Israel Matzav

Jewish organizations' agenda changes for new Congress

American Jewish organizations have been forced to adjust their agendas for the new Republican Congress. Here are some of the things that affect Israel.

Israel funding is likely to remain steady, Capitol Hill sources said, although there are concerns about how the funding will take place given the Republicans' interest in trimming foreign spending.

Some leading Republicans, including Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the new chairwoman of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, say Congress could separate funding for Israel from overall foreign spending, allowing conservatives to maintain current levels for Israel while slashing foreign spending for countries they don’t see as friendly or programs they oppose.

The pro-Israel community sees such a proposal as disastrous, in part because it will make Israel a “special case” after years of efforts to make backing Israel a natural extension of foreign policy. That could engender resentment of Israel.

Correspondingly, the pro-Israel lobby sees foreign aid as a means to bolster support for the U.S.-Israel alliance in the international community. Pro-Israel groups in Washington often have taken the lead in lobbying for Israel-friendly countries in the past.

One proposal has been to make Israel funding a part of defense spending. Insiders say they have been reassured that Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas), the chairwoman of the foreign operations subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, has no intention of giving up funding for Israel and the power it yields her.

It also remains unclear what Republicans mean when they say they plan on keeping funding for Israel steady. Israel and the United States are in the middle of a 10-year agreement that incrementally increases assistance year by year between 2007 and 2017, so that it averages $3 billion a year.

Does “keeping funding steady” mean maintaining the 2010 level of $2.775 billion, or keeping to the agreement and upping the amount to $3 billion this year?

Officials say the best asset available to Jewish organizations dealing with domestic and foreign policy is the grass roots -- not the lobbyists in Washington, but the activists across the country who make appointments to see their lawmakers on home visits.

I'm not convinced that funding Israel out of the defense budget is 'disastrous' - South Korea is funded the same way and it would make it clear that we are getting funding to protect US interests and not because we are schnorrers. However, we need to examine any proposal to do that more closely before going along with it. If Congress wants an excuse to cut funding to the 'Palestinians,' I am all in favor.

And obviously, we need to clarify what "keeping funding steady" means.

Labels: US Congress

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:47 AM