April 1990, Page 45

Waging Peace

By Vicki Tamoush

Setting the Record Straight on Hate Crimes in Los Angeles

The official report on hate crimes published by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations (1184 Hall of Records, 320 West Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, Ms. Bunny Hatcher (213) 974-7611) has been released and is available to the public. The 1989 report includes a summary of hate crimes statistics for the past decade. Crimes against Arabs account for 4.2 percent of all racially motivated incidents in 1989; religiously motivated crimes against Muslims accounted for .8 percent for the same period. However, figures reflect only crimes which are actually reported, and it is recognized that ethnic and immigrant communities may experience much higher numbers of hate crimes than are known to Los Angeles County officials. Press cove rage of the report on the day of its release grossly exaggerated the proportion of incidents against Middle Easterners, including Arabs, Armenians and Iranians, in communities where concentrations of these ethnicities reside.

Publications

Middle East Insights magazine (2029 Q Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; (202) 667-9004), Volume VII, Number 1, features "Israeli TV Coverage of the Intifada: Throwing Stones at the Messenger" by Leon T. Hadar. The article cites examples from all media, then posits: ". . . the Israeli press has been one of the few remaining islands of reason, attempting to provide the public with an accurate picture of what is happening in the territories."

RESIST (One Summer Street, Somerville MA 02143; (617) 623- 5110) recently published its list of grants distributed in 1989, of which eight grants (5.2 percent of the the total) were given to Middle East organizations. RESIST has funded a number of peace-oriented projects, particularly those which involve both Arabs and Jews. The grant guidelines, which sport the motto, "Funding social change since 1967," are available upon request, as is information on loans and donor-directed grants.

Activities

The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF, US Section Middle East Committee, 743 Spruce Street, Berkeley CA 94707) will send an international delegation to Israel -Palestine in the first half of 1990. The group will comprise four to five representatives, including WILPF Secretary-General Edith Ballantyne and members from the US and Swedish Sections, as well as the International Executive Committee. WILPF hopes to build both the Israeli and Palestinian Sections, and to extend support to the women's peace groups in the region. Other projects of the Middle East Committee include lobbying members of Congress to reopen West Bank schools, and resolutions pertaining to the Iran/Iraq conflict and to Lebanon.

The Michigan chapter of the Middle East Justice Network (c/o Don Cooney, 701 Norton Drive. Kalamazoo, MI 49001; (616) 387-3190) has drafted a "Resolution on Humanitarian Aid to Beit Sahour," calling on Congress to "investigate the extent of human rights abuse in that village; to allocate $20 million in humanitarian aid for Beit Sahour; and to tie further US aid to Israel's compliance with internationally-accepted standards of human rights. " The draft legislation is the work of six MEJN members who recently toured Gaza and the West Bank, witnessing the confiscation of millions of dollars of personal property from Palestinian residents who refused to pay taxes. Chapter members have also pressed Congressman Howard Wolpe (D-MI), who has received at least $108,900 in political contributions from pro-Israel political action committees and who signed three of the four pro-Israel letters circulated in the House in 1989.

The Interreligious Committee for Peace in the Middle East (Greene and Westview, Third Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19119; (215) 438-4142) held a regional weekend conference at Boston College. A Christian/ Muslim/Jewish trialogue was begun, and interaction among various area groups was encouraged. Attendance exceeded the preregistration, and similar conferences are planned across the country.

Vicki Tamoush is an Arab American based in Glendale, CA, where she is active in peace groups.