Speaking out on Aid to Israel, Helms Advocates `cutting It Out’

Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) has once again drawn the ire of some Capitol Hill colleagues for advocating an end to Israel’s foreign aid.

In an interview with the Hill, a weekly newspaper that covers Congress, Helms said, “There’s been a lot of moaning and groaning about money sent to Israel. I myself have been very candid to Jewish leaders that I’d like to cut out foreign aid to them”.

Helms called foreign aid “insanity”.

As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Helms will play a significant role in shaping the American foreign aid program. His committee determines the distribution of U.S. foreign assistance.

“I’d like to cut it all out and just revisit the whole issue in terms of what is best for the American people”, said Helms in the interview.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) immediately responded to Helm’s remarks. In a letter fired off to the senator on Thursday, Nadler defended Israel’s $3 billion in annual U.S. aid.

Your statements “suggest a deep misunderstanding of the importance of the U.S.- Israel relationship and the critical role foreign aid continues to play in promoting stability and peace in the region”, Nadler said in the letter.

Nadler sent the letter to his congressional colleagues for their signatures before sending it to Helms.

During the interview, Helms reiterated his plan to link foreign aid to how much it would cost America to defend its own interests.

Citing as an example the role the United States could play in the Middle East without Israel, he said “I would much prefer a system that would assess how much it would cost the American taxpayers to finance a defense of our interests in that part of the world if there were no Israel”.

Analysts estimated that Israel’s role in containing Iran and Iraq-one of Israel’s primary strategic role as a U.S. ally-saves the United States over $100 billion a year.

Thus Helm’s plan would cost taxpayers “exponentially” more than they pay now, according to the analysts.