Two weeks after House of Representatives began to consider anti-terrorism legislation, terrorists bombed a federal office building in downtown Oklahoma City.
Hundreds were injured and the death toll is expected to reach at least 80 as a result of Wednesday’s attack, believed to be the worst act of terror committed in U.S. history.
The victims included at least 6 dead children who were in a day-care center on the second floor of the 9-story Alfred Murrah Building, officials said.
“Today’s terrorist attack underscores the urgent need for Congress to pass strong anti-terrorism legislation,” said Kenneth Bandler, director of public information for the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council.
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations echoed the need for swift legislation. The umbrella group called on Congress to call a special session to deliberate the legislation “to provide law enforcement officials with the tools necessary to combat this worldwide scourge.”
The anti-terrorism bill currently before Congress would give law enforcement officials additional tools to fight terrorism. The legislation is the second phase of a two-stage battle against terrorism launched by the Clinton administration.
In Wednesday’s incident, a car bomb exploded in front of the federal office building shortly after 9 a.m. local time. About 500 people work in the 9-work facility.
Officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms,one of the government agencies housed in the building, said the bomb was about the same six as the one detonated at the World Trade Center two years ago. That blast killed six people and injured 1.000 others.
President Clinton described the Oklahoma City attack as an “act of cowardice and it was evil.”
“The U.S. will not tolerate it and I will not allow the people of this country to be intimidated by evil cowards,” the president said Wednesday afternoon.
In a news conference, he and Attorney General Janet Reno detailed the steps being taken to investigate the incident.
“Let there be no room for doubt, we will find the people,” the president said. “Justice will be swift, certain and severe. There people are killers and must be treated like killers.”
As law enforcement officials to try to patch together evidence, Oklahoma City police launched an all-out search for three male suspects, two believed to be of Middle Eastern origin, wearing blue jogging suits who were seen driving away from the building in a brown pickup truck with tinted windows.
Officials were quick to say that it is too early to pin blame on any group for the attack.
Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Itamar Rabinovitch, immediately offered to fly a special terrorist response team to Oklahoma to assist in the rescue and investigation.
Responding to a question about the Israeli offer, Reno did not reply directly, but said, “We will rely on any additional resource that can help bring these people to justice.”
“Unfortunately we have experience with these types of attacks,” said an Israeli officials.
In addition to Rabinovitch’s contacts here, Israeli President Ezer Weizman and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin sent letters to President Clinton expressing their sorrow and remorse at the terrorist attack, according to Israeli officials. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres sent a similar letter to Secretary of State Warren Christopher.
As the investigation continued, other speculation about the attack centered around the fact that the bombing comes tow years to the day after the failed raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas.
“Although it is too early to tell, this bombing may be connected to the growing militia movement around the country,” said Kenneth Stern, an American Jewish Committee program specialist who recently wrote a report on the militia movement. In a statement issued Wednesday, Stern said that coming on the anniversary of the Waco incident, April 19 “is a day of extreme importance to the militia movement.”
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Early report that the Nation of Islam took credit were vehemently denied by the black Muslim group.
“We emphatically deny any connection with the attack,” the Chicago-based organization said in a statement. A local Oklahama television station had reported that a caller from the Nation of Islam claimed credit for the attack.
The American Jewish Congress was one of several Jewish organizations that joined in calling on Congress to pass the terrorism bill. “The need for stringent measure to increase our protection against the horror of political terrorism is imperative” said AJCongress president Phil Baum.
Meanwhile, B’nai B’rith International has established a fund to provide relief to bombing victims. Donations can sent to the B’nai B’rith disaster relief fund at 1640 Rhode Island Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.
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