Jewish Dems Lead Letter Urging Terrorist Classification for Released Palestinian Prisoners

Ariela Fleisig — November 2, 2011 – 3:04 pm | Democrats | Foreign Policy | Israel | Terrorism Comments (0) Add a comment

Four high-ranking Jewish Democratic Representatives last week authored a letter calling upon Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and FBI Director Robert Mueller to place the Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit on the U.S. terrorist databases, effectively preventing them from entering the United States.

Citing just a few of the terrorist attacks executed by the released prisoners, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Representative Steve Israel (D-NY), ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee Representative Howard Berman (D-CA), ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia Representative Gary Ackerman (D-NY), and Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) wrote:

[W]e urge you to work across the Intelligence Community to ensure these individuals are included in all relevant terrorist databases. Each of these released Palestinian prisoners has been convicted of a terrorism-related offense and should be treated as such. All government resources must be utilized, including the Terrorist Screening Center’s Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) and the State Department’s Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS), to make certain that these convicted terrorists are not granted the privilege of entering the United States of America.

The 32 co-signatories—27 of whom are Democrats—include Democratic National Committee Chair Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Representative Steve Rothman (D-NJ), Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY), Representative Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Representative Ted Deutch (D-FL), Representative Sander Levin (D-MI), Representative Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Representative Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU), Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA), Representative Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Representative Albio Sires (D-NJ), Representative William Keating (D-MA), Representative David Cicilline (D-RI), Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY), Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), Representative Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Representative Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Representative Gene Green (D-TX), Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Representative Janice Hahn (D-CA), Representative Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Representative Brian Higgins (D-NY), and Representative David Scott (D-GA).

Click here to read the letter.

 

Comments

There are no comments for this entry