Should Israel Pay Attention to U.S. Public Opinion? Two Solons Differ

Two U.S. Senators differed today on whether Israel should pay attention to public opinion in the United States.

Sen. Steven Symms (R. Idaho) told the 150 persons participating in the 1985 Washington Mission of the New York United Jewish Appeal-Federation of Jewish Philanthropies that Israel, by bowing to U.S. pressure in Lebanon in 1982, “snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.” Symms said that at the time he told the then Israeli Ambassador, Moshe Arens, to “ignore” both the American press and the State Department “and do what you have to do to prosecute the war to a victory.”

He said that if Israel had kept up the fighting in Beirut for another 72 hours, despite the heavy casualties it might have caused, “everything would have worked out. I think the Syrians would have been forced to come to Israel to make a settlement. The way it happened, they got off the hook” and the situation has worsened with terrorists returning to south Lebanon, Symms said.

He added that Israel has bowed to this type of pressure at the end of three wars. He said the same thing happened to the U.S. in Korea and Vietnam where, he said, the wars were won on the battlefield but lost in Washington.

But Sen. Christopher Dodd (D.Conn.) said that although he supported Israel’s objectives in Lebanon “it is extremely important what the American public thinks about Israel, and you can’t ignore it.”

He said while Israel is the “best ally in the world” of the U.S., there are forces here who want to see the strong ties “fractured and broken apart.” He said to tell Israel to ignore public opinion is not in Israel’s interests.

“Maintaining and building the political base of support for the State of Israel in this country is absolutely and fundamentally essential to its survival and security, ” Dodd declared. “Without that fundamental base of support in a democracy Israel’s security is jeopardized.”

Symms replied that while he agreed with some of what Dodd said, “The New York Times, believe it or not, does not always represent what mainstream America thinks, “Symms said. This was greeted by loud applause.

Dodd and Symms were among seven Senators who appeared in a forum on “American Strategic Role in the Middle East” on Capitol Hill which began the day long program of the UJA-Federation Mission. The others were Senate Majority leader Robert Dole (R.Kas.), and Sens. Joseph Biden (D.Del.), John Glenn (D. Ohio), Robert Kasten (R. Wis.) and Sam Nunn (D. Ga.).

When the Senators were asked about the growing influence of Arab-Americans on Capitol Hill, Biden replied they were not the main reason that supporters of Israel had lost some fights in Congress, such as the sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia in 1981. He said one reason is that there are no more “giants” in the Senate like Sens. Hubert Humphrey (D. Minn.), Henry Jackson (D. Wash.), Jacob Javitz (R. NY), and Frank Church (D. Idaho) who could sway the Senate with their moral force.

Biden said the major power that helped force the AWACS sale through the Senate was the large corporations with “significant economic investments” in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. He said they brought pressure upon Senators opposed to the sale from larger corporations well as from small companies on the local and state level. He stressed that “economic muscle” still plays a major role in foreign policy.

As for future arms sales to Arab countries, Kasten said that because Israel is cutting its defense budget, there is a consensus in Congress not to approve arms sales to its Arab opponents which would improve their qualitative or quantitative military capacities.

Dodd, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, reported that the Committee last night approved the Foreign Aid Bill for the 1986 fiscal year which includes the Reagan Administration’s request for Israel of $1.8 billion in military aid, an increase of $400 million, and $1.2 billion in economic aid.

Kasten said he expects the Administration to recommend whether Israel should get additional economic aid in a couple of months. However, he predicted the Administration would propose an additional $1.5 billion for Israel over a two year period, $800 million in the first year and $700 million in the second.

Ernest Michel, executive vice president and campaign director of the UJA-Federation, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the annual trip to Washington has grown larger each year, and has become the group’s most popular event and one of its major fundraising programs.