AJCONGRESS WELCOMES AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL'S CONDEMNATION OF
PALESTINIAN SUICIDE BOMBINGS AS PART OF TURNING TIDE IN
'THE BATTLE FOR THE CONSCIENCE OF THE WORLD'
(July 12, 2002) "There can be no doubt that more than ever before, the world beyond Israel and the United States is
awakening to the inhumanity of Palestinian suicide bombings and is finally responding," declared American Jewish Congress
President Jack Rosen today, after Amnesty International issued a scathing condemnation of the attacks. The London-based
organization's report called the suicide bombings crimes against humanity, adding that no Israeli action provided a justification for
the killing of civilians.
"We have often been frustrated by Amnesty International's positions regarding the Middle East conflict, in which Israeli actions
have been condemned far more vigorously than the Palestinian violence which produced those responses," said Rosen from Paris,
where he is leading an AJCongress delegation that is meeting with the French government to demand action against anti-Semitic
violence. "We have been waiting for this condemnation of suicide bombings from Amnesty International for a long time, but the
strong language, the use of words such as 'crimes against humanity' and 'war crimes,' sends out an unmistakable message that the
Palestinians have brought shame on their society through their use of and toleration of violence." "Perhaps Amnesty International's
response will lead to similar condemnations from the United Nations and even the Arab world," Rosen said. "Clearly, the tide is
turning in the battle for the conscience of the world."
The American Jewish Congress, founded in 1918 by Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, Justice Louis D. Brandeis and other
distinguished Jews, specializes in combatting all forms of bigotry through law and legislation. Considered the legal voice
of the American Jewish Community, it works to safeguard Jewish interests, protect basic freedoms enshrined in the
American Bill of Rights and to advance the security of Israel.
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