Albright Protests Alleged Abuse of Arab Americans by Israel

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright complained directly to Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy on Friday about reports that some Arab Americans have been tortured in Israeli jails.

A senior State Department official described the exchange as “significant.” He said it was the first time such complaints have been raised at the ministerial level.

“The secretary raised the issue of the treatment of Americans, especially Palestinian Americans, by the Israeli authorities,” the official said. “We want to see all Americans treated well, with dignity, by the Israeli authorities.”

The official said Levy “promised to look into the matter. He was very sympathetic.”

However, he said Levy reminded Albright that Israel needs to employ firm measures against terrorism.

Three U.S. citizens, two of Palestinian origin and one born in Lebanon, complained last month that U.S. diplomats knew they were being interrogated under torture but did nothing to help.

All three, released after weeks or months of detention, said the American diplomats who visited them in prison seemed unable or unwilling to challenge the Israeli security forces who scoffed at their U.S. citizenship.

Anwar Mohamad, 27, of Orlando, Fla.; Yousuf Marei, 44, of Chicago; and Beshar Saidi, 35, of Detroit told a Washington news conference that they were arrested during family visits to Israel or the West Bank. All were accused of membership in terrorist organizations, charges they denied.

The U.S. human rights organization Partners for Peace said at least five other American citizens are in detention in Israel.

Israeli police are permitted to use “moderate physical pressure” while questioning prisoners accused of terrorism or other security offenses. Israeli news accounts confirm that this includes forms of torture.

The three Arab Americans said the U.S. consular officers who visited them in jail did not even register a formal complaint about their plight.

The State Department said the cases were taken up with the Israelis through normal diplomatic channels. However, Albright’s meeting with Levy raised the level of the protest substantially.