Finance Minister Simcha Ehrlich does not foresee cuts in United States economic aid to Israel as a means of political pressure. Ehrlich reacted today to reports quoting “senior government sources in Jerusalem,” that warned that such cuts were around the corner. The reports followed a visit over the weekend by three senior American officials representing the State Department and other U.S. agencies which locked into facts and figures presented by the Israelis as part of their preparations for the 1979-80 fiscal year.
Sources in Jerusalem noted that some officials in the U.S. Administration had always been in favor of cutting economic aid to Israel, but it was the political level that left the economic aid at $785 million for this year, in addition to a military aid of $1.5 billion.
Although Ehrlich was careful not to express pessimism over expected cuts, he noted that there were objective factors such as the “tax revolt” in the U.S. and the tendency to cut down foreign aid in general that might effect economic aid to Israel.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
