Washington Report, November 2005, pages 30-31

Congress Watch

Diehard Anti-Palestinian Congress Members Concentrate on Money Bills

By Shirl McArthur

A shift in emphasis seems to be occurring on the part of Congress’ die-hard Israel Firsters. Previously, they seemed content to offer up a continuous stream of anti-Palestinian bills, resolutions, and amendments designed to burnish their pro-Israel credentials. As M.J. Rosenberg observed in the Israel Policy Forum, it hasn’t mattered whether the measures “are likely to actually become law, whether they advance U.S. policy goals or whether, if implemented, they would benefit Israel. The point is to go on record as blasting Palestinians in the hope that pro-Israel donors and voters believe that anything that hurts Palestinians helps Israel and that they will reward them accordingly.”

Now, however, this group seems to be concentrating its fire on the money bills, perhaps reasoning that they have more visibility and have a greater likelihood of being passed than more obscure bills and resolutions.

As reported in previous issues of this magazine, the supplemental appropriations bill passed in May and the foreign aid and the foreign affairs authorization bills currently making their way through Congress all have been larded with anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian amendments that go well beyond the already onerous provisions included in previous funding bills. This group, spearheaded by Reps. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Tom Lantos (D-CA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and Anthony Weiner (D-NY), seems oblivious or indifferent to the changes taking place in the Israel-Palestine arena. They seem to believe, again quoting Rosenberg, “that humiliating [Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas and the Palestinians helps Israel. For them, Israel and Palestine is a zero-sum game: help one, hurt the other. They could not be more wrong.”

Of course, many Jewish members of Congress do seem to understand that helping Abbas and the Palestinians at this time benefits Israel. For example, among the 100 representatives voting against the Berkley amendment to the authorization bill that would require that no more than 25 percent of any aid to the Palestinian Authority be spent during any calendar quarter were such staunch Jewish supporters of Israel as Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Howard Berman (D-CA), Barney Frank (D-MA), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Steven Rothman (D-NJ) and Robert Wexler (D-FL).

As a result of this change of emphasis, no new anti-Palestinian bills or resolutions have been introduced recently and, of the bills previously described, none have made any progress except those regarding Jerusalem. This year’s version of the perennial “Jerusalem the Capital of Israel” bill, H.R. 588, introduced in February by Rep. Thomas Reynolds (R-NY), has gained seven co-sponsors beyond those named in the July issue of the Washington Report, for a total of 42, including Reynolds. It would require any U.S. diplomatic facility in Jerusalem to be under the supervision of the ambassador to Israel, Jerusalem to be identified as the capital of Israel in official U.S. documents listing countries and their capitals, and, upon request, on the birth certificates of Americans born in Jerusalem. New co-sponsors are Reps. Robert Andrews (D-NJ), Bob Beauprez (R-CO), Dan Burton (R-IN), Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Joe Crowley (D-NY), Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Major Owens (D-NY).

S.J. Res. 14, introduced in the Senate in April by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), has gained two co-sponsors, for a total of five, including Brownback. It would “provide for the recognition of Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel before the U.S. recognizes a Palestinian state.” New co-sponsors are Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Rick Santorum (R-PA).

Another Bill Targets Aid to Egypt

Although anti-Palestinian bills and resolutions have languished, Egypt, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia remain targets. Not content with loading the foreign aid appropriations and foreign affairs authorization bills (H.R. 3057 and 2601, respectively) with anti-Egyptian aid amendments that would dramatically alter the U.S.-Egypt bilateral relationship, as described in the previous issue of this magazine, the mindless Israel-Firsters on July 28 introduced H.Res. 413 “expressing the concern of House of Representatives regarding the amount of United States foreign assistance provided to Egypt over the past 25 years without meaningful political reforms by the Government of Egypt.”

The resolution, introduced by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), begins with a two-page listing of Egypt’s alleged transgressions and then lists seven specific actions that the government of Egypt should take to rectify them. It then says the U.S. government should try to negotiate an agreement with Egypt to set a timetable and set of benchmarks “for progress on political and human rights reforms.” If those benchmarks are not met, the U.S. “should reconsider the dimensions and direction of economic assistance to Egypt.”

H.Res. 413’s seven co-sponsors, in addition to Poe, are Reps. Berkley, Jo Ann Davis (R-VA), Tom Feeney (R-FL), Mike Pence (R-IN), Ros-Lehtinen, Jim Saxton (R-NJ), and Weiner.

“Iran Freedom Support” Bills Nearing Critical Mass

The “Iran Freedom Support” bills—H.R. 282, introduced by Ros-Lehtinen in January, and its companion, S. 333, introduced by Santorum in February—continue to gain support. The bills say that U.S. sanctions, controls and regulations relating to weapons of mass destruction with respect to Iran shall remain in effect until the president certifies that Iran has permanently and verifiably dismantled its weapons of mass destruction programs; amend and expand the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 to eliminate provisions respecting Libya, expand the sanctions and reporting provisions, and eliminate the sunset provision; and authorize the president to provide assistance to support democracy in Iran. H.R. 282 has gained 62 co-sponsors in addition to those previously named, and now has 316, out of 439, House members. They are named in the box on this page.S. 333 has gained five co-sponsors, also named in the box, and now has 31 including Santorum.

H.Con.Res. 162, introduced by Saxton in May, has gained five co-sponsors, for a total of 28, including Saxton. It expresses the “sense of Congress that the ongoing nuclear efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran constitute a threat to the national security of the U.S. and to international peace and security.” This relatively mild resolution says that “the President should urge the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to refer Iran’s noncompliance with its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to the U.N. Security Council in the event that negotiations fail between Iran and the European Union.” The measure’s new co-sponsors are Reps. Charles Dent (R-PA), Michael Doyle (D-PA), Lane Evans (D-IL), Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) and Michael McCaul (R-TX).

An even milder resolution, H.Con.Res. 177, was introduced by Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) on June 14. It would express “the sense of Congress that the crisis regarding the Iranian nuclear program should be primarily resolved through diplomatic means.” Predictably, it has attracted little support although, perhaps surprisingly, among its four co-sponsors are Pence and Ros-Lehtinen, joined by Reps. Andrews and Lee Terry (R-NE).

Anti-Syria, Saudi Arabia Bills Make Slow Progress

H.R. 1141, the “Lebanon and Syria Liberation Act,” introduced with great fanfare in March by Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) and described in previous issues of the Washington Report, has gained five co-sponsors since those named in the July issue, bringing the total to 14. The bill would codify existing sanctions against Syria, impose U.S. sanctions on other countries or companies that provide “destabilizing” weapons to Syria, require a State Department report to Congress on Syrian activities, and provide for American aid to pro-democracy and human rights groups in Syria and Lebanon. The new co-sponsors are Reps. San­ford Bishop (D-GA), Michael McNulty (D-NY), Charlie Norwood (R-GA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Joe Wilson (R-SC).

H.R. 2037, introduced by Weiner in April “to halt Saudi support for institutions that fund, train, incite, encourage, or in any other way aid and abet terrorism, and to secure full Saudi cooperation in the investigation of terrorist incidents” has gained 17 co-sponsors, for a total of 42. The identical companion bill, S. 1171, introduced in the Senate in June by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), has gained four co-sponsors, for a total of 11.

Weiner, always looking for an opportunity to attack an Arab government or institution, on July 20 introduced H.R. 3370, which he called the “Arab Bank Accountability Act.” It would force the closure of the Jordanian-owned Arab Bank of New York and hold its assets for victims of “any terrorist act” determined to be supported by the bank “or with which the Arab Bank was in any other way connected.” Co-sponsors are Reps. Berkley, Crowley, and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY). In response, the Arab Bank issued a statement denying that it had ever done “any transactions with known terrorist entities” and calling Weiner’s bill “deplorable” and “shocking, irresponsible behavior by an elected official.” It said the bill was “nothing more than gutter politics, designed to promote his last place mayoral campaign by attacking a respectable Arab institution.”

Shirl McArthur, a retired U.S. foreign service officer, is a consultant based in the Washington, DC area.