Posted on 06/03/2003 5:44:34 AM PDT by SJackson
June 2, 2003 Contact: (212) 481-1500 Attn: NEWS EDITOR
ZOA TO ASHCROFT: INDICT & EXTRADITE ARAB KILLER OF U.S. CITIZEN WHOM SHARON IS RELEASING
NEW YORK- The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is urging U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to indict and extradite a Palestinian Arab murderer of an American, who is being released by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a "gesture" to the Palestinian Arabs.
The terrorist scheduled for release is Ahmad El-Sukar, who is presently serving a sentence of life imprisonment for a bombing in downtown Jerusalem's Zion Square on July 4, 1975, murdering 14 passersby. One of those murdered was U.S. citizen Rivka Ben-Yitzhak, age 35. Among the wounded were three Americans--U.S. tourist Mark Katz and "two American young women tourists" whose names were not released. (New York Times, July 5, 1975)
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein, chairman of the board Dr. Alan Mazurek, and chairman of the National Executive Committee Dr. Michael Goldblatt have sent a telegram to Attorney General Ashcroft urging: "We deplore the Sharon government's reported decision to order the release of a killer of Americans, and we urge you to intervene to ensure that El-Sukar receives the appropriate punishment for his crimes. The United States should indict El-Sukar for the murder of U.S. citizen Rivka Ben-Yitzhak, and request that El-Sukar be extradited from Israel to the U.S. in accordance with the terms of the U.S.-Israel extradition treaty. If the Sharon government is not prepared to mete out justice to this murderer of Israelis and Americans, El-Sukar, then the U.S. government must do so."
The ZOA is also urging the Attorney General to:
* Place Ahmad El-Sukar on the "terrorist watch" list so that he is not allowed to enter the United States (except to stand trial).
* Assist the family of Rivka Ben-Yitzhak, and relatives of the Americans wounded in the bombing, in filing suit against El-Sukar for violating their civil rights.
* Demand that the Palestinian Authority pledge, in writing, to refrain from providing any financial assistance to El-Sukar or his family (the PA's standard policy has been to provide salaries to released terrorists).
* Demand that the PA provide a verifiable account of how much money it has provided to El-Sukar or his family since his imprisonment, and deduct that amount from the next installment of the Bush administration's annual $150-million grant to the Palestinian Arabs.
* Post warnings in the vicinity of El-Sukar's next place of residence, alerting U.S. citizens who live in the area that a killer is about to become their neighbor--similar to warnings that are posted in American neighborhoods when convicted child molesters move into the area.
* Instruct the CIA Station Chief in Israel to monitor El-Sukar's travels and inform the Ben-Yitzhaks and the other victims' families of his whereabouts at all times.
* * *
More than 100 American citizens have been murdered by Palestinian Arab terrorists since the 1960s, 39 of them since the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. Twenty-seven of those 39 were killed since the Palestinian Authority launched the current wave of violence in September 2000.
In response to the ongoing murders of American citizens by Palestinian Arab terrorists, the ZOA is strongly supporting the Koby Mandell Act, which was recently introduced in Congress. The Koby Mandell Act would create a special office within the Justice Department which would: gather evidence against Palestinian Arab killers of Americans; arrange to bring the terrorists to the U.S. for trial; initiate negotiations with the Palestinian Authority for financial compensation for victims' families; and maintain a liaison with the families to update them on efforts to capture the killers.
The Koby Mandell Act has been publicly endorsed by AIPAC and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
The legislation has broad bipartisan support in Congress. In the Senate, it currently has 12 sponsors, led by Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). In the House of Representatives, it currently has 41 sponsors, led by Representatives Rob Andrews (D-NJ) and Jim Saxton (R-NJ). (For a complete list of the sponsors, call the ZOA at 212-481-1500.)
The ZOA recently published a powerful new booklet, The Forgotten Victims: American Citizens Murdered by Palestinian Arab Terrorists. It includes biographical entries on Americans murdered by Palestinian Arab terrorists and a "Killers at Large" section revealing the names --and, in some cases, the photos-- of Palestinian Arab killers of Americans who are being sheltered by the PA. For a free copy of The Forgotten Victims, please call the ZOA at 212-481-1500.
* * *
The Zionist Organization of America, www.zoa.org ,founded in 1897, is the oldest pro-Israel organization in the United States. The ZOA works to strengthen U.S.-Israel relations, educates the American public and Congress about the dangers that Israel faces, and combats anti-Israel bias in the media and on college campuses. Its past presidents have included Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis and Rabbi Dr. Abba Hillel Silver.
Az, I must congratulate you. You posted 3 or 4 times before you played the anti-semitic card. Wonderful!
It's negligence if you're late to work because you forgot to set your clock. If you are daydreaming and run your car onto a sidewalk and kill several people, it's manslaughter. If you "negligently" allow a murderous militia into a refugee camp of the enemy and they do what everyone involved knew they would do, that's a war crime.
The operative word is disregard. That means one knows about something and doesn't care.
It says that all in that document? Still waiting for proof that "Israeli Supreme Court" ruled Sharon a "war criminal". I see you are still not adressing my other points. Typical.
Israel and the Occupied Territories
Covering events from January - December 2002
STATE OF ISRAEL
Head of state: Moshe Katzav
Head of government: Ariel Sharon
Death penalty: abolitionist for ordinary crimes
International Criminal Court: nullified signature
At least 1,000 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army, most of them unlawfully. They included some 150 children and at least 35 individuals killed in targeted assassinations. Palestinian armed groups killed more than 420 Israelis, at least 265 of them civilians and including 47 children, and some 20 foreign nationals, in targeted or indiscriminate attacks. Prolonged closures and curfews were imposed throughout the Occupied Territories and more than 2,000 homes were destroyed. Thousands of Palestinians were arrested. Most were released without charge, but more than 3,000 remained in military jails. More than 1,900 were held in administrative detention without charge or trial, and some 5,000 were charged with security offences, including involvement in attacks against Israelis. More than 3,800 were tried before military courts in trials that did not meet international standards. Ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees was widespread. Israeli soldiers used Palestinians as "human shields" during military operations. Certain abuses committed by the Israeli army constituted war crimes. These included unlawful killings, obstruction of medical assistance and targeting of medical personnel, extensive and wanton destruction of property, torture and cruel and inhuman treatment, unlawful confinement and the use of "human shields". The deliberate targeting of civilians by Palestinian armed groups constituted crimes against humanity. At least 158 Israeli conscientious objectors and reservists who refused to serve in the Occupied Territories were imprisoned. Several Israeli soldiers and settlers were arrested on charges of selling weapons and munitions to armed Palestinian groups, and four Israeli settlers were arrested and charged with attempting to bomb a Palestinian school.
End quote. Looks pretty nasty on both sides to me.
Quote please.
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