September 1989, Page 59

Palestinian Victims: American Tax Dollars at Work

If life's only certainties are death and taxes, what's unique about the Palestinian residents of Israeli-occupied territories pictured on this page is that they died because Americans pay taxes. In the 1990 fiscal year, as in 1989 and 1988, $3 billion in direct American taxpayer grants will go to Israel, along with many additional hidden subsidies.

Without this American money, Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza would be impossible. Six successive American presidents have said these territories should go back to Arab sovereignty. Why doesn't Congress vote to reduce aid to Israel by the amount Israel spends on the occupation? Or even just by the amount Israel spends in the occupied territories on Jewish settlements, which the US government maintains are both illegal and obstacles to peace? Israelis won't stop the killing until Congress stops the giving. Congress won't stop the giving until it fears voter revulsion more than it fears Israel-lobby compulsion.

Next month, the Washington Report will introduce you to more victims. Perhaps by then you'll have contacted your representatives in Congress and then discussed their responses with editors and clergy with the power to galvanize public opinion in your locality. Very few Americans condone prolonged military occupationn or the denial of human rights to its victims, but it won't end until Americans speak out.