NEW YORK- The Zionist Organization of America strongly opposes the Bush administration’s plan to sell sophisticated new weapons to Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (Oct.16, 2003), “Israeli officials are particularly concerned about the planned sale of satellite-guided missiles that would erode Israel’s strategic advantage.” The Jerusalem Post reported (Oct.16, 2003) that Israel is also “interested in blocking specifically the sale of JADAM (joint direct attack munitions)[sic] to Egypt, which would allow Egyptian bombers to have greater all-weather accuracy…”

Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said “Egypt is a hostile country. It is full of incitement de-legitimizing Zionism and the Jewish state no less than the incitement we see in the Palestinian Authority. This should be setting off red lights for us…Just as the Americans speak of China as a threat,” he said. “Egypt is a very hostile state and we can’t deny this. Let’s not kid ourselves, when the Egyptians hold their large [military] exercises [in the Sinai], their simulated enemy is a ‘small nation to the north’ [Israel].”

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein, chairman of the board Dr. Alan Mazurek, and National Executive Committee chairman Dr. Michael Goldblatt have sent a telegram to President Bush, stating: “The sale of these sophisticated new weapons to Egypt and Saudi Arabia could tilt the military balance in the Middle East against America’s ally, Israel. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are not ‘moderates,’ but are fundamentally hostile to Israel and could eventually use these American weapons against the Jewish State.”