Herbert Zweibon

Moslem leaders have been manipulating American Jewish leaders – and painful to say, they have basked in the exploitation. On September 17, under the auspices of the American Jewish Congress, Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf addressed over 300 Jewish leaders. Calling Islam a “religion of tolerance, compassion and peace,” and offering a cosmetic gloss on the history of Jewish-Moslem relations (not Jewish dhimmitude but “cooperation and coexistence”), Musharraf went on to urge the entire Jewish community to “use its considerable influence” to pressure Israel “to put an end to the Palestinian dispute once and for all.” The entire onus was on Israel: Israel must accept a Palestinian state, withdraw to the 1949 borders and, insult to injury, internationalize Jerusalem.

Most dangerous of all, for this is the false argument Arab leaders obsessively press upon Western politicians, Musharraf said he did not have “an iota of doubt” that the Palestinian problem “lies at the heart of terrorism in the Middle East and beyond.” (Prince Saud Al Faisal, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations a few days later made the same claim: with Israel’s “total withdrawal…the other conflicts in the region would vanish and fade.”)

It was as if Sharon had gone to Islamabad and told a gathering of leading imams and politicians that he hoped to restore the historically warm relations between Jews and Moslems but diplomatic relations would only be possible once Pakistan had abolished its nuclear capability, closed down its madrassas, and come to a comprehensive agreement with India in which it renounced all claims to Kashmir. One can only imagine the reception Pakistanis would accord such a speech. The Jews listening to Musharraf making equivalent demands accorded him a series of standing ovations.

Not to be outdone, within a week of the meeting with Musharraf, Jordan’s King Abdullah addressed a group of American rabbis in Washington D.C. . No list of demands on Israel this time: just soothing statements about Jews and Muslims being irrevocably “tied together by culture and history” and his own firm opposition to radical Islamists. Again, standing ovations punctuated the eleven minute talk and Rabbi Marc Gopin told Abdullah that secular leaders “need to learn from your example” of “true heroism.”

Yet a few days earlier Jordan’s Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs had blasted the UN for even permitting Sharon to speak. “How could this world organization allow a war criminal to review lies based on false claims and biblical legends in Palestine” when “historic, demographic and religious facts” prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that “the land of Palestine and Jerusalem have been inhabited by Arab Canaanites for over 5,000 years.” A just-released Pew opinion survey found that Jordan led the Islamic world in antipathy to Jews, with 100% viewing them unfavorably. As Jihad Watch’s Robert Spencer points out, 100 percent of a nation’s population does not express disdain for Jews unless they live in a culture awash in anti-Semitic vitriol.

It’s no secret why Musharraf and Abdullah met with Jewish groups. The Jerusalem Post (Sept. 18) reports that officials traveling with Musharraf privately said that he regards the support of U.S. Jewry as an immensely valuable factor as he seeks to solidify his ties with the United States administration.

And it only requires a little common sense to know what Jewish targets in this country should be saying in response to overtures from Arab leaders: We’d love to meet with you, but only when you can offer a progress report on the steps you have taken in your own country to counter anti-Semitism and anti-Israel hatred.