OPINION
CONTENTS
Israel Must Be Treated
Like An Ally Of U.S.
B
oth Israelis and
Americans perceive
the United States as a
generous benefactor of Israel.
Close examination of the facts
shows that in many ways this
is a misperception.
lb the extent that the
United States does support
Israel, self interest rather
than moral consideration
guides American decisions.
As long as Israel remains a
strategic asset, it will con-
tinue to serve American in-
terests and be considered wor-
thy of American investment
in its economic and military
strength.
Less apparent in the
American-Israeli relationship
is the fact that the United
States receives from Israel as
much as it gives to Israel.
According to General
Keegan, former chief of the
United States Air Force in-
telligence, Israel saved the
United States $40 billion in
the period from 1967 to 1980
Israel is saving
billions of dollars
for the United
States.
alone. This figure is far
greater than the American
foreign aid funds that Israel
received during that period.
Published reports value
Israel's • contribution to
American security to be at
least $126 billion through
1985. This includes- $82
billion worth of intelligence,
weapon systems, research and
development, and modifica-
tions and improvements of
American weapon systems
and other equipment; plus
$44 billion in equivalent
value by virtue of the Israeli
military presence in the Mid-
dle East. This is the cost of
maintaining an equivalent
American military presence
if Israel's forces were not
there.
This Israeli gift to the
United States is more than
three times the total of
American aid to Israel since
the U.S. foreign aid program
went into effect.
The strings attached to
American aid have infringed
on Israeli sovereignty.
American administrations
have treated and continue to
Joseph Puder is the executive
director for Americans For a
Safe Israel.
treat Israel as a pawn, not as
an ally or even a friendly
state. Few if any other nations
would tolerate continual
American interference in
their domestic policies, such '
as settlement and measures
to deal with domestic rioters.
How to reconcile Israel's in-
dependence _with continued
American military aid, while
at the same time serving
American interests, is a ques-
tion for friends of both coun-
tries to ponder.
Current American aid to
Israel amounts to $3 billion
(fiscal 1989): $1.8 billion in
military aid and $1.2 billion
in economic assistance, all
part of the Congress-approved
foreign-aid bill. The $1.8
billion in military aid is
largely spent in the United
States; $1.5 billion, or more
than 80 percent of it, creates
approximately 40,000 Ameri-
can jobs in corporations such
as Boeing, McDonald-Doug-
las, General Dynamics, etc.
Less than'20 percent can be
spent in Israel.
Although Israel's aid
package has remained at a
static level, inflation has
eroded its purchasing power.
Delivery of arms usually
takes three to four years:
Israel receives much less for
its $1.8 billion from year to
year. At the same time its
defense needs continue to
grow, due primarily to the
Arabs' huge purchases of
arms.
Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Syria and
Saudi Arabia are the world's
leading arms purchasers. Ex-
cluding Iran, these countries
spent $42 billion on arms bet-
ween 1983 and 1987, com-
pared to Israel's $2.87 billion.
Compounding this disparity
is the minimum profit
mnargin of between 35 and
40 percent common to the
defense industry, which fur-
ther reduces the annual
military aid to about $1
billion, before taking into ac-
count the inflation loss.
Israel never sees most of the
$1.2 billion in economic aid,
which is used primarily for
debt repayment and remains
in the United States. This
"aid" is essentially a book-
keeping transaction, whereby
one government department
writes a check to another.
Israel receives about $400
million, approximately 30
percent of the total $1.2
billion, to fuel its own
economy. In total, combining
both the military and
economic aid, Israel gets
Continued on Page 12
Lubavitch,
One Year Later
28
ARI L. GOLDMAN
After Who Is A Jew, has
the Chasidic group suffered?
SPORTS
58
Dad Would
Be Proud
RICHARD PEARL
Steve Greenberg brings
new perspective to baseball.
BUSINESS
58
64
People Play
SUSAN LUDMER-GLIEBE
Lauren Zinn makes a living
playing with games.
EDUCATION
Lunch And Learn
.
69
LISA JACKNOW ELLIAS
Aleynu is bringing adults
back to Jewish education.
FINE ARTS
Sounds Of Music
77
rKW I I M
JOSEPH PUDER
CLOSE-UP
Vladislav Kovalsky works
at more than the notes.
101
MEDIA MONITOR
Camera's Eye
LAWRENCE HARMON
A watchdog group says U.S.
reporting is out of focus.
69
117
TRENDS
Rethinking
Circumcision
ARLENE EHRLICH
The 20th century debate
reheats on its necessity.
DEPARTMENTS
34
51
52
74
90
Notebook
Community
Synagogues
Fine Arts
Cooking
110 Engagements
120 Births
122 Single Life
127 Classified Ads
150 Obituaries
CANDLELIGHTING
77
Friday, December 8, 1989 4:42 p.m.
Sabbath ends Dec. 9 5:48 p.m.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
9