| U.S. tells Bonn to link $1 billion
aid package to settlement halt
David Makovsky
Jerusalem Post, 6/29/91
(front page)
Germany is delaying plans to grant Israel more than $1 billion in
a mix of grants and subsidized credits to absorb Soviet Jewish
immigrants, due to pressure by the Bush administration to link
the granting of funds to the limiting of settlement activity, the
Post learned last week.
The disclosure came soon after a congressional move to punish
Israel financially for settlement activity in the territories was
defeated in the House of Representatives by a vote of 378 to 44,
but only after Israel's settlement policies were the target of
sharp criticism on the House floor.
The amendment, proposed by Rep. John Bryant, would have the U.S.
hold back $82.5 million of Israel's annual $3 billion in aid,
releasing it only when President Bush certified that all
settlement activity had halted.
There are indications that the U.S. initiated the plan for German
aid, as a way to bring additional pressure on Israel to halt the
expansion of settlements.
Israeli officials say the German assistance will probably be
linked to the peace process as well, if it turns out that
Damascus provides Washington with a favorable reply on the peace
process and Jerusalem refuses to participate.
Ambassador to the U.S. Zalman Shoval warned over the weekend
that "the Israeli government ... will have to decide whether it
prefers settlements or aid."
But the Prime Minister's Office contradicted Shoval, saying: "It
is important to clarify that the government of Israel does not
believe there is any justification to link aid for immigrant
absorption to stands on policies related to the peace process,
including settlements."
Israeli officials confirmed, however, that the European Community
is considering a policy that would enforce a stance on this issue
consistent with the U.S. position.
France has said it is planning to provide Israel with $500
million worth of loan guarantees to absorb Soviet Jewish
immigrants. It remains unclear if this assistance will also be
tied to the dropping of settlement activity.
Washington's coordination with Bonn marks the first time that the
U.S. has given its blessing to another country for withholding
assistance from Israel. There are indications that it is
Washington that approached Bonn, and not the reverse, to withhold
assistance to Israel. Two separate American Jewish sources said
the initiative came from Washington. One American Jewish source
in Washington said: "The U.S. has told Germany to go slow [in
its support for absorption assistance for Soviet Jews]."
Israeli officials say the strategy was affirmed in a meeting
between German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and senior U.S. officials
during a visit to Washington at the end of May.
There is speculation that the strategy was confirmed last week in
Germany, where Secretary of State James Baker attended the
Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
"The Americans want to close ranks with the Europeans," one
Israeli official said. Another said the Germans might publicly
attribute the delay to a shortage of funds, but the real reason
is the Washington-Bonn pact.
The issue of German assistance to Israel has been a tightly kept
secret. When asked to comment on Bonn's offer, German Ambassador
to Israel Otto von Geblentz said he "would not confirm or deny
the report."
The German plans for assistance to Soviet Jewish immigrants comes
in place of Israeli demands for additional Holocaust reparations
following reunification of the country last fall. Israel has
insisted that East Germany owes Israel a third of the total
amount of reparations paid by Bonn. East Germany never paid on
the grounds that it considered itself a victim of the Nazis.
Two weeks ago, U.S. officials said the Bush administration was
unlikely to back an Israeli request for $10 billion in loan
guarantees if the settlement drive were to continue and Middle
East peace moves remained stalled.
Israel plans to apply for the loan guarantees in September to
finance absorption of Soviet Jews.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, Foreign Minister
David Levy confirmed reports to ambassadors of the European
Community last week that Baker had promised him to provide Israel
with a written U.S. commitment on procedural obstacles blocking a
Middle East peace conference.
Specifically, Baker assured him that a UN observer would not be
given the floor during the talks, and the UN would not be allowed
to take any action during the course of peace negotiations. Levy
did not indicate to the EC ambassadors whether such a written
commitment from the U.S. would translate into Israeli willingness
to drop its opposition to the UN observer.
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| I don't read the Post on a regular basis, and I haven't seen anything about
this anywhere else.
The article is pretty vague about the sources for the story. There allegedly
was an agreement between American and German officials, but the sources (such
as they are) seem to be Israeli officials and/or private American Jews.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if the story was based entirely of certain
people's suspicions, with no evidence to back it up. The Post can be pretty
sloppy at times, even on the front page.
As for the American press being "prohibited" from reporting this, I believe
that the First Amendment is still in force there. If this hasn't been
reported, that's probably because of
1) the complete absence of evidence to support it; and
1) lack of interest in this sort of thing among most Americans.
Conspiracy theories are lots of fun, but they rarely have any basis in reality.
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| Heard on British TV that Bush has a problem here.
If he gets tough with Israel, then he is discrediting
himself as the reliable guarantor of Israel, something
he can't afford to do.
To think from Israels perspective. The less you can rely
on Washington, the more you have to make sure you have the
power to look after your own interests. This is something that
Israel has always done anyway. In terms of security, this is
easily read a building so your borders are secure.
Malcolm
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