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737-5510
FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 1992
°
(517) 336-0900
741-9700
Jewish Leaders Will Not
Force Vote On Loans
Washington (JTA) — Jew-
ish organizational leaders
have told White House Chief
of Staff Samuel Skinner that
they will not force a vote in
Congress to secure $10
billion in U.S.- guaranteed
loans for Israel.
Instead of trying to bypass
the Bush administration,
the Conference of Presidents
of Major American Jewish
Organizations told the new
chief of staff it wants the
administration to work out
quickly with Israel any
assurances it would want,
said Malcolm Hoenlein, the
group's executive director.
The U.S. guarantees would
help Israel obtain loans from
commercial banks here,
which would be used to build
housing and infrastructure
for hundreds of thousands of
Soviet Jews expected to ar-
rive in Israel over the next
five years.
Last September, President
Bush balked at an Israeli re-
quest for the loan guar-
antees, while saying he
wanted to help Israel absorb
the emigres.
Expressing concern that
any quick approval of the
guarantees might imperil
the face-to-face talks bet-
ween Arab and Israelis, Mr.
Bush promised instead to
revisit the matter in 120
days, a period that expires
this month.
Secretary of State James
Baker told senators in Oc-
tober that the administra-
tion would not block Con-
gress from voting on the re-
quest.
Despite widespread con-
gressional sentiment in
favor of the guarantees, Jew-
ish leaders have apparently
decided to forgo any fight
with the administration.
Mr. Bush had vowed in
September to take his case to
the American people if forc-
ed to fight the loan guar-
antees, and many congres-
sional supporters relented
on an early vote, in light of
Mr. Bush's veto threat.
Mr. Hoenlein said he
discussed with Mr. Skinner
the perception that there is a
growing "isolationist"
movement in the United
States that _ opposes foreign
aid. He said the Conference
of Presidents vowed to work
with the administration in
the future to help shepherd
foreign aid through Con-
gress.
But Mr. Hoenlein said his
group would refrain from
negotiating on Israel's
behalf on any of the
assurances the United
States might seek on use of
the loan money.
Before releasing guar-
antees for $400 million in
loans last year, Mr. Bush
secured assurances from
Israel that it would not use
the aid to increase set-
tlements in the West Bank
or Gaza Strip.
Mr. Hoenlein said Mr.
Skinner was the one who
called for the meeting and
that the chief of staff said it
was his first with any consti-
tuent group since replacing
John Sununu last month.
The group also met
separately with Dennis
Ross, director of the State
Department's policy plann-
ing staff, and Richard Haass,
senior director on the Na-
tional Security Council for
Near Eastern and South
Asian affairs. Haass also at-
tended the meeting with Mr.
Skinner.
Joining Mr. Hoenlein in
the meetings were Shoshana
Cardin, chairman of the
Conference of Presidents;
Rabbi Moshe Sherer, presi-
dent of Agudath Israel of
America; Alfred Moses, pres-
ident of the American Jew-
ish Committee; Melvin
Salberg, chairman of the
Anti-Defamation League;
and Kent Schiner, president
of B'nai B'rith Interna-
tional.
Israel Expects
Slower '92
Tel Aviv (JTA) — Israel's
economic outlook in 1992 is
for slower economic growth,
a drop in the inflation rate
and rising unemployment,
according to a forecast by
Chamber of Commerce
economists.
Inflation is expected to fall
from a current annual rate
of about 18 percent to 15
percent in the new year be-
cause of an anticipated
decrease in the price of hous-
ing and a government cap on
consumer prices in an elec-
tion year.
The economists foresee the
growth rate declining from a
5.2 percent increase in the
gross national product dur-
ing 1991 to a 4.3 percent rise
in 1992.
They base that on an ex-
pected arrival of 100,000 to
130,000 immigrants next
year. That is a conservative
figure, assuming there is no
mass unemployment in the
republics that formerly con-
stituted the Soviet Union.