Washington Report, January 10, 1983, Page 5

Lobby Activities

For Arabs:

The National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA) has been carefully reappraising its approach toward lobbying on foreign aid legislation following the unexpected aid increases for Israel approved during the closing days of the 97th Congress.

Out of this reassessment has come a decision to begin work on the aid-to-Israel issue much, much earlier in the future, according to Ronald Cathell, NAAA's Communications Director. He told The Washington Report that in the past NAAA did not take action on aid legislation until early spring, when it prepared testimony for Congressional hearings. In contrast, Mr. Cathell said that Howard Cook, their main lobbyist on Capitol Hill, has already raised the issue of aid to Israel for fiscal 1984 in his meetings with several Congressmen.

NAAA also started a campaign to publicize Senator Arlen Specter's (R-Pa.) active support for the latest aid increase to Israel, according to Cathell, who said: "We (NAAA) want the constituents to know what Senator Specter is doing with their tax dollars." NAAA ran one minute spots on eight radio stations in Pennsylvania, pointing out the Senator's position while also emphasizing the state's high unemployment rate. The ads ended with the question: "Is funding for Israel more important than funding for Pennsylvania?"

Also a top priority of NAAA, according to Cathell, is to help smooth the path for any eventual sale of advanced jet fighters and mobile missiles to Jordan—a sale which has not been officially proposed by the Administration up to now but is being anticipated. In December, NAAA sent members of Congress a letter, urging them to "refrain" from taking a position on a sale until the Administration officially notifies Congress and presents its case.

Meanwhile, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) submitted what it calls a "legal brief" to the State Department, charging Israel with violating international laws and U.S. laws and agreements, including the Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement of 1952, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act of 1976. The report—which is largely a compilation of single issue reports previously completed—concludes that the alleged violations are grounds for halting U.S. aid to Israel.

For Israel:

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has vigorously renewed its efforts to try to prevent the sale of advanced U.S. weapons to Jordan.

Prior to King Hussein's visit to Washington in December, and amid increased speculation that the sale of jet fighters and missiles might be formally announced by the Reagan Administration, AIPAC distributed several memoranda to congressional offices arguing against a sale on grounds that the Jordanian King has failed to enter the Camp David negotiations with Egypt and Israel on the future of the occupied territories. The memos also said such a sale would "worsen an already delicate balance of power in the Middle East" and hinted that the Jordanian government may not be stable enough in the long run to warrant receiving advanced U.S. weaponry. These themes were repeated in a series of editorials and articles in three consecutive December issues of AIPAC's newsletter, Near East Report, which is also sent to all members of Congress.

AIPAC first began laying the ground work for a potential battle with the Administration in February, 1982 (See The Washington Report of April 5, 1982), when Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger said that he favored arming Jordan with F-16 jet fighters and mobile antiaircraft missiles.

AIPAC noted approvingly in its newsletter that by the last day of the 97th Congress 182 Representatives had signed their names to a letter to President Reagan voicing opposition to any such sale while 52 Senators endorsed a resolution to the same effect introduced last May.