Rep. Paul N. McCloskey, Jr. (R.Cal.) has contended that the United States has no choice but to accept Arab investment of petro-dollars but this must be done only in the context of some way to prevent Arab control of sensitive American industry.
The maverick Republican Congressman discussed the problem at a meeting of the South Peninsula Committee of the Jewish Community Relations Council. Projecting a $40 billion federal deficit, McCloskey said internal borrowing of that sum would be a drag on the economy and that “the only other capital available in the world today is Arab oil money.” He said one means to limit the impact of such Arab investments would be by limiting investments by the Arabs in any one company.
McCloskey said means to consider how to guarantee Israel’s borders was under active consideration in Congress but he said the United States “no longer has the power to impose solutions on other countries.” He added that “as a reality, Israel must negotiate with the Palestine Liberation Organization.” Reminded of the PLO vow to destroy Israel, he said “there are only two possibilities–negotiate or risk another war. If the PLO does negotiate with Israel, that in itself is recognition of Israel’s existence.”
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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.
