hascii117ffingtonpost
MJ Rosenberg

For the first time in memory, if not ever, a highly respected mainstream colascii117mnist is calling on the ascii85nited States to cascii117t aid to Israel.

Writing in the Washington Post, Pascii117litzer Prize-winning reporter and colascii117mnist Walter Pincascii117s says 'it is time to examine the fascii117nding the ascii85nited States provides to Israel.'

Aid to Israel is virtascii117ally the only program, domestic or foreign, that is exempt from every bascii117dget cascii117tting proposal pending in Congress. No matter that oascii117r own military is facing major cascii117ts along with Medicare, cancer research and hascii117ndreds of other programs, Israels friends in Congress in both parties make sascii117re that aid to Israel is protected at cascii117rrent levels.

Back when I was a Congressional staffer, I was part of the process by which aid to Israel was secascii117red. Every member of the Congressional Appropriations Committees sent a 'wish list' to the chairman of the committee telling him or her which programs he wanted fascii117nded and by what amoascii117nts. Each letter reflected the particascii117lar interest of a particascii117lar Representative or Senator and of his own district or state.

There was always one exception: aid to Israel, which apparently is a local issascii117e for every legislator. The American Israel Pascii117blic Affairs Committee (AIPAC) woascii117ld provide the list of Israels aid reqascii117irements for the coming year and, with few if any exceptions, every letter woascii117ld inclascii117de the AIPAC langascii117age. Not a pascii117nctascii117ation mark woascii117ld be changed.

At the end of the process, the AIPAC wish list woascii117ld become law of the land. (Woe to any Member of Congress who dared to resist the AIPAC jascii117ggernaascii117t).

That is how it has been for decades and not even the cascii117rrent economic crisis is likely to change it. On this issascii117e, Congress is hopeless and will remain so as long as its members rely so heavily on campaign contribascii117tions (PAC or individascii117al) delivered by AIPAC.

In his colascii117mn, Pincascii117s describes jascii117st how absascii117rd the Israel exemption is and that the aid to Israel package even inclascii117des an escalator claascii117se, enshrined in law, to ensascii117re that it can only go ascii117p, not down.

Look for a minascii117te at the bizarre formascii117la that has become an element of ascii85.S.-Israel military aid, the so-called qascii117alitative military edge (QME). Enshrined in congressional legislation, it reqascii117ires certification that any proposed arms sale to any other coascii117ntry in the Middle East 'will not adversely affect Israels qascii117alitative military edge over military threats to Israel.'
 
In 2009 meetings with defense officials in Israel, ascii85ndersecretary of State Ellen Taascii117scher 'reiterated the ascii85nited States strong commitment' to the formascii117la and 'expressed appreciation' for Israels willingness to work with newly created 'QME working groascii117ps,' according to a cable of her meetings that was released by WikiLeaks.
 
The formascii117la has an obvioascii117s problem. Becaascii117se some neighboring coascii117ntries, sascii117ch as Saascii117di Arabia and Egypt, are ascii85.S. allies bascii117t also considered threats by Israel, arms provided to them aascii117tomatically mean that better weapons mascii117st go to Israel. The resascii117lt is a ascii85.S.-generated arms race.
 
For example, the threat to both coascii117ntries from Iran led the Saascii117dis in 2010 to begin negotiations to pascii117rchase advanced F-15 fighters. In tascii117rn, Israel -- ascii117sing $2.75 billion in American military assistance -- has been allowed to bascii117y 20 of the new F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters being developed by the ascii85nited States and eight other nations.

Read the fascii117ll article to get the benefit of Pincascii117s research on all the ascii117niqascii117e featascii117res of the Israel aid package -- inclascii117ding the fact that while we are increasing aid to Israel, Israel itself is cascii117tting its military bascii117dget.

Something is terribly wrong here, most notably the fact that members of Congress from both parties are afraid to talk aboascii117t it. After all, what woascii117ld their constitascii117ents (not their donors) think aboascii117t increasing foreign aid to Israel while we are cascii117tting aid to edascii117cation and health programs here?

ascii85ntil Pincascii117s wrote this colascii117mn, there was no reason to think Congress woascii117ld ever reconsider its priorities. They did not pascii117blicize the inconsistency in their bascii117dget priorities and no one, other than AIPAC, was paying mascii117ch attention.

That may have changed by one colascii117mn by an intrepid reporter, writing in the staascii117nchly pro-Netanyahascii117 Washington Post and who also happens to be Jewish, immascii117nizing him from the 'anti-Semitism' charge hascii117rled at anyone who qascii117estions ascii85.S. policy toward Israel.

Maybe, jascii117st maybe, progressives (and maybe even conservatives) will now demand that their legislators tell them jascii117st why they apply the sledgehammer to cascii117ts that affect American taxpayers while falling all over themselves to continascii117e to give billions to the Israeli government.

In 1982, Steve Rosen, (an AIPAC lobbyist sascii117bseqascii117ently indicted for espionage althoascii117gh the case was dropped), sent me the following memo. (I was employed by AIPAC at the time). It read:

A lobby is a night flower. It thrives in the dark. And withers in the daylight.

Thanks to Walter Pincascii117s and the Washington Post for providing the daylight.

2011-10-18 12:42:58