Wexler cancels talk with PLO official
By Larry Lipman
Palm Beach Post Washington Bureau
Saturday, March 10, 2007
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler has cancelled a meeting with the chief Palestinian representative in Washington in response to an e-mail critical of a prominent pro-Israel lobbying organization.
Wexler, a Democrat from Delray Beach who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the e-mail sent by Afif Safieh to several congressional offices Friday "is reprehensible and does nothing to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East."
Safieh, who met with several House members this week as head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization's Washington office, was scheduled to meet next week with Wexler.
In his e-mail, Safieh criticized the America Israel Public Affairs Committee - commonly known as AIPAC - for what he called the organization's "maximalist and belligerent lobbying techniques" in support of a tough stance against Iraq and Iran, and what he said were AIPAC's "constant attempts to neutralize" America's effort to reach a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian impasse.
Wexler said in a statement that Safieh's comments were "false, wrong and set back the Palestinian cause.
"Instead of attacking AIPAC, Mr. Safieh should explain how a Palestinian unity government led by the terrorist organization Hamas, whose stated goal is to destroy Israel, is in the best interest of the Palestinian people or peace in the region," Wexler said.
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