‘Anger at Brandeis’

We are disappointed that Jehuda Reinharz, president of Brandeis University, has “refused to respond to specific concerns about Mr. [Khalil] Shikaki,” the controversial Palestinian academic who was recently hired there [“Anger at Brandeis Is Growing Over a Palestinian Scholar,” Meghan Clyne, Page 1, February 10, 2006].

Why has President Reinharz ignored the wiretap evidence that the U.S. government says links him to raising money for the terrorist group Islamic Jihad?

Why has Mr. Reinharz ignored the fact that Mr. Shikaki is a cofounder, along with Sami-al-Arian, another controversial academic, of the World & Islam Study Enterprise, which regularly brought in radical Islamic speakers like Sheik Omar Rahman, who was convicted in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; exiled Tunisian, Rashid el-Ghanoushi, who was denied a visa due to terror connections; and Sudan’s Hassan Turabi, who is referred to by the FBI’s Buck Revelle as someone “who supports terrorists”?

And why has Mr. Reinharz ignored the fact that Mr. Shikaki regularly participated at Islamic Committee for Palestine conferences where, according to terrorism expert Steven Emerson, Mr. Shikaki “proclaimed support for (terrorist group) Palestinian Islamic Jihad as a unifying element of the Islamic resistance in Palestine”?

Immigration special agent Bill West said that at the conferences “the speakers condone violent acts against Israel, Jews, and Western targets” and “support Jihad.”

Mr. Emerson summarized the evidence saying, “The pattern of evidence … clearly shows that Shikaki was intimately aware of and participated in the operations of Islamic Jihad. He was a pivotal player in the creation of this terror network.”

Stephen Flatow, whose Brandeis student daughter was murdered by Islamic Jihad said, “You have to wonder what they were thinking” when they hired Mr. Shikaki.

All we are asking is for Brandeis to conduct a thorough investigation of Khalil Shikaki’s background to determine what should be the appropriate action in this situation.

Louis Brandeis himself said, “Light is the best disinfectant.” Mr. Reinharz, we respectfully request you heed the words of Justice Brandeis and shed more light on Mr. Shikaki’s past.

MORTON A. KLEIN
National President
Zionist Organization of America
Manhattan

‘Off Track’

I find it perplexing that our president calls for a reduction in our addiction to foreign oil, yet again offers Amtrak no more than a starvation funding level [“Off Track,” Editorial, February 10, 2006].

Passenger rail is one of the most fuel-efficient and environmentally sound ways for people to travel. Yet in this country we invest in highways, waterways, and airways but subsidize passenger trains.

Where is the return on investing in a highway? Does it generate cash for the government? No. The return is that it allows Americans to move efficiently about the country for personal reasons and to conduct commerce. Yet the shrinking investment in passenger rail marginalizes this environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient mode of transportation.

Last year, Amtrak received $1.3 billion, of which only about $300 million went for operational costs for trains outside of the northeast corridor, yet these trains accounted for a majority of the passenger miles traveled on Amtrak. As for the remaining money, a majority of the balance went to support what you call the “profitable” northeast corridor.

All Americans deserve travel options. People have said that the national network of trains is not necessary, however, if you overlay a map of the Amtrak system and a map of the interstate system, the systems travel many of the same routes.

Should we eliminate highways in parts of the country because they are not congested? No. As a nation we have no problem investing in highways even where they are lightly used because they are critical to the interstate system. This is true of our national network of trains.

If anything, we should be increasing investment in the national network and invest in the freight railways to increase capacity, if we are really interested in reducing our addiction to Middle Eastern oil.

In California, we decided to build it and see if they would come. We did and people came in droves, with almost 5 million using our state-supported system last year, and this in the car capital of the country. Unfortunately, our president continues to avoid that bold step that will truly help reduce our addiction to Middle Eastern oil.

JIM SALVADOR
Martinez, Calif.

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