WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman said Tuesday that a recent trip to Israel crystallized his opposition to the nuclear deal with Iran that Congress is set to vote on next month.
"Just hearing them tell stories about the terror attacks that they have endured and seeing the proximity of where these terror groups are relative to where pretty large Israeli populations are just drove the point home that these folks live this every day," Westerman, a Republican from Hot Springs, said. "These terrorist organizations are in some cases just hundreds of yards away from Israeli neighborhoods."
The trip, which began Aug. 8 and ended Sunday, was paid for by the American Israel Education Foundation, the charitable arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, a vocal critic of the Iran deal. The American Israel Education Foundation has brought hundreds of federal lawmakers to Israel since 1989.
The agreement negotiated by the United States, Iran and several other world powers would require Iran to dismantle most of its nuclear program for at least a decade in exchange for billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the deal.
Congress gave itself a deadline, which expires next month, to pass a resolution approving or disapproving the deal. President Barack Obama has vowed to veto a negative resolution, and Republican leaders would need two-thirds of members in each chamber -- including about 25 percent of Democrats in Congress -- to override him.
Westerman said he already knew he opposed the deal, but seeing Israel for the first time strengthened his position. Everywhere he went, people wanted to talk about Iran, he said.
"They are all pretty concerned about this so-called peace agreement the president's trying to put together," Westerman said. "Our biggest ally in the Middle East is Israel, and Israel is opposed to this deal with Iran. I don't see any benefit to us as Americans to [going] through with this deal, and we need to stop it in Congress."
Members flew into Tel Aviv, stopped in Jerusalem and Ramallah in Gaza and made a stop at a military outpost at the border of Lebanon and Syria, where Westerman said he could see and hear fighting in a distant Syrian town.
Westerman said lawmakers met with Netanyahu for nearly two hours -- with the foreign leader pulling out a white board to help explain his opposition to the deal -- and also sat down with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland led a group of 22 House Democrats visiting Israel and the West Bank from Aug. 4-10. Democrats joined the Republican group, led by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to tour part of Israel's military defense known as the "Iron Dome."
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee paid for Westerman's 19-year-old son Eli Westerman to travel with him, Westerman said. Other members brought their spouses or family.
Westerman isn't the only member of Arkansas' delegation who has made such a trip with The American Israel Education Foundation, according to travel records filed with the House Clerk. U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, a Republican from Rogers, attended in 2014 and 2011. U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Dardanelle, attended in 2013 when he was a House member, and U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a Republican from Rogers, attended in 2003 when he was in the House. U.S. Rep. French Hill was invited to attend this year, but had a previous family obligation, his staff said.
Travel records show more than a hundred House members have made the trip since 2008.
Tufts University Political Science Professor Jeffrey Berry said Israeli interest groups have spent decades building and maintaining a relationship with Congress.
"It's really the long-term relationships that have more of a payoff" rather than coming to members right before a vote, said Berry.
Israeli interest groups have worked hard to get "legislators to understand the unique security issues of Israel," Berry said. "Going into Israel and understanding that Arab countries are only a few miles away on every side is very eye-opening."
An Israeli interest group, J Street, which supports the deal with Iran, has sent a few lawmakers to Israel in the past few years, and is reaching out to Democrats and running ads in the Washington area. A spokesman did not return calls and e-mails Tuesday.
The group is known for advocating in Washington for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Berry said J Street, which has been around since 2008, is a "striking contrast" to most of the Israeli groups lobbying Congress about the Iran deal. "They represent a younger, much more liberal constituency that are much more open to negotiated settlements with Arab countries," he said. "They are certainly outgunned by AIPAC ... but their voice has been heard."
Metro on 08/19/2015