Memo Warns Senators Against Moving Embassy

In its toughest statement yet against moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem now, the Clinton administration has warned that even raising the issue could damage Mideast peace talks, an American Jewish leader said Saturday.

A bill submitted Tuesday by Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., calls for moving the embassy in Tel Aviv to the city disputed by Israel and the Palestinians by May 1999, and for construction to begin by next year.

The Associated Press obtained a one-page National Security Council statement, addressed to three U.S. senators, which states: “Bringing the issue of Jerusalem to the fore, which this legislation would do, will have a devastating impact on the peace process.

“It would likely lead to a breakdown of the negotiations and halt the gains on normalization that Israel has been making in the Arab world.”

The one-page message was dated last Monday and addressed to Sen. Daniel Inouye, a Hawaii Democrat and a co-sponsor of Dole’s bill, and Sens. Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.

It was given to The Associated Press from Abraham Foxman, national director of the New Yorkbased Anti-Defamation League, who said he obtained it from congressional sources. Foxman, who supports moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, was interviewed in Jerusalem.