decades to demand action against Israel and the 
United 
States. Unable to influence the policies of their undemocratic 
governments, 
non-governmental and civic organisations, student bodies and 
professional 
associations have urged citizens to buy local and European alternatives 
to 
U.S. goods...

Boycott organisers have drawn up lists of companies, mainly American, 
that 
are alleged to channel aid to Israel.

American fast-food chains appear to be suffering the most. Managers at 
KFC 
and McDonald's branches in the Omani capital Muscat said sales had 
fallen 
by 45 and 65 percent respectively since January...

In Bahrain, which has seen some of the most violent protests in the 
Gulf 
against Israel's military offensive, many ordinary people have started 
boycotting U.S. goods following calls by hundreds of protesters during 
the 
past three weeks. Bahrain is the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth 
Fleet...

Even in Kuwait, the emirate liberated from Iraqi occupation in 1991 by 
U.S.-led forces, the boycott call is making waves.

"If we get an offer from a non-U.S. firm we will consider it seriously 
and 
will now think twice before taking U.S. equipment," a contractor said. 
"We 
will look and see what is available, no matter who is our partner."

-----

ISRAEL'S JEWISH CRITIC'S AREN'T SELF-HATING
By Michael Lerner, Los Angeles Times, 4/28/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/suncommentary/la-000030064apr28.story

SAN FRANCISCO -- Every day, I receive anguished letters, e-mails and 
phone 
calls from members of my congregation and others who have been tagged 
with 
the label "self-hating Jews." Why? Solely because they've raised 
questions 
about Israel's policy toward Palestinians.

There is something deeply hurtful about that term and about the way the 
Jewish community is treating its dissenters, something reminiscent of 
the 
cultural repressiveness of 1950s McCarthyism and its labeling of 
dissidents 
as "anti-American..."

-----

HILLEL LAUNCHES PRO-ISRAEL CAMPAIGN ON U.S. CAMPUSES AFTER CRITICISM 
HERE
By Yair Heleg, Ha'aretz, 4/29/02
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=157013&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y

The Jewish student organization Hillel has launched a pro-Israel 
campaign 
on American campuses after the Israeli foreign ministry criticized the 
low 
level of solidarity demonstrated by Jewish American students in recent 
months...

Hillel is also planning half-page solidarity advertisements in dozens 
of 
American student newspapers under the banner "Zionism is the National 
Liberation Movement of the Jewish People." The ads will also express 
support for Israel in its "continuing quest for peace" and invite 
readers 
to visit Hillel's Internet site to find out more about Israel and how 
to 
take supportive action.

Two weeks ago, Ha'aretz published a report on a meeting between the 
foreign 
ministry and the Jewish Agency in which the participants criticized the 
low 
level of pro-Israeli activity on American campuses, especially given 
strong 
pro-Palestinian activity. Following the criticism, the United Jewish 
Communities, the umbrella organization of Jewish communities in North 
America, said it would advise Hillel branches on campus to increase 
pro-Israel activities...

-----

"SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY" PROMPTS AUTHORITIES TO TURN US AIRWAYS FLIGHT 
AROUND
By PATRICK WALTERS, Associated Press, 4/29/02

PHILADELPHIA - The FBI told passengers on a flight forced to return 
after 
takeoff that their plane was rerouted because several passengers of 
Middle 
Eastern descent had purchased one-way tickets for cash that day, 
passengers 
said Monday.

FBI spokeswoman Linda Vizi would not confirm the passengers' accounts 
but 
said the suspicious passengers on Sunday's Florida-bound flight were 
interviewed and released early Monday without being charged.

"We were able to determine their travel plans were legitimate and their
identities were legitimate," Vizi said. "We have checked out the
documentation of these individuals, and everything is in order."

Passenger Glenn Mattes, 48, and Jack Clark, 55, said FBI agents also 
told 
passengers that two other planes, one in Houston and the other in 
Baltimore, were grounded because passengers of Middle Eastern descent 
had 
bought one-way tickets that day for cash...

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----




Forwarded Message

Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2002 11:29:45 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Anti-Muslim Incidents Up Three-Fold in Past Year

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In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ANTI-MUSLIM INCIDENTS UP THREE-FOLD IN PAST YEAR
Report shows 60,000 U.S. Muslims impacted by government policies

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/30/2002) - A report released today by a prominent 
Islamic advocacy group indicates that reports of anti-Muslim incidents 
in 
the United States increased three-fold over the previous year. (Up from 
366 
validated reports in 2001 to 1125 this year.) The only national study 
of 
its kind also shows that almost 60,000 American Muslims have been 
negatively impacted by U.S. government policies since the terrorist 
attacks 
of September 11, 2001.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR) seventh annual study, 
titled "Stereotypes and Civil Liberties," outlines 1516 reports of 
denial 
of religious accommodation, harassment, discrimination, bias, threat, 
assault, and even several murders. That figure represents more than 
2,200 
individuals targeted because of actual or perceived religion and 
ethnicity. 
The majority of violent incidents occurred in the period immediately 
following the September 11 attacks. If post 9-11 backlash incidents are 
eliminated from the count, the remaining reports (525) still show a 43 
percent increase over the 2001 study.

CAIR's report covers the period from March 2001, to March 2002. It is 
available online at http://www.cair-net.org/civilrights2002/

In addition to the direct acts of discrimination and violence, the 
report 
shows that the civil rights of almost 60,000 American Muslims were 
negatively impacted by government policies instituted following the 
9-11 
attacks. Those affected include some 1,200 Muslims who were detained 
nationwide, mostly on immigration charges, but who were treated as if 
they 
were terrorists, 5,000 legal visa-holders who were asked to submit to 
"voluntary" interrogations and an estimated 50,000 individuals who 
donated 
to American Muslim relief agencies shut down by the government.

"Muslims, like all Americans, support policies that result in genuine 
increases in security. Unfortunately, many of the government actions 
prompted by 9-11, particularly those based on ethnic and religious 
profiling or stereotypes, merely create a false sense of security and 
preclude effective initiatives," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad 
Awad.

"Now is the time for the judiciary to step in and reaffirm the 
constitutionally-protected rights that all Americans hold dear," said 
Awad. 
Awad added that Muslims were among the victims of the September 11 
attacks, 
they died rescuing other victims and they died in the anti-Muslim 
hysteria 
that followed the attacks.

CAIR issued its first civil rights report, called "A Rush to Judgment," 
within a month of the 1995 attack on the Murrah Federal Building. There 
are 
an estimated seven million Muslims in the United States.

                                         - END -

CONTACT:        Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL - cair@cair-net.org
                 Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787, ext. 6058
                 E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org

-----

SEE ALSO: IN AFTERMATH OF HIJACKINGS, AIR TRAVEL JITTERS REMAIN
By Dan Eggen and Katherine Shaver, The Washington Post, 4/30/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3614-2002Apr29.html

At Dulles International Airport on Sunday, flight crews told of 11 
Pakistanis acting suspiciously as their flight was delayed by inclement 
weather.

Then in Houston, four Saudi men on the way back to Washington were 
detained 
because they had no luggage. In Philadelphia, a half-dozen passengers 
of 
Middle Eastern descent had bought one-way tickets to Orlando with cash.

Although none of the incidents was particularly alarming by itself, the 
unusual number of incidents on the same day prompted FBI and airline 
security officials to delay flights, pull passengers from airplanes and 
run 
checks of other passengers to ensure that a hijacking was not in the 
works.

Also over the weekend, FBI officials in Baltimore were asked to check 
the 
names of seven Middle Eastern men flying to Dallas. Three Saudi men 
were 
pulled off a Delta flight at Dulles on Saturday for questioning...

Mohamed Nimer, research director for the Council on American-Islamic 
Relations, said most of the discrimination cases reported to the 
council 
involve "outright prejudice."

"There's no other way to put it," Nimer said. "Some people are not 
comfortable flying in an airplane that has people of Middle Eastern, 
Arab 
or Muslim backgrounds."

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----





Forwarded Message

Date: Wed, 01 May 2002 15:33:40 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Action Needed on Gujarat Killings/Critical Look at Patriot Act

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In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 5/1/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* VERSE OF THE DAY: ALL CREATURES DEPEND ON GOD
* CAIR CALLS FOR U.S. ACTION ON GUJARAT KILLINGS (Action Alert)
* GUJARAT OFFICIALS TOOK PART IN ANTI-MUSLIM VIOLENCE (Human Rights 
Watch)
* USA PATRIOT ACT POWERS PROMPT SECOND LOOK (The Hill)
* JUDGE REJECTS JAILING OF MATERIAL WITNESSES (The Washington Post)
* CHARITY FUNDED TERROR, U.S. SAYS (Los Angeles Times)
* NEWS COVERAGE ON CAIR'S ANNUAL CIVIL RIGHTS REPORT:
         - Muslim Group Sees Sept. 11 Backlash (Associated Press)
         - Bias Incidents Against Muslims Are Soaring (New York Times)
         - CAIR Report on ABC World News Tonight
         - President Bush Rejects Hatred of Muslims and Arabs
* COMMUNITY FORUM ON NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION IN ARIZONA
* PALESTINE UPDATE:
         - Palestinian Cause Described As 'Just' (Washington Times)
         - IDF Admits 'Ugly Vandalism" Against Palestinian Property 
(Ha'aretz)
         - Arab Boycott Campaign Worries U.S. Business (Agence 
France-Press)
         - Who is Anti-Semitic? (Washington Post)
         - More Bodies, Bombs May Lurk in Jenin Rubble - U.N. (Reuters)

-----

VERSE OF THE DAY: ALL CREATURES DEPEND ON GOD

"On Him depend all creatures in the heavens and on earth; (and) every 
day
He manifests Himself in yet another (wondrous) way."

The Holy Quran, Chapter 55, Verse 29

-----

ACTION ALERT: CAIR CALLS FOR U.S. ACTION ON GUJARAT KILLINGS

GO TO: http://capwiz.com/cair/home/

-----

INDIA: GUJARAT OFFICIALS TOOK PART IN ANTI-MUSLIM VIOLENCE
By Smita Narula, Human Rights Watch, 4/30/02
http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/04/gujarat.htm

State officials of Gujarat, India were directly involved in the 
killings of 
hundreds of Muslims since February 27 and are now engineering a massive 
cover-up of the state's role in the violence, Human Rights Watch 
charged in 
a new report released today...

"What happened in Gujarat was not a spontaneous uprising, it was a 
carefully orchestrated attack against Muslims," said Smita Narula, 
senior 
South Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch and author of the report. 
"The 
attacks were planned in advance and organized with extensive 
participation 
of the police and state government officials."

The police were directly implicated in nearly all the attacks against 
Muslims that are documented in the 75-page report, 'We Have No Orders 
to 
Save You': State Participation and Complicity in Communal Violence in 
Gujarat. In some cases they were merely passive observers. But in many 
instances, police officials led the charge of murderous mobs, aiming 
and 
firing at Muslims who got in the way.

Under the guise of offering assistance, some police officers led the 
victims directly into the hands of their killers. Panicked phone calls 
made 
to the police, fire brigades, and even ambulance services generally 
proved 
futile. Several witnesses reported being told by police: "We have no 
orders 
to save you."

Three weeks after the initial attacks, Human Rights Watch visited 
Ahmedabad, a site of large-scale destruction, murder, and several 
massacres, and spoke to both Hindu and Muslim survivors of the attacks. 
The 
report also provides testimony on retaliatory attacks against Hindus, 
which 
Human Rights Watch strongly condemned...

Human Rights Watch also urged the international community to put 
pressure 
on the Indian government to comply with international human rights and 
Indian constitutional law and end impunity for orchestrated violence 
against Indian minorities

-----

USA PATRIOT ACT POWERS PROMPT SECOND LOOK
By Noelle Straub, The Hill, 5/1/02
http://www.thehill.com/050102/patriot.shtm

Secret court subpoenas, examinations of bookstore records, revised 
immigration policies and other uses of sweeping new powers have some 
Senate 
Democrats taking a new critical look at the USA Patriot Act, enacted in 
the 
aftermath of Sept. 11. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), the lone senator to 
vote against the measure last fall, has been its most vocal critic, 
warning 
that the act infringes on constitutional freedoms.

"I would cast the same vote today, but even more confidently, as we see 
how 
law enforcement is beginning to use the new powers in the bill and how 
the 
Department of Justice has proceeded on a variety of fronts not directly 
addressed in the bill," he said last week.

But Feingold is not alone in his concerns. He has been joined by other 
Democratic senators, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick 
Leahy 
(Vt.), Richard Durbin (Ill.) and Maria Cantwell (Wash.).

The act was hurriedly signed into law with overwhelming approval within 
six 
weeks of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington - without 
hearings or without being marked up by a congressional committee. 
Particularly troubling to Feingold is a business records provision that 
gives the FBI new powers to subpoena records in its investigations of 
international terrorism.

"The subpoenas are obtained from a secret court, and the records sought 
don't even have to be records directly connected to a suspect in such 
an 
investigation," Feingold noted.

"We now know that bookstores and libraries have received such subpoenas 
asking for the purchase or lending records of their patrons. It is a 
truly 
frightening day in America when bookstores are considering destroying 
their 
records so when the government comes knocking at the door to find out 
what 
their customers have been reading they will have nothing to turn over," 
he 
said.

Feingold and Rep. Patsy Mink (D-Hawaii) joined a coalition of groups to 
talk about infringements on constitutional freedoms in the wake of the 
act. 
Feingold told The Hill that he might hold hearings to examine the 
issue, 
but that he was not yet ready to announce his plans...

-----

JUDGE REJECTS JAILING OF MATERIAL WITNESSES
By Steve Fainaru and Amy Goldstein, Washington Post, 5/1/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11562-2002Apr30.html

NEW YORK, -- A key legal tactic employed by the government in its 
post-Sept. 11 war on terror is illegal, a federal judge ruled today, 
delivering a potential blow to the Justice Department's methods of 
detaining suspects and gathering evidence.

The judge, Shira A. Scheindlin, ruled that the Justice Department has 
overreached in imprisoning as "material witnesses" men the authorities 
believe might have information for grand juries investigating 
terrorism. 
She dismissed perjury charges against a Jordanian student, Osama 
Awadallah, 
21, concluding that the information the government collected in its 
investigation must be suppressed because the suspect had been 
"unlawfully 
detained."

"If the government has probable cause to believe a person has committed 
a 
crime, it may arrest that person," Scheindlin wrote. "But since 1789, 
no 
Congress has granted the government the authority to imprison an 
innocent 
person in order to guarantee that he will testify before a grand jury 
conducting a criminal investigation."

Legal experts predicted the ruling could have far-reaching implications 
because the material-witness statute has emerged as a key tool in the 
government's investigation of terrorism after last year's attacks on 
the 
Pentagon and World Trade Center. In addition to detaining people as 
material witnesses, authorities have arrested hundreds of others on 
charges 
of immigration violations and crimes unrelated to terrorism -- though 
the 
exact number is not known because of the Justice Department's policy of 
secrecy in the inquiry...

-----

CHARITY FUNDED TERROR, U.S. SAYS
By JOSH MEYER and ERIC LICHTBLAU, Los Angeles Times, 5/1/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-000030979may01.story

U.S. authorities arrested the Syrian-born head of an international 
Islamic 
charity Tuesday, alleging that his group has funded terrorist 
activities 
for years and has ties to militants who have tried to acquire nuclear 
and 
chemical weapons for Osama bin Laden.

Enaam Arnaout, 39, executive director of the Benevolence International 
Foundation, was taken into custody at his home in the Chicago suburbs 
and 
charged with lying under oath in documents his group had filed in 
federal 
court...

It also infuriated Islamic leaders in the United States, who said 
Arnaout's 
arrest fits a pattern of Justice Department harassment against Muslims 
since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

"If you've got evidence of him having breakfast with Osama bin Laden, 
then 
charge him with terrorism, not perjury," said Ibrahim Hooper, a 
spokesman 
for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "Bring the evidence into 
court and let him rebut it."

Matt Piers, an attorney for Benevolence International, said the charges 
against his client are an unjustified effort by the U.S. government to 
make 
the public believe it is successfully cracking down on terrorists. He 
scoffed at the notion that Arnaout is an associate of Bin Laden, and 
said 
Arnaout's efforts to cooperate with the FBI were rebuffed...

Charging Arnaout with perjury for defending his group's reputation in 
court 
"is a back-door legal technicality," said Hooper, of the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations. "It creates the impression there's nothing" 
of 
substance to the government's charges.

"This certainly won't help" the Bush administration's effort to mend 
fences 
with the Muslim community over the detention and interrogation of 
thousands 
of Muslim Americans after Sept. 11, Hooper said.

-----

MUSLIM GROUP SEES SEPT. 11 BACKLASH
Associated Press, 4/30/02
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-muslims0430apr30.story

WASHINGTON -- Violence and harassment against Muslims have multiplied 
in 
part because of the government's war on terrorism, a private group 
says.

"Unfortunately, in the past government acts have sent the wrong 
message," 
said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic 
Relations. He said government ethnic and religious profiling as well as 
detentions and interrogations "send a green light to mistreat Muslims."

As evidence, his group released a report based on complaints it has 
received from Muslims about mistreatment ranging from harassment to 
vandalism and murder. The complaints, Awad said, increased threefold 
over 
the past year to 1,516, the vast majority reported after Sept. 11. Even 
without counting the post-terrorism outbreak, anti-Muslim incidents 
increased by 43 percent from a year earlier, according to the 
complaints.

-----

BIAS INCIDENTS AGAINST MUSLIMS ARE SOARING, ISLAMIC COUNCIL SAYS
The New York Times, 5/1/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/01/national/01IMMI.html

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said today that bias 
incidents 
against Muslims soared nationwide after Sept. 11, with two-thirds of 
the 
incidents reported in the last year occurring less than six months 
after 
the terrorist attacks.

Even the more than 500 cases of discrimination and attacks unrelated to 
the 
terrorist attacks constituted a 43 percent increase over the preceding 
year, when 366 were filed, said an annual survey that the council 
released 
today. One-fourth of the complaints involved ethnic and religious 
profiling 
at airports and workplaces, and nearly 20 percent involved government 
agencies, including the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the 
F.B.I. 
and local law enforcement authorities, the report said.

The council pointed to civil rights abuses against Muslims that it 
considered results of government policies, including the detention of 
more 
than 1,000 people and the questioning of thousands of others, the 
closing 
of Muslim relief agencies and charities and raids on Muslim-owned 
houses 
and businesses.

Though their number in the United States has generally been estimated 
to be 
as high as six million, Muslims tend to be more loosely organized than 
people in some other major religions and do not often speak with a 
unified 
national voice, advocates say...

-----

CAIR REPORT ON ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT

ABC News: World News Tonight 04/30/2002

PETER JENNINGS, anchor: Just one more item in this regard today, the 
Council on American/Islamic Relations reports today more than 1700 
incidents of what they call backlash against Muslims in America, last 
year, 
including more than 300 acts of violence. There were, they say, almost 
50 
percent more reports of discrimination after the 11th of September.

-----

PRESIDENT BUSH REJECTS HATRED OF MUSLIMS AND ARABS

GEORGE W. BUSH DELIVERS REMARKS ON COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM
4/30/02, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA

BUSH: ...In America, we've not always lived up to our ideals, yet we 
always 
reach for them. We believe that everyone deserves a chance, that 
everyone 
has value, that no insignificant person was ever born. We believe that 
all 
are diminished when any are hopeless.

We are one people committed to building a single nation of justice and 
opportunity.

(APPLAUSE)

America rejects bigotry.

(APPLAUSE)

We reject every act of hatred against people of Arab background or 
Muslim 
faith...Race and color should not divide us because America is one 
country.

-----

COMMUNITY FORUM ON NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION IN ARIZONA

*  Have you been refused a job, harassed at work, or fired because of 
your 
national origin, race, religion, or citizenship status?

* Have you been paid less than what you expected or had lawful work 
papers 
rejected?

* Have you or your child been denied access to education because of 
your 
national origin, race, or religion?

* Have you or a member of your family been denied housing, or have you 
been 
charged a higher interest rate for a loan, because of your national 
origin, 
race, or religion?

*Have you, a member of your family, or your property been physically 
attacked because of your national origin, race, or religion?

The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division is a branch of 
the 
federal government that enforces federal civil rights laws. Please join 
staff from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, 
the 
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and other agencies for a 
discussion about your rights and how to file a discrimination complaint 
with the appropriate agency. A question and answer period will follow 
agency presentations.  Materials will be available, and staff will be 
present to receive complaints.

WHEN: Wednesday, May 8, 2002 at 7 p.m., Doors Open at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Phoenix College, Dome Conference Room, 3310 North 10th Avenue, 
Phoenix, AZ

Complimentary parking is available at the Phoenix College campus on 
Osborne 
Road, between 10th and 11th Avenues. The conference room is wheelchair 
accessible. If you need further accommodation, please contact Naheed 
Qureshi at (202) 514-3831 or at naheed.qureshi@usdoj.gov by April 30, 
2002.

-----

PALESTINIAN CAUSE DESCRIBED AS 'JUST' IN POLICY DEBATE
By Robert Stacy McCain, The Washington Times, 5/1/02
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020501-91611235.htm

Palestinians have a "just cause" in their conflict with Israel, former 
presidential candidate Pat Buchanan said yesterday in a debate on U.S. 
policy in the Middle East. The Palestinians "have a right to use force 
if 
necessary" in resisting Israeli occupation, said Mr. Buchanan, who 
twice 
sought the Republican presidential nomination before making a 
third-party 
run on the Reform ticket in 2000.

"The cause of the present intifada," Mr. Buchanan said, referring to 
the 
Arab name for the uprising that began in September 2000, "is the 
Israeli 
control and occupation" of Palestinian territory.

-----

IDF ADMITS `UGLY VANDALISM' AGAINST PALESTINIAN PROPERTY
By Amos Harel, Ha'aretz Daily, 4/30/02
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=157479

Israel Defense Forces sources have admitted that Palestinian claims of 
the 
systematic destruction of property, particularly computers, during the 
recent military operations in Ramallah are, for the most part, true. 
"There 
were indeed wide-scale, ugly phenomena of vandalism," a senior military 
sources told Ha'aretz yesterday.

The IDF sources explained that because various PA institutions, 
including 
civil authorities, were involved in terror, some of the computers had 
indeed included valuable intelligence. However, the sources admitted 
that 
in many cases the searches had turned into systematic vandalism, 
without 
any justification...

"The result," the source continued, "was damage running into hundreds 
of 
thousands of dollars. Soldiers smashed computer monitors and destroyed 
keyboards. There were places in which bank branches were destroyed and 
automatic tellers were raided. In some cases, theft accompanied the 
vandalism. It was significant damage, widespread and totally 
illogical."...

Reservists who served in the Ramallah and Bethlehem areas said they had 
witnessed many instances of deliberate damage caused by soldiers to 
Palestinian property. Some also spoke of cases of looting.

"The extent of the looting is much greater than could have been 
expected in 
advance," a senior legal source told Ha'aretz. "This is an ugly and 
serious 
phenomenon."

-----

ARAB BOYCOTT CAMPAIGN WORRIES U.S. BUSINESS
By Lachlan Carmichael, Agence France-Presse, 04/30/2002

CAIRO, April 30 (AFP) - A campaign by the Arab masses to boycott US 
brand 
names is intensifying amid growing rage over Israel's invasion of 
Palestinian land and alleged US corporate donations to the Jewish 
state. It 
is especially hurting business at fast food franchises, but also sales 
of 
soft drinks, as well as a range of supermarket and pharmaceutical 
products 
in Egypt and other Arab countries, industry sources said.

The campaign is being waged on the television, in the newspapers, by 
e-mail 
and mobile telephone text messages as well as pamphlets on the streets 
and 
mosques of Cairo and other Arab capitals.

Lists are circulating with hundreds of brand names to be boycotted, 
including McDonald's and Burger King outlets, Tide and Ariel 
detergents, 
Pampers, Coca Cola and Pepsi, Marlboro cigarettes, and Heinz ketchup.

"Boycott a product, save a Muslim," reads a statement in a leaflet 
obtained 
in Cairo.

Leading the campaign are religious clerics, members of Arab parliaments 
and 
leaders of professional associations and unions, including journalists, 
artists, pharmacists, engineers, and many others. The campaign also 
includes calls to boycott Israeli goods and gives tips about how to 
identify Israeli products exported from third countries...

Sales at most of the 562 fast food restaurants in Egypt dropped 20 
percent 
since Israel's invasion of the West Bank on March 29, on top of the 
five 
percent decline just after the intifada erupted on September 28, 2000, 
he 
said.

In the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, Ibrahim Mahrous, sales manager at 
the 
Ben Dawood supermarket, said Coca Cola was the worst hit of all US 
brands, 
down 60 percent, with Pepsi Cola next at 45 percent, and Procter and 
Gamble 
products such as Pampers diapers down by 30-35 percent.

In Bahrain, Abdulmunem al-Meer, general manager of the Al- Muntaza 
supermarket chain, the biggest in Bahrain with eight stores in the tiny 
kingdom, sees sales opportunities in boycotting US goods. "We are not 
selling American products anymore, we have cleared our shelves (of one 
million dollars in) US products and returned them to the importers," he 
told AFP when contacted by telephone from Cairo.

"When we did this, our customers increased in number, and people have 
been 
calling to express solidarity with al-Muntaza," he said.

-----

WHO'S ANTI-SEMITIC?
By Richard Cohen, The Washington Post, 04/30/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5425-2002Apr29.html

If I weren't a Jew, I might be called an anti-Semite. I have 
occasionally 
been critical of Israel. I have occasionally taken the Palestinians' 
side. 
I have always maintained that the occupation of the West Bank is wrong 
and 
while I am, to my marrow, a supporter of Israel, I insist that the 
Palestinian cause -- although sullied by terrorism -- is a worthy 
one...

I cannot say the same about America. Here, criticism of Israel, 
particularly anti-Zionism, is equated with anti-Semitism. The 
Anti-Defamation League, one of the most important American Jewish 
organizations, comes right out and says so...

But that hardly means that anti-Zionism -- hating, opposing, fighting 
Israel -- is the same as anti-Semitism, hating Jews anywhere on account 
of 
supposedly inherent characteristics. If I were a Palestinian living in 
a 
refugee camp, I might very well hate Israel for my plight -- never mind 
its 
actual cause -- and I even might not like Jews in general. After all, 
Israel proclaims itself the Jewish state. It officially celebrates 
Jewish 
holidays, including the Sabbath on Saturday. It allows the orthodox 
rabbinate to control secular matters, such as marriage, and, of course, 
it 
offers citizenship to any person who can reasonably claim to be Jewish. 
This so-called right of return permits such a person to "return" to a 
place 
where he or she has never been. Palestinians must find this simply 
astonishing.

To equate anti-Zionists or critics of Israel in general with 
anti-Semites 
is to liken them to the Nazis or the rampaging mobs of the pogroms. It 
says 
that their hatred is unreasonable, unfathomable, based on some crackpot 
racial theory or some misguided religious zealotry. It dismisses all 
criticism, no matter how legitimate, as rooted in prejudice and 
therefore 
without any validity.

-----

MORE BODIES, BOMBS MAY LURK IN JENIN RUBBLE - U.N.
By Mark Heinrich, Reuters, 5/1/02

JENIN, West Bank, May 1 (Reuters) - More bodies are likely to surface 
in 
the rubble of Jenin's refugee district as it is sifted for explosives 
and 
cleared for rebuilding after Israel's blitz against Palestinian 
militants, 
the U.N. said on Wednesday.

Between $20 million to $30 million will be needed to reconstruct Jenin 
camp, said Richard Cooke, regional director of the U.N. Relief and 
Works 
Agency (UNRWA), which cares for Palestinian refugees.

But the hills of rubble in the centre of the once teeming camp would 
have 
to be swept for unexploded ordnance first, and care must be taken in 
removing debris, a task now under way as corpses probably still lay 
underneath, he said.

"We do expect to find more bodies under the rubble, but it's impossible 
now 
to estimate how many," he said. "We have to be very careful removing 
rubble 
out of respect for the dead..."

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----




Forwarded Message

Date: Thu, 02 May 2002 14:01:41 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: U.S. Politicians "Pledge Allegiance" to Israel

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

ACTION REQUESTED: Contact local and national elected representatives to 
offer your views on these resolutions.

GO TO: http://capwiz.com/cair/dbq/officials/

-----

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

U.S. POLITICIANS "PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE" TO ISRAEL SAY MUSLIMS

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/2/2002) - The Council on American-Islamic 
Relations 
(CAIR) today condemned planned congressional resolutions in support of 
Israel's brutal invasion of Palestinian territory that the Islamic 
advocacy 
group said amounted to American elected officials "pledging allegiance" 
to 
a foreign government.

Despite President Bush's assertion that such a move would 
negatively-impact 
American foreign policy interests, Democratic and Republican 
congressional 
leaders say they would today go ahead with votes on the pro-Israel 
resolutions.

Yesterday, White House spokesman Ari Fliescher said the president is 
concerned that "no foreign policy can survive 535 different secretaries 
of 
state."

Associated Press reports that the administration urged that if 
introduced, 
the resolutions should at least make reference to the need to 
"alleviate 
the occupation of the suffering Palestinian people."

A statement by CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad read in part:

"It is truly disturbing to see American elected officials falling over 
themselves in an unseemly attempt to 'pledge allegiance' to a foreign 
government and its domestic lobby. Perhaps these same politicians 
should be 
reminded that they were elected by American, not Israeli voters.

"At a time when the president and secretary of state are trying to 
encourage peace and stability in the Middle East, our elected 
representatives are undercutting that effort by engaging in crass 
political 
maneuvering that promotes their own prospects of re-election over 
America's 
national and security interests.

"Americans should not offer unconditional support to a brutal invasion 
that 
even the Israelis admit involved killings of noncombatants, looting by 
soldiers, denial of relief supplies to entire population centers, and 
the 
use of Palestinian civilians as human shields in military operations."

Awad added that the one-sided congressional resolutions send a false 
message to the Muslim and Arab world that the American people do not 
support justice, human rights or a peaceful resolution to the Middle 
East 
conflict. He cited a recent USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll in which 71 
percent 
of respondents said the U.S. government should not take either side in 
the 
Mideast conflict and asked voters to make their representatives aware 
of 
that fact.

The most strongly-worded congressional resolution is being sponsored by 
House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), who just last week announced at 
the 
annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that: 
"As 
long as I'm in Congress, I'll use every tool at my disposal to ensure 
that 
the Republican conference in the House of Representatives continues to 
preserve and strengthen America's alliance with the state of Israel."

Last night on the MSNBC cable news network, House Majority Leader Dick 
Armey (R-TX) went further than even right-wing Israeli politicians by 
calling for the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from the 
Occupied Territories.

These statements, and the rush to introduce the non-binding 
resolutions, 
are viewed by many political observers as an effort by both major 
parties 
to out-bid each other in appealing to Jewish voters and campaign 
contributors.

SEE: "Hill Leaders Plan Votes On Pro-Israel Resolutions"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18084-2002May1.html

                                         - END -

CONTACT:        Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL - cair@cair-net.org
                 Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787, ext. 6058
                 E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org

-----

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http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----





Forwarded Message

Date: Thu, 02 May 2002 14:55:19 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Congressman Calls for Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

CAIR ACTION ALERT #330

CONGRESSMAN CALLS FOR ETHNIC CLEANSING OF PALESTINIANS
Muslims urged to contact congressman to demands retraction, apology

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/2/2002) - CAIR is calling on all people of 
conscience 
to contact House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) to demand that he 
retract his call for ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Last 
night 
on MSNBC's "Hardball," host Chris Matthews had the following dialogue 
with 
Rep. Armey:

ARMEY: I'm content to have Israel grab the entire West Bank.

MATTHEWS: Well, where do you put the Palestinian state, in Norway? Once 
the 
Israelis take back the West Bank permanently and annex it, there's no 
place 
else for the Palestinians to have a state.

ARMEY: No, no, that's not--that's not at all true. There are many Arab 
nations that have many hundreds of thousands of acres of land and--and 
soil 
and property and opportunity to create a Palestinian state.

MATTHEWS: So you would transport--you would transport the Palestinians 
from 
Palestine to somewhere else and call it their state?

ARMEY: I would be perfectly content to have a homeland, just as--most 
of...

MATTHEWS: But not in Palestine?

ARMEY: Most of the people who now populate Israel were transported from 
all 
over the world to that land and they made it their home. The 
Palestinians 
can do the same, and we're per--perfectly content to work with the 
Palestinians in doing that...

MATTHEWS: Right, no. No, that's not the question and that's not your 
answer. The question here is: What is the future of the Palestinians 
who 
are fighting Israel right now? You say there future is somewhere 
besides 
Palestine. That runs in the way of US policy going back to 1948. It 
runs--it runs completely against the president's policy and every 
policy 
I've heard a president take, which is that Israel has to give up its 
settlements on the West Bank and give it back to the Arabs in exchange 
for 
peace. You say the deal should be the Palestinians leave?

ARMEY: That's right...I happened to believe that the Palestinians 
should leave.

MATTHEWS: Have you ever told George Bush, the president from your home 
state of Texas, that you think the Palestinians should get up and go 
and 
leave Palestine and that's the solution?

ARMEY: I'm probably telling him that right now.

MATTHEWS: Well, just to repeat, you believe that the Palestinians who 
are 
now living on the West Bank should get out of there?

ARMEY: Yes.

"It is beyond belief that Representative Armey would openly call for 
the 
ethnic cleansing of the entire Muslim and Christian Palestinian 
population, 
something that violates every norm of international law and human 
rights. 
Even the most extreme Israelis are reluctant to publicly advocate such 
an 
insane policy," said CAIR Governmental Affairs Director Jason Erb.

Erb demanded an immediate retraction and apology from Armey. He said 
CAIR 
has received many complaints about Armey's remarks.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)

Contact Rep. Armey to ask that he retract his call for ethnic cleansing 
and 
that he apologize for advocating a policy that would violate all norms 
of 
international law and human rights.

CONTACT:(A personal call is best, followed by a fax, followed by an 
e-mail 
message. Inform CAIR of what you are told, or how you are treated,  by 
Armey's staff.)

Congressman Dick Armey
301 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4326

TEL: (202) 225-7772 or 202-225-4000
Fax: (202) 226-8100

(District Office)
9901 East Valley Ranch Parkway, Suite 3050
Irving, TX 75063

TEL: (972) 556-2500

ONLINE: http://capwiz.com/cair/home/

E-MAIL: Brian.Gunderson@mail.house.gov, terry.holt@mail.house.gov
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org

                         - PLEASE ANNOUNCE, POST AND DISTRIBUTE -

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----







Forwarded Message

Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 11:59:08 -0500
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Tenn. Muslims Accuse Whirlpool of Religious Discrimination

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TENN. MUSLIMS ACCUSE WHIRLPOOL OF RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION
Class action lawsuit alleges harassment, denial of accommodation

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/3/02)  A group of 16 current and former Muslim 
employees at a Whirlpool plant in La Vergne, Tenn., filed suit this 
week 
against the household appliance giant, alleging a consistent pattern of 
religious discrimination. The class action lawsuit, filed in U.S. 
District 
Court for the Middle of Tennessee, claims that Muslim employees were 
denied 
the right to pray at work, despite repeated requests for religious 
accommodation.

SEE: "Muslims charge discrimination at Whirlpool plant in La Vergne"
http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/02/05/17022232.shtml

The plaintiffs also allege that supervisors at the plant followed 
Muslim 
employees to the restroom to ensure that they did not pray during their 
breaks. In addition, employees allege they were terminated after being 
discovered praying.

According to the complaint, "Whirlpool has created and fostered an 
extremely hostile and humiliating work environment for those of the 
Muslim 
faith, particularly amongst its Somali workers, subjecting them to 
personal 
humiliation and emotional distress."

The suit was initiated after one of the employees contacted the Council 
on 
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic advocacy 
group. Repeated attempts at mediation were rejected by Whirlpool.

"CAIR has received numerous reports of discrimination from former and 
current Muslim employees of the plant in Tennessee. In each instance, 
Whirlpool has refused to engage in any meaningful dialogue," said CAIR 
Communications Coordinator Hodan Hassan.

The suit seeks an order forcing Whirlpool to provide reasonable 
accommodation for the plaintiffs' religious practices, $310,000 in 
compensatory damages, as well as punitive damages for the emotional 
pain 
and suffering caused by the discrimination.

Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer 
of 
major home appliances. Headquartered in Benton Harbor, Mich., the 
company 
manufactures in 13 countries and markets products under 11 major brand 
names in more than 170 countries.

CAIR publishes a booklet, called "An Employer's Guide to Islamic 
Religious 
Practices," designed to prevent workplace discrimination.

                                         - END -

CONTACT:        Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL - cair@cair-net.org
                 Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org

ACTION REQUESTED:

Contact Whirlpool to ask that they resolve this issue to the 
satisfaction 
of all parties and that they institute a company-wide policy allowing 
reasonable religious accommodation in the workplace.

Mr. David Whitwam
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Whirlpool Corporation
2000 North M-63
Benton Harbor, MI 49022
Phone: (616) 923-5000
Fax: (616) 923-5341
E-mail: monica_r_brunkel@email.whirlpool.com

-----

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http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----



Forwarded Message

Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 15:45:17 -0500
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Thank Those in Congress Who Did Not Vote for Pro-Israel Resolutions

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

CAIR ACTION ALERT #331

THANK THOSE IN CONGRESS WHO DID NOT VOTE FOR PRO-ISRAEL RESOLUTIONS

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/3/2002) - CAIR is calling on Muslims nationwide to 
contact elected representative who did not vote in favor of yesterday's 
congressional resolutions offering unconditional support to Israel for 
its 
recent brutal invasion of Palestinian territory.

A total of 84 senators and representatives did not vote in favor of the 
resolutions, including 82 in the House (21 opposed, 29 present, 32 no 
vote) 
and two in the Senate. Sens. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.) and Robert C. 
Byrd 
(D-W.Va.), the only senators to vote against the resolution, said it 
was 
not even-handed in criticizing violence.

SEE: "Lawmakers Endorse Israel's Offensive"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23459-2002May2.html

In a similar December 5, 2001, vote on a pro-Israel House resolution, 
just 
49 representatives did not offer their support. This is an indication 
that 
uncritical congressional backing for Israel's actions is beginning to 
decrease.

Political observers say the resolutions, and recent extreme pro-Israel 
statements by congressional leaders, are part an effort by both major 
parties to out-bid each other in appealing to Jewish voters and 
campaign 
contributors.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED:

1. Please review the list below to see if your representative voted 
against 
HR 392. (You may also go to http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ to find your 
elected representatives.)

2. If your representative voted NO, please contact his or her office to 
show thanks for supporting a balanced US role in the Middle East, and 
for 
protecting US interests.

3. If your representative voted PRESENT, please contact his or her 
office 
to show thanks for supporting a balanced U.S. role in the Middle East 
and 
to encourage the representative to vote NO on future unbalanced and 
counterproductive resolutions.

4. If your representative is not listed below, he or she voted YES on 
the 
resolution. Please contact his or her office to express disappointment 
that 
he or she supported a resolution that harms America's efforts to bring 
a 
just settlement to the conflict and that harms U.S. interests in the 
region.
Go to: http://capwiz.com/cair/dbq/officials/

5. Save the list below to stay in touch with your representatives.

                         - PLEASE ANNOUNCE, POST AND DISTRIBUTE -

NOES - 21

Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI 1st)
Web Site: www.house.gov/abercrombie
E-mail: neil.abercrombie@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2726
Fax: (202) 225-4580

Rep. David Bonior (D-MI 10th)
Web Site: davidbonior.house.gov
E-mail: david.bonior@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2106
Fax: (202) 226-1169

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA 9th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/boucher
E-mail: ninthnet@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-3861
Fax: (202) 225-0442

Rep. Gary Condit (D-CA 18th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/gcondit
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-6131
Fax: (202) 225-0819

Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI 14th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/conyers
E-mail: john.conyers@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-5126
Fax: (202) 225-0072

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR 4th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/defazio
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-6416
Fax: (202) 225-0032

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI 16th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/dingell
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-4071
Fax: (202) 226-0371

Rep. Earl Hilliard (D-AL 7th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/hilliard
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-2665
Fax: (202) 226-0772

Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA 1st)
Web Site: www.house.gov/inslee
E-mail: jay.inslee@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-6311
Fax: (202) 226-1606

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL 2nd)
Web Site: www.jessejacksonjr.org
E-mail: jjackson@jessejacksonjr.org
Phone: (202) 225-0773
Fax: (202) 225-0899

Rep. Jerry Kleczka (D-WI 4th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/kleczka
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-4572
Fax: (202) 225-8135

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA 9th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/lee
E-mail: barbara.lee@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2661
Fax: (202) 225-9817

Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA 4th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/mckinney
E-mail: cymck@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-1605
Fax: (202) 226-0691

Rep. George Miller (D-CA 7th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/georgemiller
E-mail: george.miller@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2095
Fax: (202) 225-5609

Rep. David Obey (D-WI 7th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/obey
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-3365

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX 14th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/paul
E-mail: rep.paul@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2831
Fax: (202) 226-4871

Rep. Thomas Petri (R-WI 6th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/petri
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-2476
Fax: (202) 225-2356

Rep. Nick Rahall II (D-WV 3rd)
Web Site: www.house.gov/rahall
E-mail: nrahall@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-3452
Fax: (202) 225-9061

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA 45th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/rohrabacher
E-mail: dana@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2415
Fax: (202) 225-0145

Rep. Nick Smith (R-MI 7th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/nicksmith
E-mail: rep.smith@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-6276
Fax: (202) 225-6281

Rep. Fortney Stark (D-CA 13th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/stark
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-5065
Fax: (202) 226-3805

PRESENT - 29

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI 2nd)
Web Site: www.house.gov/baldwin
E-mail: tammy.baldwin@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2906
Fax: (202) 225-6942

Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA 7th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/barr
E-mail: barr.ga@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2931
Fax: (202) 225-2944

Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA 30th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/becerra
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-6235
Fax: (202) 225-2202

Rep. Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA 2nd)
Web Site: www.house.gov/bishop
E-mail: bishop.email@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-3631
Fax: (202) 225-2203

Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH 13th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/sherrodbrown
E-mail: sherrod@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-3401
Fax: (202) 225-2266

Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA 8th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/capuano
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-5111
Fax: (202) 225-9322
1232 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-2108

Rep. Eva Clayton (D-NC 1st)
Web Site: www.house.gov/clayton
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-3101
Fax: (202) 225-3354

Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA 17th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/farr
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-2861
Fax: (202) 225-6791

Rep. John Hostettler (R-IN 8th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/hostettler
E-mail: john.hostettler@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-4636
Fax: (202) 225-3284

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH 9th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/kaptur
E-mail: rep.kaptur@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-4146
Fax: (202) 225-7711

Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI 15th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/kilpatrick
E-mail: carolyn.cheeks.kilpatrick@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2261
Fax: (202) 225-5730

Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI 3rd)
Web Site: www.house.gov/kind
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-5506
Fax: (202) 225-5739

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH 10th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/kucinich
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-5871
Fax: (202) 225-5745

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA 7th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/mcdermott
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-3106
Fax: (202) 225-6197

Rep. Patsy Mink (D-HI 2nd)
Web Site: www.house.gov/mink
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-4906
Fax: (202) 225-4987

Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV 1st)
Web Site: www.house.gov/mollohan
Phone: (202) 225-4172
Fax: (202) 225-7564

Rep. James Moran (D-VA 8th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/moran
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-4376
Fax: (202) 225-0017

Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN 8th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/oberstar
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-6211
Fax: (202) 225-0699

Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ 10th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/payne
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-3436
Fax: (202) 225-4160

Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN 7th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/collinpeterson
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-2165
Fax: (202) 225-1593

Rep. Martin Olav Sabo (D-MN 5th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/sabo
E-mail: martin.sabo@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-4755
Fax: (202) 225-4886

Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-VT At-Large)
Web Site: bernie.house.gov
E-mail: bernie@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-4115
Fax: (202) 225-6790

Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA 31st)
Web Site: www.house.gov/solis
Phone: (202) 225-5464
Fax: (202) 225-5467

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA 1st)
Web Site: www.house.gov/mthompson
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-3311
Fax: (202) 225-4335

Rep. Karen Thurman (D-FL 5th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/thurman
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-1002
Fax: (202) 226-0329

Rep. Melvin Watt (D-NC 12th)
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
http://www.house.gov/watt/


Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA 6th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/woolsey
E-mail: lynn.woolsey@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-5161
Fax: (202) 225-5163

NOT VOTING

Rep. Doug Bereuter (R-NE 1st)
Web Site: www.house.gov/bereuter
Phone: (202) 225-4806
Fax: (202) 225-5686

Rep. Michael Bilirakis (R-FL 9th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/bilirakis
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-5755
Fax: (202) 225-4085

Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL 3rd)
Web Site: www.house.gov/corrinebrown
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-0123
Fax: (202) 225-2256

Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN 6th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/burton
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-2276
Fax: (202) 225-0016

Rep. Sonny Callahan (R-AL 1st)
Web Site: www.house.gov/callahan
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-4931
Fax: (202) 225-0562

Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT 3rd)
Web Site: www.house.gov/cannon
E-mail: cannon.ut03@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-7751
Fax: (202) 225-5629

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA 7th)
Web Site: cantor.house.gov
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-2815
Fax: (202) 225-0011

Rep. John Cooksey (R-LA 5th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/cooksey
E-mail: congressman.cooksey@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-8490
Fax: (202) 225-5639

Rep. Philip Crane (R-IL 8th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/crane
Phone: (202) 225-3711
Fax: (202) 225-7830

Rep. Calvin Dooley (D-CA 20th)
Web Site: dooley.house.gov
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-3341
Fax: (202) 225-9308

Rep. Terry Everett (R-AL 2nd)
Web Site: www.house.gov/everett
E-mail: terry.everett@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2901
Fax: (202) 225-8913

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA 2nd)
Web Site: www.house.gov/fattah
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-4001
Fax: (202) 225-5392

Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI 2nd)
Web Site: www.house.gov/hoekstra
E-mail: tellhoek@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-4401
Fax: (202) 226-0779

Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-OR 5th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/hooley
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-5711
Fax: (202) 225-5699

Rep. Ernest Istook, Jr. (R-OK 5th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/istook
E-mail: istook@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2132
Fax: (202) 226-1463

Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA 2nd)
Web Site: www.house.gov/jefferson
E-mail: jeffersonmc@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-6636
Fax: (202) 225-1988

Rep. William Jenkins (R-TN 1st)
Web Site: www.house.gov/jenkins
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-6356
Fax: (202) 225-5714

Rep. Chris John (D-LA 7th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/john
E-mail: christopher.john@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2031
Fax: (202) 225-5724

Rep. John McHugh (R-NY 24th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/mchugh
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-4611
Fax: (202) 226-0621

Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA 37th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/millender-mcdonald
E-mail: millender.mcdonald@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-7924
Fax: (202) 225-7926

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA 12th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/murtha
E-mail: murtha@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2065
Fax: (202) 225-5709

Rep. Michael Oxley (R-OH 4th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/oxley
E-mail: mike.oxley@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2676
Fax: (202) 226-0577

Rep. Bob Riley (R-AL 3rd)
Web Site: www.house.gov/riley
E-mail: bob.riley@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-3261
Fax: (202) 225-5827

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL 18th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/ros-lehtinen
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-3931
Fax: (202) 225-5620

Rep. Marge Roukema (R-NJ 5th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/roukema
E-mail: rep.roukema@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-4465
Fax: (202) 225-9048

Rep. Charles Stenholm (D-TX 17th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/stenholm
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-6605
Fax: (202) 225-2234

Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK 1st)
Web Site: www.house.gov/sullivan
E-mail: ok01.sullivan@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-2211
Fax: (202) 225-9187

Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC 11th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/charlestaylor
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-6401

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS 2nd)
Web Site: www.house.gov/thompson
E-mail: thompsonms2nd@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-5876
Fax: (202) 225-5898

Rep. James Traficant, Jr. (D-OH 17th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/traficant
E-mail: telljim@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-5261
Fax: (202) 225-3719

Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN 3rd)
Web Site: www.house.gov/wamp
E-mail:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Phone: (202) 225-3271
Fax: (202) 225-3494

Rep. C.W. Young (R-FL 10th)
Web Site: www.house.gov/young
E-mail: bill.young@mail.house.gov
Phone: (202) 225-5961
Fax: (202) 225-9764

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----








Forwarded Message

Date: Sun, 05 May 2002 11:12:37 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: A Penchant for Secrecy

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 5/5/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* THE LATEST CAIR ACTION ALERTS
* ANN COULTER ATTACKS, DATES MUSLIMS
* QUOTE OF THE DAY: 1-IN-4 SUPPORT RANDOM SEARCHS OF MUSLIMS (Wash. 
Post)
* ON WHICH WHAT PAGE WOULD THIS STORY HAVE APPEARED IF MUSLIMS HAD BEEN 
INVOLVED?
* A PENCHANT FOR SECRECY (New York Times)
* MAN FACES DEPORTATION AFTER SEPT. 11 TESTIMONY (Washington Post)
* PREJUDICE ALSO CLAIMED VICTIMS IN SEPT. 11'S WAKE (Chicago Tribune)
* U.S. MAGISTRATE DENIES MUSLIM GROUPS' REQUEST (Washington Post)
         - Muslims' Evidence Sits Unexamined (AP)
* U.S. SEEKS SECRECY IN MUSLIM CHARITY CASE (Dallas Morning News)
* ILL. MUSLIMS SUPPORT ISLAMIC CHARITY (AP)
* SENIOR REPUBLICAN CALLS ON ISRAEL TO EXPEL WEST BANK ARABS (Guardian)
* ANGER OVER ARMEY'S COMMENTS (Newsday)
* MEDIA COVERAGE OF MUSLIM-WHIRLPOOL LAWSUIT
         - Muslims sue Whirlpool (AP)
         - Suit Says Company Discouraged Religion (New York Times)
         - Muslims allege discrimination at Whirlpool plant (Reuters)

-----

FOR THE LATEST CAIR ACTION ALERTS ON GUJARAT, PALESTINE AND OTHER 
IMPORTANT 
ISSUES, GO TO: http://capwiz.com/cair/home/

-----

ANN COULTER ATTACKS, DATES MUSLIMS

French Voters Tentatively Reject Dynamiting Notre Dame
By Ann Coulter, FrontPageMagazine.com, 5/2/02
http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/columnists/coulter/index.html

LIBERALS HAVE FINALLY found a people even more worthy of their 
admiration 
than the adulterous French: synagogue-burning, genital-mutilating, 
terrorist-cheering Muslims…

Whenever liberals are frustrated, they accuse their opponents of 
"xenophobia"  which is, admittedly, a step up from Muslims who express 
frustration by strapping dynamite to children…

In addition to mutilating girls and burning synagogues, another popular 
Muslim pastime in France is to steal cars, set them on fire and push 
them 
off cliffs…

SEE ALSO :

Reliable Source: Ann Coulter’s New Muslim Man
Lloyd Grove, The Washington Post, 3/13/02

…Ann Coulter's notorious post-Sept. 11 column for National Review 
Online -- 
in which she suggested that the proper U.S. response to Muslim 
terrorists 
was to "invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to 
Christianity" -- is still making waves six months later. But now the 
controversy features a jaw-dropping twist involving Coulter's love 
life…

We hear that shortly after her September tirade proposing a modern-day 
crusade in Islamic countries, she began dating a gentleman of the 
Muslim 
persuasion, a well-to-do financier in New York. Word is that they met 
by 
chance four months ago on a Manhattan street and have been an item ever 
since.

Coulter, an Episcopalian, declined to comment directly on this 
surprising 
circumstance. She refused to reveal the lucky guy's identity…

-----

QUOTE OF THE DAY: HALF OF ALL AMERICANS STILL FEEL UNSAFE
By Richard Morin, Washington Post, 5/3/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24599-2002May2.html

“One in four [Americans] -- 24 percent -- supported giving police the 
power 
to conduct random searches of "anyone who appears to be Arab or 
Muslim."

-----

ON WHICH WHAT PAGE WOULD THIS STORY HAVE APPEARED IF MUSLIMS HAD BEEN 
INVOLVED?

The New York Times, May 5, 2002, Sunday, Late Edition - Final, SECTION 
1; 
PAGE 33; Column 5; National Desk, 920 words, More Pipe Bombs Are Found 
In 
Mailboxes in Nebraska, By SAM DILLON, TIPTON, Iowa, May 4

The Washington Post, May 05, 2002, Sunday, Final Edition, A SECTION; 
PG. 
A12, 562 words, Five More Pipe Bombs Found in the Midwest, Robert E. 
Pierre, Washington Post Staff Writer, CHICAGO, May 4

Newsday (New York, NY), May 5, 2002 Sunday, NASSAU AND SUFFOLK EDITION, 
PG. 
A04, 370 words, More Mailbox Bombs Found ; 5 more turn up in Nebraska, 
THE 
ASSOCIATED PRESS

-----

A PENCHANT FOR SECRECY
By LINDA GREENHOUSE, The New York Times, 5/5/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/05/weekinreview/05GREE.html

A FEDERAL judge's decision last week that the Justice Department's 
detention of a Jordanian student was a misuse of the material witness 
statute served as a reminder that nearly eight months after Sept. 11, 
the 
balance between individual liberty and national security remains highly 
unstable.

It was never in doubt that the terrorist attacks would alter the 
balance 
between these two values. American history is filled with examples of 
how 
domestic and foreign threats, perceived or -- as today -- real, 
provoked 
shifts in power away from the rights of the individual and toward the 
promise of safety and order. Even against that background, the Bush 
administration's pursuit of the domestic war on terrorism into 
uncharted 
and ambiguous legal territory is striking. Many of its choices reveal 
the 
same instinct for secrecy and penchant for unilateral executive-branch 
action that the administration has displayed on political fields of 
battle 
unrelated to terrorism.

In fact, long after judges have ruled on challenges to the prolonged 
detentions, closed immigration hearings and other policies that 
Attorney 
General John Ashcroft is defending in courts around the country, the 
legacy 
of this chapter of the perennial effort to calibrate the balance 
between 
liberty and security may lie in whatever verdict the political as well 
as 
the legal system renders on the value of transparency in government.

Secrecy is at the heart of an escalating battle over the identities of 
hundreds of detainees, mostly Muslim men from Arab and Asian countries, 
being held for the federal government in New Jersey county jails. 
Responding to a suit by the American Civil Liberties Union, a state 
court 
applied New Jersey's right-to-know law and ordered the names made 
public. 
The secret detentions were "odious to a democratic society," ruled 
Judge 
Arthur N. D'Italia of Superior Court…

-----

MAN FACES DEPORTATION AFTER SEPT. 11 TESTIMONY
By Brooke A. Masters, The Washington Post, 5/5/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33701-2002May4.html

Alrababah, 29, says his experiences since Sept. 11 also should serve as 
a 
cautionary tale. Since he came forward voluntarily, Alrababah has spent 
seven months in federal custody -- almost entirely in solitary -- first 
as 
a material witness and then charged and convicted in an unrelated 
identification fraud case. Now, a man who is engaged to a U.S.-born 
citizen 
and who once hoped to make his life here is facing deportation as soon 
as 
he gets out of prison.

"It's pretty much been a nightmare," said his 32-year-old fiancee, who 
asked not to be named because she fears negative publicity could hurt 
her 
career as a professional figure skater. "He lost his business. He lost 
friends. It's really disrupted our lives completely."

There is no public evidence tying Alrababah to terrorism beyond his 
limited 
contact with the hijackers, and he passed an FBI polygraph last fall, 
his 
lawyer, Frank Salvato, said. But federal sources cautioned that they 
are 
continuing to investigate Alrababah. The U.S. attorney's office 
declined to 
comment on the case...

-----

PREJUDICE ALSO CLAIMED VICTIMS IN SEPT. 11'S WAKE
By Jon Yates, The Chicago Tribune, 5/5/02
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/perspective/chi-0205050256may05.story

Balbir Singh Sodhi was gunned down Sept. 15 in the flower garden of his 
Mesa, Ariz., gas station--targeted, police say, because of his turban 
and 
beard.

His family considers the 49-year-old Sikh Indian a victim of the Sept. 
11 
terrorist attacks, just like those who died in the World Trade Center 
or 
the Pentagon. But so far, neither the federal government nor charitable 
organizations agree.

Now, help has come from a most unlikely source: an Evanston activist 
named 
Anya Cordell who has made it her mission to convince the Red Cross and 
the 
September 11th Fund that they should pay families of those who died in 
backlash hate crimes.

Cordell, 51, calls her effort the Campaign for Collateral Compassion, 
and 
her argument is simple. Arabs who were killed in hate crimes after 
Sept. 11 
are victims of terror too…

"I don't think [Almansoop] would have died if his name were John 
Smith."
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations 
in 
Washington, said hate crimes are difficult to investigate because there 
is 
often little evidence of bias, but he considers Cordell's efforts 
important 
and said any effort to discount racial hatred as a motive in some 
killings 
after Sept. 11 may be misguided.

Hooper points to a case in Dallas of a Pakistani Muslim, Waqar Hasan, 
who 
was killed while cooking hamburgers in his grocery store on Sept. 15.

"Nobody wrote `death to Arab scum' on the wall," he said. "But the 
strong 
belief in the community is it was bias-related."

Hooper said victims like Hasan were "just as innocent as those who were 
killed in New York and Washington…"

-----

U.S. MAGISTRATE DENIES MUSLIM GROUPS' REQUEST
Return Sought of Property Seized in Va.
By Brooke A. Masters, The Washington Post, 5/4/2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29879-2002May3.html

A federal magistrate judge ruled yesterday that government agents can 
continue to examine the property they seized in March from three 
Northern 
Virginia Muslim groups and 10 homes as part of a terrorism probe.

Attorneys for the International Institute of Islamic Thought, the 
Graduate 
School of Islamic and Social Sciences, Sterling Management Group Inc. 
and 
10 individuals had alleged that the raids violated their free speech 
and 
privacy rights. They asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa C. Buchanan to 
order the 500 boxes of records returned. She denied the attorneys' 
request 
and also turned down their petition to see the evidence the government 
used 
to obtain search warrants for the homes and businesses.

"We have students who can't turn in their papers. Our businesses are 
harmed. Our customers are going away…It's as though the government 
thinks 
they can go into people's homes and businesses and take everything away 
for 
no reason," said Nancy Luque, an attorney for the Muslim businesses and 
individuals…

SEE ALSO:

Muslims' Evidence Sits Unexamined
By MATTHEW BARAKAT, The Associated Press, 5/4/02

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - Hundreds of boxes of evidence seized from Muslim 
organizations and homes in northern Virginia during government raids in 
March are still awaiting review by investigators, court records show.

Lawyers for those targeted in the raids said the government is still 
holding onto children's games and puzzles, cash and computers that it 
never 
should have seized in the first place.

“This is just an attempt to get our property back. We were shocked as 
to 
why these houses were searched. We have no idea why,” said Nancy Luque, 
an 
attorney for three organizations and 10 individuals targeted in the 
raids.

At a court hearing Friday, the targets of the raids asked a judge to 
unseal 
the government affidavits that explain why the homes and organizations 
were 
targeted.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa C. Buchanan refused to unseal the 
affidavits, 
saying she was satisfied that the government had reason to conduct the 
raids and seize evidence…

No criminal charges have been filed as a result of the March 20 raids. 
The 
Customs Service said they were conducted as part of an operation to 
investigate and cut off terrorist funding...

Luque said the fact that government agents seized so much material 
suggests 
they were on a fishing expedition, rather than looking for specific 
evidence of criminal conduct.

“Clearly they don't know what they're looking for,” she said. “They 
could 
have avoided taking the puzzles and games of children.”

-----

U.S. SEEKS SECRECY IN MUSLIM CHARITY CASE
By Michelle Mittelstadt , The Dallas Morning News, 5/3/02
http://www.dallasnews.com/waronterrorism/stories/050302dnnatholyland.597d0.html

WASHINGTON _ Tapping a little-used and controversial legal strategy, 
the 
Justice Department is trying to offer secret evidence to justify the 
financial freeze imposed on a Richardson, Texas-based Muslim charity 
after 
the Sept. 11 attacks.

In a filing late Wednesday night in federal court in Washington, 
Justice 
Department attorneys said they need to use classified information _ 
which 
is not shared with lawyers for the other side _ to make their case that 
the 
government was correct when it froze the assets of the Holy Land 
Foundation 
for Relief and Development.

The foundation, which sued in March to force the government to unblock 
its 
funds, will "energetically" oppose any attempt to use secret evidence, 
said 
John Boyd, a Holy Land Foundation attorney…

"We are, of course, going to resist as energetically as we can any use 
of 
secret evidence to take away the property and funds of an American 
organization that is operated by American citizens for charitable 
purposes," Boyd said.

"We have, at this point, no idea what secret evidence the government is 
referring to, but we are certainly going to take the position that 
depriving people of their property based on secret evidence we have no 
opportunity to know about _ much less rebut _ is not consistent with 
the 
Constitution or the American way of dealing with issues."

At a hearing last month, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler warned that 
she 
would not look favorably on any request to keep classified information 
concealed from Holy Land Foundation's lawyers and the public, saying 
the 
government would have a "very heavy burden" in making its case...

"The use of secret evidence just really makes, in most situations, the 
legal process a meaningless process," said Niels Frenzen, a University 
of 
Southern California law professor who has represented several 
defendants in 
secret-evidence cases. "In our system, we fundamentally believe that 
the 
truth is obtained through cross-examination. And classified evidence 
eliminates that ability."

-----

ILL. MUSLIMS SUPPORT ISLAMIC CHARITY
By DON BABWIN, The Associated Press, 5/3/02

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (AP) - Janaan Hashim doesn't care what federal 
prosecutors 
say about the Benevolence International Foundation. She doesn't believe 
the 
Islamic charity has ties to Osama bin Laden and terrorists who tried to 
get 
their hands on nuclear weapons.

“I've worked with them,” said Hashim, as she dropped off her two young 
daughters at an Islamic school in this Chicago suburb. “I know what 
they do 
is help a lot of people, they get into countries and help people where 
other organizations don't have access to.”

In Brigeview, where protesters questioned Muslims' patriotism and 
angrily 
tried to march on a mosque after the Sept. 11 attacks, many Muslims are 
not 
about to believe the allegations against the charity.

The protesters “said the same thing about us,” said Said Hasan, after 
he 
drove from his home in nearby Hickory Hills to drop his daughter off at 
the 
school where she teaches. “Some of us were (soldiers) in Korea and 
Vietnam.”

Hasan, whose faith calls on him to give to charity, said he is not 
about to 
stop giving to Muslim charities…

The Palos Hills-based charity and executive director Enaam M. Arnaout 
were 
charged with perjury Tuesday for denying they had provided assistance 
to 
terrorists. Prosecutors say the organization funneled large sums of 
money 
to bin Laden's al-Qaida network. In December, the U.S. government froze 
the 
assets of Benevolence and another Chicago-area charity…

-----

SENIOR REPUBLICAN CALLS ON ISRAEL TO EXPEL WEST BANK ARABS
By Matthew Engel, The Guardian (London), 5/4/2002
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4407293,00.html

The most senior Republican in the House of Representatives has called 
for 
Palestinians to be expelled from the West Bank, which should be annexed 
in 
its entirety by the state of Israel.

Dick Armey, majority leader in the House, shocked a primetime 
television 
audience when he said in a chat-show interview, that East Jerusalem, 
the 
West Bank and Gaza - all occupied by the Israeli army since the 1967 
war - 
should be considered a part of Israel proper. He was "content to have a 
Palestinian state", but argued that such an entity could be set up 
inside 
other Arab countries. "There are many Arab nations that have many 
hundreds 
of thousands of acres of land and soil and property and opportunity to 
create a Palestinian state. I happen to believe the Palestinians should 
leave."

Mr Armey later backed down slightly and said he did not believe 
"peaceful 
Palestinian civilians should be forcibly expelled" but only those who 
supported terrorist acts.

His original extremist com ments underline the extent of President 
Bush's 
dilemma of plotting a balanced course…

Mr Armey's views have been scarcely reported in America. The only 
mention 
was a passing reference in the deepest recesses of yesterday's New York 
Times and Washington Post.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called Mr Armey's views 
"beyond 
belief". Spokesman Jason Erb said that "even the most extreme Israelis 
are 
reluctant to publicly advocate such an insane policy". When Ari 
Fleischer, 
Mr Bush's spokesman, was asked for the president's view on what 
appeared to 
be an argument for ethnic cleansing, he changed the subject.

However, Mr Armey's views were not far out of line with on Thursday 
night's 
debate in the House, which overwhelmingly passed a 920-word resolution 
entirely in favour of Israel, save for a call to pursue peace and a 
reference to the "humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people" - 
tacked on 
at the White House's request...

-----

ANGER OVER ARMEY'S COMMENTS
By William Douglas and Elaine S. Povich, Newsday (New York, NY), 5/4/02
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-woarme042693418may04.story

Washington - Even in dealing with a hot issue like the 
Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict, Osama Siblani considers himself an even-tempered guy not 
normally 
prone to yelling at his television set.

But Siblani could not contain himself when he heard House Majority 
Leader 
Dick Armey (R-Texas) declare in a television interview Wednesday that 
Palestinians should get out of the West Bank and that Israel should 
"grab 
the entire West Bank."

"I couldn't sleep all night I was so angry" said Siblani, editor of the 
Arab American News in Dearborn, Mich., which has one of the nation's 
largest Muslim populations. "A lot of Arab-Americans are angry." 
Several 
Arab-American groups lashed out at Armey Friday, accusing him of 
supporting 
ethnic cleansing and advocating an action that they say would amount to 
a 
war crime.

"Even the most extreme Israelis are reluctant to publicly advocate such 
an 
insane policy," said Jason Erb, governmental affairs director for the 
Council on American-Islamic relations…

-----

MEDIA COVERAGE OF MUSLIM-WHIRLPOOL LAWSUIT

Muslims sue Whirlpool, citing religious discrimination at Tennessee 
plant
The Associated Press, 5/4/02

LAVERGNE, Tennessee - Sixteen Muslims have filed a religious 
discrimination 
lawsuit claiming managers at a Whirlpool plant yanked scarves off 
women's 
heads and followed workers into restrooms to make sure they weren't 
praying.

The current and former workers at the factory sued Whirlpool seeking 
dlrs 
310,000 in damages, along with a court order forcing the company to 
"reasonably accommodate" the workers' religious practices, as required 
by 
law. Tom Kline, a spokesman at Whirlpool's corporate headquarters in 
Benton 
Harbor, Michigan, declined to comment.

Hodan Hassan of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington 
said workers at the refrigerator and air conditioner plant outside 
Nashville had been complaining about discrimination for five years…

---

Suit Says Company Discouraged Religion
The New York Times, 5/4/02

Sixteen Muslims, current and former workers at the Whirlpool plant in 
La 
Vergne, filed a federal lawsuit against the company, saying supervisors 
warned workers not to pray on their breaks, followed them to restrooms 
to 
see if they were praying, fired those found praying and pulled scarves 
from 
women's heads. The suit seeks damages of $310,000 each, and "reasonable 
accommodation" of religious practices and beliefs. Whirlpool officials 
said 
that nine similar grievances filed with the Equal Employment 
Opportunity 
Commission have been dismissed.

---

Muslims allege discrimination at Whirlpool plant.
Reuters, 5/3/02

WASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) - A group of current and former Muslim 
employees of Whirlpool Corp. are suing the biggest U.S. appliance 
maker, 
alleging religious discrimination at a Tennessee factory.

A group of 16 employees at a factory in La Vergne, Tennessee, filed a 
lawsuit against Whirlpool alleging a "consistent pattern of religious 
discrimination," according to a statement released on Friday from the 
Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The suit, filed on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Middle of 
Tennessee, claims that Muslim employees were denied the right to pray 
at 
work, despite repeated requests for religious accommodation, the 
Council 
said. The suit seeks an order forcing Whirlpool to provide reasonable 
accommodation for the plaintiffs' religious practices, $310,000 in 
compensatory damages, and punitive damages for the emotional pain and 
suffering caused by the discrimination.

The plaintiffs in the suit allege that plant supervisors followed 
Muslim 
employees to the restroom to ensure that they did not pray during their 
breaks, the Council said. Employees also allege they were terminated 
after 
being discovered praying…

Whirlpool said in a statement that the company has not yet seen the 
suit 
and it does not comment on pending legal action…

Shares of Whirlpool were down 61 cents to $76.98 on the New York Stock 
Exchange on Friday.

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----




Forwarded Message

Date: Sun, 05 May 2002 22:52:25 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: U.S. Physician Detained by Israelis After Reporting From Jenin

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

U.S. PHYSICIAN DETAINED BY ISRAELIS AFTER REPORTING FROM JENIN
Islamic advocacy group says torture likely, asks American officials to 
intervene

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/5/2002)  An American physician from California who 
was 
visiting the Occupied Territories on a fact-finding mission for a 
medical 
relief organization has been detained by Israeli authorities after 
reporting on the death and destruction he witnessed in the Jenin 
refugee camp.

(MEDIA ADVISORY: A news conference on this issue will be held 9:30 
a.m., 
Monday, May 6, in the Murrow Room of the National Press Club in 
Washington, 
D.C. CAIR has also learned of American citizen from Texas, Dallel 
Mohammed 
with the relief group Kinder USA [http://www.kinderusa.org], who has 
also 
been detained by the Israelis. Details of her detention will be 
released at 
the Monday news conference. For information about the news conference, 
contact 202-256-2000.)

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) tonight announced that 
Santa Monica-born Dr. Riad Abdelkarim was detained this weekend at Ben 
Gurion Airport and has now been transferred to a prison in Tel Aviv. 
The 
Washington-based Islamic advocacy group is calling on American 
officials to 
demand his immediate release and to prevent the Israelis from torturing 
him, a practice commonly used in that state’s prisons.

Human rights groups say that the vast majority of detained Palestinians 
face torture or abuse. A number of those cases have involved Americans 
of 
Palestinian heritage. The State Department’s web site says U.S. 
citizens 
arrested in Israel on alleged security offenses “may be prevented from 
communicating with lawyers, family members, or consular officers for 
lengthy periods…U.S. citizens have been subject to mistreatment during 
interrogation and pressured to sign statements in Hebrew which have not 
been translated. Under local law they may be detained for up to six 
months 
at a time without charges.”

SEE: http://travel.state.gov/israel_westbank_gaza.html

According to his family, Abdelkarim is in the Middle East on a 
fact-finding 
mission for Los Angeles-headquartered International Medical Corps 
(IMC), a 
global humanitarian nonprofit organization that supports health care 
training and relief programs in a number of countries, including 
Angola, 
Burundi and Serbia. (In December of last year, IMC was named as one of 
the 
"100 American philanthropies most likely to save the world" by Worth 
Magazine. SEE: http://www.imc-la.com/) A medical colleague traveling 
with 
Abdelkarim was held and later released by Israeli authorities.

Abdelkarim was detained as he was returning to the United States after 
having witnessed the devastation caused by Israeli forces in the Jenin 
refugee camp, details of which he reported widely on the Internet. 
Though 
born in the United States, he is a Palestinian-American whose family 
traces 
its roots to a village near Ramallah in the Occupied Territories.

“It seems the Israelis will go to any length to hide their war crimes 
in 
Jenin, including imprisoning medical relief workers. This fits a 
pattern in 
which Israel forces first prevented aid from reaching the victims in 
Jenin 
and then blocked a U.N. investigation into their brutal actions in the 
camp,” said CAIR Board Chairman Omar Ahmad.

Along with his medical duties, Abelkarim is active with a number of 
American Muslim relief and political advocacy organizations. He is a 
board 
member of the CAIR chapter in Southern California and was on the board 
of 
the now-closed Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. 
Abdelkarim 
also coordinates the Independent Writers Syndicate, an editorial 
service 
that offers a Muslim perspective on current political, social and 
religious 
issues. His commentaries have been published in newspapers nationwide.

                                         - END -

CONTACT:        Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL - cair@cair-net.org
                 Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787
                 E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org

-----

FEELING LIKE THE ENEMY WITHIN:
Since the attacks, the Abdelkarims of Orange County have been taunted 
at 
school and questioned by the FBI. Even a trip to the mall raises fears.
By TERESA WATANABE, Los Angeles Times, 9/20/2001

Her four children in tow, the suburban mom climbs out of her Toyota 
minivan 
and heads into the MainPlace mall in Santa Ana. She wears a red, white 
and 
blue button, "USA All the Way!" as a symbol of her loyalty.

But as she approaches the entrance, she murmurs in Arabic: "May God 
protect 
us."

For all her American trappings, Wijdan Abdelkarim is conspicuous in her 
Islamic head scarf, and she knows it.

In fallout that has unnerved countless other Muslims and Arab 
Americans, 
last week's terrorist attacks have upended the family life of Wijdan 
and 
her husband, Riad. Wijdan's routine shopping trips are now 
tension-wracked 
forays into the fearful unknown. FBI agents have questioned Riad, a 
prominent Anaheim physician, about his Muslim associations in 
encounters he 
says first intimidated, then angered him…

The tall, articulate physician, a Santa Monica native of Palestinian 
descent, is used to standing up to anti-Arab sentiment and succeeding 
despite it. He grew up in Torrance, the oldest of six children. His 
father 
ran a grocery store in Hermosa Beach named after him, Riad's Market. 
One of 
the only Arab families in town at the time, the Abdelkarims had to 
weather 
the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s, the Iranian hostage crisis of 
1979-81, 
the Persian Gulf War of 1991 and the slurs that went along with such 
events: Towel Head. Oil Can. Exhortations to "go back home."

The Abdelkarims' cars were vandalized, their lawn destroyed by thugs 
pouring gasoline on it or driving their cars over it. The boys 
frequently 
got into fights, Riad recalled. And the day he won the local spelling 
bee, 
garnering front page coverage in the community newspaper, someone 
called 
his home and terrorized his mother with a false claim that he had been 
kidnapped.

All the Trappings of American Success Story

In 1986, Riad made class valedictorian at Torrance High School with a 
perfect grade point average. He applied to UCLA, UC Berkeley, Stanford 
and 
Yale and got into all of the schools. He says he chose UCLA because he 
got 
a free ride, winning every scholarship he applied for. He graduated 
summa 
cum laude, went to medical school at UC San Diego, and became a doctor 
of 
internal medicine. Last year, he made partner with the Southern 
California 
Permanente Medical Group in Anaheim.

The family bears all the marks of an American success story. Wijdan 
drives 
the Sienna minivan; he drives a Lexus. Their abode is a perfectly kept, 
3,200-square-foot expanse with soaring ceilings, skylights and a 
marbled 
entryway with stunning city views in an Orange County neighborhood of 
$500,000 homes. The yard bursts with color--impatiens, roses, fruit 
trees, 
all products of Wijdan's green thumb.

Plastic U.S. flags now adorn their front entrance and Riad's office.

At work, Riad appears to be a popular doctor, even with patients he 
meets 
for the first time…

The physician says the attacks have not caused him any problems at 
work; to 
the contrary, they have engendered support and sympathy for him. Eileen 
Simpson, a nurse practitioner at Riad's medical clinic in Anaheim, says 
one 
of her first thoughts after the attack was of her friend's safety and 
her 
fear of a "backlash, big time" against him and other Muslims.

Simpson says the physician has been a good-humored professional mentor 
who 
has reshaped her views of Muslims. Before, she said, "I thought they 
were a 
radical group of people who wanted to kill Americans." Now she says she 
sees Muslims as simply average Americans.

"We need more people like him in the Islamic community to enlighten 
us," 
Simpson says.

Riad spends most of his hours outside his busy medical practice engaged 
in 
Muslim community activities. His first visit to Palestine in 1986 was a 
turning point, he says. As a UCLA student in psychobiology, he began 
organizing lectures and other events on the Palestinian-Israeli 
conflict…

He also writes and speaks on American Muslim affairs, trying to 
demystify 
the faith for the broader public.

In these days of terror, that activist role has landed him on the FBI's 
radar screen. On Sunday, as he was downing Chicken McNuggets at home, 
two 
FBI agents knocked on the door.

"I'm a confident person, but my voice cracked talking to them," he 
said.

He asked the agents to meet him the next evening at the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations' Anaheim office. The agents never showed up. 
The 
rendezvous was rescheduled for Tuesday at the Tustin Marketplace 
shopping 
center. This time, FBI special agents Jeffrey Palumbo and George 
Krumpotich 
were there, conspicuous in their dress shirts, ties and sunglasses.

They questioned him for an hour. Riad later says they asked about his 
political views: "Are we the bad guys in all this?" Riad says he told 
them 
that he condemns the terrorism and wants the perpetrators brought to 
justice but that American "one-sided, unconditional, blind support of 
Israel" is fueling widespread resentment in the Mideast against the 
United 
States…

-----

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http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----




Forwarded Message

Date: Mon, 06 May 2002 13:07:37 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: At $3,100 an Hour, Solidarity Has Wings

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 5/6/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: REMEMBERING GOD
* GO TO THE LATEST CAIR ACTION ALERTS
* AT $3,100 AN HOUR, SOLIDARITY HAS WINGS (Washington Post)
* CALIF. NEWS CONFERENCE IN SUPPORT OF U.S. PHYSICIAN DETAINED BY 
ISRAELIS
* KINDER-USA DEMANDS RELEASE OF AMERICANS DETAINED BY ISRAELI FORCES
* IN MICHIGAN, ANTI-TERRORISM EFFORT GOES PUBLIC (Washington Post)
* CHRISTIANS SPEED EXODUS FROM BETHLEHEM (Washington Post)
* ISRAEL, PATRIOTISM AND THE BIG WHAT NEXT (San Francisco Chronicle)
* MUSLIMS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT FORM NEW GROUP (Washington Times)
* EDITORIAL: LIBERTY VS. SECURITY (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
* SHOWDOWN WITH SHARON (Antiwar.com)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: REMEMBERING GOD

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) narrated: "God says: 'I am to 
my 
servant as he expects of Me, I am with him when he remembers Me. If he 
remembers Me in his heart, I remember him to Myself, and if he 
remembers me 
in an assembly, I mention him in an assembly better than his...and if 
he 
comes to me walking, I rush to him at [great] speed.'"

Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 4, Number 99

-----

FOR THE LATEST CAIR ACTION ALERTS, GO TO: http://capwiz.com/cair/home/

-----

AT $3,100 AN HOUR, SOLIDARITY HAS WINGS
By Al Kamen, The Washington Post, 5/6/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37400-2002May5.html

When congressional delegations (aka codels) travel overseas, the usual 
justifications involve fact-finding or attending diplomatic events. So 
it 
was a bit unusual last week to see Reps. Peter Deutsch (D-Fla.) and 
Jack 
Kingston (R-Ga.) announce a codel to "show solidarity with Israel."

Early press accounts had Deutsch saying it was "not a diplomatic 
mission" 
and meeting with senior Israelis was not the goal and there would be no 
visits to areas controlled by the Palestinians.

Congressional resolutions of support for Israel last week apparently 
didn't 
go far enough. No, a better way to show solidarity is to find a bunch 
of 
members, get a military plane, a security team and a few aides and fly 
over 
there for a long weekend.

The two lawmakers, joined by Reps. Joseph M. Hoeffel III (D-Pa.) and 
Jim 
Saxton (R-Pa.), left Thursday (due back today) to go to hospitals and 
visit 
Israelis and Israeli Arabs injured in the conflict, a Deutsch aide 
said. 
The aide added that meetings with Israeli leaders had indeed been 
scheduled.

Many more members were interested in going, we were told, but some had 
scheduling problems and the only plane available was one of those 
smaller 
Gulfstream beauties. Too bad. The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, no doubt 
just 
sitting around with nothing to do these days, would have loved taking 
care 
of a much larger group. The Gulfstream only costs about $3,100 an hour 
to 
fly over.

ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)

Contact the elected representatives who spent $3,100 per hour of 
American 
tax dollars to offer blind support to a brutal foreign government.

CONTACT: (Calls are most effective.)

Rep. Peter Deutsch (D-FL)
2421 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0920

Phone: (202) 225-7931
Fax: (202) 225-8456
Main District Office:
Phone: (954) 437-3936
Fax: (954) 437-4776

E-mail: fl20townhall@mail.house.gov
Copy to: cair@cair-net.org
Web Site: www.house.gov/deutsch

--

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-PA)
1034 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1001

Phone: (202) 225-5831
Fax: (202) 226-2269
Main District Office:
Phone: (912) 352-0101
Fax: (912) 352-0105

E-mail: jack.kingston@mail.house.gov
Copy to: cair@cair-net.org
Web Site: www.house.gov/kingston

--

Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel III (D-PA)
1229 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3813

Phone: (202) 225-6111
Fax: (202) 226-0611
Main District Office:
Phone: (610) 272-8400
Fax: (610) 272-8532

Web Site: www.house.gov/hoeffel
E-mail: http://www.house.gov/hoeffel/letstalk.htm
Copy to: cair@cair-net.org

--

Rep. Jim Saxton (R-PA)
339 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3003

Phone: (202) 225-4765
Fax: (202) 225-0778
Main District Office:
Phone: (609) 261-5800
Fax: (609) 261-1275

Web Site: www.house.gov/saxton
E-mail: jim.saxton@mail.house.gov
Copy to: cair@cair-net.org

-----

                         - MEDIA ADVISORY -

CALIF. NEWS CONFERENCE IN SUPPORT OF U.S. PHYSICIAN DETAINED BY 
ISRAELIS

WHAT: New conference in support of American physician from Orange 
County, 
California, who was visiting the Occupied Territories on a fact-finding 
mission for a medical relief organization and has been detained by 
Israeli 
authorities after reporting on the death and destruction he witnessed 
in 
the Jenin refugee camp.

WHEN: Monday, May 6, 2002 at 11 a.m.

WHERE: 3255 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 603, Los Angeles, CA 90015

CONTACT: Sabiha Khan - 714-776-1847 or 714-390-0334 (Cell)

NOTE: This press conference is jointly sponsored by the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, Southern California (CAIR-LA) and the 
Muslim
Public Affairs Council (MPAC).

-----

KINDER-USA
Kids in Need of Development, Education and Relief

For Immediate Release
Contact: Dr. Basil Abdel Karim (310) 493-8055

KINDER-USA DEMANDS IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF TWO AMERICANS DETAINED BY 
ISRAELI 
FORCES

As part of an ongoing campaign to block humanitarian assistance to the 
Palestinians, Israeli forces this weekend detained two board members of 
KinderUSA, a non-profit relief organization based in the United States. 
The 
detainees are American-born US citizens. At the time of this release, 
Israeli authorities have denied them access to US consular or embassy 
officials.

Dr. Riad Abdel Karim, a southern California physician and President of 
the 
Board of Directors of KinderUSA, had just finished a fact-finding 
mission 
with the International Medical Corps, which was conducting a 
needs-assessment of medical services available to Palestinians in the 
West 
Bank.

Dalell Mohamed, Executive Director of KinderUSA, had just arrived in 
Jerusalem to begin distribution of badly needed food, water and 
blankets to 
Palestinian refugees recently affected by Israeli attacks throughout 
the 
West Bank.

These arrests are further evidence of continued egregious human rights 
violations by the Israeli government which denies the basic needs of 
the 
civilian Palestinian population by barring humanitarian aid under the 
guise 
of fighting terrorism.  By harassing and arresting humanitarian aid 
workers, Israeli authorities are engaged in a chilling attempt to 
terrify 
and intimidate Americans and others to prevent them from providing 
relief 
to Palestinians living under occupation.

As an American organization, we demand that the Government of the 
United 
States:

* Order the immediate release of Dr. Abdel Karim and Ms. Mohamed from 
Israeli detention.
* Obtain guarantees from the government of Israel for immediate and 
safe 
passage for humanitarian aid workers in the Occupied Territories in 
accordance with international law.
* Demand transparency and accountability from Israeli authorities for 
the 
unlawful arrest of American citizens who must be entitled to unhindered 
access to legal representatives and American officials.

KinderUSA is a non-profit, legally registered American organization 
dedicated to providing relief and development assistance to Palestinian 
children and their families, regardless of religious background.  For 
more 
information, see our website at www.kinderusa.org

KinderUSA, 264 Arapaho, Suite 711, Dallas, Texas  75248-4005

-----

IN MICHIGAN, ANTI-TERRORISM EFFORT GOES PUBLIC
Haddad Case Forces Rare Glimpse of Secret U.S. Campaign
By Dan Eggen and Kari Lydersen, The Washington Post, 5/6/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37210-2002May5.html

When three immigration agents knocked on his apartment door in Ann 
Arbor, 
Mich., in December, Rabih Haddad already had his attorney on the phone.

Earlier on Dec. 14, federal agents raided the Illinois offices of the 
Global Relief Foundation, the Islamic charity that Haddad had helped 
found, 
freezing its assets and accusing it of funding terrorists. That 
afternoon, 
they took him into custody. Haddad, 41, has been in jail ever since.

In court papers, U.S. officials have accused him of having contact with 
groups and individuals associated with the al Qaeda terrorist network. 
But 
they have not charged him with a terrorism-related crime, and they have 
declined to provide details of the allegations to him or to his legal 
team. 
They have held him on the comparatively minor charge of overstaying his 
visa.

Haddad's attorneys and supporters, including Rep. John Conyers Jr. 
(D-Mich.), say he is a gentle man, a Muslim who has worked to bring 
together people of different faiths. They say he is a victim of an 
overzealous Justice Department that has targeted innocent Arab and 
Muslim 
men since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Haddad's case is like those of hundreds of other post-Sept. 11 
detainees, 
except in one important aspect: At least part of his fight is being 
waged 
in public. Last month, federal judges ordered that documents and 
hearing 
transcripts from Haddad's immigration case be made public. When the 
Justice 
Department reluctantly complied, Haddad's case became the first of the 
Sept. 11-related prosecutions to be unsealed...

------

CHRISTIANS SPEED EXODUS FROM BETHLEHEM
By Doug Struck, The Washington Post, 5/6/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37498-2002May5.html

BETHLEHEM, West Bank, May 5 - Grace and Maher Handal met in the Church 
of 
the Nativity. They were married there. Their twins were christened 
there. 
They gave up an opportunity to move to the United States and stayed in 
Bethlehem, where the church is so central to their lives.

But today, their Easter, they have had enough. With a ring of Israeli 
tanks 
keeping them out of the church compound, their livelihood lost to an 
Israeli military curfew and their children confined to their house for 
a 
month by the siege, they are desperate to leave the Holy Land. "I want 
to 
live a normal life, where my children are not afraid," said Grace 
Handal, 
27. "Where shells don't go over our house and tanks don't come into our 
yard. My kids used to draw pictures of birds. Now they draw tanks..."

Even before tonight's announcement of an agreement to end the standoff 
around the church, Christian leaders worried that the hardships of the 
past 
month would accelerate an exodus that has shrunk the last Christian 
enclaves in the places where Jesus is believed to have been born, 
preached 
and died...

Bethlehem was once said to be 98 percent Christian. Now Christians are 
a 
minority in the Palestinian-ruled town, as well as in the Israeli city 
of 
Nazareth, and reduced to a few thousand in Jerusalem. The long Israeli 
occupation of Palestinian territories, with its economy-strangling 
curfews 
and border closures, and an underlying tension with Muslims, have all 
fed 
the outflow...

Accurate census numbers do not exist, but in the early 1900s, 
Christians 
were thought to make up about 20 percent of the population of what is 
now 
Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Now they are less than 2 
percent, 
according to Charles Sennott, author of "The Body and the Blood," a 
book 
about Christian flight from the Holy Land. "It is indisputable that the 
Christian presence has dwindled dramatically," Sennott wrote...

-----

ISRAEL, PATRIOTISM AND THE BIG WHAT NEXT
By JON CARROLL, The San Francisco Chronicle, 5/6/02
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/05/06/DD93586.DTL 


IT IS POSSIBLE to be a patriotic American and still be against the 
policies 
of the current government of Israel. I'm not sure that point gets made 
enough. Hell, it is possible to be a patriotic American and to be 
against 
the state of Israel as an idea.

American interests are not Israeli interests. Israeli interests are not 
American interests. Two different countries. Allies, friends, whatever, 
but 
different.

Likewise, it is possible to be Jewish and to be against the policies of 
the 
current government of Israel. The current government of Israel does not 
reflect the views of all Jews. Being against the policies of the 
current 
government of Israel does not make one an anti-Semite...

-----

MUSLIMS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT FORM NEW GROUP
By J.A. Brown, The Washington Times, 5/6/02
http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2002-04-10/367.asp

A group of Muslim police and correction officers in New York has formed 
a 
group to improve relations between the community and police as the 
country 
continues to confront the impact of the terrorist attacks more than six 
months ago.

Its founders want the group, the American Muslim Law Enforcement 
Officers 
Association, believed to be the first such national organization, to 
serve 
the double purpose of improving police effectiveness and reassuring the 
Muslim community.

"We are a communication bridge," said Officer Adil Almontaser, 27, a 
Yemeni-American who grew up in Brooklyn and joined the New York Police 
Department five years ago. "We wanted to show the community we are 
here. We 
want them to realize it and feel proud. They don't have to feel afraid 
or 
feel intimidated."

Although the organization, formed in December, has not begun formally 
recruiting yet, Almontaser and the five other founding members estimate 
there are around 200 Muslims working in law enforcement in New York and 
4,000 nationwide -- as everything from FBI agents to correction 
officers...

-----

EDITORIAL: LIBERTY VS. SECURITY
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/6/02
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/Editorial/D55859D2D7A0390586256BB100406A97

IN this country, we don't imprison people unless there is evidence they 
committed a crime. We don't hold detention hearings behind closed 
doors. We 
don't imprison people for crimes they might commit in the future. All 
these 
things are fundamental.

Yet since Sept. 11, Attorney General John D. Ashcroft has used the 
federal 
material witness law in exactly those ways, locking up two dozen 
people. 
Last week, a federal judge in New York called Mr. Ashcroft's tactics 
"illegitimate..."

But even if Mr. Ashcroft's use of the law was justified in the first 
confusing days after Sept. 11, it certainly has been abused since. 
Consider 
the case of Abdallah Higazy, an Egyptian-born student who was arrested 
as a 
material witness on Dec. 17 when he returned to a hotel near the World 
Trade Center to retrieve possessions left behind on Sept. 11. The FBI 
confronted him with a ground-to-air radio found at the hotel.

After three weeks of detention, Mr. Higazy seemed to confess and was 
charged with interfering with an investigation. But a few days later, 
another hotel guest claimed the radio. The government released Mr. 
Higazy 
in prison garb and with a $3 subway fare.

Compounding these abuses is the secrecy that has shrouded the use of 
the 
law. The Justice Department won't say how many people have been held as 
material witnesses. Nor are the court proceedings involving material 
witnesses open to the public.

We all want to be safe, but in this country, we hold certain values 
fundamental. The Justice Department's tactics are fundamentally wrong.

-----

SHOWDOWN WITH SHARON
By Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/justincol.html

Who runs US foreign policy? We'll soon find out....

Who runs America's foreign policy? The answer to this vexing question 
seems 
to vary, depending on the day of the week - which could mean it has 
something to do with the position of the Moon. Some days, it's Colin 
Powell 
over at the State Department. Other times, control is ceded to the 
super-hawks in the Defense Department. And, on occasion, it seems no 
one is 
at the helm, with different factions of the government each enunciating 
their own foreign policy, giving the odd impression of an 
administration 
talking out of both sides of its mouth...

The recent turn in US policy, away from unconditional support for the 
Sharon's policies, and toward a more even-handed position, is a 
gauntlet 
thrown in Sharon's path - and he did not hesitate to take up the 
challenge. 
A showdown is imminent. General Sharon has mustered his troops - 
especially 
the brigade stationed in Washington, D.C. - and I hope George W. Bush 
is 
prepared for the all-out assault, because it is going to be 
merciless...

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----




Forwarded Message

Date: Mon, 06 May 2002 21:49:47 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: U.S. Gov. Must Protect Americans From Illegal Israeli Detentions

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

MPAC, CAIR & AMJ Call on U.S. Government to Protect Americans from 
Illegal 
Israeli Detentions

Joint Action Alert: MPAC, CAIR and AMJ

May 6, 2002

U.S. Government Must Protect Americans from Illegal Israeli Detentions

ACTION: Call and Write Undersecretary of State William Burns, 
Congressman 
Christopher Cox, and Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson and urge that 
they 
put pressure on Israel to release innocent Americans from Israeli 
prisons 
and detention facilities.

As members of Congress who represent Dr. Riad Abdelkarim and Dallel 
Mohamed, Representatives Cox and Johnson can and should weigh in to 
ensure 
that their constituents are not being abused by a foreign government. 
Please call their offices and urge them to do so.

Undersecretary of State William Burns

Phone: (202) 647-5150
E-mail: askpublicaffairs@state.gov
2201 C St. NW Rm 6242
Washington, DC 20520

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) (Dallel Mohamed's
Congresswoman)

Washington office:
Phone: (202) 225-8885
Fax: (202) 226-1477
E-mail: rep.e.b.johnson@mail.house.gov
1511 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4330

Texas Office:
Phone: (214) 922-8885
Fax: (214) 922-7028
2501 Cedar Springs Rd., # 550
Dallas, TX 75201

Congressman Christopher Cox (R-CA) (Riad Abdelkarim's
Congressman)

Washington Office:
Phone: (202) 225-5611
Fax: (202) 225-9177
E-mail: christopher.cox@mail.house.gov
2402 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0547

Main District Office:
Phone: (949) 756-2244
Fax: (949) 251-9309
One Newport Place, # 420
Newport Beach, CA 92660

CC:

President George Bush
E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
Phone: (202) 456-1414
Fax: (202) 456-2461
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Colin Powell, Secretary of State
E-Mail: secretary@state.gov
Phone: (202) 647-4000
Fax: (202) 261-8577
2201 C St NW
Washington, DC 20520

Muslim Public Affairs Council
Phone: (213) 383-3443
Fax: (213) 383-9674
Contact: Sarah Eltantawi
E-mail: sarah@mpac.org

Council of American Islamic Relations

Contact: Ibrahim Hooper
Phone: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
Email: cair@cair-net.org

American Muslims for Jerusalem
Phone: (202) 548-4200
Fax: (202) 548-4201
E-mail: amj@amjerusalem.org

May 6, 2002

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), the Council on 
American-Islamic 
Relations (CAIR) and American Muslims for Jerusalem (AMJ) are asking 
all 
American Muslims and people of conscience to take the time now to hold 
the U.S.
Government accountable for the safety and security of American 
citizens.

In a shocking assault on International standards protecting medical 
relief 
workers, Israeli authorities have detained without charge several 
high-profile Americans, sometimes in conditions of solitary 
confinement, 
for no reason other than their relief work and peaceful activism on 
behalf 
of besieged Palestinians.

In a packed press conference today at the Muslim Public Affairs Council 
in 
Los Angeles, American Jewish activist Adam Shapiro, who made 
international 
headlines when his peace group in the West Bank spent several days in 
Yassir Arafat's compound, detailed human rights abuses he personally 
witnessed in the Jenin refugee camp. Shapiro also told the story of his 
fiancé, Huwaida Arraf, and a British activist, who are currently 
detained 
by the Israeli authorities outside Tel Aviv with no charges against 
them.

According to Shapiro, when Ms. Arraf asked the Israeli authorities why 
several international citizens were being detained and dropped off in 
the 
middle of the night without identification or cellular phones (these 
were 
confiscated by the Israelis) on the outskirts of Jerusalem, she was met 
with a "hard slap". Shapiro, whose wedding was scheduled for later this 
month, has found the American consulate and embassy in Israel to be 
"slow 
to respond and not sufficiently following up on these cases."

Executive Director of MPAC Salam Al-Marayati then detailed the breaking 
story of highly respected American Muslim activist Dr. Riad Abdelkarim 
of 
Orange County, CA, and Dallel Mohammed of Richardson, TX. Dr. 
Abdelkarim 
and Ms. Mohammed were detained this weekend at Ben Gurion Airport and 
have 
now been transferred to a prison on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. 
Abdelkarim 
was detained as he was returning to the United States after witnessing 
the 
devastation caused by Israeli forces in the Jenin refugee camp, details 
of 
which he reported extensively on the internet.

According to a statement from Dr. Abdelkarim's family, "Riad has been 
denied access to an attorney, and he has not been allowed to contact 
his 
family. At this time, our family is shaken and frightened by this 
incident. 
Riad's four children are traumatized and are asking for their father. 
Again, we demand Riad's immediate release and request that U.S. 
government 
officials take steps to protect Riad as an American citizen who was 
born 
and bred in Santa Monica and the South Bay area."

Americans must rise and demand that our government protect our citizens 
against Israel's illegal detentions, not only of Palestinians they 
imprison 
in a system of apartheid, but now against American citizens whose 
relief 
work on behalf of Palestinian orphans is not to their liking. Our 
government, particularly in the halls of Congress, must stop its 
shameful 
displays of blind support for any and all of Israel's excesses, 
including 
the assault and detention of innocent Americans. Enough is enough. Call 
the 
above governmental representatives now and urge them to demand the 
immediate release of these Americans and all Americans unlawfully 
detained 
by the State of Israel.

-----

SEE ALSO:

ISRAEL ARRESTS TWO AMERICANS ASSOCIATED WITH RELIEF GROUPS
The Associated Press, 5/6/02

WASHINGTON - Israeli authorities have arrested two Americans affiliated 
with relief organizations, including a Muslim commentator who recently 
described by telephone and in e-mails the destruction he saw in Jenin, 
a 
supporter said Monday.

Riad Abdelkarim, a physician from the Los Angeles area, was detained 
Sunday 
at Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport while trying to return to 
the 
United States, said Khalid Turaani of the Washington-based American 
Muslims 
for Jerusalem. Israeli authorities called his wife in California on 
Sunday 
and urged her to hire an attorney, Turaani said.

Abdelkarim, who has written opinion pieces on Muslim issues for major 
U.S. 
newspapers, serves on the board of American Muslims for Jerusalem and 
chairman of a new charity, Kinder-USA, organized to provide aid to 
Palestinian children. Abdelkarim also is the Western region 
communications 
director for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic 
Relations.

The other person arrested during the weekend was Dallal Muhammad of 
Dallas, 
Texas, Turaani said. Ms. Muhammad is president of the Kinder-USA 
organization, he said.

The U.S. State Department could not confirm the arrests, an official 
said. 
But a U.S. diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, 
confirmed 
the arrests and said consular officials in Israel were being given 
proper 
access.

Turaani said Abdelkarim was touring damaged areas in Jenin with 
International Medical Corps, a relief organization based in Los 
Angeles. 
Abdelkarim's family traces its history to a village near Ramallah, 
where 
Israeli troops kept Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in isolation for 
weeks 
during their incursion into Palestinian areas…

---

GROUP SEEKS RELEASE OF CALIF. MUSLIM HELD IN ISRAEL
By Sarah Tippit, Reuters, 5/6/02

LOS ANGELES, May 6 (Reuters) - A California Islamic group said on 
Monday 
that a Muslim-American doctor has been jailed in Israel after 
conducting a 
fact-finding mission for a medical relief organization in the 
Palestinian 
Jenin refugee camp.

The Southern California chapter of the Washington, D.C.-based Council 
on 
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said that Dr. Riad Abdelkarim, who 
has a 
practice in Anaheim, California, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Los 
Angeles, was detained at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport over the weekend 
and 
later transferred to a Tel Aviv jail.

CAIR said that his arrest allegedly occurred after he reported in an 
e-mail 
to relatives that he saw "death and destruction" in the West Bank camp 
that 
had been under siege by Israeli army troops seeking to root out alleged 
terrorist networks and suicide bombers.

CAIR, which said it did not know what he had been charged with or why 
he 
was detained, asked U.S. officials to demand Abdelkarim's immediate 
release 
to "prevent the Israelis from torturing him." A CAIR official said 
later 
that U.S. diplomatic officials had told the group that he was in good 
condition.

Abdelkarim was working for the Los Angeles-based International Medical 
Corps, a nonprofit organization that supports relief programs in 
strife-torn countries, including Angola, Burundi and Serbia, CAIR said. 
A 
Medical Corps spokesman confirmed that Abdelkarim worked with the group 
but 
had no other details.
A medical colleague traveling with Abdelkarim was held and later 
released 
by Israeli authorities, CAIR said…

A warning to U.S. citizens traveling in the West Bank posted on the 
U.S. 
State Department's Web site said that U.S. citizens arrested in Israel 
on 
alleged security offenses "may be prevented from communicating with 
lawyers, family members, or consular officers for lengthy periods. The 
U.S. 
Consulate General and the Embassy are often not notified of such 
arrests, 
or are not notified in a timely manner…"

-----

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To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----




Forwarded Message

Date: Tue, 07 May 2002 14:09:44 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: The Israeli "Art Student" Mystery

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 5/7/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: A WAY OUT OF DISTRESS
* THE LATEST CAIR ACTION ALERTS
* PROTEST ARIEL SHARON'S VISIT TO THE WHITE HOUSE
* EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AT CAIR: CIVIL RIGHTS COORDINATOR
* THE ISRAELI "ART STUDENT" MYSTERY (Salon.com)
* CONGRESSMEN TELL FOREIGN GOVERMENT TO REBUFF PRESIDENT (Jerusalem 
Post)
* HELP THE VICTIMS OF ETHNIC CARNAGE IN GUJARAT
* MEDIA COVERAGE OF ISRAEL'S ARREST OF TWO AMERICAN RELIEF WORKERS
         - Israelis arrest two Americans associated with relief groups 
(AP)
         - Dallas woman arrested in Jerusalem hotel (Star-Telegram)
         - O.C. doctor held in Israel (Orange County Register)
         - US Muslim group claims Israel arrested American doctor (AFP)
         - Israel arrests 2 Americans (Dallas Morning News)
         - California doctor one of 3 Americans detained (City News 
Service)
         - Israeli Detention of 2 Americans Questioned (Los Angeles 
Times)
* LETTERS: CIVIL LIBERTIES INCLUDE MUSLIMS (Patriot News)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: A WAY OUT OF DISTRESS

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "If anyone continually 
asks 
pardon, God will appoint for him a way out of every distress, and a 
relief 
from every anxiety, and will provide for him from where he did not 
reckon."

Abu Dawood, Hadith 599

-----

FOR THE LATEST CAIR ACTION ALERTS, GO TO: http://capwiz.com/cair/home/

-----

PROTEST ARIEL SHARON'S VISIT TO THE WHITE HOUSE

WHEN: Tuesday, May 7, 4-7 p.m.

WHERE: Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street at the White House

-----

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AT CAIR: CIVIL RIGHTS COORDINATOR

CAIR has an immediate opening for an experienced, dynamic person to 
fill 
the position of CIVIL RIGHTS COORDINATOR. This position involves 
handling 
of civil rights cases, researching issues pertaining to civil and 
religious 
rights in America and maintaining a civil rights database system.

The successful candidate should have a bachelor's degree in a related 
field, with general knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and the Civil 
Rights 
Act of 1964. He or she should be proficient in spreadsheet and database 
applications and must be able to communicate effectively, both verbally 
and 
in writing. Some travel is required in this position.

Salary Range: Based on education, skills and experience
CAIR offers an excellent health and dental benefit for its full time 
employees.

All those interested and eligible to work in U.S. (Citizens or proper 
work 
visa holders) are encouraged to apply in confidence via email to: 
jsalaam@cair-net.org or by fax to 202-488-0833. When applying via email 
please ensure to write the position title "Civil Rights Coordinator" in 
the 
subject of the email.

-----

THE ISRAELI "ART STUDENT" MYSTERY
By Christopher Ketcham, Salon.com, 5/7/02
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2002/05/07/students/index_np.html

HIGHLIGHT: For almost two years, hundreds of young Israelis falsely 
claiming to be art students haunted federal offices -- in particular, 
the 
DEA. No one knows why -- and no one seems to want to find out.

In January 2001, the security branch of the U.S. Drug Enforcement 
Agency 
began to receive a number of peculiar reports from DEA field offices 
across 
the country. According to the reports, young Israelis claiming to be 
art 
students and offering artwork for sale had been attempting to penetrate 
DEA 
offices for over a year. The Israelis had also attempted to penetrate 
the 
offices of other law enforcement and Department of Defense agencies. 
Strangest of all, the "students" had visited the homes of numerous DEA 
officers and other senior federal officials.

As a pattern slowly emerged, the DEA appeared to have been targeted in 
what 
it called an "organized intelligence gathering activity." But to what 
end, 
and for whom, no one knew.

Reports of the mysterious Israelis with an inexplicable interest in 
peddling art to G-men came in from more than 40 U.S. cities and 
continued 
throughout the first six months of 2001. Agents of the DEA, ATF, Air 
Force, 
Secret Service, FBI, and U.S. Marshals Service documented some 130 
separate 
incidents of "art student" encounters. Some of the Israelis were 
observed 
diagramming the inside of federal buildings. Some were found carrying 
photographs they had taken of federal agents. One was discovered with a 
computer printout in his luggage that referred to "DEA groups."

In some cases, the Israelis visited locations not known to the public 
-- 
areas without street addresses, for example, or DEA offices not 
identified 
as such -- leading authorities to suspect that information had been 
gathered from prior surveillance or perhaps electronically, from credit 
cards and other sources. One Israeli was discovered holding banking 
receipts for substantial sums of money, close to $180,000 in 
withdrawals 
and deposits over a two-month period. A number of the Israelis resided 
for 
a period of time in Hollywood, Fla. -- the small city where Mohammed 
Atta 
and three terrorist comrades lived for a time before Sept. 11...

According to one account, some 140 Israeli nationals were detained or 
arrested between March 2001 and Sept. 11, 2001. Many of them were 
deported. 
According to the INS, the deportations resulted from violations of 
student 
visas that forbade the Israelis from working in the United States. (In 
fact, Salon has established that none of the Israelis were enrolled in 
the 
art school most of them claimed to be attending; the other college they 
claimed to be enrolled in does not exist.) After the Sept. 11 attacks, 
many 
more young Israelis -- 60, according to one AP dispatch and other 
reports 
-- were detained and deported.

The "art students" followed a predictable modus operandi. They 
generally 
worked in teams, typically consisting of a driver, who was the team 
leader, 
and three or four subordinates. The driver would drop the "salespeople" 
off 
at a given location and return to pick them up some hours later. The 
"salespeople" entered offices or approached agents in their offices or 
homes. Sometimes they pitched their artwork -- landscapes, abstract 
works, 
homemade pins and other items they carried about in portfolios. At 
other 
times, they simply attempted to engage agents in conversation.

If asked about their studies, they generally said they were from the 
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem or the University of 
Jerusalem (which does not exist). They were described as "aggressive" 
in 
their sales pitch and "evasive" when questioned by wary agents. The 
females 
among them were invariably described as "very attractive" -- "blondes 
in 
tight shorts or jeans, real lookers," as one DEA agent put it to Salon. 
"They were flirty, flipping the hair, looking at you, smiling. 'Hey, 
how 
are you? Let me show you this.'
Everything a woman would do if she wanted to get something out of you."

Some agents noted that the "students" made repeated attempts to avoid 
facility security personnel by trying to enter federal buildings 
through 
back doors and side entrances. On several occasions, suspicious agents 
who 
had been visited at home observed the Israelis after the "students" 
departed and noted that they did not approach any of the neighbors...

On the face of it, this was a blockbuster tale, albeit a bizarre and 
cryptic one, full of indeterminate leads and fascinating implications 
and 
ambiguous answers: "Like a good Clancy novel," as one observer put it. 
Was 
it espionage? Drug dealing? An intelligence game? The world's wackiest 
door-to-door hustle?

Yet the mainstream media has almost entirely ignored the allegations or 
accepted official "explanations" that explain nothing. Even before the 
DEA 
memo was leaked, however, some reporters had begun sniffing around the 
remarkable story.

On Oct. 1 of last year, Texas newswoman Anna Werner, of KHOU-TV in 
Houston, 
told viewers about a "curious pattern of behavior" by people with 
"Middle 
Eastern looks" claiming to be Israeli art students. "Government guards 
have 
found those so-called students," reported Werner, "trying to get into 
secure federal facilities in Houston in ways they're not supposed to -- 
through back doors and parking garages." Federal agents, she said, were 
extremely "concerned."

The "students" had showed up at the DEA's Houston headquarters, at the 
Leland Federal Building in Houston, and even the federal prosecutor's 
office; they had also appeared to be monitoring the buildings. Guards 
at 
the Earle Cabell Federal Building in Dallas found one "student" 
wandering 
the halls with a floor plan of the site. Sources told Werner that 
similar 
incidents had occurred at sites in New York, Florida, and six other 
states, 
"and even more worrisome, at 36 sensitive Department of Defense 
sites..."

Post-9/11, this should have been the opening thrust in an orgy of 
coverage, 
and the scoop of a lifetime for Werner: Here she'd gotten a glimpse 
into a 
possible espionage ring of massive proportions, possibly of terrorists 
scouting new targets for jihad -- and those terrorists were possibly 
posing 
as Israelis. KHOU's conclusions were wrong -- these weren't Arab 
terrorists 
-- but at the time no one knew better. And yet the story died on the 
vine. 
No one followed up.

Just about the same time that KHOU was stabbing in the dark, reporter 
Carl 
Cameron of the Fox News Channel was beginning an investigation into the 
mystery of the art students that would ultimately light the way into 
altogether different terrain. In a four-part series on Fox's "Special 
Report With Brit Hume" that aired in mid-December, Cameron reported 
that 
federal agents were investigating the "art student" phenomenon as a 
possible arm of Israeli espionage operations tracking al-Qaida 
operatives 
in the United States.

Yes, you read that right: a spy ring that may have been trailing 
al-Qaida 
members in the weeks and months before Sept. 11 -- a spy ring that 
according to Cameron's sources may have known about the preparations 
for 
the Sept. 11 attacks but failed to share this knowledge with U.S. 
intelligence. One investigator told Cameron that "evidence linking 
these 
Israelis to 9/11 is classified. I cannot tell you about evidence that 
has 
been gathered. It's classified information."

According to Cameron, some 60 Israeli nationals had been detained in 
the 
anti-terrorism/immigrant sweeps in the weeks after Sept. 11, and at 
least 
140 Israelis identified as "art students" had been detained or arrested 
in 
the prior months. Most of the 60 detained after Sept. 11 had been 
deported, 
Cameron said. "Some of the detainees," reported Cameron, "failed 
polygraph 
questions when asked about alleged surveillance activities against and 
in 
the United States."

Some of them were on active military duty. (Military service is 
compulsory 
for all young Israelis.) Cameron was careful to note that there was "no 
indication that the Israelis were involved in the 9/11 attacks" and 
that 
while his reporting had dug up "explosive information," none of it was 
necessarily conclusive. Cameron was simply airing the wide-ranging 
speculations in an ongoing investigation...

But inside the DEA, the Fox piece reverberated. An internal DEA 
communique 
obtained by Salon indicates that the DEA made careful note of Cameron's 
reports; the communique even mentions Fox News by name. Dated Dec. 18, 
four 
days after the final installment in the Fox series, the document warns 
of 
security breaches in DEA telecommunications by unauthorized "foreign 
nationals" -- and cites an Israeli-owned firm with which the DEA 
contracted 
for wiretap equipment -- breaches that could have accounted for the 
access 
that the "art students" apparently had to the home addresses of agents.

It wasn't until nearly three months after the Fox reports that the "art 
student" enigma resurfaced in newsrooms, this time in Europe. On Feb. 
28, 
the respected Paris-based espionage newsletter Intelligence Online 
reported 
in detail on what turned out to have been one of Cameron's key source 
documents: the 60-page DEA memo. The memo itself, which Salon obtained 
in 
mid-March, went no further than to speculate in the most general terms 
that 
the "nature of the individuals' conduct" suggested some sort of 
"organized 
intelligence gathering activity."

The memo also pointed out that there was some evidence connecting the 
art 
students to a drug ring. "DEA Orlando has developed the first drug 
nexus to 
this group," the memo read. "Telephone numbers obtained from an Israeli 
Art 
Student encountered at the Orlando D.O. District Office have been 
linked to 
several ongoing DEA MDMA (Ecstasy) investigations in Florida, 
California, 
Texas and New York..."

Six of the "students" were apparently carrying cell phones purchased by 
a 
former Israeli vice consul to the United States. According to Le Monde, 
two 
of the "students" had traveled from Hamburg to Miami to visit an FBI 
agent 
in his home, then boarded a flight to Chicago and visited the home of a 
Justice Dept. agent, then hopped a direct flight to Toronto -- all in 
one day.

According to Intelligence Online, more than one-third of the students, 
who 
were spread out in 42 cities, lived in Florida, several in Hollywood 
and 
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- one-time home to at least 10 of the 19 Sept. 
11 
hijackers.

In at least one case, the students lived just a stone's throw from 
homes 
and apartments where the Sept. 11 terrorists resided: In Hollywood, 
several 
students lived at 4220 Sheridan St., just down the block from the 3389 
Sheridan St. apartment where terrorist mastermind Mohammed Atta holed 
up 
with three other Sept. 11 plotters. Many of the students, the DEA 
report 
noted, had backgrounds in Israeli military intelligence and/or 
electronics 
surveillance; one was the son of a two-star Israeli general, and 
another 
had served as a bodyguard to the head of the Israeli army...

To someone not familiar with the 60-page DEA memo, or to reporters who 
didn't bother to obtain it, the fact that a disgruntled employee leaked 
a 
memo he wrote himself might seem like decisive proof that the whole 
"art 
student" tale was a canard. In reality, the nature of the memo makes 
its 
authorship irrelevant. The memo is a compilation of field reports by 
dozens 
of named agents and officials from DEA offices across America. It 
contains 
the names, passport numbers, addresses, and in some cases the military 
ID 
numbers of the Israelis who were questioned by federal authorities. 
Pointing a finger at the author is like blaming a bank robbery on the 
desk 
sergeant who took down the names of the robbers.

Of course, the agent (or agents) who wrote the memo could also have 
fabricated or embellished the field reports. That does not seem to have 
been the case. Salon contacted more than a half-dozen agents identified 
in 
the memo. One agent said she had been visited six times at her home by 
"art 
students." None of the agents wished to be named, and very few were 
willing 
to speak at length, but all confirmed the veracity of the information.

Despite such obvious holes in the official story, neither the Post nor 
any 
other mainstream media organization ran follow-up articles. The New 
York 
Times has not yet deemed it worth covering -- in fact, the paper of 
record 
has not written about the art student mystery even once, not even to 
pooh-pooh it. One or two minor media players did some braying -- Israel 
had 
been caught spying, etc. ' and the bonko conspiracy fringe had a field 
day, 
but the rest of the media, taking a cue from the big boys, decided it 
was a 
nonstarter: the Post's "debunking" and the Times' silence had 
effectively 
killed the story.

So complete was the silence that by mid-March, Jane's Information 
Group, 
the respected British intelligence and military analysis service, 
noted: 
"It is rather strange that the U.S. media seems to be ignoring what may 
well be the most explosive story since the 11 September attacks -- the 
alleged break-up of a major Israeli espionage operation in the USA..."

In the case of Israel, there are far stronger reasons to hide any 
unseemly 
cracks in the special relationship. The powerful pro-Israel political 
constituencies in Congress; pro-Israel lobbies; the Bush 
administration's 
strong support for Israel, and its strategic and political interest in 
maintaining close ties with the Jewish state as a partner in the "war 
against terror"; the devastating consequences for U.S.-Israeli 
relations if 
it was suspected that Israeli agents might have known about the Sept. 
11 
attack -- all these factors explain why the U.S. government might 
publicly 
downplay the art student story and conceal any investigation that 
produces 
unpalatable results.

The pro-Israel lobby is a vast and powerful force in American politics; 
the 
American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, is the No. 1 
foreign-policy lobby and the fourth most powerful lobby in Washington, 
according to Fortune Magazine. Michael Lind, a senior fellow of the New 
America Foundation and a former executive editor of the National 
Interest, 
calls the Israel lobby "an ethnic donor machine" that "distorts U.S. 
foreign policy" in the Middle East...

Some of the same pressures that keep government officials from 
criticizing 
Israel may also explain why the media has failed to pursue the art 
student 
enigma. Media outlets that run stories even mildly critical of Israel 
often 
find themselves targeted by organized campaigns, including form-letter 
e-mails, the cancellation of subscriptions, and denunciations of the 
organization and its reporters and editors as anti-Semites...

The extreme sensitivity of the Israeli art student story in government 
circles was made clear to this reporter when, in the midst of my 
inquiries 
at DEA and elsewhere, I was told by a source that some unknown party 
had 
checked my records and background. He proved it by mentioning a job I 
had 
briefly held many years ago that virtually no one outside my family 
knew 
about.

Shortly after this, I received a call from an individual who identified 
himself only by the code name Stability. Stability said he was referred 
to 
me from "someone in Washington." That someone turned out to be a 
veteran 
D.C. correspondent who has close sources in the CIA and the FBI and who 
verified that Stability was a high-level intelligence agent who had 
been 
following the art student matter from the inside. Stability was guarded 
in 
his initial conversation with me.

He said that people in the intelligence committee were suspicious about 
my 
bona fides and raised the possibility that someone was "using" me. 
"Your 
name is known and has been known for quite a while," Stability said. 
"The 
problem is that you're going into a hornet's nest with this. It's a 
very 
difficult time in this particular area. This is a scenario where a lot 
of 
people are living a bunker mentality."

He added, "There are a lot of people under a lot of pressure right now 
because there's a great effort to discredit the story, discredit the 
connections, prevent people from going any further in investigating the 
matter. There are some very, very smart people who have taken a lot of 
heat 
on this -- have gone to what I would consider extraordinary risks to 
reach 
out. Quite frankly, there are a lot of patriots out there who'd like to 
remain alive. Typically, patriots are dead..."

"I will tell you that there is still great debate over what the art 
students' specific purposes were and are," Stability went on. "When you 
take an individual who picks up a group of individuals from an airport, 
individuals who supposedly have no idea what they're doing in-country, 
who 
fly on over from a foreign land, whose airline tickets could in some 
instances total a value greater than $15,000 -- and who get picked up 
at 
the airport and drive specifically to one individual's home, which they 
know the exact directions to: Yeah, you could say there's a problem 
here. 
You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand that. The 
overarching 
item is that a lot of work went into going to people's houses to sell 
them 
junk from China in plastic frames..."

So let's draw out the chaff ourselves and see if we can at least 
speculate. 
In intel circles, there are a number of working theories, according to 
Stability. "Profiling of federal agents is one," said Stability. 
"Keeping 
tabs on other people, other foreign nationals, is another. A third is 
that 
they were working for organized crime -- that's an easy one, and it 
almost 
sounds more like a cover than a reality. The predominant thought is 
that it 
was a profiling endeavour, and from a profiling aspect, also one of 
intimidation..."

That's where you enter truly dark territory: Theory No. 3, the Art 
Student 
as Agent as Art Student Smoke Screen. It has major problems, but let's 
roll 
with it for a moment. This theory contends that the art student ring 
was a 
smoke screen intended to create confusion and allow actual spies -- who 
were also posing as art students -- to be lumped together with the rest 
and 
escape detection.

In other words, the operation is an elaborate double fake-out, a 
hiding-in-plain-sight scam. Whoever dreamed it up thought ahead to the 
endgame and knew that the DEA-stakeout aspect was so bizarre that it 
would 
throw off American intelligence. According to this theory -- 
Stability's 
"Victor/Victoria" scenario -- Israeli agents wanted, let's say, to 
monitor 
al-Qaida members in Florida and other states. But they feared 
detection. So 
to provide cover, and also to create a dizzyingly Byzantine story that 
would confuse the situation, Israeli intel flooded areas of real 
operations 
with these bumbling "art students" -- who were told to deliberately 
stake 
out DEA agents...

What about the crucial Washington Post article, in which anonymous 
federal 
agents alleged the DEA memo was the work of a disgruntled employee?

"The Washington Post article was a plant -- that's obvious. The story 
was 
killed," Stability told me. Who planted the story? Stability claimed 
the 
FBI was behind it. "Every organization is running scared," Stability 
added, 
"because they're afraid of the next shoe to drop. There are many 
smoking 
guns out there, many. So consequently every one is at a level of 
heightened 
anxiety, and when they're anxious they make mistakes..."

-----

CONGRESSMEN TELL FOREIGN GOVERMENT TO REBUFF PRESIDENT

Visiting congressmen advise Israel to resist US administration pressure
By Arie O'sullivan, The Jerusalem Post, 5/6/02
http://www.jpost.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/Full&cid=1020337092750 


A visiting delegation of US congressmen believes that Prime Minister 
Ariel 
Sharon should rebuff attempts by the Bush administration for him to 
deal 
with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.

"Yasser Arafat is a terrorist. He is a leader of the terrorists. As a 
matter of fact he is a motivator of terrorism," said Jim Saxton (R-NJ). 
"If 
I were in [Sharon's] position, I would find someone else to talk to."

Another member of the bipartisan team, Joe Hoeffel (D-PA) said America 
needed to seek another leader of the Palestinian people.

"It is time for the United States to indicate that it would look for a 
different leadership in the Pales-tinian Authority and that we would 
welcome a leadership of the PA that would recognize Israel's 
fundamental 
right to exist as a Jewish state," Hoeffel said...

A member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Foreign 
Operation 
Sub-Committee which deals with foreign aid for Israel, Kingston said 
very 
many Americans don't understand how badly the Palestinians are 
violating 
the Oslo Accords.

Hoeffel, who is a member of the House International Relations 
Committee, 
said seeing the weapons made him feel as if Israel was engaged in a 
"second 
war of independence." "There should be no Yasser Arafat exception to 
that 
zero tolerance to terrorism rule," he said.

The four congressmen embarked to Israel after successfully working to 
push 
through a resolution pushing through a strongly worded resolution of 
solidarity for the Israeli government in Congress by a vote of 352-21 
with 
29 abstentions.

Hoeffel said that when he got back to Washington he would seek out 
those 21 
representatives who voted against the resolution, tell them about what 
he 
saw here, and try to win them over.

Saxton displayed a copy of the resolution to reporters which he said 
they 
wanted to "hand deliver" to the Israeli people.

ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)

Contact these elected representatives to let them know it is 
inappropriate 
to challenge the policies of their own president while on a 
taxpayer-funded 
junket to "pledge allegiance" to a foreign government.

The jet that carried the four representatives to the Middle East cost 
$3,100 per hour.

SEE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37400-2002May5.html

CONTACT: (Calls are most effective.)

Rep. Peter Deutsch (D-FL)
2421 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0920

Phone: (202) 225-7931
Fax: (202) 225-8456
Main District Office:
Phone: (954) 437-3936
Fax: (954) 437-4776

E-mail: fl20townhall@mail.house.gov
Copy to: cair@cair-net.org
Web Site: www.house.gov/deutsch

--

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-PA)
1034 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1001

Phone: (202) 225-5831
Fax: (202) 226-2269
Main District Office:
Phone: (912) 352-0101
Fax: (912) 352-0105

E-mail: jack.kingston@mail.house.gov
Copy to: cair@cair-net.org
Web Site: www.house.gov/kingston

--

Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel III (D-PA)
1229 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3813

Phone: (202) 225-6111
Fax: (202) 226-0611
Main District Office:
Phone: (610) 272-8400
Fax: (610) 272-8532

Web Site: www.house.gov/hoeffel
E-mail: http://www.house.gov/hoeffel/letstalk.htm
Copy to: cair@cair-net.org

--

Rep. Jim Saxton (R-PA)
339 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3003

Phone: (202) 225-4765
Fax: (202) 225-0778
Main District Office:
Phone: (609) 261-5800
Fax: (609) 261-1275

Web Site: www.house.gov/saxton
E-mail: jim.saxton@mail.house.gov
Copy to: cair@cair-net.org

-----

HELP THE VICTIMS OF ETHNIC CARNAGE IN GUJARAT

The Association of Indian Muslims of America Earnestly requests you to 
join 
this noble cause.

Fund-raising dinner & Awareness program By Northern Virginia families

WHEN: Saturday, May 18 2002, at 7 PM

WHERE: Sterling Community Center (Near Sterling DMV & First Virginia 
Bank), 
120 Enterprise St, Sterling, VA 20164.

Speaker: Dr. Islam Siddiqui (Former Deputy Secretary, USDA)

Please attend the dinner, see glimpses of tragic events, meet family 
members of martyred Ehsan Jaffrey; former member of 
Parliament/equivalent 
to US Congressman - mercilessly burned alive with hundreds of others.

For further information, please go to:
http://www.geocities.com/peaceandharmonyinworld

Directions
 From Beltway I-495: Take Exit 47 A for Leesburg Pike (Rt. 7 West) for 
Tyson's Corner. Drive 10-12 miles turn left on Sterling Blvd (Rt. 846). 
Turn left on 3rd traffic light Holly Ave. Turn right on Commerce St. 
Turn 
left on Enterprise St. and enter into Sterling Community Center.

 From Fairfax County Parkway: Take exit for Leesburg Pike (Rt. 7 West). 
Turn left on 4th traffic light on Sterling Blvd (Rt. 846). Turn left on 
3rd 
traffic light on Holly Ave. Turn right on Commerce St. Turn left on 
Enterprise St. and look for Sterling Community Center.

-----

MEDIA COVERAGE OF ISRAEL'S ARREST OF TWO AMERICAN RELIEF WORKERS

Israelis arrest two Americans associated with relief groups
By CHRISTOPHER NEWTON, The Associated Press, 5/7/02

WASHINGTON (AP) - Israeli authorities have arrested two American 
citizens 
affiliated with relief organizations, including a Muslim commentator 
who 
recently described by telephone and in e-mails the destruction he saw 
in 
Jenin, a supporter said.

Riad Abdelkarim, a physician from the Los Angeles area, was detained 
Sunday 
at Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport while trying to return to 
the 
United States, said Khalid Turaani of the Washington-based American 
Muslims 
for Jerusalem.

The other person arrested during the weekend was Dallal Muhammad of 
Dallas, 
Texas, Turaani said Monday. Muhammad is president of a new charity, 
Kinder-USA, organized to provide aid to Palestinian children, he said.

Abdelkarim's family released a statement calling for his release. He 
has a 
wife and four children living in Orange, Calif.

"The past 36 hours have been an extremely difficult time for our 
family," 
the statement said. "Our greatest fear right now is for Riad's safety, 
given Israel's acknowledged policy of using 'physical pressure' in 
questioning suspects, including American citizens. We urge U.S. 
government 
officials and human rights organizations to actively become engaged in 
this 
case in securing Riad's safe and immediate release."

Abdelkarim, who has written opinion pieces on Muslim issues for major 
U.S. 
newspapers, serves on the board of American Muslims for Jerusalem and 
is 
chairman of Kinder-USA. He also is the Western region communications 
director for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic 
Relations.

The U.S. State Department could not confirm the arrests, an official 
said. 
But a U.S. diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, 
confirmed 
the arrests and said consular officials in Israel were being given 
proper 
access.

Turaani said Abdelkarim was touring damaged areas in Jenin with 
International Medical Corps, a relief organization based in Los 
Angeles. 
Abdelkarim's family traces its history to a village near Ramallah, 
where 
Israeli troops kept Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in isolation for 
weeks...

---

Dallas woman arrested in Jerusalem hotel
By BILL MILLER, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5/7/02
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/world/3212144.htm

DALLAS - A Dallas woman who has been affiliated with Palestinian relief 
efforts in the United States was arrested Sunday by Israeli 
authorities.

Dalal Mohammed, a former fund-raiser and spokeswoman for the Holy Land 
Foundation for Relief and Development, was arrested in her Jerusalem 
hotel 
room, according to a supporter.

Khalid Turaani of the Washington-based American Muslims for Jerusalem 
said 
Mohammed was being held at an Israeli prison, but the reasons for her 
arrest were unclear on Monday.

Turaani said Mohammed was in Israel on behalf of a new charity, 
Kinder-USA, 
based in Richardson and organized three months ago to provide aid to 
Palestinian children
.
He said the group's founder, Riad Abdelkarim, was also detained Sunday 
at 
Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport while trying to return to the 
United States...

"I am really concerned for both of them," Turaani said. "I think the 
American State Department should intervene immediately. The fact that 
Dalal 
is an American citizen won't stop her from facing abuse..."

---

O.C. doctor held in Israel
By VIK JOLLY, ANN PEPPER
and BILL RAMS, The Orange County Register, 5/7/02
http://www.ocregister.com/news/arrest00507cci4.shtml
Israeli officials are detaining a doctor from north Orange County who 
Islamic advocacy groups say had just concluded a fact-finding mission 
at 
the Jenin refugee camp attacked by Israeli forces in April.
Riad Abdelkarim, 34, had completed work for a physicians' group and his 
own 
relief agency, Kinder USA, when he was picked up Sunday at Israel's Ben 
Gurion Airport, the Council on American Islamic Relations and the 
Muslim 
Public Affairs Council announced Monday...
---

US Muslim group claims Israel arrested American doctor on humanitarian 
trip
Agence France Presse, 5/7/02

A leading US Muslim group on Monday claimed that Israel was illegally 
detaining an American doctor who had gone to help Palestinian victims 
of 
violence in the decimated Jenin refugee camp.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) said doctor and activist Dr. 
Riad 
Abdelkarim, who lives near Los Angeles, and at least one other American 
had 
been picked up at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport as they tried to leave 
Israel.

He was detained as he was returning to the United States "after 
witnessing 
the devastation caused by Israeli forces in the Jenin refugee camp, 
details 
of which he reported extensively on the Internet," MPAC said in a 
statement. "In a shocking assault on International standards protecting 
medical relief workers, Israeli authorities have detained without 
charge 
several high-profile Americans," it added.

Such prisoners were sometimes being held "in conditions of solitary 
confinement, for no reason other than their relief work and peaceful 
activism on behalf of besieged Palestinians," the statement continued.

MPAC, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and American 
Muslims 
for Jerusalem (AMJ) denounced the alleged illegal detentions of US 
citizens 
by Israel and called on the US government to work to protect them.

The Muslim group quoted the doctor's family as saying that he had been 
illegally detained and denied basic civil rights.

"Riad has been denied access to an attorney, and he has not been 
allowed to 
contact his family," a statement from the family issued by MPAC said.

---

Israel arrests 2 Americans with past ties to area group
Supporters say they are worried about torture and isolation
By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT, The Dallas Morning News, 5/7/02
http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/050702dnnatdetain.2ebc.html

WASHINGTON - Two Americans associated with a Dallas-area relief 
organization recently established to help Palestinian children were 
arrested in Israel over the weekend, supporters said Monday.

KinderUSA's executive director and the president of the board of 
directors 
were separately detained in Jerusalem on Sunday, the Council on 
American-Islamic Relations and others said...

"Our primary concern at this early stage is that they both face 
torture. 
The Israelis have a long and well-documented history of torture and 
abuse," 
said Ibrahim Hooper, a council spokesman...

Dr. Abdelkarim, whose account of the devastation caused by the Israeli 
occupation of Jenin has circulated on the Internet, was detained at the 
airport while trying to return to the United States, said Nidal 
Ibrahim, a 
family friend. Ms. Mohmed, who had arrived in Jerusalem last week and 
had 
not made her way to the West Bank, was arrested in her hotel room, 
human-rights lawyer Lea Tsemel said in Jerusalem...

---

California doctor one of 3 Americans detained by Israel
City News Service, 5/6/02

A Southland Islamic group said today that a Santa Monica-born 
Palestinian-American physician was arrested by Israeli authorities over 
the 
weekend after making a fact-finding visit to the Jenin refugee camp.

The Southern California chapter of the Washington, D.C.-based Council 
on 
American-Islamic Relations said that Dr. Riad Abdelkarim, who practices 
in 
Anaheim, was detained at Ben Gurion Airport and later transferred to a 
prison in Tel Aviv.

The State Department is looking into the matter. "We heard (Abdelkarim) 
has 
been detained and we're checking into gaining access to him," Kelly 
Shannon 
of the Bureau on Consular Affairs said in a telephone interview from 
Washington, D.C.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli authorities.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement that it 
is 
calling on U.S. officials to demand Abdelkarim's immediate release and 
"prevent the Israelis from torturing him."

---

Israeli Detention of 2 Americans Questioned
By GREG KRIKORIAN, The Los Angeles Times, 5/7/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000032382may07.story

Two Arab Americans were detained by Israeli authorities over the 
weekend 
for unspecified reasons after visiting refugee camps in the West Bank, 
government officials and associates of the pair said Monday.

Although a spokeswoman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry said she could 
not 
confirm the detentions, U.S. government officials and others said Dr. 
Riad 
Abdelkarim, an Anaheim physician, was taken into custody Saturday at 
Ben 
Gurion Airport as he attempted to board a plane heading home.

Dalell Mohmed, director of the Dallas-based charity KinderUSA--founded 
by 
Abdelkarim--was detained on Sunday morning at her hotel in Jerusalem, 
according to interviews. Both Abdelkarim, a Santa Monica-born 
Palestinian 
American, and Mohmed, a second-generation Lebanese American, went to 
Israel 
as part of separate humanitarian aid efforts, family members and others 
said...

"There is a pattern of Israel blocking humanitarian aid to the 
Palestinians. They did so during the siege, and now they are hampering 
the 
efforts of Americans to provide aid," said Khalid Turaani, executive 
director of the Washington-based advocacy group American Muslims for 
Jerusalem...

In addition to maintaining a medical practice, Abdelkarim is an author 
and 
lecturer who has long been openly critical of both terrorism and 
America's 
"one-sided" support of Israel. He is in the Middle East, according to 
family members and associates, as part of a fact-finding effort by the 
Los 
Angeles-based International Medical Corps, a nonprofit organization 
founded 
in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses in the U.S.

The trip was one of many that Abdelkarim, a married father of four, has 
made to the region in recent years--a fact that made his current 
detention 
all the more baffling for friends and family...

ACTION REQUESTED: Call and Write Undersecretary of State William Burns, 
Congressman Christopher Cox, and Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson 
and 
urge that they put pressure on Israel to release innocent Americans 
from 
Israeli prisons and detention facilities.

As members of Congress who represent Dr. Riad Abdelkarim and Dallel 
Mohamed, Representatives Cox and Johnson can and should weigh in to 
ensure 
that their constituents are not being abused by a foreign government. 
Please call their offices and urge them to do so.

Undersecretary of State William Burns

Phone: (202) 647-5150
E-mail: askpublicaffairs@state.gov
2201 C St. NW Rm 6242
Washington, DC 20520

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) (Dallel Mohamed's
Congresswoman)

Washington office:
Phone: (202) 225-8885
Fax: (202) 226-1477
E-mail: rep.e.b.johnson@mail.house.gov
1511 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4330

Texas Office:
Phone: (214) 922-8885
Fax: (214) 922-7028
2501 Cedar Springs Rd., # 550
Dallas, TX 75201

Congressman Christopher Cox (R-CA) (Riad Abdelkarim's Congressman)

Washington Office:
Phone: (202) 225-5611
Fax: (202) 225-9177
E-mail: christopher.cox@mail.house.gov
2402 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0547

Main District Office:
Phone: (949) 756-2244
Fax: (949) 251-9309
One Newport Place, # 420
Newport Beach, CA 92660

CC:

President George Bush
E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
Phone: (202) 456-1414
Fax: (202) 456-2461
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Colin Powell, Secretary of State
E-Mail: secretary@state.gov
Phone: (202) 647-4000
Fax: (202) 261-8577
2201 C St NW
Washington, DC 20520

Muslim Public Affairs Council
Phone: (213) 383-3443
Fax: (213) 383-9674
Contact: Sarah Eltantawi
E-mail: sarah@mpac.org

Council of American Islamic Relations

Contact: Ibrahim Hooper
Phone: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
Email: cair@cair-net.org

American Muslims for Jerusalem
Phone: (202) 548-4200
Fax: (202) 548-4201
E-mail: amj@amjerusalem.org

-----

LETTERS: CIVIL LIBERTIES INCLUDE MUSLIMS
By PARVEZ AHMED, The Patriot News (PA), 5/7/02
Parvez Ahmed is Chairman, Central Pennsylvania Chapter of Council on 
America-Islamic Relations

A recently released report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations 
indicates that anti-Muslim incidents are at all-time highs, increasing 
nearly three folds over previous years.  The vast majority of these 
incidents came after 9-11.  Part of the backlash is 
understandable.  Hate-mongers will use the flimsiest of excuses to 
violate 
the civil liberties of others.

SEE: STEREOTYPES AND CIVIL LIBERTIES
http://www.cair-net.org/civilrights2002/

The majority of these incidents follow callous statements from several 
public figures.  The insensitive public statements have ranged from 
calculated misinformation to suggesting genocide.  For example, 
Franklin 
Graham, stood by remarks in which he falsely claimed: "The God of Islam 
is 
not the same God. ... I believe it (Islam) is a very evil and wicked 
religion."  Syndicated columnist Ann Coulter called for the "mass 
deportation of Muslims."

Many including our local congressmen sadly argue in favor of racial 
profiling to ensure security.  However, most responsible law 
enforcement 
experts suggest that race is an inaccurate indicator of crime or 
terrorism.

When we stand up for someone else's rights we become the defenders of 
human 
rights.  The illusion of security is not worth anything if built on the 
silent graves of trampled civil liberties.

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----




Forwarded Message

Date: Wed, 08 May 2002 14:48:09 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Israeli Troops Defecate into Photocopier

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 5/8/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* HADITH OF THE DAY: GUIDELINES FOR LIFE
* THE LATEST CAIR ACTION ALERTS
* ONLINE REGISTRATION NOW AVAILABLE FOR JUNE 1ST CAIR-LA LEADERSHIP 
TRAINING CONFERENCE
* MEDIA COVERAGE OF DR. RIAD ABDELKARIM'S DETENTION
         - Anaheim Doctor Still Held in Israel (Los Angeles Times)
         - Israelis Arrest Californian Associated With Relief Groups 
(AP)
         - California Doctor Arrested in Israel (Orange County 
Register)
* SOMEONE EVEN MANAGED TO DEFECATE INTO THE PHOTOCOPIER (Ha'aretz)
* BUSINESSES IN SAUDI ARABIA FEEL PINCH OF "BOYCOTT US" CAMPAIGN (AFP)
* CANADIAN SOLDIERS MIMIC U.S. MOCKING OF ENEMY DEAD BODIES (Edmonton 
Journal)
* 'MUSLIMS': A CLEAR PICTURE OF ISLAM (Los Angeles Times)
         - 'Muslims' on Frontline, May 9 (PBS)
* THERE IS A SOLUTION TO THIS FILTHY WAR - FOREIGN OCCUPATION 
(Independent)

-----

HADITH OF THE DAY: GUIDELINES FOR LIFE

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, "God has forbidden you 
to be 
undutiful to your mothers, to withhold (what you should give), or 
demand 
(what you do not deserve), and to bury your daughters alive [a 
pre-Islamic 
practice]. And God has disliked that you talk too much about others, 
ask 
too many questions or waste your property."

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 6

-----

FOR THE LATEST CAIR ACTION ALERTS, GO TO: http://capwiz.com/cair/home/

-----

ONLINE REGISTRATION NOW AVAILABLE FOR JUNE 1ST CAIR-LA LEADERSHIP 
TRAINING 
CONFERENCE

Online registration is now available for the day-long CAIR Southern 
California Leadership Training Conference at www.cair-california.org.

WHEN: June 1, 2002, 8:00 a.m.
WHERE: Sequoia Conference Center, 7530 Orangethorpe Avenue, Buena Park, 
CA 
90621

-----

MEDIA COVERAGE OF DR. RIAD ABDELKARIM'S DETENTION

ANAHEIM DOCTOR STILL HELD IN ISRAEL
By TERESA WATANABE and GREG KRIKORIAN, Los Angeles Times, 5/8/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000032602may08.story

Israeli officials confirmed Tuesday that an American Muslim physician 
from 
Anaheim has been arrested in Tel Aviv on suspicion of involvement with 
terrorist activities.

David Douek of the Israel Consulate in Los Angeles could provide no 
details 
on the arrest Sunday of Riad Abdelkarim, an Anaheim physician who 
associates said had traveled to the Palestinian territories for medical 
relief work. Also detained over the weekend on suspicion of terrorism 
was 
Dalell Mohmed, director of KinderUSA, a Dallas-based charity for 
Palestinian children...

Family members of the two detainees expressed disbelief that their 
relatives would be involved in terrorism, fear for their safety and 
outrage 
over what they called Israeli harassment of medical relief workers.

"These are ridiculous allegations," said Abdelkarim's brother Basil, a 
Bellflower physician. "There is no evidence to support these claims."

In Dallas, Mohmed's older sister, Alice El-Jundi, said Tuesday that she 
was 
appalled by the charges. She said her sister is a humanitarian aid 
worker 
who has delivered wheelchairs to orphans throughout the Mideast and 
other 
relief to Bosnia and elsewhere.

"If she was involved in terrorism, why would she go back there on a 
mission 
of aid? Why would she stay there? She's not an idiot," El-Jundi said.

Some details of the detentions were provided Tuesday by Rushdie Abdel 
Cader, a San Luis Obispo physician who traveled with Abdelkarim to 
assess 
the medical needs in the Palestinian territories at the invitation of 
the 
International Medical Corps, a Los Angeles-based global humanitarian 
organization. Cader said that he was also detained at Ben Gurion 
Airport 
with Abdelkarim but was released 16 hours later after an interrogation.

Cader said Israeli security officials would not allow him to sleep 
during 
the ordeal and constantly called him a liar when he answered questions 
such 
as where he had traveled and whether he had brought money into the 
Palestinian territories. Cader said he told officials that he had 
distributed between $2,000 and $3,000 to needy Palestinians in Jenin 
and 
elsewhere, money collected from his American neighbors, and was told 
such 
acts were illegal...

"They said: 'We don't care if you're an American, and we don't care 
what 
Americans think,'" Cader said. "There is no due process over there. 
It's 
really scary..."

-----

ISRAELIS ARREST CALIFORNIAN ASSOCIATED WITH RELIEF GROUPS
By CHRISTOPHER NEWTON, Associated Press, 5/8/02

Israeli officials confirmed Tuesday that an Orange County physician has 
been arrested in Tel Aviv on suspicion of involvement in terrorist 
activity, a charge his relatives called ridiculous.

David Douek of the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles said he could offer 
no 
details about why Dr. Riad Abdelkarim and another American citizen were 
arrested over the weekend. Both are affiliated with relief 
organizations. 
Abdelkarim, who was trying to return to the United States when he was 
detained, was arrested Sunday at Israel's Ben-Gurion International 
Airport.

The Santa Monica-born doctor is a Muslim commentator who recently 
described 
by telephone and in e-mails the destruction he saw in the Jenin refugee 
camp, said Khalid Turaani of the Washington-based American Muslims for 
Jerusalem. Abdelkarim is a member of the board of that group and the 
chairman of a new charity, Kinder-USA, organized to provide aid to 
Palestinian children.

Relatives of Abdelkarim and the other detainee, Dalell Mohmed of 
Dallas, 
the president of Kinder-USA, strongly denied any links to terrorism 
Tuesday.

"Unless it is a crime to aid impoverished people, my brother has not 
committed a crime," said Abdelkarim's brother, Dr. Basim Abdelkarim.

In Dallas, Alice El-Jundi said Mohmed, her younger sister, is a 
humanitarian aid worker who has delivered wheelchairs to orphans 
throughout 
the Mideast.

"If she was involved in terrorism, why would she go back there on a 
mission 
of aid? Why would she stay there? She's not an idiot," El-Jundi said.

Rushdie Abdel Cader, a San Luis Obispo physician, had been traveling 
with 
Abdelkarim and was also detained, but was released 16 hours later after 
an 
interrogation.

Cader said he and Abdelkarim were assessing medical needs in the 
Palestinian territories at the invitation of the International Medical 
Corps, a Los Angeles-based global humanitarian organization...

-----

CALIFORNIA DOCTOR ARRESTED IN ISRAEL CHARGED WITH TERRORIST INVOLVEMENT
By Vik Jolly and Ann Pepper, The Orange County Register, 5/8/02
http://www.ocregister.com/news/arrest00508cci2.shtml

SANTA ANA, Calif. _ A California doctor detained by Israel has been 
charged 
with involvement with terrorist acts, an Israeli official said Tuesday.

Riad Abdelkarim, 34, of Orange, Calif., was detained Sunday at Ben 
Gurion 
Airport as he was leaving the region.

David Douek, spokesman for the Israeli consulate general in Los 
Angeles, 
said he did not know the evidence against Abdelkarim, a physician at 
Anaheim's Kaiser Permanente. "It could be either that he was engaged in 
terrorism or has helped to support terrorism," Douek said...

Family members said Abdelkarim's attorney _ a high profile Israeli 
human 
rights lawyer _ was not allowed to see him Monday.

The Santa Monica, Calif.-born doctor has been in the region for nearly 
two 
weeks, visiting relatives and touring the Jenin refugee camp where 
Israeli 
forces killed at least 52 people in an anti-terrorist offensive last 
month.

He is a father of four, and frequent commentator on Middle East issues 
in 
major U.S. newspapers.

Abdelkarim was on a fact-finding mission for the International Medical 
Corps and relief group KinderUSA. He is also a member of the Holy Land 
Foundation for Relief and Development, cited by President Bush as a 
front 
for terrorism.

"Unless it is a crime to aid impoverished people, my brother has not 
committed a crime," said Dr. Basim Abdelkarim.

"Where is the evidence?" said Dr. Basil Abdelkarim, also one of Riad 
Abdelkarim's brothers, when he heard of the charges. "Why after 72 
hours 
are they throwing out an allegation like this?"

Abdelkarim's extended family has rallied to help him as have doctors 
from 
across Southern California, some of whom are attempting to work out 
ways to 
assist his patients.

Some patients also have called asking if they can help.

"He's a nice guy," said Anaheim resident Dan Pack, 51. "He'd talk 
sometimes 
about going to Palestine. He'd say that he was afraid. That he was 
afraid 
of the danger. Then he decided to go...

Israelis also detained two other Americans, KinderUSA director Dalell 
Mohmed of Dallas, Texas, and Dr. Rushdi Cader of San Luis Obispo, 
Calif. 
Cader was released after 16 hours. Mohmed is being held.

Mohmed's sister, Alice El-Jundi, also of Dallas, said Tuesday that the 
U.S. 
State Department told her Israeli authorities were checking if Mohmed 
was 
involved with terrorist activity...

Abdelkarim and Mohmed's Holy Land Foundation work is an excuse for 
their 
detention, said Salaam Al-Marayati, director of the Muslim Public 
Affairs 
Council.

"This is a violation of human rights," Al-Marayati said.

"If any other country did that to any other American, if Pakistan did 
that 
to any other American, we'd be outraged. We're demanding that the 
administration do more to pressure for the immediate release of these 
individuals."

Al-Marayati said MPAC on Wednesday would ask U.S. Rep. Christopher Cox, 
R-Calif., to demand Abdelkarim's release. Cox is one of several 
lawmakers 
Abdelkarim's family has asked to intercede...

-----

SOMEONE EVEN MANAGED TO DEFECATE INTO THE PHOTOCOPIER
By Amira Hass, Ha'aretz Daily,  5/8/02
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=159923&contrassID=2&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y

No one deluded himself that the Palestinian Ministry of Culture, which 
takes up five of the eight floors of a new building in the center of El 
Bireh, would be spared the fate of other Palestinian Authority offices 
in 
Ramallah and other cities - that is, the nearly total destruction of 
its 
contents and particularly its high-tech equipment.

...In other offices, all the high-tech and electronic equipment had 
been 
wrecked or had vanished - computers, photocopiers, cameras, scanners, 
hard 
disks, editing equipment worth thousands of dollars, television sets. 
The 
broadcast antenna on top of the building was destroyed.

Telephone sets vanished. A collection of Palestinian art objects 
(mostly 
hand embroideries) disappeared. Perhaps it was buried under the piles 
of 
documents and furniture, perhaps it had been spirited away. Furniture 
was 
dragged from place to place, broken by soldiers, piled up. Gas stoves 
for 
heating were overturned and thrown on heaps of scattered papers, 
discarded 
books, broken diskettes and discs and smashed windowpanes.

In the department for the encouragement of children's art, the soldiers 
had 
dirtied all the walls with gouache paints they found there and 
destroyed 
the children's paintings that hung there.

In every room of the various departments - literature, film, culture 
for 
children and youth books, discs, pamphlets and documents were piled up, 
soiled with urine and excrement.

There are two toilets on every floor, but the soldiers urinated and 
defecated everywhere else in the building, in several rooms of which 
they 
had lived for about a month. They did their business on the floors, in 
emptied flowerpots, even in drawers they had pulled out of desks...

-----

BUSINESSES IN SAUDI ARABIA FEEL PINCH OF "BOYCOTT US" CAMPAIGN
By OMAR HASAN, Agence France Presse, 5/8/02

A grass-roots campaign to boycott US products in Saudi Arabia has 
already 
taken its toll on many local businesses, with sales dropping 
drastically, 
executives and activists said Wednesday.

The campaign, a protest against perceived US support for Israel, is 
being 
conducted from mosques, schools and universities, and through 
newspapers, 
the Internet and mobile phone text messages urging consumers to shun 
products originating from the United States.

The Saudi "boycott US" drive mirrors a similar campaign which gathered 
momentum in several parts of the Arab world at the peak of Israel's 
invasion of Palestinian lands that began on March 29.

Imams at Saudi mosques have been delivering fiery sermons urging 
worshippers to drop US consumer goods in favor of other products, 
ruling 
that supporting the US economy amounts to killing Palestinians and 
other 
Muslims under attack. Young Saudi boys stand in front of major shopping 
malls to distribute flyers and leaflets containing a long list of brand 
names that must be boycotted "in support of our Palestinian brothers."

"I have never seen such an organized anti-US campaign in the kingdom. 
It 
looks as if everyone is involved, from school students to religious 
clerics," a Saudi businessman told AFP.

"Two days ago, a carefully-prepared 20-page file was thrown into my 
house, 
containing all the information about US products that we should stop 
buying. They are organized," the businessman added...

-----

CANADIAN SOLDIERS MIMIC U.S. MOCKING OF ENEMY DEAD BODIES
By Mark Spector, Edmonton Journal, 5/8/02
http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/

The American military is setting a bad example that Canadian soldiers 
are 
following in their treatment of Afghan prisoners of war, a University 
of 
Alberta expert in international law said Tuesday.

"Go through history. Look at the knights of the 12th, 13th, 14th 
centuries," Leslie Green recounted at an Amnesty International event in 
his 
address entitled "What Is a Prisoner of War?" "Yes, they killed each 
other, 
but they paid (the dead) due respect. And when they found the corpse of 
a 
soldier, they buried it with military honour.

"They did not put a cigarette in his mouth and a discourteous label on 
his 
stomach. Nor did they photograph him, or draw a picture of him, to walk 
around with for their friends to ridicule."

Green's criticism stems from charges against Master Cpl. Arron Perry, 
who 
allegedly participated in a "calling card" photograph of a dead Afghan 
fighter. A cigarette had been stuck in the corpse's mouth and a sign on 
its 
chest read "F... terrorism."

One of the Canadian explanations cited by Green was that American 
soldiers 
took similar photographs of dead adversaries.

"The trouble seems to be that we have become so close to Big Brother, 
we 
have forgotten what our obligations are towards prisoners of war," he 
said.

-----

'MUSLIMS': A CLEAR PICTURE OF ISLAM
By MARK SACHS, Los Angeles Times, 5/8/02
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/printedition/calendar/la-000032466may08.story

It's taken decades upon decades for the global forces in play to create 
a 
world-changing event on the scale of the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks. 
Yet 
in one two-hour block tonight, "Muslims" manages to bring a crystalline 
focus to issues of kaleidoscopic complexity, resulting in an 
all-too-rare 
"special" that is worthy of that tag.

The "Frontline" production (9 p.m., KCET) takes viewers on an 
international 
tour of the religion's strongholds in places such as Egypt, Iran, 
Malaysia, 
Nigeria and Turkey, showing the myriad gradations and interpretations 
that 
exist, helping to shatter the monolithic mask that Islam wears for many 
here in the West. "With the events of Sept. 11," says Nigerian attorney 
Muzzammil Hanga, "the West is frantically trying to establish two 
worlds--the forward-looking Western world and backward, uncivilized 
Islamic 
world."

But the program also outlines the conflicts that exist within many of 
the 
countries between Muslim traditionalists and those in the religion who 
favor more personal freedom and equality between the sexes.

"We found that it is not Islam that discriminates against women," says 
feminist activist Zainah Anwar in Malaysia. "It is not the verses in 
the 
Koran, it is the way that these verses have been interpreted by men 
living 
in patriarchal societies who wish to maintain their dominance, and 
their 
superiority and control over women."

In the second hour, the focus shifts from the taxis festooned with 
images 
of Osama bin Laden in Nigeria to the cars and homes in the U.S. draped 
in 
American flags, and what the post-9/11 political climate means to 
Muslims 
here.

"I look at Muslims in the U.S. as being in a very unique position to be 
able to produce a model for how Islam can be lived [alongside] other 
religions," says an Illinois man, perhaps echoing the hopes of all of 
us.

SEE ALSO: 'Muslims' on Frontline, May 9, 2002
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/muslims/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/press/2020i.html

Send comments about the program to frontline@wgbh.org

-----

THERE IS A SOLUTION TO THIS FILTHY WAR - FOREIGN OCCUPATION
Robert Fisk, The Independent (UK), 5/8/02
http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=292865

Ariel Sharon's "peace" plan presented to President Bush in Washington 
last 
night - get rid of Arafat, devise a more obedient Palestinian Authority 
and 
keep building settlements for Jews and Jews only on Palestinian land - 
is 
fantasy.

That the Americans should smooth his way by claiming that Arafat's need 
to 
reform his authority is more important than a halt to 
settlement-building - 
the gormless contribution of Condoleezza Rice, the US National Security 
Adviser, to this sterile debate - shows just how out of touch the Bush 
administration is...

And if the Palestinians have to go on watching the Jewish settlements 
surrounding them on their land, they are not going to make peace with
Israel. And contrary to song, myth and legend, the Israeli army has 
been 
behaving more like a militia than a disciplined military force. The 
reports 
of mass looting by Israeli troops in Ramallah, especially of jewellery 
and 
cash, have reached epic proportions. Israel may publicly claim that 
this is 
Palestinian propaganda, but the Israeli army's high command knows the 
stories are true - one officer referred to it as "the wide-scale, ugly 
phenomenon of vandalism"...

The question has to be asked: is this army any more capable of 
defending 
Israel than the Palestinians are capable of defending themselves? A 
seminar 
at the Steinmetz Peace Research institute in Tel Aviv threw up some 
fascinating data last month. Over 40 per cent of Israel's Jewish 
population, the institute found, said they were prepared to have 
international intervention in the conflict. More astonishingly, 35 per 
cent 
of interviewees said that intervention could involve foreign troops who 
would physically separate Israel and the Palestinian Authority...

So I'll make a rash, fearful prediction. After Bosnia and Kosovo and 
East 
Timor, we have grown tired of regional wars. And I think that, in time, 
we 
will close down the Middle East war. With Russian and EU and UN 
support, 
there will, eventually, be American and Nato troops in Jerusalem. There 
will be a Western protection force in the West Bank and Gaza - and in 
Israel. The Israeli and Palestinian armies will have to return to 
barracks. 
Jerusalem will be an international city. The Palestinians will have 
security. So will the Israelis.

Yes, it will be a form of international colonialism. Yes, it will mean 
foreign occupation for both sides. But it will put an end to this 
filthy war.

-----

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-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----




Forwarded Message

Date: Thu, 09 May 2002 17:14:28 -0400
To:cair-net@cair.biglist.com
From:"CAIR" <cair@cair-net.org>
Subject: CAIR-NET: American Detainee in Israel On Hunger Strike

Plain Text Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer | Save to Yahoo! Briefcase ]

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

-----

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 5/9/2002

-----

HEADLINES:

* VERSE OF THE DAY: BENEFITS OF CHARITY
* AMERICAN DETAINEE IN ISRAEL ON HUNGER STRIKE
* ACTION ALERT: URGE THE STATE DEPARTMENT AND CONGRESS TO SECURE 
RELEASE OF 
TWO AMERICANS HELD IN ISRAEL
* DETENTION PUZZLES DOCTOR'S FAMILY (Los Angeles Times)
* ISRAEL MAY HOLD CALIF. DOCTOR UP TO 5 MORE DAYS, MEMO SAYS (Orange 
County 
Register)

-----

VERSE OF THE DAY: BENEFITS OF CHARITY

The parable of those who spend their wealth in the way of God is that 
of a 
grain that sprouts into seven ears, each bearing one hundred grains. 
God 
gives manifold increase to whom He wishes. God has boundless knowledge.

The Holy Quran (F. Malik translation), Sura 2, Verse 361

-----

AMERICAN DETAINEE IN ISRAEL ON HUNGER STRIKE

The Council On American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has learned today that 
Dalal Mohammed, an American Muslim from Texas who was detained in 
Israel 
since Saturday (5/4/02) is on a hunger strike. Mohammed’s attorney told 
CAIR that she has not eaten since she was detained at a Jerusalem 
hotel. 
Ms. Mohammed, now in a prison outside Tel Aviv, was in the Occupied 
Territories on a relief mission to deliver much needed supplies to 
Palestinian towns devastated by recent Israeli military incursions. 
Also 
arrested by Israel was Dr. Riad Abdelkarim, an California physician who 
was 
on a fact-finding mission on behalf of the international medical group, 
International Medical Corps.

“We are concerned for Dalal Mohammed’s health and safety not only 
because 
of the hunger strike, but also because of the widespread use of torture 
in 
Israeli prisons.” said CAIR’s Communication Coordinator Hodan Hassan.

Hassan added, “ Various human rights groups have documented the 
consistent 
use of torture of Americans of Arab descent by Israel. We are urging 
our 
government to demand the immediate release of Mohammed and Abdelkarim.”


-----

ACTION ALERT: URGE THE STATE DEPARTMENT AND CONGRESS TO SECURE RELEASE 
OF 
TWO AMERICANS HELD IN ISRAEL

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and Council on 
American-Islamic 
Relations (CAIR) urge all people of conscious, Muslims and non-Muslims 
to 
keep pressure on our administration to free two American hostages in 
Israel.

Dr. Riad Abdelkarim, 34, is an Orange County, CA physician born in 
Santa 
Monica, CA.  Dr. Abdelkarim is an exemplary American who is very active 
in 
the American Muslim community, organizing community forums, publishing 
widely in American newspapers, and volunteering for several medical 
relief 
missions.  Ms. Dallal Mohamed is an American-born young woman from 
Texas, 
whose deep compassion and commitment to helping those less fortunate 
have 
fueled her involvement in relief missions and charitable 
organizations.  Both Dr. Abdelkarim and Ms. Mohamed have absolutely no 
criminal record and have never been accused by their government, the 
United 
States, of any wrongdoing.  These individuals are humanitarians whose 
compassion for the plight of the Palestinian people have taken them to 
the 
region several times to document destruction and offer relief to the 
suffering.

ACTION:

1.  Call and write YOUR Congressman/ Senator, with special emphasis on 
Congressman Cox (Dr. Abdelkarim's Congressmen) and Congresswoman 
Johnson 
(Ms. Mohammed's Congresswoman). To find your representative, log onto 
www.congress.org or www.mpac.org/action

2.  Call the "Israel/Palestine Issues" Desk of the State 
Department:   (202) 647-3672

3.  CC your letters to the Secretary of State, the President of the 
United 
States, MPAC (sarah@mpac.org) and CAIR (cair@cair-net.org)

TALKING POINTS:

1. Based on telephone conversations between MPAC and Riad Abdelkarim's 
family with the State Department, no knowledge of official charges have 
been made by the State of Israel against Dr. Riad Abdelkarim of Orange 
County, CA or Ms. Dallal Mohammed of Richardson, TX, who have been held 
in 
a prison outside Tel Aviv since Sunday.

2. News media sources have reported, based on information released by 
the 
Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles, Dr. Abdelkarim has been charged with 
committing "terrorist acts". Both, Dr. Abdelkarim's Israeli lawyer Leah 
Tsemel and State Department officials repeatedly denied knowledge to 
such 
charges. Such attempts aim to morally assassinate the character of Dr. 
Abdelkarim and to divert the attention from Israel's crimes that Dr. 
Abdelkarim reported during his fact-finding mission. Dr. Abdelkarim's 
report on Jenin was distributed while Israel repeatedly blocked the 
arrival 
of the UN fact-finding mission to investigate the Israeli war crimes 
committed in Jenin.

3. Abdelkarim and Mohamed were detained on Sunday, May 5 by Israeli 
forces 
- Dr. Abdelkarim as he attempted to leave the country, and Ms. Mohamed 
as 
she was having breakfast in Jerusalem. Dr. Abdelkarim was in the West 
Bank, 
Palestine on a delegation with a southern California-based medical 
relief 
to assess damage done to Palestinian civil society and Palestinian 
civilians in places like Jenin and Nablus.  Dr. Abdelkarim then 
publicized 
his findings widely over the Internet, probably angering Israel. Ms. 
Mohamed was in the region taking preliminary steps to distribute badly 
needed relief to Palestinians under the auspices of a new American 
relief 
organization, KinderUSA.

4. Americans who have called the State Department and their Congressmen 
have been told that there is nothing the United States can do to 
pressure 
Israel.  THIS IS NOT TRUE.

A.  When two Americans were held hostage in Afghanistan, the United 
States 
put tremendous pressure on Afghanistan to release them. The same 
pressure 
must immediately be placed on Israel.
B.  The United States has been able to pressure foreign governments in 
the 
past to release hostages and political prisoners.  The United States, 
in 
fact, has special leverage over Israel.  Israel is heavily dependent on 
United States foreign aid (over three billion U.S. dollars per year), 
legal 
support, and U.S. political support against the will of the U.N. and 
the 
international community.  THE UNITED STATES HAS PLENTY OF LEVERAGE OVER 
ISRAEL AND MUST TAKE THIS CASE SERIOUSLY ENOUGH TO EXERCISE IT 
FORCEFULLY.

5.  Israel has absolutely no evidence against these two 
individuals.  Rumors that Dr. Abdelkarim and Ms. Mohamed are being 
charged 
with "ties to terrorism" are trumped up and ridiculous.  Both 
individuals 
are American born professionals with scores of witnesses to testify as 
to 
their exemplary characters.

6.  Israel is trying to intimidate Americans from coming to the region 
to 
gather evidence of the terrible damage it has caused to Palestinians 
homes, 
institutions and lives.  Israel is trying to make delivering 
humanitarian 
assistance to Palestinians costly and prohibitive.  THESE ARRESTS ARE 
PART 
OF AN ISRAELI INTIMIDATION CAMPAIGN AND AMERICA MUST PROTECT ITS 
CITIZENS 
AGAINST THIS OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOR.

7.  The United States cannot send the message to Israel that it can 
detain 
our citizens with impunity.  Enough is enough:  Americans are Americans 
and 
we must all stand up in defense of one another.  Our Congress, State 
Department and Executive Branch call for the immediate release of Dr. 
Abdelkarim and Ms. Mohamed.

Contacts:
Undersecretary of State William Burns

Phone: (202) 647-5150
E-mail: askpublicaffairs@state.gov
2201 C St. NW Rm 6242
Washington, DC 20520

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) (Dallel Mohamed's 
Congresswoman)

Washington office:
Phone: (202) 225-8885
Fax: (202) 226-1477
E-mail: rep.e.b.johnson@mail.house.gov
1511 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4330

Texas Office:
Phone: (214) 922-8885
Fax: (214) 922-7028
2501 Cedar Springs Rd., # 550
Dallas, TX 75201

Congressman Christopher Cox (R-CA) (Riad Abdelkarim's Congressman)

Washington Office:
Phone: (202) 225-5611
Fax: (202) 225-9177
E-mail: christopher.cox@mail.house.gov
2402 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0547

Main District Office:
Phone: (949) 756-2244
Fax: (949) 251-9309
One Newport Place, # 420
Newport Beach, CA 92660

CC:

President George Bush
E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
Phone: (202) 456-1414
Fax: (202) 456-2461
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Colin Powell, Secretary of State
E-Mail: secretary@state.gov
Phone: (202) 647-4000
Fax: (202) 261-8577
2201 C St NW
Washington, DC 20520

Muslim Public Affairs Council
Phone: (213) 383-3443
Fax: (213) 383-9674
Contact: Sarah Eltantawi
E-mail: sarah@mpac.org

Council on American Islamic Relations
Contact: Ibrahim Hooper
Phone: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
Email: cair@cair-net.org

-----

DETENTION PUZZLES DOCTOR'S FAMILY
By TERESA WATANABE, Los Angeles Times, 5/9/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000032899may09.story

For the family and friends of Riad Abdelkarim, these days of waiting 
are 
filled with questions and dread, questions and fear, questions and more 
questions.

Since the Anaheim physician was detained Sunday in Israel and 
subsequently 
arrested on suspicion of terrorist activities, Abdelkarim's supporters 
have 
heard nothing about what he has allegedly done wrong...

The silence has magnified the puzzling character of the doctor's case. 
Abdelkarim, 34, was a board member of the Holy Land Foundation, a 
Dallas-based Islamic charity that was shut down in December by the U.S. 
government on charges that it funneled funds to the militant group 
Hamas. 
But Abdelkarim was found to be clean by the FBI after questioning last 
fall 
and had frequently traveled to Israel without incident, as recently as 
January. Unlike the shadowy men of the terrorist network Al Qaeda, 
Abdelkarim was a highly public figure who wrote more than 200 articles, 
spoke at community forums and volunteered for medical relief missions. 
In 
his most recent trip, he had traveled to Israel at the invitation of 
the 
International Medical Corps, a Los Angeles-based global humanitarian 
organization, to assess health needs in the Palestinian territories.

His family says this Santa Monica native of Palestinian descent was a 
quintessential American who played Little League baseball, favored 
hamburgers over hummus, made high school valedictorian and led his 
class in 
the Pledge of Allegiance. He was also a typical Californian, his family 
says, who swam and bodysurfed growing up around his father's market in 
Hermosa Beach and considered himself a die-hard Los Angeles Lakers fan.

"Riad is as American as they come," said his brother Basil, a 
Bellflower 
physician. "This is almost like a smear campaign to present him as a 
terrorist. The most important thing to understand about Riad is that he 
is 
a humanitarian, and this should not be a crime."

The physician's supporters have engaged in a flurry of activity to win 
his 
freedom. On Wednesday, the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles 
and 
the Anaheim office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations asked 
Abdelkarim's congressional representative, U.S. Rep. Christopher Cox 
(R-Newport Beach), to appeal for his immediate release. Lacking 
essential 
facts about the case, Cox said it was "not my role" to press for 
Abdelkarim's release. But Cox said he was working to ensure that 
Abdelkarim 
was afforded due process and other legal rights.

In Chicago, Najee Ali said he would represent the Muslim American 
Society, 
the nation's leading organization of African American Muslims, in 
traveling 
to Israel next week to make a religious appeal for Abdelkarim's 
freedom.

And in Orange County, a retired Christian minister who credits 
Abdelkarim 
with saving her husband's life said she intends to raise the issue of 
how 
to help the doctor and his family at an interfaith meeting today. 
Connie 
Regener of Irvine said the man she knows only as a compassionate healer 
had 
cared for her husband's diabetes, heart irregularities and other 
problems a 
few years ago. Now, she said, it was time to return the kindness.

"He was so very supportive and kind to us in our emergency, and now I'd 
like to see the same treatment extended to him," said Regener, a member 
of 
a Christian-Muslim women's group that meets monthly at the Crystal 
Cathedral.

As the activities mount, so do questions about what might have 
triggered 
Abdelkarim's detention.

After U.S. authorities shut down the foundation, Abdelkarim started a 
new 
charity, KinderUSA, in March aimed at helping children in the West Bank 
and 
Gaza. The new charity sent out its first e-mail appeal last month for 
$1 
million to buy food, household items and medical supplies.

In an April 10 e-mail to The Times, Abdelkarim said founders of the new 
charity included such prominent U.S. Muslim physicians as Laila 
Al-Marayati 
of Glendale, a former member of the U.S. religious freedom commission. 
The 
charity was in no way involved with Holy Land members who were under 
the 
most scrutiny by investigators, he wrote.

"They have their own problems to deal with," he wrote. "As for me, I'm 
'clean' as far as I'm concerned, and I couldn't sit by and watch as the 
situation in Palestine worsened, with nobody there to help the people."

Others wonder if an impassioned letter Abdelkarim wrote from the Jenin 
refugee camp displeased the Israelis. His April 29 letter spoke of the 
stench of death, stories of executions and destruction, and his shame 
at 
being a U.S. taxpayer subsidizing the Israeli military arsenal.

"They are trying to silence him," said Ibrahim Hooper of the 
American-Islamic council in Washington. "To use the bogeyman of 
terrorism 
is to keep people from assisting the Palestinians and making their 
lives so 
miserable that they will buckle under."

His four young children's questions are more immediate. Is Dad going to 
make the Angels baseball game and the "Star Wars" film opening, as he 
had 
promised?

As the long days turn into sleepless nights, the children have stayed 
out 
of school and the family has secluded itself. During a visit to his 
Orange 
County home this week, the children described how they had decorated 
the 
home with balloons for his homecoming, and were looking forward to 
visits 
to Disneyland and the