Diplomacy: Mr. Peres Goes to Washington

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Where he finds a "true friend" in the Rose Garden

Basically, people look to politics for drama, for a kill, for a bullfight," Shimon Peres once observed during his long years as Israel's opposition leader. "I'm not sure my temperament or my conscience is made for that." Last week, having finally made it to the center of the ring, Israel's new Prime Minister was working hard to deal with his country's pressing economic and military problems. During a whirlwind trip to Washington, undertaken only three weeks after he became the leader of Israel's government of national unity, Peres visited President Reagan and other Administration and congressional leaders, and was cheered by what he found.

Though the Prime Minister had insisted that he was not going to the U.S. with "a shopping basket or a beggar's pack," it was obvious that his country was in desperate need of assistance. Inflation is running at almost 500%, and foreign reserves are dangerously low. Accordingly, a sympathetic President Reagan promised Peres that the U.S. would accelerate the delivery of this year's $1.2 billion in economic aid, paying the entire sum immediately instead of stretching it out through the usual quarterly installments. That will raise Israel's reserves to nearly $3 billion, thereby reducing fears in financial circles that the country has become a serious lending risk.

In addition, Reagan and Peres announced the formation of a special committee made up of government and business leaders from their countries to find ways of directing future U.S. aid toward bringing about a long-range Israeli economic recovery, with emphasis on the development of high-technology industries. The two leaders reaffirmed their intention to establish a "free trade zone" between the U.S. and Israel, a plan that the U.S. Congress has also approved. This, Peres hopes, will boost Israel's annual export earnings from $11 billion to $19 billion by 1989. The device is politically ingenious: it allows Reagan to help Israel immediately without simultaneously adding to the burgeoning federal deficit.

Both men were lavish in their mutual praise. Emerging on the portico facing the Rose Garden, a beaming Reagan declared, "Our ties remain unbreakable." He said that in the short time Peres has been in office he has taken "bold and wide-ranging steps" to improve the overheated Israeli economy. Those steps include a cut of $1 billion from Israel's $23 billion budget, a ban on the import of luxury goods like cars and major appliances, and a clampdown on the amount of money Israelis may spend abroad (from $2,000 to $1,000). Replied Peres: "I found in the White House a true friend of Israel. We are determined to face our economic problems head-on." He added that the American friendship was "a source of strength and inspiration to me."

The visit had political benefits for the two leaders. It demonstrated to Peres' countrymen that the U.S. is prepared to deal with their new Prime Minister. For Reagan, it strengthened his reputation as a friend of Israel. In fact, there were reports that it was the White House staff, not the Israelis, who had insisted that the visit be held at this crucial pre-election moment.