WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Former Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer is the wrong choice for vice chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board. According to an IRmep research report:
1. Fischer supports extreme anti-Iran policies that harm the U.S. economy. During his 2005-2013 stint as governor of Israel's central bank, Fischer lobbied Europe, Russia, and China to isolate Iran through measures that went far beyond the sanctions adopted by the U.N. Security Council.
The US Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, Coalition for American Trade, National Foreign Trade Council and others rejected such sanctions, provisions they estimated would cost America $25 billion and 210,000 jobs. (PDF) Yet Fischer is on record stating that even sanctions are no longer enough and appears ready to prepare the U.S. financial system for war as he did within Israel's central bank. Americans support 2-1 the current agreement to halt added sanctions during negotiations with Iran.
2. Fischer's fundamental economic aid changes harm U.S. taxpayers. Fischer was appointed by the Reagan administration to the U.S.-Israel Joint Economic Discussion Group formed to deal with Israel's 1984-1985 economic crisis. To the detriment of U.S. taxpayers, Fischer helped permanently transform billions in annual aid packages from repayable loans to direct taxpayer subsidies that in 1985 amounted to over $1,650 per Israeli. Despite lip service, Fischer has never applied the austerity measures he became famous for at the IMF to persuade Israel to obey international law or U.S. demands to vacate occupied territories.
3. Fischer's Israel trade measures produce a chronic deficit. Another 1984-1985 concession pushed by Fischer and his long term backers at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the U.S. Israel "Free" Trade Area, created a chronic trade deficit to the U.S. that passed $100 billion in 2013. Seventy American industries lost their due process rights when their secret market and industry data were misappropriated by Israel and AIPAC during negotiations.
4. Fed policies correctly prefer U.S. nationals. For security reasons, Fed policy encourages the appointment of American citizens to sensitive positions such as bank examiner. Fischer voluntarily obtained Israeli citizenship to work alongside Israeli government agencies, some of which are committed to policies inimical to U.S. interests.
IRmep is a Washington-DC based nonprofit researching U.S. Middle East policy formulation and how warranted law enforcement and civil action can improve outcomes.
