Two members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee predicted difficult passage for future Israel military appropriations in Congress. Both Congressmen Stephen Solarz (D. N.Y.) and John Le Boutillier (R. N.Y.) attributed decreased Congressional support for Israel, which has been mounting over the past few years.
Addressing an all-day social action conference yesterday sponsored by the Rabbinical Assembly at the Park Avenue Synagogue that discussed such topics as Israel, the economy, church state relations, Solarz told the 600 Conservative Jewish rabbis and laymen: “During the past year there has been a significant erosion for Israel both around the country and in the Congress.”
A similar view was voiced by Le Boutillier: “There is going to be a real bad time coming in America and in Congress, I can feel it in my stomach. Too many of my colleagues, especially those who do not have large Jewish constituencies, are less concerned about Israel and more disturbed about domestic problems. When money is needed in their home communities, they are going to vote to reduce foreign aid funds.”
Solarz predicted that during the forthcoming lame-duck session of Congress which begins November 29 “an amendment to reduce military aid for Israel might receive far more support than it did a few years ago.” He reminded the audience that such a test vote “has not occurred for a few years.”
A number of years ago, Solarz stated, a move to reduce Israel’s military assistance by $200 million was defeated in the House by a vote of 435-38 and 100-8 in the Senate. “My guess is that if an amendment were presented to cut military aid at this forthcoming session, the vote would find 100-150 against in the House and 25-30 in the Senate.”
Solarz told the audience that “given Israel’s need for American military assistance, this is a development that we should be concerned about.” He added that despite these developments, “there remains after Lebanon broad-based Congressional support for Israel and that the climate of U.S.-Israel relations has improved during the past few weeks.”
Solarz called upon the members of the Conservative synagogues to mount a vigilant communications and education effort among members of Congress and non-Jews in America. He said “you must organize for the next fight to prevent the sale of American F-16’s to Jordan which he predicted the Administration will present to Congress right after the elections.
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