Senator Rand Paul (Republican - Kentucky), a sworn opponent of foreign aid and a darling of the Tea Party, called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to forego US aid at a meeting at the Prime Minister's Bureau yesterday, a pro-Israeli source told "Globes" in Washington.
Paul also met President Shimon Peres, Jewish Home chairman Naftali Bennett, and other politicians. The Prime Minister's Bureau did not issue a statement about the meeting with Paul, but a source in Washington said that Paul's call to Netanyahu is the talk of the day at AIPAC and at the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
The source said that, during the meeting, Paul expanded the discussion on the US fiscal cliff, and reminded Netanyahu of his speech to Congress in 1996, when he said that Israel would gradually end US economic aid. He proposed to Netanyahu to do the same for US military aid, and promised that such a declaration would be welcomed enthusiastically in the US and that it would strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two countries.
Netanyahu made no binding response to Paul, but people familiar with Netanyahu's opinion said that he was aware of the problems in continuing US aid when the US budget deficit is ballooning.
Paul's call for an end to US aid is the highlight of his visit to Israel. He made the same call in a speech to the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies, a small think tank which believes in smaller government involvement in the economy. So far as is known, this is the first time that a US legislator has campaigned in Israel to end US aid. The Israeli media did not cover Paul's speech, except for a report in "The Jerusalem Post", but received prominence in the US, in view of the budget battles in Washington.
Paul's weight in US politics has risen lately. Last week, he joined the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and he is reportedly considering a run for the Republican presidential candidate in 2016.
The National Jewish Democratic Council has sharply criticized Paul's remarks in Israel. "As we’ve said many times before, Senator Paul’s misguided views on aid to Israel are plain wrong and do not reflect the myriad benefits that come from American assistance to Israel,” said NJDC president and CEO David Harris. “As we predicted on Friday, Paul’s appointment to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would give him a bigger platform from which to spout his radical views. It appears that we were correct- and pro-Israel Republicans are utterly failing to intervene. Now is as good a time as any for them to take a stand against Paul’s dangerous vision for Israel’s aid, as many pro-Israel Democratic senators did when he first started pushing for cuts to Israel’s aid.”
Israel receives $3 billion a year in US military aid, 76% of which must be spent in the US, while Israel can use the remainder for domestic procurements.
"The Jerusalem Post" reports that Senator Paul said he favored a gradual reduction of US foreign aid, which he said stands at approximately $30 billion a year.
Paul admits that his is a minority opinion, and he would probably not a vote in Congress to end foreign aid in his lifetime. "It doesn’t seem to me that things will change, but I think we should talk about it," he said.
According to "The Jerusalem Post", Paul said that the US was and always will be a friend of Israel, but he believes “it will be harder and harder to be a friend if we are out of money. It will be harder to defend Israel if we destroy our country in the process. I think there will be significant repercussions to running massive deficits."
According to "The Jerusalem Post", Paul said that it would be one thing for the US to give foreign aid out of its own savings - which it no longer has - but it is something else entirely to have to borrow the money itself. The paper quotes him as saying, “To me it has always been about whether it makes sense for me to borrow money from China to give to Pakistan," and that he made a distinction between countries like Pakistan, Libya and Egypt, which don’t act like US allies, and Israel, which does.
“I’m all for gradualism,” said Paul. “I would start a little more quickly with those who are enemies of Israel, and enemies of the US. I would like to see their aid end more quickly. With regards to Israel, it could be a gradual phenomenon.”
"The Jerusalem Post" reports that Paul also said that reduced US aid would actually be good for Israel, because it would boost its local defense industry and would also enhance the country’s independence and sovereignty."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 9, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013