Marianne Gingrich was headed off to Israel this week, travelling neither as the wife of the Speaker of the House nor as a Christian pilgrim.
Instead, she was going as an employee of the Israel Exports Development Corp. to learn how to convince American companies to set up shop outside Beersheba.
The corporation. is dedicated to setting up a free-trade zone in Israel. Backed by wealthy American Jews, the group hopes this summer to receive a formal contract for the zone from the Israeli government.
American and other foreign companies doing business in the zone would be exempt from most Israeli taxes and regulations.
As the firm’s vice president for business development, Marianne Gingrich is helping to coordinate marketing efforts. One of three full-time marketers in the United States, she oversees “a host of marketing representatives working on a success-fee basis”, said David Yerushalmi, the corporation’s chairman and chief executive officer.
She earn $2,500 monthly, plus commissions, according to news reports.
In 1993, U.S. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) had praised the free zone idea to Israeli officials. But in a news conference in Washington on Tuesday, Gingrich denied any conflict of interest, saying he never referred specifically to the Israel Export Development Corp. in those meetings.
“I have been advocating free-trade zones and free-enterprise zones for [my] entire career,” he told reporters.
“I’ve advocated it to [Palestine liberation Organization Chairman] Yasser Arafat, I’ve advocated it to [South African President] Nelson Mandela, I’ve advocated it to every Israeli official I’ve seen.
“I believe that having free-enterprise zones and free-trade zones that resemble Hong Kong and Singapore in order to create jobs so that people in Gaza are able to actually have a better chance of going to work and are less likely to be terrorists is good for the world”, he said.
“Now, that’s my advice to the Israeli government. I do not recommend any company to them. I couldn’t care less who they pick. And I think there’s a huge distinction”, Gingrich said.
Backers of the Israel Export Development Corp. were the primary forces urging the free-trade zone in Israel. They used their influence as prominent American Jewish philanthropists and business people to win over Israeli officials.
They also organized a Congressional lobbying campaign. Three congressional letters were sent urging the Israeli government to support the free-export zone.
Newt Gingrich was not approached to sign any of the letters. “Unfortunately, we missed him in 1993”, Yerushalmi said.
To undertake the Washington campaign, the corporation retained former U.S. Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.)
It was Webber who recommended Marianne Gingrich for the job, Yerushalmi said.
“She has a professional and educational background in urban design, so she understood the planning issues. She understood the telecommunications issues; she was so excited by it, she was happy to come on board”, Yeruhsalmi said.
“We hired her because of her skills and her education and her enthusiasm. One of the things we did not do is advertise that Marianne Gingrich was working for us”, he added.
But Chuck Lewis executive director of the Center for Public Integrity, an ethics watchdog group in Washington, said her appointment raises “ethical issues”.
“One of the reasons this is interesting is that she has no background in trade or the Middle East,” said Lewis. “The company claims she is a marketing representative and doesn’t need a trade background. People can draw their own conclusions”.
Yerushalmi denied that Newt Gingrich’s position had any influence on the decision to employ her. By last September, Newt Gingrich was widely expected to be at least the House minority leader of the Democrats retained control of the House.
“We don’t need anything from the Israeli government at this point”, Yerushalmi said. “We don’t need anything from the Washington government. And we certainly have enough business connections. As a group we are as well connected as any in the world”.
“The fact is this brouhaha is the precise example of why, if anything, her last name worked against her”, he said.
Lewis acknowledge that “the rules about what spouses can or can’t do are lax.”
“There are lots of legislator spouses doing lots of things, including lobbying. In Washington it’s kind of ho-hum in terms of how the town works”, said Lewis.
Among the well-connected business people on the Israel Export Development Corp.’s board and list of shareholders are some of the most influential Jewish philanthropists in America.
President Larry Silverstein in chairman of the board of directors of the UJA- Federation of New York. Shareholders include Morton Mandel, a former president of the Council of Jewish Federations, and Laurence Tisch, chairman of CBS and an honorary officer of UJA Federation.
Yerushalmi said that Marianne Gingrich has had no dealings with board members or shareholders.
“She deals strictly with me”, said Yerushalmi.
Douglas Bloomfield, a former lobbyist for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, said Gingrich’s position is good for Israel “as long as everything’s kosher”.
“It suggests to us she, like her husband, has a high comfort-level with Israel, and that’s positive”, he said.
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