WASHINGTON, July 16 (UPI) -- A coalition of Jewish and Indian-American special-interest groups has started lobbying Congress for recognition that U.S. foreign policy must treat terrorism consistently around the world.
Underlying the seemingly unlikely combination of these disparate ethnic groups into a lobbying group is a maturing of the war on terrorism into a long-term political issue as well as the core ideologies of each group.
The U.S.-India Political Action Committee, a political action group representing foreign-born and native Indian-American interests, along with two prominent pro-Israel American Jewish interest groups -- the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and American Jewish Committee -- have formed a coalition advocating the spread of democracy and opposition to terrorism worldwide.
Although such coalitions are not a new phenomenon, at the heart of their agenda is another goal: to gain greater American support against Palestinian-sponsored terrorism in Israel and Kashmir insurgency-related terror in India.
"Post Sept. 11, I think Indian-Americans and Jewish-Americans got a firsthand taste of what terrorism means and how it has impacted India and Israel," Sanjay Puri, executive director of USINPAC, told United Press International.
He added that fighting the scourge of terrorism consistently around the globe is an important component in the burgeoning trilateral relationship among the United States, India and Israel as well as between the two ethnic groups in America.
Diana Gelak, president of the American League of Lobbyists trade association, would not comment on the motivations of particular interest groups but said that it is common for lobbyists to place their issues in the context of hot political topics.
"If it is the economy that is the big political issue, lobbyists would tend to discuss their issue in light of the economy," she told UPI. "That is essentially one aspect of good lobbying, placing an issue in the context of current events."
Gelak, who is also president of Working for the Future, a lobbying and grass-roots consulting firm, said it is also not uncommon for groups with similar goals to unite for a common cause.
Nevertheless, the combination of such different ethnic groups is a relatively new development, especially in the politics of the war on terrorism. In some ways it represents the maturing of the politics of the issue.
After Sept. 11, 2001, lobbyists almost immediately began couching their ideas in the guise of domestic security, especially corporate interests. It was only a matter of time that ethnic interests got into the game as the acceptance of terrorism as a foreign policy issue became a natural extension of the process.
"It makes sense (for these groups to work together on this issue) because they can really increase their impact," Larry Noble, executive director of the political watchdog group, the Center for Responsive Politics, told UPI.
Although Jewish special-interest groups have long been a staple of American political process, Indian-Americans remain an all-but non-existent minority voice in the U.S. political process. Puri's political action committee, which has only been around for nine months, has given out approximately $100,000 to candidates. He argued that this new coalition represents the coming of age of American-Indians in the political process.
Although he acknowledged that the issue of Kashmiri-related terrorism was part of the their agenda, Puri stressed that it was not the driving issue.
However, a news release from the three groups heralded a vote Wednesday on an amendment to a House bill that takes a tough stance on Pakistan, which has long been at odds with India in a dispute over the Kashmir region. India accuses Pakistan of supporting Kashmiri and Islamic terrorists inside India.
The measure would require the White House inform Congress the extent to which the government of Pakistan has closed all known terrorist training camps operating in Pakistan and Kashmir. In addition, the measure asks for the latest information on the country's efforts to keep Islamic extremists from passing into India.
"Terrorism is not specific to Kashmir, and it comes with a price," said Puri. "Terrorism is bad wherever it happens in the world, if it is in New York, if it is in Jerusalem or in New Delhi."
Noble said that when you look at the type of lobbying such groups may be doing, it is important to recognize the core agenda that underlies their political actions.
"Often they have a perspective from which all their issues and agenda may be defined," Noble told UPI. "These are groups that do have very, very core beliefs and issues they feel very strongly about and so it is not surprising to see them working together."
According to both Republican and Democratic policy staff on Capitol Hill, the joint association has raised the eyebrows of Muslim-American groups. Sources said that they have heard grumblings from Muslim special interests about the partnership and its agenda. The Council for American-Islamic Relations, a prominent Islamic advocacy group, did not return calls to comment for this article.
David Bernstein, a spokesman for the American Jewish Committee, told UPI the Sept. 11 attacks provided an opportunity for cooperation among different groups on policy issues. He noted that this particular grouping has raised interests from the Arab world media, which are often quick to attack any development that they see as potentially anti-Muslim.
However, Bernstein stressed that the groups were not rallying against any other ethnic and religious groups or countries.
He added that all the groups are calling for is a "consistent approach" in the war on terrorism and U.S. government recognition that all terrorism is important and should be stopped.
As to the effectiveness of the partnership, the groups said several members of Congress from both parties are scheduled to attend a reception they have planned on Capitol Hill this week, including Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; Gordon Smith, R-Ore.; Richard Lugar, R-Ind.; and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, along with Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
Bernstein also said the response has lead the AJC to examine expanding the coalition to include other U.S. ethnic interest groups whose native countries face terrorism problems, including Americans with Filipino, Albanian, Bosnian or Turkish heritages.
