Opinion of the San Francisco Examiner (published Sun. July 11, 1999)
American Jewish supporters of Israel do not help the Israeli cause by unfairly attacking the credentials of moderate Muslims to play a role in U.S. affairs. A current target of such attack is Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles and a member of the L.A. Human Relations Commission.
Following a barrage of criticism by pro-Israel groups, Al-Marayati's nomination to the National Commission on Terrorism has been withdrawn by House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt. Gephardt's office denies that political pressure caused the turnabout on Al-Marayati. Its excuse is that security clearance would take longer than the six-month life of the commission. The explanation doesn't wash. Gephardt reacted to the vehemence of the pro-Israel lobby's campaign against Al-Marayati.
The Muslim leader is an unfortunate bull's eye for what the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee calls "a new McCarthyism against people of Arab ethnicity."
Al-Marayati's past criticism of Israeli policy in the treatment of Palestinians is well within the realm of legitimate discussion. Charges that he has supported terrorism as opposed to warning that Israel's actions could provoke violence are not well-founded. He points to a record of denouncing violence against Israelis. On his alleged support of Saddam Hussein: He came to this country at the age of 4 when his family fled political persecution in Iraq.
The attacks on Al-Marayati have been deplored by several Jewish leaders in Los Angeles. His wife Laila serves by presidential appointment on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Al-Marayati himself has visited the White House several times to mark Muslim holidays and to witness the signing of Middle East peace accords.
Defenders of Israel should reserve their fire for extremists who would undermine the peace process by violent means in order to bring on eventual obliteration of the Jewish state. Al-Marayati does not fit that bill. Nor do millions of other Americans of Arab origin and/or Muslim religious identification who wish the best for all the peoples of the Middle East.
Opinion of the San Francisco Chronicle (published Mon. July 12, 1999)
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT'S withdrawal of his nomination of a prominent Los Angeles Muslim leader to a congressional panel on terrorism was a cowardly bow to the slander of a decent man.
Last month Gephardt, D-Mo., nominated Salam Al-Marayati, the respected director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, to the National Commission on Terrorism, charged with reviewing U.S.anti-terrorism policies.
Al-Marayati was an admirable choice. Those who know him say he is knowledgeable, fair and moderate. He is an eloquent spokesman for the American Muslim community and a vocal opponent of stereotyping Arabs as ``Islamic terrorists.'' He is deeply involved in interfaith dialogues and human rights issues, for which he has won praise from many, including Jews. But last week, Al-Marayati came under a hail of calumny and character assassination from some Jewish groups falsely claiming he condoned terrorism against Israel.
Hardly had the slanders been uttered before Gephardt shamefully abandoned his disappointed nominee with a flurry of flimsy alibis about security clearance concerns.
The House Democratic leader's political pusillanimity left a cloud over Al-Marayati and a stain on his own reputation.
