Loan Guarantees for Israel

I guess it was only a matter of time--and of declining ratings in the polls. The Bush Administration is now making overtures to Israel, hinting that the loan guarantees for resettling the Soviet Jews might finally be cleared. One cannot fail to be just a tad skeptical about this new development, even though the election of Yitzhak Rabin’s more pragmatic government gives Bush a convenient opening.

The Bush Administration has been the most antagonistic “ally” that Israel has had to deal with in recent memory. The decided Arabist tilt has been clear for all to see.

If Bush and company really want to appear to be rethinking their “Israel card,” how about accepting Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel?

The real time to have been considering the loan guarantees for Soviet resettlement was when the miracle of the “exodus” was at its height. It was then that Israel, the country that helped Bush keep his “Arab coalition” together while suffering SCUD attacks on its civilian population, most needed U.S. support in securing international loans for extraordinary humanitarian expenses. This latest hint about the loan guarantees is cynical and opportunistic; a sign of a desperate Administration, smelling defeat!

SHERRI LIPMAN, Fullerton