Time to Preempt the Budget Cutters? JAMES D. BESSER WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT Because we appreciate your calls — and understand how busy you are — we have just installed a new phone system equipped with voice mail to make it much easier for you to reach your Jewish News account executive. You can dial (810) 354-7123 and their extension to reach them anytime — 24 hours a day! EXT. EXT. Ann Abrams Susan Brooks Kathy Johnson Betsy Leemon Lisa Marshall Patty McMurray 219 220 217 215 211 212 Rick Nessel Dharlene Norris Danny Raskin Danny Samson Art Shafer 213 204 206 214 216 THE JEWISH NEWS Make a Bold Statement with Subtle Beauty Our incredible selection of diamond stud earrings are carefully set by hand to give you the most brilliance and best quality at the very best prices. 6337 Orchard Lk. Rd. • W. Bloomfield, MI 48322 (810) 932 7700 • Out of State (800) 337-GIFT - No gain.No pain. Keeping your weight at a moderate level may scale down your risk of heart attack. So maintain a healthy diet and lighten up on your heart. 52 American Heart Association Ti Diamonds and Fine Jewelry I t's a subject that is spoken about only in whispers. But lately, the whispers have been getting louder as the new Republican Congress slices its way through the feder- al budget in a politically charged attempt to tame the runaway deficit. Perhaps Israel, a growing number of Jewish activists are quietly suggesting, should pre- empt inevitable cuts by propos- ing a voluntary reduction in its $3 billion annual foreign aid al- location — a gesture designed to avert even worse cuts in the fu- ture, and to insulate the delicate U.S.-Israeli relationship from a political backlash if aid to Israel is protected while hundreds of government programs are gutted. While many Israeli of- ficials recognize the log- ic of such proposals, the issue is a densely layered one that cuts to the heart of the unique U.S.-Israeli affiance. From a purely prag- matic point of view, some Jewish leaders argue, it makes sense to outflank the Republican budget bashers. Congressional leaders have promised that Israel's aid is safe for the current budget cycle, although they caution that aid in the years to come will be much harder to sus- tain. But those guarantees could quickly evaporate in the face of the unprecedented spasm of bud- get cutting now underway on Capitol Hill; proposing a small voluntary reduction now, some pro-Israel leaders counsel, would lessen the pressure for more sweeping reductions when a pan- icky Congress begins to confront the political and economic fallout from the deep cuts they are now passing with such abandon. If Israel's aid survives intact, the results could be even more worrisome. An all-out mobiliza- tion to protect every last dollar of aid could be a public relations dis- aster for Israel. American politicians have al- ways gotten mileage out of claims that foreign aid takes food out of the mouths of hungry Americans, despite the relatively small pro- portion of the federal budget that goes to aid programs. Those dem- agogic arguments will be much easier to make — and much more destructive — if domestic pro- grams are cut way back, but Is- rael's aid continues to be un- touchable. That contrast between the squeeze on ordinary Americans and a privileged, prosperous Is- rael could also provide fodder for the anti-Semites in this country who are always eager for new ways to drive a wedge between Jews and their neighbors, and for the Israel bashers who object to the very idea of a special U.S.-Is- raeli relationship. Israel's aid, by far the biggest chunk of American assistance, al- ready stands out in an era in which money for the developing world has been vanishing. If aid to Israel, a developed na- tion, is held inviolate while as- sistance to some of the neediest populations in the world is zeroed L out, the results could include new tensions between American Jews and groups in this country that are sensitive to the special needs of these areas. On the other side of the debate is the fact that aid to Israel has taken on enormous symbolic power in recent years. The current $3 billion allot- ment is the result of the Ameri- can commitment to peacemaking in the region, the fulfillment of promises made after the 1979 Camp David accords. Any cuts, Israeli leaders fear, would imply a weakening of that commitment at a time when the Mideast peace talks are faltering. Even modest reductions in aid will send the wrong kind of sig- nal to nations that are eager to see a weakening bond between Washington and Jerusalem, Is- raeli officials worry. Reductions in aid will be an en- couragement to Israel's enemies, and erode the feeling among Arab nations that serious negotiations with Israel are the only way to win favor in Washington.