MEDIA REACTION ON ANTI-SEMITISM LAW

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 008595

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARN, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, INR/NESA, R/MR,
I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN
USAID/ANE/MEA
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: KMDR JO
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON ANTI-SEMITISM LAW

Summary

-- Lead story in all papers today, October 18, focuses
on Prime Minister Faisal Fayez's talks with a variety
of parliamentary blocs over a possible cabinet
reshuffle, which is expected to be announced on Friday
or Saturday. Another lead story highlights the
"ferocious battles" in Fallujah in Iraq.

Editorial Commentary

-- "The law of `preferring Jews over the rest of the
people'"

Daily columnist Jawad Bashiti writes in independent,
mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm (10/18):
"From now on, the United States, which is fighting two
wars in the world: a war against terrorism and another
war against the `enemies of Semitism', will be keeping
score of all anti-Semitic actions that take place
anywhere. It will be correcting the stances of
countries vis--vis this issue in terms of rewards and
punishments, and will be setting a list of actions
that each country in this world would need to
undertake in order to respond to anti-Semitic actions.
With this law, which is only paralleled by the
illusions of the Old Testament and the heavenly
promise, the United States, officially and openly,
joins Israel in its war and antagonism against the
Arabs, and particularly against the Palestinians.
Whoever survives the anti-terrorism law will not
survive the anti-Semitism law. Arabs, apart from the
odd number of reformists, will be considered on the
one hand as either exercising terrorism, supporting
it, or calling for it, or, on the other hand, as
exercising anti-Semitism, instigating it or promoting
it."

-- "Bush gets United States involved in a historical
issue"

Daily columnist Sultan Hattab writes on the op-ed page
of semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai
(10/18): "By signing the anti-Semitism law, United
States President George Bush put the U.S. prestige,
role and capabilities in the service of the Jews, as
he looked to gain their votes in the upcoming
presidential elections.. This is one of most serious
decisions ever taken by the United States since its
establishment, because it has to do with what is
outside its borders and because it works on reshaping
the world in favor of the Jews and their protection by
a superpower. This decision is considered as absolute
support for Israel, enabling it to use this would-be
weapon anytime against its opponents and enemies and
without need to refer to the United States.. We do
not support the oppression of any people or religion,
not even the Jews, and we stand against antagonizing
them and Semitism. However, we stand against the idea
that such a privilege would turn into a privilege to
confiscate our rights and to make any resistance
against Israeli policy in the region, particularly
Sharon's Nazi policy of building the wall, killing the
Palestinians and confiscating their rights, an action
to be recorded as anti-Semitism."

-- "The anti-Semitism law poses questions regarding
freedom in the U.S."

Journalist Lamis Andoni writes in independent Arabic
daily in Al-Ghad (10/17): "The law, and most
pertinently the philosophy that lies beneath it,
represents another escalation against the Palestinian
struggle for independence and against the growing
campaigns in Europe and America in solidarity with the
Palestinian people. Philosophically, the law conveys
the distorted concept that any criticism or
condemnation of Israel is a form of anti-Semitism.
The law is considered a success for the many extensive
attempts and campaigns by Israel and Zionist
organizations to describe everything that is happening
- from news reports, through demonstrations protesting
Israel's bombing of Palestinian towns, all the way to
the Hague decision against the separation wall - as
proof of the rise and spread of anti-Semitism in the
world.. In recent years, the rise of solidarity
movements that go beyond the condemnation of
occupation to the support of the right of return for
the Palestinian people and the condemnation of Zionism
have been witnessed. Such a step aims to disfigure
the nature of the Arab-Israeli conflict by showing it
as a conspiracy to exterminate Jews in the world,
which serves the interests of extremist Israelis and
Americans, who seek to portray the Israeli aggression
as legitimate action against terrorism, or even
against Arab-Palestinian efforts to organize a
massacre of Jews, and thus rendering void the
legitimacy of the Palestinian resistance against the
occupation. Therefore, resisting this law is of great
importance, particularly outside the United States."

-- "Semites!!"
Columnist Mohammad Ka'wash writes on the back-page of
independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm
(10/17): "It is most surprising, even incomprehensible
that President Bush, who claims to wage war against
terror and for the `liberation of people' from
repression, is the same person who aids Sharon and his
extremist government, and gives all support for
Israel's aggression against the Arab Semitic people of
Palestine. We should remind the President that the
Arab people of Palestine and Iraq are Semites, so will
he implement his law to their benefit, too?"
HALE