Sixteen of the 17 Black members of the House of Representatives and all five Hispanic Congressmen voted with the majority in rejecting President Reagan’s proposed $8.5 billion arms package for Saudi Arabia, it was reported this week by the Black-Jewish Information Center.
The one member of the Black Caucus who did not go along with his colleagues was Rep. Gus Savage, Democrat of Illinois, who was recorded as “not voting.” Walter Fauntroy, who represents the District of Columbia, does not have a vote. A number of the Black Representatives issued statements telling why they opposed the AWACS deal, among them Rep. Shirley Chisolm, Democrat of New York.
Chisolm said the Reagan proposal would not increase U.S. security, or peace in the Middle East, or stability in the region. Noting that Saudi Arabia was “an avowed enemy of the State of Israel,” Rep. Chisolm declared:
“The Saudis have declared a holy war against the Jewish state. They funnel billions of dollars, earned from selling oil to America, into the treasuries of the PLO and hostile Arab nations. They condemn the Camp David agreement. Their new AWACS planes and their new F-15 fuel tanks and missiles would multiply the dangers to Israel and would force the Israelis to arm themselves even more heavily as a result.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
