Berman Opposes Israel Loan Delay

Rather than advancing the Mideast peace process, President Bush’s bid to delay housing loan guarantees for Israel is “really undermining Israel’s position in the process and making it less likely that Israel will be forthcoming,” said Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City).

Berman, one of Israel’s leading supporters in Congress, is expected to play a key role in the handling of the sensitive loan guarantee issue as a member of both the House Budget Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee.

He says he favors immediate approval of the $10 billion in loan guarantees so Israel can proceed with plans to borrow money to build housing for an influx of Jewish immigrants, primarily from the Soviet Union and, to a lesser extent, Ethiopia. The President has proposed putting Israel’s request aside until the end of the year.

“Let Israeli concessions come in return for Arab concessions and not in return for humanitarian aid to Soviet and Ethiopian refugees,” Berman said in a recent interview.

The timing of the loan guarantees could provoke a potentially bitter conflict between the Bush Administration and Israel’s Capitol Hill allies as Congress returns from its summer recess today. The outcome is particularly critical because it could affect Administration efforts to broker peace talks between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

The loans are controversial because the Administration fears the funds will be used to expand Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Secretary of State James A. Baker III has said these Israeli settlements are the biggest obstacle to the peace process.

Berman, however, said, “Israel has made it clear already it’s ready to go to the peace conference. . . .

“What is the purpose of the deferral? What does Bush want to defer for? Rather than having the Israelis meet directly with the Palestinians and negotiate and trade and compromise in a process that is designed to achieve peace, is he trying to get Israel to shift positions in order to get favorable positions in the Congress?”

Rep. Mel Levine (D-Santa Monica), another prominent Israel ally, said the Administration had suggested that the loan guarantees would, in effect, be seen as reparations to Israel for damages the Jewish state suffered during the Persian Gulf War when it heeded U.S. exhortations to remain on the sidelines despite being attacked by Iraqi Scud missiles.

Levine said that if the Administration feels the new Israeli settlements are an impediment to peace, it should “join that issue with Israel directly or discuss settlements in the context of the peace process.”

Amid reports that the Administration might be drafting a compromise aid proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir said Sunday that Bush’s attempt to delay consideration of the U.S. assistance could make the Mideast peace process impossible by encouraging Arab states to demand more concessions. He insisted that the United States has “a moral obligation” to grant Israel the $10 billion.