Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will honor the US aid arrangement with Israel, and will not cut aid if he is elected president, states an official campaign statement sent to "Globes".
The statement came in response to rumors in the US Jewish community that US military aid to Israel was at risk if Obama were elected. Unpinning the rumor was a report that Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden had in the past threatened to halt US aid to Israel because of the settlements.
Fears were raised by recent statements by the Democratic candidates that implied that Obama saw foreign aid as a target for cutting in the financial crisis.
On CBS's "Face the Nation" last week, Obama was asked which programs he would freeze in view of the US financial crisis. The moderator said, "There are things that we simply can't afford." Obama said in response that there were a number of social programs that he would not forego, but that some proposals would have to wait a bit.
During last Thursday's debate with Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Biden said in response to a similar question that the commitment to double foreign aid would probably have to be slowed.
In response for "Globes" request for clarification, Obama's national security spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said, "As President, Barack Obama would continue his consistent record of support for foreign assistance to Israel. He has proposed doubling overall foreign assistance to $50 billion per year. While the new financial constraints might mean it will take longer to achieve this goal, Barack Obama remains committed to implementing the memorandum of understanding, increasing aid to Israel to $30 billion over 10 years."
Sources in the Obama campaign told "Globes" that his record showed full support for foreign aid in general and to Israel in particular, and that there was no question that he would fulfill his commitments to continue foreign aid to Israel in line with the understanding.
At a speech to AIPAC in June, Obama said that he supported the understanding with Israel.
The situation regarding Biden is more complex. Recent e-mails from Jewish voters cited a confrontation between him and then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin at a closed meeting of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in 1982 at the height of the first Lebanon War. According to the e-mails, Biden sharply criticized Israel's settlement policy in the West Bank saying that the US should curtail economic aid to Israel and twice banged his fist on the table to emphasize the point.
The e-mails claim that Begin replied, "This is a desk for writing, and not meant for firsts. Don’t threaten us with a cut in aid. Do you think that if the US loans us money it has the right to tell us how to act? We are extremely grateful to you for the aid we've received, but you can't threaten us. I have three thousand years of civilization behind me, and you can't frighten me with threats. Please note that we don’t need even one of your soldiers to die for us."
At an election speech to Florida Jews a few weeks ago, Biden referred to a "witch hunt" against him and to the specific charge that he had threatened to cut US aid to Israel. He said that all slurs and slanders should be ignored and that people should unite behind Obama.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 5, 2008
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