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Peace In The North?

Mining For Dollars

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act Tauter, political sci-
or at the University of
‘
AtIrtigait and author of Rogue
Regimes:
Terrorism and
Proliferation:
Over 5,000
years of Jewish
history give rise
to caution in
declaring that
the Arab-Israel
conflict is over.
As a series of
Raymond Tanter
wars between
Israel and its
Arab neighbors, however, we are
witnessing the end of the Arab-
Israel conflict. Nevertheless, threats
to Israel's state security remain on
the horizon.
'Peace between Israel and Syria
would mean a peaceful Israeli with-
drawal from Lebanon and a com-
prehensive Arab-Israeli settlement.
[Syrian President Hale-4 Assad's
strategic decision to make peace
with Israel, [Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud} I3arak's ability to forge a
`peace with security' domestic
coalition, Washington's effective
mediation and the cumulative
impact of years of patient negotia-
tion — make a peace treaty with
Syria an opportunity of a lifetime.
"Yes, the devil is in the details
regarding how to reach consensus
on the degree of Israeli withdrawal,
final borders, nature of peace, secu-
rity arrangements, water, whether
Israelis approve a referendum on

12/17
1999

10

Funding Israel-Syria
deal would be a major
challenge in Congress.

MICHAEL SHAPIRO
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Washington
fter securing nearly $2 bil-
lion in aid to implement
the Wye agreement, pro-
Israel activists are anticipat-
ing what they say will be an even big-
ger challenge on Capitol Hill: secur-
ing billions of dollars to underwrite a
potential peace deal between Israel
and Syria.
At the time of the Wye signing,
Republican congressional leaders
raised concerns about how
they would pay for
President Clinton's $1.9
billion pledge to Israel. The
Palestinians and Jordan
were upset that they were
not consulted before the
offer was made.
Rep. Benjamin Gilman
(R-N.Y.), chairman of the
House International
Relations Committee and
the only Jewish Republican
in the House, said this
week that while he wel-
comed the resumption of
talks between Israel and
Syria, he hopes that "the
administration will not
The U.S.
make any promises regard-
ing foreign assistance to
either of the parties without
prior, extensive consultation _ s with
Congress."
Fresh from a bruising battle to
gain the Wye aid, activists agreed that
it was essential for the Clinton
administration and the Israeli govern-
ment to consult with Congress on the
negotiations and the details of the
likely aid package Israel and Syria will
seek to clinch the deal.
Howard Kohr, executive director of
the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee, said, "We're facing the
beginning of the process," and added
that his group is "committed to do
whatever we can to secure the support
of the American people and the
Congress" for any peace deal between

bill passed this year.
"All the sides in the region need to
have realistic shopping lists when they
are putting together their aid
requests," said Lewis Roth, assistant
executive director for public affairs
for Americans for Peace Now.
Another key issue likely to emerge
during the debate in Washington,
activists said, is Syria's status on the
U.S. list of state-sponsors of terror-
ism, which precludes it from receiv-
ing U.S. aid. If it is dropped from
that list, the United States would
have to decide whether to provide
Syria with military aid, as it did
Egypt and Jordan when the two
countries signed peace deals with
Israel.
While Israeli defense officials have
made clear that they would need aid
to buttress the Israeli army
when and if it withdraws
from the Golan Heights,
Syria also wants aid to bol-
ster its equipment that has
deteriorated since its former
patron, the Soviet Union,
collapsed.
Another tough — and
potentially costly — issue is
water.
Syria has said it wants to
recover land it lost in 1967
to the shores of the Sea of
Galilee, something the
Israelis have rejected. Other
options to provide Syria with
water include getting some
from Turkey or creating
will be asked to fund security arrangements.
desalination projects, both of
which would be very expen-
sive, observers said.
Although there are no official
money away from domestic programs
estimates concerning what a final
and use it for foreign aid.
Israeli-Syria deal could cost the
The president and Secretary of
United States, long-time critics of the
State Madeleine Albright "seem to
Israeli-Arab peace process have
think there is a money tree here in
warned that it could total $20 billion.
Washington, and all they have to do
Indeed, in their lobbying efforts to
is come up with an idea that sounds
prevent Congress from appropriating
good and then come back and get the
the Wye aid, the critics said it was
funds," Rep. Sonny Callahan (R-Ala.)
important to scuttle the nearly $2 bil-
said in a recent interview with the
lion aid package because it would
Jerusalem Post.
only lead to a much larger request to
Callahan, the chairman of the
implement a Israel-Syria deal over the
House appropriations foreign opera-
Golan Heights, which they oppose.
tions subcommittee, also said the
"An Israeli withdrawal from the
Middle East "gets too large a share of
Golan Heights, under intense pres-
the foreign assistance pie."
sure from the U.S. administration,
Aid to the Middle East totaled
nearly half the $15 billion foreign aid
MINING on page 12

Israel and Syria.
U.S. officials have also acknowl-
edged the importance of working
closely with Congress on issues deal-
ing with funds to support the Middle
East peace process.
"We have learned from the recent
experience with Wye that this is a
process that we need to work with the
Congress on," Martin Indyk, assistant
secretary of state for Near Eastern
affairs, said during a recent hearing
on his confirmation to be U.S.
ambassador to Israel.
Lobbying for what could total in
the billions of dollars will not be easy,
activists said, in light of the debate
this fall over foreign aid levels.
During the recent budget battle, a
number of Republican leaders
accused Clinton of wanting to take

