Arab-Americans side with Democrats

LOS ANGELES — On the day of his address to the Democratic National
Convention, vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman was praised by a
panel of Arab-Americans that assembled to discuss how the Middle East
peace process factors into the 2000 presidential race.

“Joe Lieberman fought for us on occasions when other people wouldn’t.
I remember that,” said Dr. James Zogby, president of the

Arab-American Institute. Zogby was one of three panel members at the forum, which took place in downtown Los Angeles’ Westin Bonaventure Hotel. “I have concerns about votes he’s made, about resolutions he’s sponsored. … But having said that, I’ve had discussions with Joe Lieberman about those votes, about those resolutions.”

“He’s thoughtful, he’s open, and when we needed somebody to fight for us when people were excluding us from the party, Joe Lieberman was the guy who picked up the torch and fought and opened the door for us. I don’t forget that,” Zogby continued. “I don’t forget that when we took a resolution on Islam that called the Senate to task for negative stereotyping of Islam and bad-mouthing of Islam in the Senate, other guys wanted to modify the resolution — literally gut it. Joe Lieberman signed it on the spot and led the fight on the Democratic side to get endorsements for it. I don’t forget that either.”

WorldNetDaily asked the panel, which also consisted of Rep. David Bonior, D-Mich., and Dr. Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat chair for peace in Maryland, whether the Arab-American community had concerns over Lieberman’s influence as a Jew over policy concerning the Middle East.

“It’s logical that (between) two communities that have these kinds of fears and paranoia and insecurities, Arab-Americans are going to be concerned,” answered Zogby.

“Will we support Joe Lieberman? I will,” he continued. “He’s been a fair guy. But will we insist that the party be more responsive to us? Yes. Do they have to be more responsive to us if they want to win our support? Yes.”

Arab Americans have had a rocky relationship with the Democratic Party, but the community now seems to be content with the party.

“We all remember in ’84 when the Democratic ticket gave money back to Arab American donors,” said Zogby. “In ’88 when we endorsed the Democratic ticket, had it returned, saying they didn’t want it. We fought in ’92 and we won. We’ve broken down the last barrier.”

Attendees at the forum seemed to agree that U.S. sanctions against Iraq only contribute to Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Each year, 40,000 children die as a result of the economic sanctions, said Bonior, who has championed Arab-American issues in Congress.

“The political reality of it is that the humanitarian question [of sanctions] is not at the core of either campaign, even though it’s a public issue. But it’s not out there as an issue that is motivating policy,” said Telhami. “The policy debate right now is really between two schools of thought. One is continued ‘containment,’ which is what the Gore campaign is advocating, or, what many in the Bush campaign are calling for — ‘overthrow strategy,’ which is a more aggressive, militarized strategy to try to overthrow the regime.”

The issue may not be discussed publicly by the campaigns, but it is discussed privately, he said.

“The core of the argument against lifting the sanctions remains the same: Yes, we want to help the Iraqi people, and no, we don’t want to reward the Iraqi government. How do we do it?” Telhami continued.

“Saddam is a bad guy — a really bad guy — and we know it,” added Zogby.

Telhami believes real, public discussion about sanctions against Iraq will occur only after the presidential election takes place.

“I expect that after the election, this issue will come more to the top, and I would expect that there will be a lot of demands for relaxation of sanctions, beginning with issues like allowing Iraqis to travel, renewing air travel to Iraq — issues that are not necessarily going to be connected to having additional funds directly going to the Iraqi government, because that’s where it’s probably going to start.”

Telhami — who is an adviser to the Gore campaign but was careful to note he was not speaking on behalf of the campaign — believes there will be virtually no distinction in the way a Gore-Lieberman administration will handle either a rollback of sanctions or a collapse in the peace process versus a Bush-Cheney White House.

Differences between the two camps could be expected, however, in the event of a successful peace negotiation between Palestine and Israel.

“I think if there is an agreement between Israel and Palestinians, then, you know, the implementation of the agreement isn’t going to be an easy thing. And it’s going to require a lot of resources. It’s going to require for the United States to make it a priority issue, and in that extent, a Gore administration will have a lot more invested in the peace process. And it’s likely to be a priority for them even if the global priorities shift.”

Though Telhami said he doesn’t think Bush would drag his feet on implementing such an agreement, he believes Gore will make a greater push for resources in Congress.

“If there’s a collapse in the peace process, I think there’s no question in my mind that the Arab side would pay the heavier price in American politics than Israel, no matter who wins. That’s just an analytical assumption about how the town operates and what is likely to happen,” Telhami concluded.

Bonior compared Arab-Americans with blacks, Native Americans and other minorities that have fought racial bias in the United States.

“We’ve had a pattern of this throughout our history, and of course now, Arab-Americans and Muslims are fighting that same type of bigotry and narrowness,” he said. “What’s key there is the fact that we’re fighting back … and we’re winning.”

Bonior is co-sponsoring legislation in Congress with Rep. Tom Campbell, R-Calif., that strips the funding from bills that house the 20 people detained through 1996’s “secret evidence” law.

“Secret evidence” was included in the Anti-Terrorism Death Penalty Act of 1996, which was intended to allow authorities to crack down on terrorists operating within the U.S.

According to Bonior, the secret evidence provision of the law allows government to “come into your home, arrest you, take you away, lock you up and not tell you or your attorney why they have done that. They keep you in administrative detention, which is kind of a fancy word for imprisoning you, and you don’t know how long you’re going to be there.”

“Three times during the last several years, federal courts have ruled this law to be unconstitutional,” the congressman added.

There are people who have been in such detainment for three years, he added. All but one of the 20 detained under the provision are Arab-Americans or Muslims. The House approved Bonior’s bill by a 239 to 178 vote.

“We’re going to win on these major issues, and in this campaign, we’re going to win as well, because we’re going to have a convention of moral authority that I think will suppress the Republicans,” he said.

That victory will only be won, however, if Gore manages to capture the state of Michigan in November, said Zogby.

“In polling that we do, we find increasingly that people of our ethnicity are using the term ‘Arab-American’ and feeling themselves to be a community and not a series of distinct parts,” he said. “There is a self-aware community. It is organized and it functions” as a community.

“We’re an interesting community because we’re small — 3.5 million — but we’re concentrated in key areas,” one of which is Michigan.

“If you want to win Michigan, you have to talk to Arab-Americans,” he said, noting that Bush has not yet done so.

As for Lieberman’s role in communicating with Arab-Americans, Zogby encouraged his community to be “cautious and respectful” toward the senator. But he was rebuffed by Bonior.

“As important as it is to be cautious and respectful, I would respectfully suggest you not be as cautious and that you be a little bit more militant,” the congressman chided. “And one of the ways that you get respect sometimes in this business is when you’re tough. When you’re tough, you get respect, and when you get respect, you get results.”

Zogby responded, saying, “When I say cautious and respectful, I do not mean cautious and respectful on the issues. I think that there is a way to raise the level of this discourse that can be quite elevating as opposed to some of the folks in our community. Look, I remember the Sununu stuff — the stuff that the people in the Jewish community said about Sununu. We do not want to say the same stuff about Joe Lieberman. He does not deserve to be talked about [that way]. This is about issues.”

Those issues are not limited to Middle East policies, Zogby clarified.

“I vote for Democrats because of the overarching issues that bring me into this party, and I struggle within this party for a more balanced and fair policy toward the Middle East. But I’m not going to make my decision based on the fact that George W. Bush is going to be the best thing since sliced bread, because he is not.”