Is Israel's "Special Relationship" With the US Changing?

"I truly believe that there may be opportunities ... for all the states and peoples of the region to settle the conflict that divides the Arabs from Israel."

—US President George Bush, Oct. 1, 1990

"We expressed the concern of the Jewish community that the United States attitude toward Israel might have undergone a change."

—Seymour Reich, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Nov. 9, 1990, after meeting with President Bush

"Clearly there has been a change in the tone of the relationship ... and perhaps a change in the substance."

—Malcolm Hoenlein, executive director of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, quoted Nov. 16, 1990

"This is a moment of peril for Israel ... Recently in this country, a feeling has been growing, even among some Jews, that it is not easy to be a friend to Israel."

—New York Governor Mario Cuomo, Nov. 11, 1990

"The close bond that once existed between the US and Israel is unraveling, and the Persian Gulf crisis is hastening its dissolution."

—Rabbi Avraham Weiss, Hebrew Institute, quoted Nov. 29,1990

"It's unfortunate that personal relations between leaders of the state of Israel and the president and members of our administration are not as good as they should be between two longstanding allies ... What we're dealing with now is ... a temporary breakdown in personal relations that in no way affects fundamental relations in military, financial and intelligence ... between the two governments."

—Alternate US Representative to the UN and former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Jacob Stein, quoted Nov. 9, 1990

"Even before the election, there was an undertone to the Bush campaign suggesting a basic lack of sensitivity to Israel's needs or to the most critical concerns of the Jewish community. Those undertones became louder with the appointment of John Sununu as White House Chief of Staff and with Secretary of State James Baker's controversial speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) last year. "

—James David Besser, Washington correspondent for the Jewish Week of Queens, NY, Nov. 16, 1990

"Bush's treatment of Shamir personally and Israel generally are leading many in the Jewish community to call him the most anti-Israel president in history ... Israel feels it is under siege and isolated."

—Former American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) spokesman Douglas Bloomfield, Nov. 29, 1990

"Israel has to eat in the kitchen, while our new Arab partners are eating heartily in the dining room ... This strategic assumption has been embellished by the longstanding view of Israel by Bush and Scowcroft that Israel is more of a nuisance and a liability than an ally. " to Israel'."

—Martin Indyk, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Nov. 23, 1990

"Bush's priority today is Desert Shield. It would be cockeyed not to understand this. Therefore, everything having to do with foreign policy will be subject to the test of its impact on Desert Shield ... There's no question that all decisions—not only those involving Israel—will be subject to this test, and it's a very hard te to deal with. Therefore, I think [Israel] is in for some hard times.

—Abrahain Foxman, executive director of the Anti Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, quoted Nov. 15, 1990

"[The Bush administration] sent a message that Israel was no longer a strategic ally. That ain't no way to treat a friend."

—Dan Mariaschin, policy adviser for the Anti Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, quoted Nov. 11, 1990

"We want no confrontation with our friends in the United States ... but nothing will change our position on Jerusalem ... It's not in the interest of America to have it now as a cause for a confrontation with us."

—Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Nov. 7, 1990

"It's getting cold out there in regard to Israel ... Whatever capital of goodwill we had stored up is being eaten into."

—Rabbi A. James Rudin, American Jewish Committee, quoted Nov. 16, 1990

"There's no doubt about it—the United States/Israel relationship is in trouble."

—Dr. Aaron Miller, US State Department, Nov. 8, 1990

"Despite the Bush administration's efforts to 'curry favor with the Arabs,' members of Congress 'have stayed the course with respect”

—Tom Dine, executive director of AIPAC, quoted Nov. 30, 1990

"I'm not sure that we have any ties with the White House at this point.

—Joel Reinstein, pro-Israel political activist, quoted Nov. 9, 1990

"Officials here believethat Israel's hope rests either with Congress—so far supportive of Israel—or with a new and friendlier administration."

—Lally Weymouth, writing from Israel for The Washington Post, Nov. 11, 1990

"The United States has, since Baker and Bush took over the reins of the government, tried to push forward an Arab-Israeli, Israeli-Palestinian discussion ... The US has come to grips with the reality that Yitzhak Shamir is trying to drag his feet in the peace process ... The US administration wants to urge, cajole Mr. Shamir into entering into a dialogue with the Palestinians."

—Kenneth Stein, Carter Center policy advisor, Dec. 7, 1990

"The American public does not feel that US support for the United Nations resolution condemning Israel for the tragedy on the Temple Mount was misguided ... The cycle of violence has reached such proportions that the average American no longer cares to distinguish between the different countries' reasons or motivations for their actions. It matters little whether Iraqis brutalize Kuwaitis, Syrians massacre Lebanese Christians, Arabs murder Jews or Israelis shoot Palestinians."

—Rabbi David J. Forman, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, quoted in the Jerusalem Post, Nov. 20, 1990.