Sell-out Nita Lowey (D-NY) Assures Israel: No Worries About 3 Billion "Aid" Funding This Year
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/keithhowe30mar10.shtml
March 30, 2010
Sell-out Nita Lowey (D-NY) Assures Israel: No Worries About 3 Billion "Aid" Funding This Year (March 30, 2010)Forward courtesy of Keith Howe
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=171839
'Dispute won’t harm $3b. aid to Israel'
By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER , JERUSALEM POST CORRESPON
March 26, 2010
Key congresswoman advises PM not to "give away the store" in the midst of talks.
WASHINGTON – The congresswoman who oversees US aid to Israel told The Jerusalem Post Thursday that the ongoing dispute between the countries would in no way harm assistance to the Jewish state.“There is no question in my mind that the 10-year memorandum of understanding is solid,” Nita Lowey [D-18-NY] [seen right], chairwoman of the US House appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations, said of the decade-long US aid plan under which $3 billion will be going to Israel this year. “There is strong bipartisan support for Israel in the Congress that will not falter.”
She said that continuing support is also in place when it comes to the US commitment to Israel maintaining a qualitative military edge over its Arab neighbors and other forms of military coordination.
“The military cooperation, the intelligence cooperation, the focus on Iran, is solid and strengthens every year,” said Lowey, who also sits on the House Intelligence and Homeland Security committees.
The New York congresswoman referred to the current tensions between the US and Israel as a “hiccup,” noting there have been occasional differences between the two allies over the years, but that “we must move forward. The stakes are too high to dwell on the disagreements.”
The most recent rupture was triggered by an Interior Ministry panel’s approval of 1,600 housing units in east Jerusalem during the visit of Vice President Joe Biden two weeks ago, a move condemned by the US. The two administrations were trying to resolve the dispute and lower tensions during Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington this week, but struggled to find consensus on the issue, which has complicated planned indirect talks between Israelis and Palestinians.
While the White House might not have accepted Netanyahu’s detailed presentation on the zoning process in the Interior Ministry, whose decision he apologized for even though he said it took him by surprise, Lowey expressed understanding for the prime minister’s position.
“I think there’s a general understanding that Jerusalem is in a different category than the West Bank. And the issues surrounding Jerusalem, most agree, will be in the final stages of negotiations,” she said.
And, using Netanyahu’s nickname, she stressed, “Bibi has the support of Congress. It is solid. It is secure.”
In a sign of additional support for Israel and its government, as of Thursday afternoon well over half of the House of Representatives had lent their names to a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton affirming their support for the US-Israel relationship and urging the two countries to quietly resolve any differences.
While Netanyahu loudly and publicly reasserted Israel’s claim to Jerusalem in a speech he gave to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Monday night before visiting Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Lowey indicated appreciation for the different audiences he was addressing.
“How can he go to the end stage of any discussion and give away the store in the middle of a negotiation?” she said of his AIPAC speech, where Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world would be listening.
“With us, he was clearly focusing on distancing himself from these decisions and with humility expressing the view he wished he had more control over the process and that he was determined to change the process,” she noted.
Lowey also pointed to the different audiences that Arab leaders need to consider when they speak up, referring to a recent trip to the Gulf and the concern she heard about Iran.
In Saudi Arabia, she met with King Abdullah and came away with the understanding that “Saudi Arabia doesn’t believe the sanctions will work. Let me just say he’s supportive of pursuing other options.”
She also delivered the message that Arab leaders need to support Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen.
“Abu Mazen doesn’t have, in my judgment, the [political] strength to make a deal,” she assessed, adding that without support from the wider Arab world, “It will be very, very hard to have a deal.”
Still, she said it was important for Congress to help Abbas and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in their plan to build up local institutions in the West Bank over the next two years to have the foundations of a Palestinian state in place.
Right now, her committee is on track to approve $400 million in economic aid for the Palestinians and $150m. for American Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton and his efforts to reform the PA security services.
Though she objected to incitement against Israel among the Palestinians, including Fayyad’s own calls for Palestinians to shun goods from Israeli settlements, she indicated that it wouldn’t disrupt American funding.
“We have very strong vetting language, very strong oversight,” she explained. “We have to continue to do what we can to build up the Palestinians so that they can function and can work with the Israelis to bring this peace agreement to fruition.”
Details about Nita Lowey not mentioned on her official web site:
Source: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400246
Money & Influence
The top campaign contribution to Lowey in 2007-2008 was $19,800 from employees of Bear Stearns. Nita Lowey’s net worth was between $16,929,476 and $70,503,415 in 2007, according to Lowey’s mandated financial disclosure statements. For more information, see the Center for Responsive Politics’ page for Lowey. ( http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00001024 )Sponsorship Analysis
"Ideometer" Lowey is a far-left Democrat according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship.These labels come from the Political Spectrum statistical analysis that we have carried out. The statistical analysis puts members of Congress on a scale based on patterns of bill sponsorship, and is blind to party affiliation and the content of bills. From there, we have somewhat arbitrarily divided the Members of Congress into far-left/right, rank-and-file, and moderate (i.e. centrist). For each party, the most extreme 23% of Members of Congress are labeled far-left or -right. The most centrist 30% (i.e. those closest to the other party) are labeled moderate. The remaining 47% are labeled as rank-and-file.
"Leader-Follower Score"Higher numbers mean other Members of Congress tend to cosponsor Lowey’s bills, while lower numbers mean Lowey tends to cosponsor others’ bills. This shows Lowey’s percentile rank among Members of Congress.
"Leader-Follower Score"
Lowey is a leader according to our statistical analysis of bills in this legislative session. Other Members of Congress tend to cosponsor Lowey’s bills. For more, see congressional statistics.Bill Sponsorship & Cosponsorship
Nita Lowey has sponsored 344 bills since Jan 3, 1989 of which 328 haven't made it out of committee and 8 were successfully enacted. Lowey has co-sponsored 2,925 bills during the same time period. (The count of enacted bills considers only bills actually sponsored by Lowey and companion bills identified by CRS that were themselves enacted, but not if they were incorporated into other bills, as that information is not readily available.)
More from Keith Howe:
http:/Subject: "every cent of that annual 3 billion dollars a year the US sends to Israel is completely illegal, under US law
From: tahac408@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, March 30, 2010
To: Ken AdachiHi Ken,
Here is an article pointing out that "every cent of that annual 3 billion dollars a year the US sends to Israel is completely illegal, under US law" as a follow up on the article "Sell-out Nita Lowey (D-NY) Assures Israel: No Worries About 3 Billion"Aid" Funding This Year (March 30, 2010)"“Barak: US Gives Israel Aid, Ammunition and Vital Spare Parts”
http://www.fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/government/fraud/israel/news.php?q=1269892808“The United States is a central source for Israel's qualitative edge [over its enemies] in advanced weapons systems, $3 billion in annual financial aid, ammunition and spare parts that are spread out here in American storage facilities within Israel, and upon which the IDF relies as an 'oxygen supply' in time of war,” Barak explained.
Just a reminder; every cent of that annual 3 billion dollars a year the US sends to Israel is completely illegal, under US law.
The Symington Amendment stipulates that it is illegal for the US to give one red cent to any country which has nuclear weapons, but are not signatory to the NNPT, nor allow inspections of their nuclear facilities.
As made clear by the revelations of Mordechai Vannunu, and later affirmed by former Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and former US President Carter, Israel has nuclear weapons.
Israel refuses to become a signatory to the NNPT, nor will it allow inspection of its nuclear facilities at Dimona and elsewhere.
Therefore, the US is consistently breaking its own law by providing any financial assistance to Israel.
"Your tax dollars at work illegally for Israel, folks, while homeless Veterans sleep in our streets; doesn\'t that give you a warm, fuzzy feeling about how the federal government is using your money?."...WRH
300 Congressional Zionist-Owned Sell Outs Declare Unswerving Loyalty to Israel
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1159159.html
March 25, 2010Nearly 300 Congress members declare commitment to 'unbreakable' U.S.-Israel bond
By Natasha Mozgavaya, Haaretz CorrespondentNearly 300 members of Congress have signed on to a declaration reaffirming their commitment to "the unbreakable bond that exists between [U.S.] and the State of Israel", in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The letter was sent in the wake of the severe recent tensions between Israel and the U.S. over the prior's decision to construct more than 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem, a project it announced during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit to the region.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took advantage of his trip to the United States this week to try to mend the rift with the Obama administration, but he was greeted with cold welcome by the White House.
Netanyahu also met during his visit with members of Congress, who welcomed him with significantly more warmth.The letter from Congress expresses its "deep concern" over the U.S.-Israel crisis, and emphasizes that lawmakers had received assurances from Netanyahu that the events leading up to the recent tensions would not be repeated.
Letter from members of Congress
Dear Secretary Clinton:
We are writing to reaffirm our commitment to the unbreakable bond that exists between our country and the State of Israel and to express to you our deep concern over recent tension. In every important relationship, there will be occasional misunderstandings and conflicts.
The announcement during Vice President Biden's visit was, as Israel's Prime Minister said in an apology to the United States, "a regrettable incident that was done in all innocence and was hurtful, and which certainly should not have occurred." We are reassured that Prime Minister Netanyahu's commitment to put in place new procedures will ensure that such surprises, however unintended, will not recur.
The United States and Israel are close allies whose people share a deep and abiding friendship based on a shared commitment to core values including democracy, human rights and freedom of the press and religion. Our two countries are partners in the fight against terrorism and share an important strategic relationship.
A strong Israel is an asset to the national security of the United States and brings stability to the Middle East. We are concerned that the highly publicized tensions in the relationship will not advance the interests the U.S. and Israel share. Above all, we must remain focused on the threat posed by the Iranian nuclear weapons program to Middle East peace and stability.
From the moment of Israel's creation, successive U.S. administrations have appreciated the special bond between the U.S. and Israel.
For decades, strong, bipartisan Congressional support for Israel, including security assistance and other important measures, have been eloquent testimony to our commitment to Israel's security, which remains unswerving.
It is the very strength of this relationship that has, in fact, made Arab-Israeli peace agreements possible, both because it convinced those who sought Israel?s destruction to abandon any such hope and because it gave successive Israeli governments the confidence to take calculated risks for peace.
In its declaration of independence 62 years ago, Israel declared: "We extend our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land."
In the decades since, despite constantly having to defend itself from attack, Israel has repeatedly made good on that pledge by offering to undertake painful risks to reach peace with its neighbors.
Our valuable bilateral relationship with Israel needs and deserves constant reinforcement.
As the Vice-President said during his recent visit to Israel: "Progress occurs in the Middle East when everyone knows there is simply no space between the U.S. and Israel when it comes to security, none. No space."
Steadfast American backing has helped lead to Israeli peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan. And American involvement continues to be critical to the effort to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
We recognize that, despite the extraordinary closeness between our country and Israel, there will be differences over issues both large and small.
Our view is that such differences are best resolved quietly, in trust and confidence, as befits longstanding strategic allies. We hope and expect that, with mutual effort and good faith, the United States and Israel will move beyond this disruption quickly, to the lasting benefit of both nations.
We believe, as President Obama said, that "Israel's security is paramount" in our Middle East policy and that "it is in U.S. national security interests to assure that Israel?s security as an independent Jewish state is maintained."
In that spirit, we look forward to working with you to achieve the common objectives of the U.S. and Israel, especially regional security and peace.
Sincerely,
STENY HOYER ERIC CANTOR
HOWARD L. BERMAN ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN
GARY ACKERMAN DAN BURTO