Jewish Groups Hail Adoption of Aid Package for Republics

Jewish groups are hailing a massive financial assistance package approved last week by the House of Representatives to aid the fledgling nations of the former Soviet Union.

“It’s not a panacea,” said Mark Levin, acting executive director of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, which spearheaded organized Jewish lobbying on behalf of the aid package.

“But it will help stabilize an environment in which instability hurts ethnic and religious minorities,” he said.

Levin said the passage of the Freedom Support Act also “sends a strong message of support” to beleaguered Russian President Boris Yeltsin and represents a U.S. “commitment to stay engaged (internationally) at a time when many feel we should look inward.”

Robert Lifton, president of the American Jewish Congress, also applauded the House, saying it had “seized an historic opportunity to bolster democracy in the newly formed nations of the former Soviet Union.”

The House voted 225-164 to authorize an increase of $12 billion in U.S. contributions to the International Monetary Fund, part of which is slated to help Russia build a free-market economy.

It also authorized $585 million in U.S. technical assistance over two years and up to $3 billion for an international fund to stabilize the currencies of the former Soviet republics.

A similar bill was approved by the Senate last month. The minor differences between the two versions are expected to be ironed out in conference next month after the congressional recess.

The aid plan, strongly supported by the Bush administration, became bogged down in both chambers by members who wanted to attach funding for programs to meet urgent domestic needs in such areas as jobs, housing and transportation. Eventually, intensive negotiations between legislators and administration officials broke the logjam and led to unusual bipartisan support for the bill.