c. 2000 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON -The controversy over Israel’s disaster relief organization, and its partial exclusion from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, could be raised at a national American Red Cross conference this weekend (May 20-21) in Columbus, Ohio.

Since taking the reins as president of the American Red Cross last September, Cleveland physician Dr. Bernadine Healy has championed the cause of Israel’s Red Cross equivalent, Magen David Adom (Red Shield of David), gaining full membership in the international body.

The subject is not on the official agenda this weekend, but Avi Zohar, the Israeli agency’s general director, said he will attend the Columbus conference, as will Paul Grossrieder, director general of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross.

MDA, which has provided humanitarian service around the world for more than 70 years, has been denied full participation in the international organization on the grounds that its symbol _ the star of David _ is unacceptable. The Geneva Conventions of 1949 recognized only the red cross and the red crescent emblems.

Lack of international recognition puts the Israeli organization in a difficult spot when providing assistance in other countries and facing hostilities from their governments, particularly in the Middle East, Zohar said.

In her keynote address Saturday morning to some 2,500 American Red Cross paid and volunteer staff members from across the country, Healy is expected to reaffirm her support for recognition of the MDA. She has said the exclusion of MDA risks being “perceived as partial, biased, discriminatory or politically driven.”

At Healy’s urging, the board of the American Red Cross has frozen payment of $5 million in dues to the federation, money that otherwise would go to pay headquarters expenses but does not affect relief efforts.

Healy, however, denied a published report that the American Red Cross may be on the verge of withdrawing entirely from the international organization.

She said the Red Cross “has never stated its intention to withdraw.”

The international organization has attempted to broker a compromise solution for the admission of the MDA under a third emblem _ a red diamond.

Of the 176 members of the international federation of humanitarian organizations, Israel’s MDA, which has been granted observer’s status, is the only one denied voting rights.

Explaining why it is important for Israel’s MDA to be a full-fledged member, Zohar said: “Israel is in a region with neighbors with whom we find ourselves often in conflict on one hand. On the other hand, many of our Jewish brothers are in hostile countries. It is essential for MDA to be able to represent and defend their rights more effectively through formal contacts with the foreign authorities of those countries.”

Chris Bowers, a spokesman for the international organization, said the exclusion of the MDA is “regrettable.” He expressed confidence that the new red diamond emblem would be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the organization’s members before the end of this year.

“The Star of David is a national symbol which would only be used in Israel,” Bowers said. “The principle of internationalism is central … and we wish to avoid setting a precedent in which emblems have only a limited, national use.”

Healy, citing the admission of 30 Islamic nations under the red crescent, has proposed grandfathering the MDA with its Star of David emblem into the MDA. Healy said the red diamond would not be a suitable compromise because it “has no humanitarian significance and in fact is associated with diapers, casinos, hazardous waste and combat troops.”

DEA END BRAZAITIS