US State Department tells Israel to stop discriminating against Arab-Americans

The United States has told Israel repeatedly that Arab-American Palestinians must be treated as American citizens at border crossings or anywhere else, the State Department said Thursday.

Still, said spokesman Sean McCormack, "It's a continuing issue. It's a continuing problem."

McCormack's comments were in response to question about a letter that Arab-American community leader James Zogby sent to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that complained of the problem as "an issue for many decades" for Arab-Americans.

McCormack said the response had not been drafted to Zogby's request for a meeting on the subject.

Then …