Rep. Levine Should Look Closer to Home

It is painfully apparent that Mel Levine (D-Calif.) represents the interests of the State of Israel first and those of his constituents second. During the appearance of Assistant Secretary of State Ed Djerejian before the Middle East Development Subcommittee of the House Foreign Relations Committee, the “Israeli” congressman went to extraordinary lengths to express his dissatisfaction with the Administration’s behavior toward Israel.

Ignoring the broader regional and international security concerns of the U.S. government and 25 years of consistent bipartisan policy on the subject of settlements on occupied Arab lands, Levine grilled Mr. Djerejian on everything down to the vocabulary used by the President and Secretary of State (James) Baker in discussing the issue of loan guarantees for Israel. This may play well in the synagogues on the Westside, but it makes my patriotic blood boil.

We need a congressman who dwells on the needs of his district and nation. Levine should retire from Congress, register as an agent of a foreign government and lobby for loans legally.

JAMES O’BRIEN

Hermosa Beach