—Voices from the Sensible Center—

Interpreting the Middle East for North Americans—
Interpreting North America for the Middle East

Current Affairs

2 Aid to Israel: The Countdown—Congress will soon have to face up to voting on a foreign aid bill which allots to Israel—despite the events of the past six months—its usual large portion of the total funding. So it may be a good time to take a look at the amounts and terms of all the aid that Israel has been getting for the past 30 years.

3 Bankers Back Loan to Iraq—It might seem strange that Iraq, caught up in a protracted war for which there is no end in sight, is now being courted by people who want to lend it money. But many of the world's bankers appear to believe that the country is still a pretty good credit risk.

4 Lobby Activities—NAAA officials are still tabulating the results of a test in four American cities to determine the effectiveness of NAAA's public relations techniques—but seem very pleased with what they know so far. Meanwhile AIPAC is not at all pleased by some recent stories in U.S. newspapers focusing on ethnic and social division in Israel-and is trying to do something about it.

Regular Features

2 Editorial—If you take a look at the Mutual Assistance Pact signed by the U.S. and Israel in 1952, it seems pretty clear that Israel has violated it. But the Administration either hasn't noticed or pretends not to, and goes right on giving Israel the military aid which it should have forfeited. So what else is new?

5-6 Facts For Your Files—Chronology of U.S.-Middle East Relations

7 Book Review—As an Israeli, and an Arab, and a reporter for Israel Television who covers the West Bank, Rafic Halabi is unusually qualified to talk about Israel's absorption of that territory. And he does so, in his book The West Bank Story, in a way which may get just about everybody mad at him.

8 Personality—In just a few busy months, Robert Joseph, the new president of the National Association of Arab Americans, has restructured NAAA's staff, nearly doubled its size, and also worked out a way to help pay for all the changes.