By putting aid to Israel "off the table," and making it not subject to cuts, the new Republican leaders of Congress have dealt free-market reform a deadly setback in the Jewish state.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin has never been a serious proponent of reform. With the Republican-controlled Congress promising to continue U.S. aid at its current level, there's no incentive for Rabin to keep reform efforts moving ahead.As a result, Israeli bureaucrats have "suspended" privatization efforts and are attempting to undermine Israel's promising Free Export Processing Zone (FEPZ), a project that could provide the country more than 15,000 private-sector jobs and $750 million in private investment.
What Washington seems not to understand - or is willing to ignore - is that foreign aid drives virtually every decision made by the Israeli government. And it matters little which Israeli party - Labor or Likud - is in power.
Robert J. Lowenberg
Scripps Howard News Service