WASHINGTON — Forty-one Democratic members of Congress wrote President Bush March 2 to express their alarm at the Dubai World Ports deal, on the grounds that allowing the United Arab Emirates-owned company could damage Israel’s security.

“We write to express our deep concerns regarding your Administration’s decision to allow Dubai Ports World (DP World), a firm owned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to manage operations at six U.S. ports,” says the letter, which was engineered by Reps. Alcee Hastings of Florida, Rahm Emanuel of Illinois and Henry Waxman of California. “The UAE has pledged to provide financial support to the Hamas-led government of the Palestinian Authority and openly participates in the Arab League boycott against Israel. The agreement that your Administration approved not only could place the safety and security of U.S. ports at risk, but enhance the ability of the UAE to bolster the Hamas regime and its efforts to promote terrorism and violence against Israel.”

At press time, no Republicans had signed the letter.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“There are things that the president has done that are clearly pro-Israel, but in this case he and his administration are absolutely wrong,” said a spokesman for Hastings, David Goldenberg.

Pro-Israel activists, assembled this week in Washington at the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, said that they would be using the ports issue to ignite Congress to bring pressure to end the boycott. Senator Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Republican, raised the matter in a March 6 letter to the International Trade Subcommittee, which was holding a hearing about a proposed free-trade pact with Oman, another Gulf state.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount