Mideast Panel Now Set

By Allan Kellum

The House Mideast panel, which in past years has been generally supportive of Israel, is going to be more so than ever in the 99th Congress. That panel, known officially as the Europe and Middle East Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has six new members and, based on their records, they all are much more supportive of Israel than were the three who did not return to the panel this year.

For example, last year the 10-member Mideast panel was evenly divided on the Jerusalem bill. Five members supported the relocation of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by signing on as cosponsors of the bill, while the other five did not. Under the new panel, the ratio of those favoring the legislation to those opposed is 11-to-2, thus making it unlikely that the stalling tactics used successfully by last year's opponents can be repeated. If and when the Jerusalem bill comes before this panel it probably will pass overwhelmingly.

The three Representatives who did not return to the Mideast panel—Mervyn Dymally (D-CA), Andy Ireland (R-FL), and Larry Winn (R-KS)—all refrained last year from cosponsoring the bill authorizing the Reagan Administration to negotiate a free trade zone with Israel. Nor did they sign Representative Joseph Addabbo's (D-NY) letter opposing the sale of advanced weapons to Jordan. In contrast, five of the six new members on the Mideast panel are on record as favoring a U.S. free trade zone with Israel and opposing arms to Jordan. The sixth new panel member, Robert Dornan (R-CA), is not on record on these issues because he did not serve in the 98th Congress.

Dornan missed the previous Congress after giving up his three-term House seat to run, unsuccessfully, for the Senate seat now held by Pete Wilson (R-CA). Dornan's earlier House record shows that he was one of the earliest opponents of the Saudi AWACS sale in 1981 and that he took an active role in the 1980 House debate on an amendment to relocate the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. At that time, Dornan, who had recently returned from a visit to Israel, challenged Representative Stephen Solarz's (D-NY) approach to the issue, saying: "You do not speak for most Israelis. They want our embassy in their capital city, period."

Gilman Becomes Ranking Republican

Most influential of the new panel members—and one with an established record of strong support for Israel—is likely to be Benjamin Gilman (R-NY). As ranking minority member, he will work closely with Subcommittee Chairman Lee Hamilton (D-IN) in determining the panel's legislative schedule. Moreover, it was Gilman, along with veteran panel member Tom Lantos (D-CA), who wrote last year's Jerusalem legislation.

On January 30, Representative Gilman made his debut on the Mideast panel by questioning Assistant Secretary of State Richard Murphy about Egypt's positions, and expressing concern over the coolness of the Egyptian-Israeli peace. In what seemed to be a low-key warning to Egypt, Representative Gilman said: "We sure would like to see a lot more progress take place."

Subsequently, other returning panel members, notably Mel Levine (D-CA) and Larry Smith (D-FL), picked up Gilman's line of questioning and fired the opening salvo in what appears to be a new legislative effort to condition future U.S. aid to Egypt to its relations with Israel. They expressed irritation over Egypt's unwillingness to return its ambassador to Israel and said that this and other Egyptian acts had contributed to its "cold peace" with Israel. Representative Larry Smith told Mr. Murphy that "it is imperative for the State Department to openly condemn these flagrant violations and to pressure the Egyptians to reform these policies." At the same time, Representative Smith and others sought to dispel the notion that the size of Egypt's aid is tied to Israel's. Mr. Murphy remarked that although U.S. aid to Egypt and Israel has been roughly equal since the signing of the Camp David Accords, he knew of no U.S. pledge linking aid to the two countries.

While sentiment may run toward conditioning Egyptian aid, the Mideast panel is unlikely to place strings on other Middle East aid recipients, especially not Israel. Last year the panel did pass Representative Ed Zschau's (R-CA) amendment to tie U.S. aid to a country's performance in advancing the peace process. However, when the amendment reached. the House Foreign Affairs Committee it was knocked out by the Feighan-Reid substitute amendment. The cosponsors of that amendment—Ed Feighan (D-OH) and Harry Reid (D-NV)—are now panel members.

As for new members Christopher Smith (R-NJ) and Gary Ackerman (D-NY), their performance is yet to be seen. What can be said is that their public statements and voting records on the House floor would appear to indicate strong support for Israel.

The importance of the House Mideast panel cannot be underestimated. It is the first each year to shape the President's Mideast aid requests into legislative recommendations—preliminary aid levels as well as policy restrictions. This powerful legislative role, combined with the panel's new membership, means the chances of greatly increased aid to Israel are high. For Egypt, the outlook for more aid is much less bright.

Allan Kellum is editor of the Mideast Observer. A sample copy of his publication may be obtained by writing Mideast Observer, P.O. Box 2397, Washington, D.C. 20013.