F.B.I. CHIEF WARNS ARABS OF DANGER

He Says Bureau Established Links Among U.S. Attacks on ‘Enemies of Israel’

By PHILIP SHENON

F.B.I. CHIEF WARNS ARABS OF DANGER — The New York Times, 11 December 1985 — The New York Times · 11 December 1985

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Transcribed from the clipping

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 — William H. Webster, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said today that Arab-Americans had entered a “zone of danger” and were targets of violence by a group seeking to harm “enemies of Israel.” Mr.

Webster said that the F.B.I. had found links among a series of recent attacks on Arab-Americans, although he did not provide a detailed description of the group purportedly behind the incidents.

“I think I can say that Arab individuals or those supporting of Arab points of view have come within the zone of danger — targeting by a group as yet to be fully identified and brought to justice,” he said in a question-and-answer session with reporters at the National Press Club.

Five Attacks in 1985 Militant Jewish organizations have come under suspicion in five terrorist attacks this year, including two bombings of Arab-American groups, that have caused two deaths and several injuries.

The F.B.I. had said previously that it believed the Jewish Defense League might be linked to the bombing in Santa Ana, Calif., in October of the office of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. The explosion killed the group's West Coast director. The Defense League has denied any responsibility. “There appears to be a common activity,” Mr.

Webster said, “suggesting the same participants who are engaging in terrorist activity, violent criminal activity, in a number of places in the country utilizing similar methods.” Mr.

Webster said that those who had orchestrated the attacks were “focusing not specifically upon Arabs as such, but upon all of those who could be in the category of enemies of Israel, and that would include those who are believed, or accused of being neo-Nazis.” ‘This Is a Turning Point’ Arab-American groups said today that they welcomed Mr. Webster's remarks.

“I think this is a turning point,” said Peter S. Tanous, acting president of the National Association of Arab Americans. “I welcome the comments, although I think they are a little late in coming.” James G.

Abourezk, national chairman of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said, “The authorities are finally beginning to realize that we've been brought into a war situation against our will.” The F.B.I. has begun an investigation to determine whether the civil rights of Arab-Americans have been violated in a series of attacks on the committee's regional offices.

An attempted bombing injured two members of a police bomb squad in Boston last summer. Late last month a fire destroyed the committee's Washington headquarters, and Federal investigators have clasified the blaze as “very suspicious.” The group's West Coast director, Alex Odeh, was killed in the California bombing, which occurred Oct. 11. F.B.I. Experts Called In Mr.

Webster said that he called in “40 of our experts from around the country on the first of November to marshall our resources in this area.” “We are making some headway,” he said without elaboration.

How this transcription was made

Confirmed on the page: the byline line reads 'Special to The New York Times'. — No masthead or printed date on the cut. The dateline reads 'WASHINGTON, Dec. 10' and the body says Webster spoke 'today', so a Dec. 11 paper is consistent with Maria's label. The year is not printed; the subhead 'Five Attacks in 1985' and the reference to the October Santa Ana bombing put it in 1985. — The paper sets 'clasified' with one s and 'marshall' with two l's — both kept as printed. The subhead digits in 'Five Attacks in 1985' are mushy in this scan; 1985 is the only reading consistent with the glyph shapes and with the body's 'this year'. The clipping continues past this point; the excerpt ends at a complete sentence.

Cite this clipping

"F.B.I. CHIEF WARNS ARABS OF DANGER," The New York Times, 11 December 1985. Covering Palestine archive, CP-1985-042. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-1985-042