Shock Treatment

THE Bush Administration’s opposition to the $10 billion in U.S. loan guarantees to Israel and, even more, its talk of cutting Israel’s yearly aid of $3 billion have come as a shock to Israel, but in fact an aid cutoff would be a blessing in disguise. Israel’s economy has long been in dire need of drastic reform. Shock treatment is the only method of jolting Israeli politicians out of their dependence on foreign assistance. As long as the yearly overdrafts are met by foreigners, the politicians will never voluntarily release their control over the economy.

Until now the problem has been more psychological than economic. Israelis always believed they needed U.S. aid. That view is changing. The call for “economic independence,” a rarity just six months ago, is now coming from all sectors of Israeli society. The only ones who seem not to have realized this are Israel’s supporters in the United States. If Jews want an independent state filled with six million inhabitants, they have to create an economy that can support it. Economic independence is no less important than political freedom.

JB

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Joel Bainerman

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THE Bush Administration’s opposition to the $10 billion in U.S. loan guarantees to Israel and, even more, its talk of cutting Israel’s yearly aid of $3 billion have come as a shock to Israel, but in fact an aid cutoff would be a blessing in disguise. Israel’s economy has long been in dire need of drastic reform. Shock treatment is the only method of jolting Israeli politicians out of their dependence on foreign assistance. As long as the yearly overdrafts are met by foreigners, the politicians will never voluntarily release their control over the economy.

Until now the problem has been more psychological than economic. Israelis always believed they needed U.S. aid. That view is changing. The call for “economic independence,” a rarity just six months ago, is now coming from all sectors of Israeli society. The only ones who seem not to have realized this are Israel’s supporters in the United States. If Jews want an independent state filled with six million inhabitants, they have to create an economy that can support it. Economic independence is no less important than political freedom.