![[Skip to Page Content]](graphics/skip_sliver.jpg){kind=small}
|
       |
 
 |
The Middle East Lobbies
In addition to these organizations, well-placed Congressional aides, who coordinate their efforts with groups such as AIPAC, have enormous influence on the Congressmen for whom they work.18 Morris J. Amitay, former executive director of AIPAC and a previous aide to Senator Abraham A. Ribicoff of Connecticut, explained the contribution of Congressional staff members when he was a Senate aide:
The exact number of Jewish individuals in important staff positions—whether in Congress or in campaigns—is unclear. However, as A. Wesley Barthelmes, a veteran Capitol staff member and administrative assistant to Delaware Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr., said: “It’s the old case: whatever X percent it is, it is more energetic and more forceful and more at the cutting edge of things than the goyim [gentiles]... Their influence is beyond their number.” Moreover, “A lot of the more prominent ones [legislative and administrative assistants and individuals with top campaign roles] who work for the very aggressive, energetic Senators are Jewish...”20 It is also worth noting that every President has had a special White House consultant on “Jewish affairs” and relations with the Jewish community. There are no advisors on relations with the Arab-American community. Goals of the Lobby The Israel lobby’s foremost goal is ensuring that Congress votes maximum amounts of U.S. aid at the most favorable terms to Israel. The record shows impressive success on this goal as well as others. Israel is expected to receive more than $2.61 billion in economic and military assistance in the fiscal year which began on October 1, 1983. Indeed, on November 30, 1982, under pressure from the Israel lobby, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to allocate Israel significantly more money than the Administration had asked for. (Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. aid in both military and economic categories. It receives more than 20 percent of all assistance the U.S. gives to nations abroad.) The Administration had asked for $1.7 billion in military credits, of which $500 million would not have had to be repaid, and $800 million in economic grants (i.e., non-repayable gifts). The committee voted to increase the credits that did not have to be repaid to $850 million and added $125 million to the $800 million in economic assistance.21 The vote confirmed former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin’s declaration that the U.S. election results had “strengthened his hand” on the Middle East.22 Following successful efforts in 1982 to secure the largest annual appropriation ever approved for Israel, the lobby gave full priority to obtaining Congressional authorization for Israel’s use of a portion of U.S. military credits to finance the construction of a new fighter plane, the Lavi. Normally a foreign country is expected to use military credits to finance purchases of American military equipment and not to develop its own defense industry which will compete with American companies. Northrop Corporation, whose F-20 fighter has not been financed by the government, strongly opposed the Israeli project, as did Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, who said it was inappropriate for military credits to be used in this manner.23 Nevertheless, on November 10, 1983, Congress approved legislation that allows Israel to use $550 million in military credits to finance construction of the Lavi. The bill was introduced by Representatives Clarence Long and Jack Kemp, ranking majority and minority members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations. In addition to the governmental aid, which currently amounts to $5,150 yearly for every Israeli family of five, Israel receives approximately $500 million from tax-exempt Jewish charities in the U.S, $500 million from the sale of Israeli government bonds, and several million dollars of special tariff concessions on Israeli imports to the U.S. The lobby has been active in assuring the continued tax-exempt status of the private funds that go to Israel and works for ever-increasing benefits in other areas. A U.S. Government report prepared by the General Accounting Office (GAO) entitled U.S. Assistance to the State of Israel was released to the public on June 24, 1983, after heavy censorship by the U.S. State Department in response to direct pressure by the Israeli Embassy in Washington. Subsequently the original classified version was leaked in which the secret sections demonstrate conclusively that Israel’s strategy is to get the U.S. Congress to finance half of Israel’s defense budget, underwrite most of Israel’s export earnings, and cover the growth decline in Israel’s foreign exchange reserves.24 If the American Government accepts the Israeli demands identified in the report, U.S. financial aid to Israel is likely to rise by more than $2.7 billion over the next decade just to enable Israel to meet its existing debts to the U.S.25
Next Page
|
 |
Special Reports:
|
Printer Friendly Version of this Article