Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 47, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 24, 1993 Page: 4 of 24
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Opinion
TEXAS JEWISH POST, THURSO A Y, JUNE 24, 199S4N OUR 47TH YEAR I
Washington Watch
Mid east Musical Chain:
In a diplomatic reshuffling that
caught pro-Israel leaders by sur-
prise, the Clinton administration
has named a new ambassador to
Israel—and in the process, shaken
up its Mideast peace process team.
Edward Djerejian, the assistant
secretary of state for Near Eastern
affairs who has won praise for keep-
ing the administration focused on
the talks despite the distractions of
other world crises, will be taking
over the embassy in Tel Aviv at the
end of the year.
Originally, the White House had
tapped Reginald Bartholomew,
who has been serving as a special
U.S. troubleshooter in the former
Yugoslavia. for the job.
But last week the administration
played musical diplomats;
Bartholomew was assigned to Italy,
while Djerejian, who once carried
the diplomatic banner in Damascus,
will get Tel Aviv.
M
Dannis Rom
But the change won't produce a
vacuum at the peace table; Clinton
also appointed Dennis Ross, the
former policy planning chief in the
James Baker State Department, as
special U.S. coordinator for the
talks.
Ross was one of the primary ar-
chitects of the negotiations that
began in 1991 in Madrid; after BUI
Clinton's inauguration. Ross, who
had left the State Department to
work on the Bush reelection effort,
agreed to an interim appointment
as special consultant to the Mideast
team
Why the reshuffling? The ad-
ministration apparently wanted a
representative in Israel who already
enjoyed good working relations
with the Rabin government and
who was intimately familiar with
the details of the Mideast peace
process; Djerejian was one of few
diplomats who fit the bill
Some sources here also indicated
that the administration hoped the
move would provide a nudge to a
peace process that again seems
bogged down.
Although he was focusing
heavily on the peace process.
Djerejian had numerous other re-
sponsibilities as assistant secretary;
Ross will work exclusively on the
peace talks, a signal of the
administration’s commi tment to the
process, according to several Wash-
ington insiders.
Even top Stale Department offi-
cials, who recently attended a full-
blown farewell party for Ross at
Foggy Bottom, were stunned by
the move.
Where there WILL be a vacuum
is the Washington Institute for Near
East Policy, the pro-Israel think
tank. Ross was all ready to move in
as executive director, replacing
Martin Indyk, who is now at the
White House
Aid Bill Glides Through:
After months ol anxiety and re-
peated hints by powerful congres-
sional MAC HERS that Israel's S3 2
billion in aid might feel the bite of
congressional budget cutters, the
foreign aid bill sailed through the
House last week without a hitch.
Why did the aid package move
so easUy, despite all the dire warn-
ings?
Pro-Israel groups did an effec-
tive job in making the case that
Israel's aid produces economic
dividends for American workers,
according to Rep. Ben Gilman (R-
N.Y.), the ranking Republican on
the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Jewish groups also successfully
linked continuing high levels of aid
to the survival of the Mideast peace
talks
Just as important were a series of
last-minute maneuvers that pro-
vided some cover for legislators
who wanted to vote for the mea-
sure—out of a commitment to Is-
rael, or because of old-fashioned
political horse trading—but were
concerned about the anti-aid mood
back home
“The fact that it came up on a
voice vote made it easier to pass
this bill,," Gilman said. “It doesn't
put a lot of people on the line who
may have trouble explaining
foreign aid at home ”
For the first time since 1986, the
House passed an aid authorization
bill along with an appropriations
continuing
effort by the Foreign Affairs Com-
By James David Better
TJP Washington Correspondent
mittee to revive its foreign policy
clout
Thai's not just a petty turf issue,
according to Rep. Eliot Engel (D-
N.Y.), a member of the Foreign
Affairs Committee
‘The fact that Foreign Affairs is
seeking to reclaim some of its au-
thority is very important, because
there are many strong supporters of
Israel on the committee,” be said.
“Passing an authorization bill is
part of that—and it is a good sign
for NEXT year’s aid.”
The fact that Israel's assistance
remained stable despite an overall
5 percent cut in the aid budget,
Engel said, “sends a very important
message in this time of budget cut-
ting and retrenchment.”
House approves Foreign Aid:
In addition to Israel's big chunk
of foreign aid approved by the
House last week, the authorization
measure included a number of items
coveted by pro-Israel activists.
The final bill—which will be
taken up by the Senate later this
summer—includes new language
allowing Israel to use its military
aid to buy arms from U.S. manu-
facturers without paying the cus-
tomary surcharge. That change
could save Israel millions of dol-
lars a year.
The bill contains a provision that
would cut off aid to Russia if that
country sells sophisticated weap-
ons to Iran. Similar legislation last
year was limited to missile and
nuclear technology, this year’s bill
also covers conventional weapons
that have the potential to destabi-
lize the military balance.
There are “offshore procure-
ment" provisions that allow Israel
to spend more U.S. military aid at
borne, an important boost for the
fragile Israeli economy.
There is additional language de-
signed to toughen this country's
anti-boycott effort, a compromise
version of proposals offered by Rep
Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.).
Rep. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)
inserted language that lays out con-
ditions Syria must meet if it wants
improved relations with Washing-
ton, including free emigration of
Jews, ending support for terrorism
and providing information on miss-
ing Israeli servicemen.
And Israel’s friends succeeded
in toning down report language
from the Europe and Middle East
subcommittee that was critical of
Israel’s human rights policies.
Bad Timing for Hussein Visit:
Jordan’s King Hussein blew into
town last week for a long series of
meetings with administration offi-
cials and congressional leaders.
But his welcome was darkened
by a report by the House Appro-
priations subcommittee on foreign
operations, documenting Hussein’s
assistance to Iraq’s Saddam
Hussein during the Persian Gulf
crisis. -r
That report documented bow
Hussein's government cooperated
/
r
King HuMftin
with Iraq in several areas, includ-
ing joint training, providing access
to U.S. technology, and sharing
intelligence information on Israel
and the United States.
There was little new information
in the report, but its release was
clearly an embarrassment to
Hussein, who is trying to mend
fences with Washington—and to
shake loose millions of dollars in
aid that was withheld in response to
his support for the Iraqi dictator.
Israel’s friends here made it clear
that they were not interested in
making a fuss about the report—
especially not in view of recent
indications of progress in the Is-
raeli-Jordanian track of the Mid-
east peace talks.
Israel and Jordan are reportedly
ready to conclude a joint declara-
tion of principles on how to pro-
WASH WATCH p. 21
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Wisch, J. A. & Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 47, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 24, 1993, newspaper, June 24, 1993; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth754104/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .