U.S. Group Warns of Anti-Arab Backlash : Domestic reaction: Leaders cite violence since crisis began. They denounce Iraqi aggression but say Hussein should not be likened to Hitler.

A spokesman for the nation’s largest Arab-American group, holding its first national meeting since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait last month, said it is wrong to compare Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hitler and asserted that the crisis has spawned increased incidents of anti-Arab violence in this country.

But leaders of the National Assn. of Arab Americans, which claims more than 2 million U.S. residents in its membership, also denounced Iraqi “military aggression” against a neighboring Arab country and said a majority of Arab-Americans support the deployment of U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia.

But there is also rising concern that reaction to the crisis will “reinforce stereotypes” and increase ethnic friction.

“What is dangerous is when political leaders, and particularly people in the media, manipulate a situation to increase their popularity by playing on fears,” Khalil E. Jahshan, associate executive director of the group, said at a news conference Friday.

“Some members of the community have been exposed to physical violence and harassment. We are not going to sit still and say they are isolated incidents. We take them seriously and are reporting them to (authorities).” He did not provide details.

In addition, Jahshan said comparisons of Hussein with Hitler tend to “demonize all Arab-Americans.” President Bush has called Hussein a “ruthless dictator” and on several occasions has compared the Iraqi leader’s takeover of Kuwait with Hitler’s aggression in Europe in the 1930s.

“Equating Hussein with Hitler is wrong objectively,” Jahshan argued. “I don’t think he has done things that compare with Hitler.”

Jahshan also said many in the Arab-American community feel the United States is guilty of a double standard in demanding withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait but not doing so in the case of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

“The NAAA believes . . . that no nation should ever again be permitted to seize or occupy the territory of another by force of arms,” stated a resolution adopted by the association’s board of directors. “Implementation of this principle not only requires that the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait be ended, but it also requires that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian territory should be ended.”

William Harlow, a White House assistant press secretary, said Friday that Bush’s comments were not intended to “reflect on Arabs in general” and said it would “distract from the current situation to connect Iraqi actions to the Palestinian question.”

Despite their concerns, Jahshan and other Arab-American leaders offered mostly praise for Bush’s handling of the crisis, calling the President’s response “sound and principled.”

Representatives of the group have been invited to meet with Bush on Monday to share their views on the gulf crisis, Jahshan said.

The association had scheduled its 18th annual convention long before the Iraqi invasion but quickly rearranged events and speakers to address the crisis in the Persian Gulf.