* Published 02:17 28.01.11
* Latest update 02:17 28.01.11
U.S. Democrats and pro-Israel lobbies slam Republican Senator's call to
halt Israel aid
Tea Party representative Rand Paul tells CNN’s Wolf Blitzer he has a lot of
respect for Israel but he doesn't believe the U.S. should be funding the
Mideast arms race during financial crisis.
By _Natasha Mozgovaya_
(http://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/natasha-mozgovaya-1.493) Tags: _Israel
news_
(http://www.haaretz.com/meta/Tag/Israel%20news) _Jewish World_
(http://www.haaretz.com/meta/Tag/Jewish%20World) _J
Street_ (http://www.haaretz.com/meta/Tag/J%20Street) _US_
(http://www.haaretz.com/meta/Tag/US) _Middle East peace_
(http://www.haaretz.com/meta/Tag/Middle%20East%20peace)
U.S. Democrats and pro-Israel lobbies slammed on Thursday comments made by
newly elected Republican Senator and Tea Party representative Rand Paul who
suggested that the United States should halt all foreign aid including its
financial aid to Israel.
In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday Paul said that “
Reuters did a poll, and 71 percent of American people agree with me that when
we're short of money, where we can't do the things we need to do in our
country, we certainly shouldn't be shipping the money overseas.”
When asked by Blitzer if he wanted to halt an annual $3 billion that go to
Israel, Paul replied affirmatively, explaining that Egypt recieves almost
the same amount .
"You have to ask yourself, are we funding an arms race on both sides? I
have a lot of sympathy and respect for Israel as a democratic nation, as, you
know, a fountain of peace and a fountain of democracy within the Middle
East. But at the same time, I don't think funding both sides of the arm race,
particularly when we have to borrow the money from China to send it to
someone else. We just can't do it anymore. The debt is all- consuming and it
threatens our well-being as a country,” Paul said.
Pro-Israel Jewish lobby J Street issued a statement in response to Paul's
comments saying it was “alarmed” by his suggestion.
“Senator Paul’s proposal would undermine the decades-long bipartisan
consensus on U.S. support for Israel. Any erosion of support should concern
Israel’s friends on both sides of the political aisle, and we call in
particular on leaders and donors in Senator Paul’s party to repudiate his
comments
and ensure that American leadership around the world is not threatened by
this irresponsible proposal," the statement issued by J Street read.
National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) President and CEO David Harris
also condemned his statement saying that “Paul's suggestion is negligent,
shortsighted, and just plain wrong,” adding that “foreign aid in general, and
aid to Israel in particular, is crucial to Israel's security and its
pursuit of peace. Senator Paul's statement is yet another illustration of how
the Republican Party continues to grow increasingly out of touch with the
values of the vast majority of the American Jewish community."
Congresswoman Nita Lowey, Ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee
on State and Foreign Operations, called the initiative “shocking”.
“Israel is the only democratic nation in the Middle East and one of our
most stalwart allies”, Lowey said. “A stable and secure Israel is in our
national security interest and has been a staple of our foreign policy for
more
than sixty years. Using our budget deficit as a reason to abandon Israel
is inexcusable. It is unclear to me whether Rand Paul speaks for the Tea
Party, the Republican Party, or simply himself”.
Meanwhile, Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matthew Brooks
issued a statement saying "we share Senator Paul's commitment to restraining
the growth of federal spending, but we reject his misguided proposal to end
U.S. assistance to our ally, Israel."
"Moreover, based on his comments in an interview with CNN, we are concerned
that Senator Paul may not grasp the fundamentals of our alliance with
Israel. In 2007, the U.S. and Israel signed a ten-year 'Memorandum of
Understanding' (MoU) to govern U.S. assistance going forward. A critical aim
of the
MoU was to preserve Israel's qualitative military advantage. Accordingly,
any concern that U.S. assistance might undermine Israel's security is
groundless," Brooks said.
This story is by:
* (http://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/natasha-mozgovaya-1.493)
_Natasha Mozgovaya_
(http://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/natasha-mozgovaya-1.493)
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