BACKGROUND
U.S.-Israel Relations
May Not Be So Bad
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
M
arriage counselors
understand the con-
cept of tunnel vi-
sion, when couples zero in on
a single of point of conten-
tion so sharply that the rest
of the marriage — the good
as well as the bad — fades
from view.
So it is with the troubled
U.S.-Israel relationship.
Like quarreling spouses, of-
ficials in Jerusalem and
Washington have spent a
year sinking ever-deeper
into their emotional spat
over Israel's request for $10
billion in loan guarantees.
For both sides, the debate
has taken on such emotion
that the facts are over-
shadowed; for both, a
growing suspicion of the
motives of their adversaries
has dimmed prospects for
_
reconciliation.
Some Mideast observers
claim that U.S.-Israel rela-
tions are at an all-time low,
focusing on the combative
,one that Washington has
taken toward Jerusalem
under President Bush and
Secretary of State Baker
with the loan guarantees
only the most glaring exam-
ple.
Others point to the need
for historical perspective.
They note that the Reagan
Years, now looked upon so
fondly by pro-Israel ad-
vocates, had its dark days
over the sale of AWACs
planes to Saudi Arabia, the
war in Lebanon, Mr.
Reagan's visit to Bitburg,
and more.
As a result, gauging the
state of the U.S.-Israeli rela-
tionship in today's uncertain
international climate is a
perilous exercise.
There are indications that
the strains uncovered by the
loan guarantee debate
reflect broader structural
weaknesses in the alliance.
But it also true that the
yelling between the two
nations is obscuring some of
the sources of strength that
might otherwise ease the re-
lationship through tough
times.
"We're at a transitional
phase," said Martin Raffel,
assistant executive vice
chair of the National Jewish
Community Relations Ad-
visory Council and head of
the group's Israel task force.
"It's a truly revolutionary
time. U.S.-Israeli relations
are changing radically, be-
cause the world is changing
radically."
Despite the uncertainties
ahead, he argues, many of
these changes augur well for
the U.S.-Israeli relationship
in the 1990s.
The sense of panic in the
pro-Israel community ig-
nited by President Bush's in-
famous September 12 news
conference is beginning to
ebb; combatants on both
sides, having seen the dep-
ths of the chasm between
them, are beginning to pull
back from the precipice.
In recent days, Secretary
of State James Baker has
met with two major Jewish
groups; the underlying mes-
sage, in both cases, involved
tempered rhetoric and in-
creasing sensitivity.
"I think we've reached
bottom," said Abraham
Foxman, executive director
of the Anti-Defamation
League. "There's a clear
effort on both sides to repair
the damage — to assuage the
anger and change the
perceptions. There's an
effort to smooth the jagged
edges."
The fact that a presiden-
tial election is coming up in
November is certainly a fac-
tor — for both sides. The
White House still wants a
piece of the Jewish vote, and
American Jewish organiza-
tions have come to the con-
clusion that they probably
"In moments of
fear and hysteria,
American Jews
tend to lash out at
their president."
Ted Mann
will be dealing with a Bush
administration for four more
years.
In recent weeks, top White
House and administration
officials have privately ex-
pressed great puzzlement
over the intense reaction in
the Jewish community over
the protracted loan guar-
antee debate and over the
perceived slide in U.S.-
Israeli relations.
And despite a number of
Jewish advisors in the State
Department, officials there
do not yet comprehend the
special sensitivities of the
Jewish community — sen-
sitivities that, some suggest,
may be excessive.
"It was our decision to play
hardball to win these guar-
antees," said a leading pro-
Israel activist here. "What
we fail to understand is that
when you play in the major
leagues, this is how it's
played. We're making a big
mistake if we take this stuff
personally; we have to be
able to slough it off and
move on to the next issue
without a chip on our
shoulders."
The recent outreach effort
by the administration "may
be short-term because in a
political campaign, it's not
helpful to have any consti-
tuency angry and hurt," Mr.
Foxman said. "But in the
long term, I believe this ad-
ministration is sincere about
bringing peace and stability
to the region. Bush and
Baker know they won't get it
if they force a break with
Israel."
That peace process, once
seen by many as a new
threat to U.S.-Israeli rela-
tions, has turned into what
looks suspiciously like a
source of strength.
Mr. Baker made it clear, in
recent meetings with leaders
of the American Jewish
Congress and the American
Jewish Committee, that the
administration is generally
pleased with Israel's par-
ticipation in the fragile Mid-
dle East peace process.
But the peace process has
had an effect in making
more visible some strains
that have been part of the
U.S.-Israeli relationship for
a long time, according to
some observers, like Israel's
settlement policies and vary-
ing interpretations of key
United Nations resolutions.
Another factor reshaping
the U.S.-Israeli relationship
is the transformation of the
world since the surprising
end of the Cold War.
In the early 1980s, the em-
phasis in pro-Israel lobbying
shifted from the shared
democratic values of the two
nations to Israel's strategic
importance as a rampart in
the battle to contain the
Soviet Union, a shift that
produced rich rewards dur-
ing the hardline Reagan
years.
But the with demise of the
Soviet Union, Israel's value
as an American outpost
looks increasingly uncer-
tain.
And the collateral argu-
ment about Israel's strategic
importance in regional con-
flicts took a pounding during
last year's Persian Gulf
War, when a U.S.-led coali-
tion against Iraq's Saddam
Hussein deliberately ex-
cluded Israel for political
reasons — and managed to
win the war handily.
Critics were quick to sug-
gest that the administra-
tion's growing toughness
with Israel was the in-
evitable result of an
overemphasis on the strate-
gic relationship concept. In
today's reshaped world, the
U.S.-Israeli relationship has
lost its anchor, they worry.
But there are indications
that fears about the demise
of the strategic relationship
may be exaggerated.
"There's plenty of trouble
in the world," said Eugene
V. Rostow, a fellow at the
U.S. Institute of Peace and a
former undersecretary of
state. "The end of the Cold
War doesn't mean an end of
the problems we'll face in
our foreign policy — many of
which will involve the use of
force. The result is that
Israel is likely to be far more
important as an ally than
she was in the heyday of the
Cold War."
Mr. Rostow pointed to the
rise of Islamic fundamen-
talism, the growing links
between the Islamic repub-
lics of the former Soviet
Union and countries like
Iran and the spread of non-
conventional weaponry
throughout the Middle East
as factors that could add to
Israel's strategic value to
the American government.
At the same time, Wash-
ington is facing wholesale
defense cuts as the federal
budget crisis worsens;
Israel's lean, efficient
military machine could loom
larger in this country's
defense strategies.
Despite widespread fears
about the collapse of the
strategic partnership, the
specific programs that have
been at the core of that rela-
tionship continue to flourish.
Recently, Israeli and
American forces completed
joint military exercises in
the Negev, and the Depart-
ment of Defense has just
signed a contract for the
maintenance of some U.S.
fighters in Israel.
"At the policy level, there
may be concerns about what
a 'strategic relationship'
means in a changing world,"
said a Senate defense spe-
cialist. "At the working
levels at the Pentagon,
there's still a strong feeling
that this is a dangerous
world — and that in terms of
American interests, an ongo-
ing defense relationship
with Israel makes good
sense."
The formidable challenge
for pro-Israel activists in the
next few years will be to
keep that argument clearly
in the field of vision of
policymakers here — and to
adjust their presentation to
meet rapidly changing world
conditions.
A Likud victory in June
and a Bush victory in
November will almost guar-
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
31
NTERNATI S NA
The positives may outweigh the emotional
negatives generated by the loan guarantee debate.