American Jewish Committee Condemns Brutal Murder of Israeli Soldiers in Ramallah

American Jewish Committee
Thursday, 12 October 2000

The American Jewish Committee today condemned the horrific lynching and murder of Israeli soldiers in Ramallah.

"This latest outrage, the gleeful abduction and murder of several Israelis who took a wrong turn into downtown Ramallah, is an unspeakable result of the escalating and unending violence launched and encouraged by the Palestinian leadership," said Bruce M. Ramer, president of the American Jewish Committee.

"Every day that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat refuses to assume the responsibility of leadership, act to calm rather than inflame his people, and return to the peace process is another day of tragedy for both Israelis and Palestinians," said Shulamith Bahat, acting executive director of the American Jewish Committee.

Since the Palestinian-initiated violence in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza two weeks ago, the American Jewish Committee has demonstrated, through a range of advocacy efforts, its solidarity with the besieged people of Israel and sought to convey to Americans and the international community the reality of Palestinian obstinacy and reliance on violence.

"At this time it is imperative that all friends of Israel support the government of Prime Minister Ehud Barak," said Mr. Ramer.

Earlier in the week, after the UN Security Council passed a one-sided resolution criticizing Israel, AJC deplored the Security Council action and contacted the governments of 80 countries expressing the outrage of American Jews.

"At a time when attacks against Israel were spreading, when a Palestinian mob had ransacked Joseph's Tomb, a Jewish holy site, while Palestinian police stood by, and when Israeli soldiers had been kidnapped by Hezbollah marauders who crossed the internationally recognized border from Lebanon, the UN Security Council voted to approve a resolution condemning Israel alone for the violence of recent days," AJC President Bruce M. Ramer and Acting Executive Director Shulamith Bahat wrote in a letter to the foreign ministers of 80 countries that have relationships with the American Jewish Committee.

"We are reminded of the days leading up to the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war, when the international community ignored the mobilization of Arab armies and the verbal threats of Arab leaders. Now, with Israel under assault from Palestinians, including armed Palestinian police, from Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, and from the leaders of Iran and Iraq who are calling for Israel's wholesale destruction, too many governments around the world are falling back on old habits of countenancing Palestinian violence and censuring Israel for its self-defense," the AJC letter continued.

A similar letter also was sent to all members of the U.S. Congress as part of an appeal to publicly support Israel.

In an AJC ad, "Assuming responsibility for peace" (www.ajc.org), published this week in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and the International Herald Tribune, the American Jewish Committee chronicled the Palestinian actions of recent days, and called on Arafat to "assume the responsibility of leadership and grasp the long-outstretched hand of Israel for peace."

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org