N.Y. returns $10 million gift over policy critique

One month after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company, right, hands New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a check for $10 million for relief efforts on Thursday, October 11, 2001, in New York. Prince Alwaleed, a member of the Saudi royal family who was sixth on Forbes magazine's list of the world's richest men for 2001, also visited ground zero. (AP Photo/Stan Honda,pool) less One month after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company, right, hands New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a check for $10 ... more Photo: STAN HONDA Photo: STAN HONDA Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close N.Y. returns $10 million gift over policy critique 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

2001-10-12 04:00:00 PDT New York -- Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said yesterday that New York City rejected a $10 million charitable donation from a wealthy Saudi Arabian prince after he criticized the U.S. government's policies in the Middle East.

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal was one of many foreign visitors who have gone with the mayor to ground zero at the destroyed World Trade Center since the terrorist attacks last month. The prince, who is also the chairman of the Kingdom Holding Co. and one of the world's richest men, attended a memorial service at the site yesterday, where he handed the mayor a check for $10 million for the Twin Towers Fund, one of various charity funds set up to benefit survivors of the attack.

Giuliani initially accepted the check, as he has several times from government and private industry leaders. Along with it was a letter from the prince, in which he expressed his condolences for "the loss of life that the city of New York has suffered."

The letter added, "I would also like to condemn all forms of terrorism and in doing so I am reiterating Saudi Arabia's strong stance against these tragic and horrendous acts."

What the letter did not say was what a press release attached to a copy of the letter did: "However, at times like this one, we must address some of the issues that led to such a criminal attack. I believe the government of the United States of America should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause." The press release attributed the statement to the prince.

"Our Palestinian brethren continue to be slaughtered at the hands of Israelis while the world turns the other cheek," the release read.

The mayor, who had been told of the press release just moments before his daily briefing but after receiving the check, was visibly annoyed. "I entirely reject that statement," he said. "That's totally contrary to what I said at the United Nations," he added, referring to his address there last Monday.

"There is no moral equivalent for this act," the mayor said. "There is no justification for it. The people who did it lost any right to ask for justification for it when they slaughtered 4,000 or 5,000 innocent people. And to suggest that there's a justification for it only invites this happening in the future. It is highly irresponsible and very, very dangerous."

The mayor added that he might consult with the State Department before deciding what to do with the check; an hour later, his press office released a statement attributed to the mayor that the check would not be accepted.

A spokesman for the prince, Amjed Shacker, who was reached on his cell phone as he prepared to board a plane for Saudi Arabia, said he knew of no such rejection and indeed seemed perplexed to learn of it.

"The mayor took the check at 9 a.m.," he said. "We have no knowledge of that. He accepted the check."