US embassy cable - 04AMMAN8595

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