The Rev. Jesse Jackson has fulfilled his promise to Nazihunter Beate Klarsfeld to write to President Hafez al-Assad of Syria, asking for the extradition to West Germany of alleged Nazi war criminal Alois Brunner.
Jackson made the promise last week to Klarsfeld, who for years has been seeking to bring Brunner to trial.
The letter reportedly was sent Wednesday night to the charge d’affaires at the Syrian Embassy in Washington. A copy was sent to Jackson’s friend, political analyst Anne Lewis in Washington, whose office made the text available to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
In the one-page letter, Jackson refers to the good relations created between himself and the Syrian president in 1984, when Jackson secured the release of American reconnaissance pilot Robert Goodman, whose plane was shot down by Syrian troops in Lebanon.
At that time, Jackson writes in the letter, Assad showed “visionary leadership in demonstrating that this sign could be a first step in moving our nations in the direction of peace and negotiation rather than confrontation — an art of humanity and statesmanship.”
In 1984, Jackson recalls, he and Assad “talked candidly yet respectfully of the need for peace and better communication in the Mideast. And we discussed the role of the PLO in the region and of the State of Israel.
“I asked you to consider the long-term benefits of a policy of mutual recognition of a safe and secure homeland, both for the Palestinians and for the Israelis, of a policy of discussion and negotiation rather than war and confrontation, all as necessary steps toward a permanent peace in the region.”
BRUNNER UNREPENTANT
Within that context, Jackson raised the issue of Brunner, and of the interview Brunner gave to his “home-town paper,” The Chicago Sun-Times, on Nov. 1, in which he said he was unrepentant for having killed Jews and “would do it again.”
Jackson refers in his letter to Syria’s claim that Brunner was not in that country. “Despite denials, the reports persist,” he writes. “The heinous acts against humanity of the Third Reich cry out even this day for justice.
“Wherever Mr. Brunner seeks sanctuary, it must be denied. Releasing him for extradition to Germany would be the morally correct action to take. It would send the signal of good intentions around the world.”
Assad’s help in this matter, notes Jackson, would be “another opportunity to make a difference. Please accept my respectful request that you investigate this matter with all due haste. I am confident that in the name of peace and morality you will then take the appropriate action.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
