New York, NY, May 18, 1998…The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) expressed concern today in response to reports that President Clinton will invoke his right under the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) to waive trade sanctions against companies doing business with these rogue nations.

Howard P. Berkowitz, ADL National Chairman, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director issued the following statement:

While the President would be acting within his authority in invoking an ILSA waiver, we are concerned that such action would be viewed as a lack of resolve on behalf of the United States to implement our own laws.

In the past, the United States has not been reluctant to take bold and courageous actions even when acting alone. A failure to do so at this time, particularly in regard to companies doing business with nations long identified by the US as leading sponsors of state terrorism, could jeopardize the important diplomatic leverage provided by the threat of sanctions.

President Clinton expressed his intention to invoke the ILSA waiver as part of an agreement reached between the United States and the European Union.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.