July 22, 2004
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Attn: NEWS EDITOR

ARAFAT SAYS ISRAEL CAUSES CANCER AMONG ARABS;
LATEST IN LONG SERIES OF BIZARRE
CONSPIRACY THEORIES

NEW YORK- In the latest of a long series of bizarre conspiracy theories,
Yasir Arafat has accused Israel of using a certain type of bullet to cause
cancer among Arabs.

Speaking to reporters on July 20, 2004, Arafat falsely alleged that Israel
uses depleted- uranium bullets, as part of its plot to "cause cancer that is
like Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Arafat told reporters to visit Palestinian
Arab hospitals to confirm his claim, but cancer specialists at hospitals in
Ramallah and Bethlehem said that there has been no increase in the cancer
rate. Arafat also brandished a report that he said was prepared by the
Quartet (the U.S., Russia, the EU, and the U.N.) and "proved" the cancer
claim. But the report was prepared by an obscure anti-Israel group and does
not make any claims about the cancer rate. Arafat also accused Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon of being a secret member of an extremist group
involved in the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. (Washington Times, July 21,
2004)

Morton A. Klein, National President of the Zionist Organization of America
(ZOA), said: "If the leaders of any other regime promoted such insane,
hate-filled conspiracy theories, they would be treated by the international
community as pariahs - which is what happened to Idi Amin. Yet the
Palestinian Arabs are given billions in international aid and world leaders
call for the creation of a Palestinian Arab state. Why the double standard?"

The ZOA points out that such accusations are widely believed among the
Palestinian Arabs, which further demonstrates that they are consumed by
irrational hatred and cannot be trusted to build a civilized democracy if
they are given sovereign statehood.

Other recent Palestinian Arab conspiracy theories:

* "ZIONISTS CARRYING OUT ANTI-SEMITIC ATTACKS IN FRANCE": Hafez Barghouti,
editor of the official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, said on PA Television in
January 2004, that "secret Zionist gangs" in France have been "blowing up
Jewish synagogues in order to force them to immigrate [to Israel]." (PMW,
Jan.11, 2004)

* "ISRAEL RESPONSIBLE FOR MOSQUITOES IN GAZA": Basem Abu Dalal, the mayor of
the town of Al-Nuseirat in PA-controlled Gaza, said that central Gaza is
"suffering a rampage by

mosquitoes," and said "the occupation" was one of the factors responsible.
(Even though Israel's administration of the area ended in 1994.) (Jerusalem
Times, Aug. 7, 2003)

* "ISRAEL MURDERS ARAB CHILDREN TO GET THEIR ORGANS": The official PA
newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reported on Dec. 24, 2001, that "When the
occupying authority holds the bodies of martyrs ... they steal body parts of
the martyrs." Similarly, Arafat said on Al Jazeera Television on January 13,
2002, that the Israelis "murder our kids and use their organs as spare
parts."

* "ISRAEL CAUSES MAD COW DISEASE": Maher Al-Dasouqi, director of the PA's
Committee for Consumer Protection, said: "Citizens must be vigilant
regarding chocolate from England, especially Cadbury's, which is very
popular in Palestinian markets, since the milk used in the production of all
types of Cadbury's chocolate was infected with mad cow disease. The sale of
this chocolate is forbidden in England, but it was smuggled into the
Palestinian regions by Israeli merchants..." (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec.8,
1997)

* "ISRAEL INFECTS ARAB CHILDREN WITH AIDS": Nabil Ramlawi, the PLO
representative to the United Nations in Geneva, said: "The Israeli
authorities infected by injection 300 Palestinian children with the HIV
virus during the years of the intifada." (Jerusalem Post, March 17, 1997)

* "ISRAEL ASSASSINATED ITS OWN TOURISM MINISTER": In a three-part interview
with Israel TV on Dec.7-9, 2001, Arafat said "the Israeli Mossad was behind
the assassination in Jerusalem of Israeli cabinet minister Rehavam Ze'evi."

* "ISRAEL CARRIED OUT THE 9/11 ATTACKS": On Oct. 7, 2001, PA Radio reported
that "U.S. law enforcement officials have nabbed three cadres of Mossad
operatives in New York in connection with the September 11 attacks." Mossad
chief Ephraim Halevy said in Nov. 2001: "Arafat tells everyone who will
listen that the Mossad crashed into the Twin Towers in New York. Arafat
lives in a world of lies and perpetual fantasy." (Israel Radio, Nov.26,
2001)

* "ISRAEL USES NAKED WOMEN TO CAPTURE INTIFADA YOUTH": A front-page
declaration in the official PA newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida on Aug. 14,
2001, claimed that "the occupation is using naked women to hunt down
intifada youth." (Jerusalem Post, Aug.15, 2001)
* * *
The Zionist Organization of America, founded in 1897, is the oldest
pro-Israel organization in the United States. The ZOA works to strengthen
U.S.-Israel relations, educates the American public and Congress about the
dangers that Israel faces, and combats anti-Israel bias in the media and on
college campuses. Its past presidents have included Supreme Court Justice
Louis Brandeis and Rabbi Dr. Abba Hillel Silver.