Abraham H. Foxman
National Director
Anti-Defamation League
823 United Nations Plaza
New York, New York 10017

Dear Mr. Foxman:

We write in response to your statement on behalf of the ADL on May 8, 2001 regarding the report of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee.

Our report focused on three objectives: to end the violence, to rebuild confidence between the parties, and to encourage them to resume negotiations. Our recommendations seek to help the parties achieve those objectives.

The immediate aim must be to end the violence. In our recommendations, we call upon the parties to reaffirm their existing agreements and undertakings and to implement immediately an unconditional cessation of violence. Your statement notes your agreement with that prescription and we welcome your support. Part of the effort to end the violence must include an immediate resumption of security cooperation between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority aimed at preventing violence and combating terrorism.

In addition, we recommend more than 15 different steps the parties can take to rebuild mutual confidence. Contrary to your assertion, none of the recommendations are linked" to one another. We believe, and stated, that the timing and sequence of such steps can be decided only by the parties.

Among the many confidence-building recommendations in our report are two cited in your statement those related to terrorism and settlement construction activity.

Regarding terrorism, we call upon the Palestinian Authority, as a confidence-building measure, to make clear through concrete action, to Israelis and Palestinians alike, that terrorism is reprehensible and unacceptable and the Palestinian Authority is to make a total effort to prevent terrorist operations and to punish perpetrators operating in its jurisdiction. Separately, we call upon the Government of Israel to freeze all settlement construction activity.

You criticize the Committee report by stating that it "seemingly equates Palestinian terrorism with Israeli settlement activity." Your use of the word "seemingly" is, of course, an acknowledgment that the equation does not appear directly in the report. We want to go further and make it clear that we do not in any way equate Palestinian terrorism with Israeli settlement activity, "seemingly" or otherwise.

We categorically reject any attempt to impute to us a view we do not hold and which does not appear in our report.

Our view that settlement construction activity is an obstacle to resolution of the conflict is consistent with the policy of the United States Government over the past quarter century. Since you say that you have read our report you must be aware that we cited statements to that effect from the administrations of Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Bush, all of which are attached for your ready reference.

You further state that "while the report strives to present a neutral view of the situation, it inappropriately does so when presenting what happened at Camp David, thereby distorting the situation that existed prior to the violence." This criticism reflects a basic misunderstanding of the Committee's role and its mandate.

It was not in the Committee's mandate to pass judgment on the proposals put forward by either party at Camp David or on whether rejection of any proposals by either side was a good or bad idea. Therefore, we did not do so. Instead, our report simply sets forth the differing perspectives of Israelis and Palestinians, as described to us by the parties themselves, following the Camp David Summit and how those differing perspectives contributed to the events on the ground in the following months.

We hope that this letter clarifies the Committee's view on these issue. We know that you share our hope that the violence in the region will soon end, and that the parties will return to meaningful negotiations leading to a just resolution of the conflict.

We would appreciate it if you would make a copy of this reply available to all those to whom you distributed your statement.