Trip to Israel: facts, friction

A pro-Israel foundation paid for House members' fact-finding visit. Critics say they got a biased view.

Last month, nine members of Congress stood on the House floor and expressed strong support for Israel, including its recent bombing of Syria and the construction of a controversial security fence.

The lawmakers had something in common besides their pro-Israel remarks: All had traveled to the Jewish state this summer as guests of the American Israel Education Foundation. They were among an unusually large number of House members - 49, or 11 percent of the total - who visited Israel on trips paid for by the foundation, an arm of the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

The weeklong trips, which included at least 26 spouses and other guests, cost more than $363,000. The purpose was to give lawmakers "first-hand experience in the complex issues" of the Middle East, said Rebecca Dinar, spokeswoman for AIPAC, the leading pro-Israel lobbying organization.

Critics, though, say such visits give a less than balanced view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead, they say, the trips increase the already massive congressional support for Israel and make it even harder to hold constructive dialogue on U.S.-Israeli relations or the Mideast conflict.

"AIPAC has never criticized a policy decision of the government of Israel and I find that both disturbing and somewhat strange," says James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington, D.C.

"Supporting Israel does not mean accepting whatever the government of Israel does, but AIPAC takes that position and drums it into members of Congress."

The foundation has long sponsored congressional trips to Israel, but this year's visits were noteworthy both in numbers and timing. They came as President Bush's "road map for peace" was falling apart amid charges that neither Israelis nor Palestinians had fulfilled their obligations under the agreement.

AIPAC has said it "welcomes" the road map, but it also supports Israeli positions, like building a security fence, that some see as impediments to peace.

The first group went to Israel in early August and included the largest-ever delegation of Democrats - 29, about half in their first term. Leading them was House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland, considered one of Israel's staunchest supporters.

That visit was followed by a Republican delegation of 19 representatives, more than half of them freshmen. American Jews have traditionally voted Democratic, but AIPAC is increasingly reaching out to Republicans as well.

Many representatives flew business class, and both Democrats and Republicans stayed in Jerusalem's opulent King David Hotel. The cost of the two "education missions," plus a separate trip by Democrat Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois, was at least $363,608, according to reports House members are required to file within 30 days of a trip paid for by private sources.

No reports are on file yet for Rep. Tom Feeney of Florida or nine other representatives, so the total amount could be closer to $400,000.

The two main delegations met with top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and visited such "strategic" sites as Israel's borders with Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

The Democrats also traveled by armored vehicles to the Gaza Strip, where they met with then-Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. By the time the Republicans arrived in late August, Abbas had quit, Gaza was extremely tense and the delegation instead had dinner in Israel with a lower-level Palestinian official.

Feeney, a Republican freshman and former Florida House speaker, said he would like to have visited the Palestinian territories and talked to more Palestinians. But the limited contact was due to the security crisis, he said, not because the Israelis were trying to deny access.

"There was no effort to censor what members did but having said that there's no question that every Israeli official we met tried to put the best light on the position of Israel and I wouldn't pretend it was 100 percent balanced," Feeney said.

"Everybody knew going in that we were basically guests of the Israeli government and were being protected by the Israeli government."

Feeney said the trip was unlikely to change how he votes on issues affecting Israel because "I've pretty much been solid Zionist and pro-Israel since . . . long before I was elected to Congress."

Last month, Feeney was among House members who voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Syrian Accountability Act, which accuses Syria of supporting anti-Israel terror groups and would impose tough sanctions on the country.

The act is strongly backed by AIPAC but many experts are concerned it could hurt U.S.-Syrian relations at a time when America wants Syria's help in the global war on terror.

Voting along with Feeney were most of the lawmakers who visited Israel as guests of AIPAC's foundation, including three others from Florida - Democrat Kendrick Meek and Republicans Jeff Miller and Ginny Brown-Waite.

Brown-Waite, a freshman from Brooksville who went with her husband, said the trip helped her "better visualize" Israel's close proximity to Syria and other Arab countries. She said she accepted the foundation's invitation because she lacks the seniority to travel to the Mideast on official taxpayer-funded business.

"I don't serve on the foreign relations committee so it probably would be years before I would be able to go on such a trip," said Brown-Waite, whose trip cost $10,202. "It was an opportunity that presented itself and overall it was truly enlightening."

But a watchdog group says visits sponsored by AIPAC and other special interest organizations can distort a lawmaker's perspective.

"During these trips they have a chance to set the agenda and control who's seen and not seen and essentially frame the issues for members of Congress," said Bill Allison, a spokesman for the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity in Washington. "But if the taxpayers are paying and the members are free to see whatever they want, I think you'll get a very different view."

- Times Washington Bureau Chief Sara Fritz contributed to this article. Susan Taylor Martin can be contacted at susan@sptimes.com

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