About-Face on Naming of Muslim to Panel Protested

In a show of solidarity with Muslims, moderate Jewish and Christian leaders on Friday decried an about-face by House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt in withdrawing his controversial appointment of a Los Angeles Muslim to the National Commission on Terrorism.

Their reaction came a day after Gephardt stunned Muslim leaders across the country by announcing that he was rescinding his appointment of Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles.

A Gephardt spokeswoman said the appointment was rescinded because of the time it would take to gain security clearance for Al-Marayati. But Gephardt (D-Mo.) had been under pressure from some Jewish groups, including the Zionist Organization of America, which charged that statements made by Al-Marayati appeared to condone terrorism against Israel and to justify terrorist activity in the United States under certain circumstances.

Those charges were flatly denied by Al-Marayati, as well as by other Jewish and Christian leaders, who on Friday joined Muslims in defending Al-Marayati’s record. They called him a leader in interfaith dialogue and an uncompromising opponent of terrorism, noting that he signed a 1996 statement condemning the terrorist bombing that killed 62 people in Israel and also condemned the bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa.

At the same time, they accused the Zionist Organization of America of using McCarthyite tactics to unjustifiably discredit Al-Marayati. They further suggested that Gephardt, as the chief fund-raiser for the House Democratic Committee, may have been concerned about losing potential contributions from Jewish voters.

“This assault on Salam Al-Marayati by a consortium of Jewish organizations is for me, as a rabbi and as a Jew, an appalling display of ignorance, mindlessness and arrogance,” said Rabbi Leonard I. Beerman, founding rabbi of Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles. “In an attempt to dishonor a good man, I think that these organizations have dishonored themselves.”

Meanwhile, Al-Marayati told reporters at the news conference that while it was a shame that he could not serve, he was not angry. “Today there is not one ounce of resentment or anger toward anyone,” he said.

Others, however, were less sanguine.

The president-elect of the new Progressive Jewish Alliance, attorney Douglas E. Mirell, added, “We don’t believe in the kind of McCarthyite baiting that went on. . . . We will not tolerate it.”

Longtime Jewish leader and fund-raiser Stanley K. Sheinbaum charged that Gephardt “has a serious conflict of interest” in withdrawing Al-Marayati’s appointment. “I know that he’s responding to the potential campaign monies of the American Jewish community,” Sheinbaum said.

Gephardt spokeswoman Sue Harvey said Friday that she did not want to get into the charges. She referred reporters to a letter sent by Gephardt on Friday to House Speaker Dennis J. Hastert (R-Ill.). In it, Gephardt said he was withdrawing Al-Marayati’s appointment because it would take as long as a year for Al-Marayati, an Iraqi-born American citizen who came to the United States when he was 4 years old, to get a security clearance.

Al-Marayati’s wife, Laila, was recently appointed by President Clinton to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Both have been guests of the White House and State Department.

Gephardt’s explanation was greeted with widespread skepticism. Morton A. Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, questioned Gephardt’s official explanation even as he applauded Al-Marayati’s removal.

“I find it troubling and disappointing that Rep. Gephardt would not have made the [real] reason crystal clear,” Klein said Friday. “The basis should have been that Al-Marayati’s record makes it clear he is not a person who can offer rational advice on how to prevent and fight terrorism.”

The 10-member commission will review national policy on preventing and punishing terrorism.

Among others coming to Al-Marayati’s defense Friday were Gene Lichtenstein, editor in chief of the Jewish Journal, and Rep. David Bonior (D-Mich.), who called Al-Marayati “a person of great integrity.”

Earlier, Msgr. Royale M. Vadakin and Rabbi Alfred Wolf, founders of the Interreligious Council of Southern California, joined Eugene Mornell, executive director of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, in writing Gephardt urging him not to withdraw his appointment.

Lichtenstein said that, based on his service on committees with Al-Marayati and on an interview with him for a story in the Jewish Journal, he did not believe that “he is either a terrorist or a supporter of terrorism.” Lichtenstein added that the Zionist Organization of America speaks for a “small percentage” of American Jews.

Also opposing Al-Marayati’s appointment was the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, whose 55 members include the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Congress, B’nai B’rith, Hadassah, Jewish Labor Committee, Orthodox Union and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

Also denouncing Gephardt’s decision was the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. It said Gephardt’s action would serve to institutionalize discrimination against American Muslims and their leaders.