Pro-Israel PACs Raised $10.7 Million and Spent $4.8 Million in 1990

By Parker L. Payson

Several weeks after Rep. Chuck Douglas (R-NH) was defeated in the November 1990 elections, he began looking for a job. Using congressional stationery, Douglas, who spent 10 years as a judge in New Hampshire's Superior and Supreme Courts, wrote to 17 Washington law firms. "Dear Managing Partner," the form letter began, "As a member of Congress grandfathered under the existing rules of ethics, I may begin any representation activities without delay. . . "

The ethics law, passed with Douglas's approval in April 1990, prohibits retiring members of Congress who leave after 1991 from lobbying on behalf of outside interests during their first year out of office. Nothing, however, prohibited Douglas, who left in January 1991, from using his position to secure favors for potential employers or clients. Similarly, no rules require newly elected or re-elected members of Congress to wait before rewarding any special interests which helped fund their election campaigns.

This is good news for 36 of the 45 freshmen House members, who, on average, owe $85,900 in back campaign debts. How members of Congress intend to pay these debts and begin financing their next campaign worries many Congress-watchers.

Many members of Congress in need turn to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) or to 95 pro-Israel political action committees (PACs), which raised more than $10.7 million and spent more than $4.8 million on 402 congressional candidates in the 1990 elections. These pro-Israel PACs outspent the next largest special interest PAC, the American Realtors Association, by nearly $1 million, and more than matched the combined spending of the next two largest special interest PACs, directed by the American Medical Association and the Teamsters Union, which spent more than $2.4 and $2.3 million respectively.

Few senators and representatives risk seeking support from Arab-American PACs, which were outspent in the 1990 elections 970 to 1. "Support for Israel brings a congressman opposition only from fringe groups, but giving strong support to the Arabs brings legislators powerful enemies, " explains Washington Times political correspondent Martin Sieff.

Senatorial Privilege

Israel's friends in the Senate were well rewarded with $2.6 million in pro-Israel PAC donations during the 1990 elections. Nearly one-third of these contributions went to three senators, Paul Simon (D-IL), Tom Harkin (D-IA)and Carl Levin (D-MI).

Senator Paul Simon, described by former AIPAC political director Douglas Bloomfield as "a long-time supporter of Israel with a 100 percent pro-Israel voting record," received $262,655 from pro-Israel PACs in 1990, more than any other member of Congress. Simon, whose receipts from pro-Israel PACs now total $580,794 in eight years, is on the Foreign Relations Committee.

He earns his astronomical donations not just through generalized support of Israel, but by actively encouraging the intransigence of the governing Likud Party. In February 1991, Simon told members of Peace Now, an Israeli Jewish organization that supports a land-for-peace settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute, that he opposes any US pressure on Israel to help negotiate a settlement. Simon's message to the group, according to Forward newspaper correspondent David Twersky, was clear: "I am willing to stretch the parameters and meet with you, but that's as far as I'll go."

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) received $245,550 from pro-Israel PACs during the 1990 election cycle. A member of two Appropriations subcommittees, Defense and Foreign Operations, Harkins' career total from pro-Israel PACs now is $359,980 in eight years. He proved his worth to Israel's lobby in 1989 when he signed a letter to Secretary of State Baker warning that if the UN moves to support a Palestinian state, he would consider cutting US support to the international body.

Senior Armed Services member Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) received the bulk of his $243,000 from pro-Israel PACs early in the 1990 election cycle, in recognition for what one pro-Israel activist called "his unwavering support" for Israel. Levin, whose career total is now $422,038 in 12 years, almost lost such backing in 1989, however, when he signed a letter warning Israel's Likud government that its hard-line policies could weaken American support for Israel. Levin's 1990 opponent for his Senate seat, Rep. Bill Schuette (R-MI), who maintained strong ties with pro-Israel groups during his five years in the House of Representatives, tried to divert pro-Israel PAC funding from Levin. Mendell Ganchrow, a Schuette supporter and president of the Hudson Valley PAC, charged Levin with "endorsing the [former Prime Minister Shimon] Peres line." Shuette's efforts failed, and Levin easily won re-election.

Senate Surprises

Senate candidates endorsed by the pro-Israel lobby and the armada of deceptively named PACs that generally take their cues from AIPAC won every race except three, in Minnesota, Oregon and Idaho.

Senator Rudy Boschwitz (R-MN), who received $144,150 from pro-Israel PACs in 1990, was defeated by Paul Wellstone (D-MN), former state campaign manager for Jesse Jackson and a supporter of Palestinian self-determination. Since taking office, Wellstone, who is Jewish, has met with representatives of AIPAC and of pro-Israel PACs. According to Bill Whalen of Insight Magazine, however, Wellstone has refused to back down from his view that "eventually there will be land for peace, and the Palestinian people will have some sort of homeland." Since leaving office, Boschwitz, who was ranking member of the Near East and South Asian Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has become president of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), which lobbies Congress to release sensitive technology and high-tech weaponry to Israel.

Pro-Israel activists originally intended to stay out of the Oregon Senate race between Harry Lonsdale (D-OR), who had lived in Israel for six months, and five-term incumbent Mark Hatfield (R-OR), who has been described as a "thorn in the side of the pro-Israel lobby."

When polls showed Hatfield's lead over Lonsdale dwindling from 36 percent in 1989 to 6 percent in October 1990, however, pro-Israel groups reassessed Lonsdale's chances and encouraged him to launch a nationwide fund-raising campaign aimed at supporters of Israel. In his fund-raising letter, Lonsdale equated a Palestinian homeland near Israel with "putting terrorists poised with rocket launchers aimed at downtown Portland." He requested "$1,000, $500, or $250 contributions" to defeat Hatfield "who, as we all know, is no friend of Israel."

Money poured in from all over the US, including donations from seven pro-Israel PACs, according to Federal Election Commission records. Aides to Lonsdale, who had made his refusal of any PAC donations a centerpiece of his campaign, denied accepting any of the donations reported by the pro-Israel PACs. Lonsdale lost, and the FEC reports remain unexplained.

In the open race to replace retiring Idaho Senator Jim McClure (R-ID), pro-Israel PACs gave $55,500 to Ron Twilegar (D-ID), running against Rep. Larry Craig (R-ID), who opposes all foreign aid. According to one of Craig's staffers, pro-Israel activists rarely lobbied Craig as a House member, "but when the [Senate] campaign approached, we began to get visits by members of AIPAC."

At the same time, Twilegar hired a fulltime pro-Israel fund-raiser, who brought thousands of dollars from out-of-state contributions into Twilegar's campaign. Craig responded by hiring his own pro-Israel political adviser, who began circulating polls that showed Craig with a near-insurmountable lead. Donations slowed, and Craig defeated Twilegar with 61 percent of the vote.

In the 1990 House races, some 318 candidates received $2.3 million from pro-Israel PACs. Three incumbents, Howard Wolpe (D-MI), Wayne Owens (D-UT), and David Obey (D-WI) received more than $40,000. All have influential positions on committees that directly affect US relations with Israel.

Wolpe, who was chairman of the African Subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs Committee for 10 years, received $51,200 from pro-Israel PACs during the 1990 elections. These donations came despite warnings that Wolpe, whose pro-Israel PAC donations now total $172, 100 over 12 years, would be cut off by pro-Israel PACs because of his support for Black South Africa at the expense of Israel. "Now Mr. Wolpe is paying the price for having embraced African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela ... who angered Israel supporters and others with his stated support for PLO leader Yasser Arafat," the Forward newspaper reported.

Wolpe did not improve ties with supporters of Israel in July 1990, when he commissioned an investigation that ended up charging Israel with supplying large quantities of cluster bombs to Ethiopia and training 2,000 to 3,000 elite guards for Ethiopia's leftist strongman, President Mengistu Haile Mariam, in exchange for guarantees allowing Ethiopian Jews (Falashas) to emigrate to Israel. In January 1991, Wolpe resigned as chairman of the Africa Subcommittee to become chairman of the Science, Space and Technology Committee.

Wayne Owens (D-UT), like Wolpe, sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as its Europe and Middle East subcommittee and the House Select Intelligence Committee. He received $48,900 from proIsrael PACs for the 1990 elections, bringing his total to $117,050. Owens, who met with Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad in March to discuss peace talks with Israel, won kudos from pro-Israel PACs one month before the election by leading the fight against arms sales to Saudi Arabia, even though the US was rushing a half million American troops to the defense of that endangered Arab ally at the same time.

David Obey (D-WI) has received $42,950 from pro-Israel PACs for the 1990 elections, and $105,050 in six years. As chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee of Foreign Operations, which oversees all foreign aid, Obey has worked hard to defeat cuts in US aid to Israel.

In June 1990, however, Obey gave Israel what he called a "friendly warning" against "foot dragging and obfuscation" when he said: "I want to make quite clear that if Israel expands their settlements in any way, or if they add a single new settlement, I will make a flat commitment right now that I will support any request by the administration to reduce aid to Israel in next year's bill to reflect that expansion." Obey also directed the State Department to report regularly on settlement growth in the occupied territories. Not surprisingly, pro-Israel PAC donations to Obey began to level off in mid-campaign.

The first State Department report on settlements, released in March 1991, showed a 10 percent increase in settlement construction over the past year. The report, therefore, faces Democrat Obey with a decision to make good, or renege, on his vow to support any decision to reduce aid to Israel by the Republican administration.

On the Dole in 1992

Four senators who can count on pro-Israel support for their 1992 re-election bids are Robert Kasten (R-WI), Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY), Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Robert Packwood (R-OR).Former AIPAC political director Douglas Bloomfield, writing in the Washington Jewish Week, already has called on pro-Israel groups and individuals to support the four Republican senators to ensure their cooperation in countering Middle East diplomatic initiatives by Republican President George Bush opposed by Israel. These senators, Bloomfield writes, are "four of Israel's most important and valuable friends in the US Senate and are on the 1992 endangered incumbents list as the election cycle gets underway."

According to pro-Israel activists, Senate Minority Leader Robert Dole (R-KS), who has criticized Israel's foreign policy and called for a 10 percent cut in foreign aid to Israel in the past, has "gone out of his way to be nice to Israel" following reports that Rep. Dan Glickman (D-KS) is soliciting pro-Israel support to challenge Dole in 1992.

According to a source quoted in the Forward newspaper, "Dole's new friendliness may be paying off... Mr. Glickman is not on the list of those favored to receive the financial support of Robert Asher, the AIPAC bigwig from Chicago. Mr. Asher, a former AIPAC president and still one of the strongmen among its officers, is telling people he won't back a Glickman run for Senate, arguing that 'it's better to let sleeping bears lie. "'

Parker L. Payson is the elections editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.