In an effort to avoid severe conflict with the US over aid to Israel, Israeli officials have started a campaign to convince Congress and the US government that Israel is doing everything in its power to extradite the US youth, Samuel Sheinbein to the USA,
by circumventing Israeli law. This emerges from statements by Israeli officials quoted in the US press.
The Sheinbein affair, in which Sheinbein fled to Israel after murdering and dismembering his victim with a saw, continues to gather momentum and yesterday President Weizmann heard harsh criticism by Congressmen on Israel’s failure to extradite him, including threats to cut US aid, as a pressure lever on Israel.
An Israeli official told the Washington Post, yesterday: "There is no conflict between us and the Americans. We want to extradite Sheinbein. We are trying to find ways to circumvent the law."
Another, senior Israeli official told the newspaper that "Netanyahu is sparing no effort to have Sheinbein extradited, but it has to be accomplished legally."
In a meeting yesterday between President Weizmann and senators and representatives on Capitol Hill, The Sheinbein affair overshadowed other topics. Although subjects with serious implications for survival came up, including the potential threat of Iranian long range missiles on Israel and the US, the subject of Sheinbein was more emotional and filled with more tension than any other subject.
An Israeli source told "Globes": "Weizmann is a well-liked figure on Capitol Hill, but in recent memory, no Israeli leader has heard such severe words from US representatives."
At the head of the move to punish Israel for not extraditing Sheinbein, stands the US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee chairman, Robert Livingston.
As reported in Globes yesterday, the chairman of the subcommittee on foreign operations, Sonny Callahan, said that various representatives are investigating possibilities of cutting aid to Israel by between $200 million to $1.2 billion.