Israel lobby in the United States
Encyclopedia
The Israel lobby is a term used to describe the diverse coalition of those who, as individuals and as groups, seek and have sought to influence the foreign policy of the United States in support of Zionism, Israel
or the specific policies of its government. The lobby consists of both Christian-American and Jewish-American secular and religious groups.
A Christian
belief in the return of the Jews to the Holy Land
has roots in the US, which pre-date both the establishment of the Zionist movement
and the establishment of Israel. Lobbying by these groups, to influence the US government in ways similar to Zionist ideology, dates back to at least the 19th century.
In 1844, Christian restorationist George Bush
, a professor of Hebrew at New York University
and ancestor of the Presidents Bush, published a book entitled The Valley of Vision; or, The Dry Bones of Israel Revived. In it he denounced “the thralldom and oppression which has so long ground them (the Jews) to the dust,” and called for “elevating” the Jews “to a rank of honorable repute among the nations of the earth” by restoring the Jews to the land of Israel where the bulk would be converted to Christianity. This, according to Bush, would benefit not only the Jews, but all of mankind, forming a “link of communication” between humanity and God. “It will blaze in notoriety...". “It will flash a splendid demonstration upon all kindreds and tongues of the truth.” The book sold about a million copies in the antebellum period. The Blackstone Memorial
of 1891 was also a significant Christian Restorationist petition effort, led by William Eugene Blackstone
, to persuade President Benjamin Harrison
to pressure the Ottoman
Sultan for the delivery of Palestine to the Jews.
Starting in 1914, the involvement of Louis Brandeis
and his brand of American Zionism made Jewish Zionism a force on the American scene for the first time, under his leadership it had increased ten-fold to about 200,000. As chair of the American Provisional Executive Committee for General Zionist Affairs, Brandeis raised millions of dollars to relieve Jewish suffering in war-torn Europe, and from that time “became the financial center for the world Zionist movement.” The British Balfour Declaration of 1917 additionally advanced the Zionist movement and gave it official legitimacy. The US Congress passed the first joint resolution
stating its support for a homeland in Palestine for the Jewish people on September 21, 1922. The same day, the Mandate of Palestine was approved by the Council of the League of Nations
.
Zionist lobbying in the United States aided the creation of the State of Israel in 1947-48. The preparation of and voting for the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine which preceded the Israeli Declaration of Independence, was met with an outpouring of Jewish American support and advocacy in Washington. President Truman later noted, "The facts were that not only were there pressure movements around the United Nations unlike anything that had been seen there before, but that the White House, too, was subjected to a constant barrage. I do not think I ever had as much pressure and propaganda aimed at the White House as I had in this instance. The persistence of a few of the extreme Zionist leaders—actuated by political motives and engaging in political threats—disturbed and annoyed me."
In the 1950s, the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs was created by Isaiah L. "Si" Kenen
. During the Eisenhower
administration, Israel's concerns were not at the forefront. Other problems in the Middle East and USSR were paremount, and Israel's U.S. supporters were not as active as they had been. Consequently, according to UCLA
political science professor and author, Steven L. Spiegel, "the tension between the [Eisenhower] administration and Israeli supporters was so acute that there were rumors (unfounded as it turned out) that the administration would investigate the American Zionist Council
. Therefore, an independent lobbying committee was formed." During the 1960s, a Senate investigation determined that during its earlier years AZCPA was, up until the 1960s, receiving funding from the Israeli government. The Kennedy
administration ordered the American Zionist Council to register as the agent of Israel under the Foreign Agents Registration Act
. Kenen wrote that AZCPA's Executive Committee decided to change their name from American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs to American Israel Public Affairs Committee
"to enlarge constituency and support."
The relationship between Israel and the government of the United States began with strong popular support for Israel and governmental reservations about the wisdom of creating a Jewish state; formal inter-government relations remained chilly until 1967. George Friedman
writes that before 1967, the government of "the United States was actively hostile to Israel." John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt write
that since 1976, Israel "has been the largest annual recipient of direct economic and military assistance" and "largest gross recipient of such assistance since World War Two
," a sum amounting to more than $140 billion between 1948 and 2004. The annual "$3 billion in direct assistance given to Israel" comprises "roughly one-fifth of the foreign aid budget" of the United States
, amounting to about $500 per capita
per annum. AIPAC's web site (2007) states that it "has grown into a 100,000-member national grassroots movement" and claims that it is America's "pro-Israel lobby."
official, Mitchell Bard
, the "Israeli (or pro-Israel) lobby" is composed of formal and informal components. These components "tend to intersect at several points so the distinction is not always clear-cut."
and the Christian Television Network
to the more informal support of the annual Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem
.
Informal lobbying also includes the activities of Jewish groups. Some scholars view Jewish lobbying on behalf of Israel as one of many examples of a US ethnic group lobbying
on behalf of an ethnic homeland
, which has met with a degree of success largely because Israel is strongly supported by a far larger and more influential Christian
movement that shares its goals. In a 2006 article in the London Review of Books
, Professors John Mearsheimer
and Stephen Walt
wrote:
Bard defines the Jewish "informal lobby" as the indirect means through which "Jewish voting behavior and American public opinion
" influence "U.S. Middle East
policy." Bard describes the motivation underlying the informal lobby as follows:
, political action committees (PACs), think tanks and media watchdog groups. The Center for Responsive Politics
, which tracks all lobbies and PACs, describes the ‘background’ of those ‘Pro-Israel’ as, “A nationwide network of local political action committees, generally named after the region their donors come from, supplies much of the pro-Israel money in US politics. Additional funds also come from individuals who bundle contributions to candidates favored by the PACs. The donors' unified goal is to build stronger US-Israel relations and to support Israel in its negotiations and armed conflicts with its Arab
neighbors.”
According to Mitchell Bard, there are, three key formal lobbying groups:
Christians United for Israel give “every pro-Israel Christian and Christian church the opportunity to stand up and speak up for Israel.” According to the group's founder and head, Pastor John Hagee
, the members “ask the leadership of our government to stop putting pressure on Israel to divide Jerusalem and the land of Israel.”
In his 2006 book The Restoration of Israel: Christian Zionism in Religion, Literature, and Politics, historian Gerhard Falk
describes the evangelical Christian groups that lobby on behalf of Israel as being so numerous that "it is not possible to list" them all, although many are linked via the National Association of Evangelicals
. It is a "powerful religious lobby" that actively supports Israel in Washington.
According to the author of Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, Michelle Goldberg
, "Evangelical Christians have substantial influence on US Middle East Policy, more so than some better-known names such as AIPAC."
According to Mitchell Bard, the two Jewish groups aim to present policy makers with unified and representative messages via the aggregation and filtering of the diversity of opinions held by smaller pro-Israel lobby groups and the wider American Jewish community. The diverse spectrum of opinions held by American Jewry is reflected in the many formal pro-Israel groups, and as such some analysts make a distinction within the Israel lobby between right-leaning
and left-leaning
groups. This diversity became more pronounced following Israel’s acceptance of the Oslo Accords
, which split “liberal universalists” and “hard-core Zionists --- the Orthodox community and right wing Jews”. This division mirrored a similar split for and against the Oslo process in Israel, and led to a parallel rift within the pro-Israel lobby. During the 2008 election campaign
, Barack Obama
implicitly noted differences within the lobby in his comment that "there is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says, 'unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel, that you’re anti-Israel,' and that can’t be the measure of our friendship with Israel." Commentary Magazine, notes “It was an odd choice of words—Likud
has not been Israel’s governing party for more than three years—but what Obama clearly meant was that an American politician should not have to express fealty to the most hard-line ideas relating to Israel’s security to be considered a supporter of Israel’s.”
US foreign policy scholars John Mearsheimer
and Stephen Walt
, focusing almost exclusively on Jewish groups, define the core of the lobby to include the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
, the Anti-Defamation League
and Christians United for Israel
. Other key organizations which they state work to benefit Israel, in many cases by influencing US foreign policy, include the American Jewish Congress
, the Zionist Organization of America
, the Israel Policy Forum
, the American Jewish Committee
, the Religious Action Center
of Reform Judaism
, Americans for a Safe Israel
, American Friends of Likud
, Mercaz
-USA, and Hadassah
. Fifty-one of the largest and most important come together in the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, whose self-described mission includes “forging diverse groups into a unified force for Israel’s well-being” and working to “strengthen and foster the special US-Israel relationship”
Stephen Zunes
, in a response to Mearsheimer and Walt, lists "Americans for Peace Now
, the Tikkun Community
, Brit Tzedek v' Shalom, and the Israel Policy Forum
" as "pro-Israel" organizations that, unlike the right-leaning organizations focused on by Mearsheimer and Walt, are opposed to "the occupation, the settlements
, the separation wall
, and Washington's unconditional support for Israeli policies." These organizations, however, are not PACs
and therefore, like AIPAC, are prohibited by campaign finance regulations
from financially supporting political campaigns of candidates for federal office.
and Stephen Walt
state in their controversial bestseller, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
, that the tone of the right-leaning component of the Israel lobby results from the influence of the leaders of the two top lobby groups: AIPAC, and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. They go on to list, as right-leaning think tank
s associated with the lobby, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
, the American Enterprise Institute
, and the Hudson Institute
. They also state that the media watchdog group Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
is part of the right-wing component of the lobby.
In his controversial bestseller, The Case for Peace
, Alan Dershowitz
also of Harvard, argues that the most right-leaning pro-Israel groups in the United States are not Jews at all, but Evangelical Christians. Dershowitz cites "Stand for Israel, an organization devoted to mobilizing Evangelical Christian support for Israel" co-founded by "[f]ormer Christian Coalition executive director Ralph Reed
." Although the rhetoric
of most groups like Stand for Israel is similar to their Jewish-based counterparts, some individuals have based their support on specific biblical passages, thus they have been vulnerable to criticism from Israelis and US Jews for having "ulterior motives" such as the fulfillment of "prerequisite to the Second Coming
" or having "better access for proselytizing among Jews."
In April 2008, J Street
was established, describing itself as the only federal "pro-peace, pro-Israel" Political Action Committee
(PAC). Its goal is to provide meaningful political and financial support to candidates for federal office from US citizens who believe a new direction in US policy will advance US interests in the Middle East
and promote real peace and security for Israel. Founded by former President Bill Clinton
advisor Jeremy Ben Ami and policy analyst Daniel Levy and supported by prominent Israeli politicians and high-ranking officers (see Letter of support from prominent Israeli leaders), J Street supports diplomatic solutions over military ones, including with Iran
; multilateral over unilateral approaches to conflict resolution
; and dialog over confrontation with a wide range of countries and actors.
(NRA) and the AARP
(formerly known as "American Association of Retired Persons"), exert influence. A number of commentators have asserted that the Israel lobby has undue or pervasive influence over U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. However, other commentators note that no similar volume of criticism exists concerning the NRA, AARP or other major political lobbies, and claim that much of this criticism is based on anti-Semitic notions of a Jewish conspiracy.
" and that of the American Jewish population "roughly 94 percent live in thirteen key electoral college
states" which alone "are worth enough electoral votes to elect the president. If you add the non-Jews shown by opinion polls to be as pro-Israel as Jews, it is clear Israel has the support of one of the largest veto
groups in the country." Bard goes on to say that for United States congress
men "there are no benefits to candidates taking an openly anti-Israel stance and considerable costs in both loss of campaign contributions and votes from Jews and non-Jews alike."
"Most important fact about the Jewish vote in America", according to Jeffrey S. Helmreich of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
, "lies in the fact that it is a uniquely swayable bloc. [...] The issue of support for Israel [by a candidate] has proven capable of spurring a sizable portion of Jews to switch parties—in large enough numbers to tip the scales in national or statewide elections. Moreover, the "Israel swing vote" is especially open to political courtship because, unlike the interests of other minority groups, support for Israel has long been compatible with traditional Republican and Democratic agendas. … On the other hand, being distinctively unsupportive of Israel can significantly hurt a candidate's chances."
", writes Mitchell Bard, "are also considered an important means of influence; typically, Jews have been major benefactors."
According to Bard, objective quantification that the impact of campaign contributions have on "legislative outcomes, particularly with regard to Israel-related issues" is difficult. This is because raw analysis of contributions statistics do not take into account "non-monetary factors" and whether or not "a candidate is pro-Israel because of receiving a contribution, or receives a donation as a result of taking a position in support of Israel."
Targeting
AIPAC does not give donations directly to candidates, but those who donate to AIPAC are often important political contributors in their own right. In addition, AIPAC helps connect donors with candidates, especially to the network of pro-Israel political action committees. AIPAC president Howard Friedman says “AIPAC meets with every candidate running for Congress. These candidates receive in-depth briefings to help them completely understand the complexities of Israel’s predicament and that of the Middle East as a whole. We even ask each candidate to author a ‘position paper’ on their views of the US-Israel relationship – so it’s clear where they stand on the subject.”
This process has become more targeted over time according to Bard, "In the past, Jewish contributions were less structured and targeted than other interest groups, but this has changed dramatically as Israel-related political action committee
s (PACs) have proliferated." Among politicians considered unfriendly to Israel who AIPAC has helped defeat include Cynthia McKinney
, Paul Findley
, Earl Hillard, Pete McCloskey
, Senators William Fulbright and Roger Jepson, and Adlai Stevenson
in his campaign for governor of Illinois in 1982. The defeat of Charles H. Percy
, Senator for Illinois until 1985, has been attributed to AIPAC-co-ordinated donations to his opponent after he supported the sale of AWACS planes to Saudi Arabia
. Donations included $1.1 million on anti-Percy advertising by Michael Goland, who was also a major contributor to AIPAC. Former executive director of AIPAC, Tom Dine
, was quoted as saying, "All the Jews in America, from coast to coast, gathered to oust Percy. And the American politicians - those who hold public positions now, and those who aspire - got the message".
Financial figures
A summary of pro-Israel campaign donations for the period of 1990–2008 collected by Center for Responsive Politics
indicates current totals and a general increase in proportional donations to the US Republican party since 1996. The Washington Post summarized the Center for Responsive Politics' 1990–2006 data and concluded that "Pro-Israel interests have contributed $56.8 million in individual, group and soft money donations to federal candidates and party committees since 1990." In contrast, Arab-Americans and Muslim
PACs contributed slightly less than $800,000 during the same (1990–2006) period.
J.J. Goldberg
wrote in his 1994 book Jewish Power that 45% of the Democratic Party
’s fundraising and 25% of that for the Republican Party came from Jewish-funded Political Action Committees. Richard Cohen
, a columnist for the Washington Post, updated those figures in 2006 citing figures of 60% and 35% respectively for the Democratic and Republican Parties. According to the Washington Post, Democratic presidential candidates depend on Jewish sources for 60% of money from private sources.
, the Center for Security Policy
, the Foreign Policy Research Institute
, the Heritage Foundation
, the Hudson Institute
, the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
. These think tanks are all decidedly pro-Israel and include few, if any, critics of US support for the Jewish state.”
In 2002, the Brookings Institution
founded the Saban Center for Middle East Policy
, named after Haim Saban
, an Israeli-American media proprietor, who donated $13 million toward its establishment. Saban has stated of himself, “I’m a one issue guy, and my issue is Israel”, and was described by the New York Times as a “tireless cheerleader for Israel.” The Centre is directed by AIPAC’s former deputy director of research, Martin Indyk
.
Frontline
, an Indian current affairs magazine, asked rhetorically why the administration of George W Bush
that seemed "so eager to please [Bush's] Gulf allies, particularly the Saudis
, go out of its way to take the side of Ariel Sharon's Israel? Two public policy organizations give us a sense of an answer: the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
(WINEP) and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
(JINSA)." Frontline reported that "WINEP tended to toe the line of whatever party came to power in Israel" while "JINSA was the U.S. offshoot of the right-wing Likud Party." According to Frontline, JINSA had close ties to the administration of George W Bush in that it "draws from the most conservative hawks in the U.S. establishment for its board of directors" including Vice-President Richard Cheney, and Bush administration appointees John Bolton
, Douglas Feith
, Paul Wolfowitz
, Lewis Libby
, Zalmay Khalilzad
, Richard Armitage
and Elliott Abrams
. Jason Vest
, writing in the The Nation, alleges that both the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
and the Center for Security Policy
thinktanks are "underwritten by far-right American Zionists" and that they both "effectively hold there is no difference between US and Israeli national security interests, and that the only way to assure continued safety and prosperity for both countries is through hegemony in the Middle East a hegemony achieved with the traditional cold war recipe of feints, force, clientism and covert action."
writes that "mainstream and conservative Jewish organizations have mobilized considerable lobbying resources, financial contributions from the Jewish community, and citizen pressure on the news media and other forums of public discourse in support of the Israeli government." Journalist Michael Massing
writes that "Jewish organizations are quick to detect bias in the coverage of the Middle East, and quick to complain about it. That's especially true of late. As The Forward
observed in late April [2002], 'rooting out perceived anti-Israel bias in the media has become for many American Jews the most direct and emotional outlet for connecting with the conflict 6,000 miles away.'"
The Forward related how one individual felt:
media watchdog group in which Mark Jurkowitz observes: "To its supporters, CAMERA is figuratively - and perhaps literally - doing God's work, battling insidious anti-Israeli bias in the media. But its detractors see CAMERA as a myopic and vindictive special interest group trying to muscle its views into media coverage." A former spokesman for the Israeli Consulate in New York City
said that the result of this lobbying of the media was: “Of course, a lot of self-censorship goes on. Journalists, editors, and politicians are going to think twice about criticizing Israel if they know they are going to get thousands of angry calls in a matter of hours. The Jewish lobby is good at orchestrating pressure.”
In addition to traditional media, Israeli public relations
on the internet also is targeted with software called the Megaphone desktop tool
, which is designed and promoted by pro-Israel interest groups. Regarding the 'Megaphone', the Times Online reported in 2006 that the Israeli Foreign Ministry "ordered trainee diplomats to track websites and chatrooms so that networks of US and European groups with hundreds of thousands of Jewish activists can place supportive messages." According to a Jerusalem Post article on the 'Megaphone', Israel's Foreign Ministry was "urging supporters of Israel everywhere to become cyberspace soldiers 'in the new battleground for Israel's image.'" Chris Williams wrote for The Register
: "However it is used, Megaphone is effectively a high-tech exercise in ballot-stuffing. We're calling it lobbyware ."
in 2001, these groups have been increasingly visible. In 2002, an umbrella organization, that includes many of these groups, known as the Israel on Campus Coalition
was formed as a result of what they felt were "the worrisome rise in anti-Israel activities on college campuses across North America". The mission of the Israel on Campus Coalition is to "foster support for Israel" and "cultivate an Israel friendly university environment". Members of the Israel on Campus Coalition include the Zionist Organization of America
, AIPAC, Americans for Peace Now
, the Anti-defamation League
, Kesher
, the Union of Progressive Zionists
, and a number of other organizations. There has been at least one conflict among these groups, when the right wing Zionist Organization of America unsuccessfully attempted to remove the left wing Union of Progressive Zionists from the coalition when the latter group sponsored lectures by a group of former IDF
soldiers who criticized the Israeli Occupation of the West Bank
and Gaza
.
However, there are some who feel that pro-Israel activism on college campuses can cross the line from advocacy to outright intimidation
. One highly publicized accusation comes from former President Jimmy Carter
, who complained of great difficulty in gaining access to a number of universities to discuss his new book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid
. In October 2007 about 300 academics under the name The Ad Hoc Committee to Defend the University issued a statement calling for academic freedom from political pressure, in particular from groups portraying themselves as defenders of Israel. In December 2007, the New York Sun
reported that student leaders who advocate pro-Israel films and groups on college campuses are eligible for being hired as "emissaries of the Jewish state" for their work and will receive up to $1000 a year for their efforts.
Bard writes that "by framing the issues in terms of the national interest, AIPAC can attract broader support than would ever be possible if it was perceived to represent only the interests of Israel. This does not mean AIPAC does not have a close relationship with Israeli officials, it does, albeit unofficially. Even so, the lobby some times comes into conflict with the Israeli government."
," it is his opinion that some members of the Israel lobby cross the line by labeling intellectually honest critics of Israel as anti-Semitic. Zunes argues that the mainstream and conservative Jewish organizations have "created a climate of intimidation against many who speak out for peace and human rights or who support the Palestinians
' right of self-determination
." Zunes has been on the receiving end of this criticism himself "As a result of my opposition to US support for the Israeli government's policies of occupation, colonization and repression, I have been deliberately misquoted, subjected to slander and libel, and falsely accused of being "anti-Semitic" and "supporting terrorism"; my children have been harassed and my university's administration has been bombarded with calls for my dismissal."
In an opinion piece for The Guardian
, Jimmy Carter
wrote that mainstream American politics does not give equal time to the Palestinian side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that this is due at least in part to AIPAC. George Soros
pointed out that there are risks associated with what was in his opinion a suppression of debate:
In his book, The Deadliest Lies
, Abraham Foxman
referred to the notion that the pro-Israel lobby is trying to censor criticism of Israel as a "canard
." Foxman writes that the Jewish community is capable of telling the difference between legitimate criticism of Israel "and the demonization, deligitization, and double standards employed against Israel that is either inherently anti-Semitic or generates an environment of anti-Semitism." Jonathan Rosenblum
expressed similar thoughts: "Indeed, if there were an Israel lobby, and labeling all criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic were its tactic, the steady drumbeat of criticism of Israel on elite campuses and in the elite press would be the clearest proof of its inefficacy."
Alan Dershowitz
wrote that he welcomes "reasoned, contextual and comparative criticism of Israeli policies and actions." If one of the goals of the pro-Israel lobby was to censor criticism of Israel, Dershowitz writes, "it would prove that 'the Lobby' is a lot less powerful than the authors would have us believe." Dershowitz himself, claims to have written several critical pieces on specific Israeli policies. Dershowitz disagrees with those who believe that the media is uncritical of Israel and cites the frequent New York Times editorials and even an editorial in The Forward
against some of Israel's more right of center policies as proof. Dershowitz also denies that any significant, mainstream leader in the American Jewish community equates criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism.
, the term "Israel Lobby" came into use in the 1970s and, similar to the term "China lobby
", carries "the pejorative connotation of manipulation." He also writes that supporters of Israel gauge the degree of perceived animus towards the Jewish State
by the term chosen to refer to the lobby: "pro-Israel lobby" being used by those with the mildest opposition, followed by "Israel lobby", with the term "Jewish lobby" being employed by those with the most extreme anti-Israel opinions.
According to Walt and Mearshimer, "Using the term 'Israel lobby' is itself somewhat misleading...One might more accurately dub this the 'pro-Israel community'..." since this is not the lobby of a foreign country, rather, it is composed of Americans.
writes
Mearsheimer and Walt have collected and quoted some of the lobbyists' comments on their organizations' political capital. For example, Mearsheimer and Walt quote Morris Amitay, former AIPAC director as saying, "It’s almost politically suicidal ... for a member of Congress who wants to seek reelection to take any stand that might be interpreted as anti-policy of the conservative Israeli government." They also quote a Michael Massing
article in which a staffer sympathetic to Israel said, "We can count on well over half the House – 250 to 300 members – to do reflexively whatever AIPAC wants." Similarly they cite former AIPAC official Steven Rosen illustrating AIPAC’s power for Jeffrey Goldberg by putting a napkin in front of him and saying, "In twenty-four hours, we could have the signatures of seventy senators on this napkin."
However, some U.S. government officials accept that the Israel lobby is not so powerful that they control U.S. foreign policy. Former Secretary of State
George Shultz stated "... the notion that U.S. policy on Israel and Middle East is the result of [the Israel lobby's] influence is simply wrong." Dennis B. Ross, former U.S. ambassador and chief peace negotiator in the Middle East under Bill Clinton
, who is now an official at WINEP, wrote:
Individual journalists each have their own opinions on how powerful the Israel lobby is. Glenn Frankel
wrote: "On Capitol Hill the Israel lobby commands large majorities in both the House and Senate." Michael Lind
produced a cover piece on the Israel lobby for the UK publication Prospect
in 2002 which concluded, "The truth about America’s Israel lobby is this: it is not all-powerful, but it is still far too powerful for the good of the U.S. and its alliances in the Middle East and elsewhere.". Tony Judt
, writing in the New York Times, asked rhetorically, "Does the Israel Lobby affect our foreign policy choices? Of course that is one of its goals. [...] But does pressure to support Israel distort American decisions? That's a matter of judgment."
Mitchell Bard has conducted a study which attempts to roughly quantify the influence of the Israel lobby on 782 policy decisions, over the period of 1945 to 1984, in order to move the debate on its influence away from simple anecdotes. He
According to a public opinion poll by Zogby International
of 1,036 likely voters from October 10–12, 2006, 40% of American voters at least somewhat believe the Israel lobby has been a key factor in going to war in Iraq. The following poll question was used: "Question: Do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree that the work of the Israel lobby on Congress and the Bush administration has been a key factor for going to war in Iraq and now confronting Iran?"
, the African-American lobby in foreign policy
and the Armenian American lobby
, although the lobby has also been compared to the National Rifle Association
and the lobby for the Pharmaceutical industry. In comparing the Israel Lobby to the NRA, Glenn Frankel concludes that "Nevertheless, the Israel lobby, and AIPAC in particular, gained a reputation as the National Rifle Association of foreign policy: a hard-edged, pugnacious bunch that took names and kept score. But in some ways it was even stronger. The NRA's support was largely confined to right-wing Republicans and rural Democrats. But AIPAC made inroads in both parties and both ends of the ideological spectrum."
Zunes describes that some groups who lobby against current U.S. policy on Israel "have accepted funding from autocratic Arab regimes, thereby damaging their credibility" while others have "taken hard-line positions that not only oppose the Israeli occupation but challenge Israel's very right to exist
and are therefore not taken seriously by most policymakers." Zunes writes that many lobbying groups on the left, such as Peace Action
, are "more prone to complain about the power of the Israel lobby and its affiliated PACs than to do serious lobbying on this issue or condition its own PAC contributions on support for a more moderate U.S. policy" in the region. Noam Chomsky
, political activist and professor of linguistics at MIT
, writes that "there are far more powerful interests that have a stake in what happens in the Persian Gulf region than does AIPAC [or the Lobby generally], such as the oil companies, the arms industry and other special interests whose lobbying influence and campaign contributions far surpass that of the much-vaunted Zionist lobby and its allied donors to congressional races."
However, while comparing the Israel Lobby with the Arab Lobby, Mitchell Bard notes that "From the beginning, the Arab lobby has faced not only a disadvantage in electoral politics but also in organization. There are several politically oriented groups, but many of these are one man operations with little financial or popular support." The Arab American Institute
is involved in supporting Arab-American political candidates, but, according to award-winning journalist Ray Hanania
"it’s nothing compared to the funds that AIPAC raises not just for Jewish American congressmen, but for congressmen who support Israel." Furthermore, Arab American lobbies face a problem of motivation; Jewish Americans feel the need to support their homeland (as well as other states in the Middle East who have signed peace treaties with Israel) in active, organized ways. Arab Americans do not appear to have a similar motivation when it comes to their own homelands.
confirmed that the U.S.-Israel relationship is "A Strategic Asset for the United States." In discussing their report, Walter B. Slocombe
said that while in the popular imagination, the U.S.-Israel relationship is only good for Israel, the fact is that Israel provides enormous assistance to the United States, including military expertise which has saved American lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Robert D. Blackwill refuted the claim that the U.S.-Israel relationship significantly damages the relationship between the United States and the Arab world. He asked rhetorically:
The Israel Project
noted in 2009 that "when you’re talking to Americans, you need to know that when you don’t support a two-state solution you risk having a major public relations challenge in America and Europe."
In a 2008 editorial, Israel
i-American
historian and author Michael B. Oren wrote that Israel and the United States are natural allies, despite what the opposition from "much of American academia and influential segments of the media." This is because Israel and the United States share similar values such as "respect for civic rights and the rule of law" and democracy. Israel and the United States share military intelligence in order to fight terrorism. Oren also notes that "more than 70% of [Americans], according to recent polls, favor robust ties with the Jewish state."
In his 2007 review of Mearsheimer and Walt's book, Jeffrey Goldberg
wrote:
Israeli academic and political activist Jeff Halper
said that "Israel is able to pursue its occupation only because of its willingness to serve Western (mainly U.S.) imperial interests" and that rather than influencing the United States via the lobby, Israel is actually "a handmaiden
of American Empire." According to political scientists John J. Mearsheimer (University of Chicago) and Stephen M. Walt (Harvard University), though, "the combination of unwavering U.S. support for Israel and the related effort to spread democracy throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardized U.S. security." They allege that while "one might assume that the bond between the two countries is based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives....neither of those explanations can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the United States provides to Israel." Robert Satloff
cited the events of May–June 2010 (in which Israel stopped a flotilla meant to break its blockade of the Gaza Strip and yet, a few days later, every country expected to vote U.N. sanctions against Iran ended up voting as the U.S. wanted them to) as a counter-example that proves this point of view to be false. Goldberg similarly cited the Arab protests in 2011
to prove the absurdity of Walt and Mearsheimer's point:
In 2006 former UN weapons inspector
in Iraq
Scott Ritter
published Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change (ISBN 978-1-56025-936-7). In his book Ritter states that certain Israelis and pro-Israel elements in the United States are trying to push the Bush administration into war with Iran. He also accuses the U.S. pro-Israel lobby of dual loyalty
and outright espionage
(see Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal).
argues that there is a lack of media coverage on the Israel lobby and posits this explanation: "Why the blackout? For one thing, reporting on these groups is not easy. AIPAC's power makes potential sources reluctant to discuss the organization on the record, and employees who leave it usually sign pledges of silence. AIPAC officials themselves rarely give interviews, and the organization even resists divulging its board of directors." Massing writes that in addition to AIPAC's efforts to maintain a low profile, "journalists, meanwhile, are often loath to write about the influence of organized Jewry. [...] In the end, though, the main obstacle to covering these groups is fear." Steven Rosen
, a former director of foreign-policy issues for AIPAC, explained to Jeffrey Goldberg of The New Yorker
that "a lobby is like a night flower: it thrives in the dark and dies in the sun."
Critics of the Mearsheimer and Walt thesis note that while it is true that there are many individual pro-Israel op-ed columnists, the argument that the media as a whole is part of the Israel lobby cannot be concluded from the Mearsheimer and Walt's cherry picked evidence, which amounts to a thinly disguised version of a classic antisemitic "Jews control the media" canard:
, cited examples of op-eds critical of Israel from several major U.S. newspapers and concluded that an equally compelling argument could be made that the Israel lobby doesn't control the media. Itamar Rabinovich
, writing for the Brookings Institution
, wrote, "The truth of the matter is that, insofar as the lobby ever tries to intimidate and silence, the effort usually causes more damage than it redresses. In any event, the power of the lobby to do that is very modest."
On The Diane Rehm Show
(December 11, 2006), Middle East experts Hisham Melhem
, Lebanese journalist and Washington Bureau Chief for Al-Arabia, and Dennis Ross
, a Jewish-American diplomat working as counselor Washington Institute for Near East Policy
, when asked about the pervasive Israeli influence on American foreign policy in the Middle East mentioned in former President Jimmy Carter
's 2006 book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid said: [H. Melhem] "When it comes to Israel [discussing Israeli and/or Jewish American issues], it is still almost a taboo in certain parts, not everywhere...there are certain things that cannot be said about the Israeli government or America's relationship with Israel or about the Israeli lobby. Yes there is, excuse me, there is an Israeli lobby, but when we say an Israeli lobby we are not talking about a Jewish cabal. The Israeli lobby operates the way the NRA operates, a system of rewards and punishment, you help your friends by money, by advocacy and everything, and sometimes they pool money in to the campaigns of those people that they see as friendly to Israel. This is the American game". (radio interview: ≈16:30-20:05)
. Some of these are: Professors John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt
's The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
, Professor James Petras
's The Power of Israel in the United States, Former Representative/Congressman Paul Findley
's They Dare to Speak Out
, Professor Kevin B. MacDonald
's Understanding Jewish Influence
and The Culture of Critique: An Evolutionary Analysis of Jewish Involvement in Twentieth-Century Intellectual and Political Movements
and Norman G. Finkelstein's The Holocaust Industry
and Beyond Chutzpah, former US President Jimmy Carter
's Palestine Peace Not Apartheid
. In addition to books published by notable academics, influential government officials have also commented on the Israel Lobby's influence. For example, British
Labour MP and House of Commons representative, Sir Tam Dalyell
and American
Congressman James P. Moran
In March 2009, Charles W. Freeman, Jr.
, criticized the lobby after withdrawing his candidacy for the chair of the National Intelligence Council
. Freeman said, "The libels on me and their easily traceable email trails show conclusively that there is a powerful lobby determined to prevent any view other than its own from being aired .... The tactics of the Israel Lobby plumb the depths of dishonor and indecency .... The aim of this Lobby is control of the policy process ...." The Washington Post published two opposing editorials on the subject. One an unattributed editorial opinion saying that Freeman disregarded "established facts" in his criticism of the Israel lobby, which include some recent defeats of right-wing Zionist
positions. The other, by regular op-ed columnist David Broder, opened by saying: "The Obama administration has just suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the lobbyists [that] the president vowed to keep in their place, and their friends on Capitol Hill." The Forward
notes that, "Many of the lawmakers demanding an investigation into Freeman’s qualifications for the intelligence post are known as strong supporters of Israel". Members of Congress denied that the Israel lobby had a significant role in their opposition to Freeman's appointment; they cite Freeman's ties with the Saudi and Chinese governments, objections to certain statements made about the Palestinian territories
and his lack of experience as the reasons for their opposition.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
or the specific policies of its government. The lobby consists of both Christian-American and Jewish-American secular and religious groups.
History
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
belief in the return of the Jews to the Holy Land
Restoration of the Jews to the Holy Land
Christian Restorationism, the Restoration of the Jews to the Holy Land was a nineteenth-century, Christian movement with both political and religious motivations.-Secular motivations:...
has roots in the US, which pre-date both the establishment of the Zionist movement
First Zionist Congress
The First Zionist Congress was the inaugural congress of the Zionist Organization held in Basel , Switzerland, from August 29 to August 31, 1897. It was convened and chaired by Theodor Herzl, the founder of the modern Zionism movement...
and the establishment of Israel. Lobbying by these groups, to influence the US government in ways similar to Zionist ideology, dates back to at least the 19th century.
In 1844, Christian restorationist George Bush
George Bush (Biblical scholar)
George Bush was an American biblical scholar, pastor, abolitionist and Christian Restorationist academic. He is distantly related to the Bush political family.-Biography:...
, a professor of Hebrew at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and ancestor of the Presidents Bush, published a book entitled The Valley of Vision; or, The Dry Bones of Israel Revived. In it he denounced “the thralldom and oppression which has so long ground them (the Jews) to the dust,” and called for “elevating” the Jews “to a rank of honorable repute among the nations of the earth” by restoring the Jews to the land of Israel where the bulk would be converted to Christianity. This, according to Bush, would benefit not only the Jews, but all of mankind, forming a “link of communication” between humanity and God. “It will blaze in notoriety...". “It will flash a splendid demonstration upon all kindreds and tongues of the truth.” The book sold about a million copies in the antebellum period. The Blackstone Memorial
Blackstone Memorial
The Blackstone Memorial of 1891 was a petition written by William Eugene Blackstone, a Christian Restorationist, in favor of the delivery of Palestine to the Jews. It was signed by many leading American citizens and presented to President Harrison....
of 1891 was also a significant Christian Restorationist petition effort, led by William Eugene Blackstone
William Eugene Blackstone
William Eugene Blackstone was an American evangelist and Christian Zionist. he was the author of the proto- Zionist Blackstone Memorial of 1891. Blackstone was influenced by Dwight Lyman Moody, James H...
, to persuade President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
to pressure the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Sultan for the delivery of Palestine to the Jews.
Louis Brandeis
Louis Dembitz Brandeis ; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939.He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Jewish immigrant parents who raised him in a secular mode...
and his brand of American Zionism made Jewish Zionism a force on the American scene for the first time, under his leadership it had increased ten-fold to about 200,000. As chair of the American Provisional Executive Committee for General Zionist Affairs, Brandeis raised millions of dollars to relieve Jewish suffering in war-torn Europe, and from that time “became the financial center for the world Zionist movement.” The British Balfour Declaration of 1917 additionally advanced the Zionist movement and gave it official legitimacy. The US Congress passed the first joint resolution
Joint resolution
In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires approval by the Senate and the House and is presented to the President for his/her approval or disapproval, in exactly the same case as a bill....
stating its support for a homeland in Palestine for the Jewish people on September 21, 1922. The same day, the Mandate of Palestine was approved by the Council of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
.
Zionist lobbying in the United States aided the creation of the State of Israel in 1947-48. The preparation of and voting for the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine which preceded the Israeli Declaration of Independence, was met with an outpouring of Jewish American support and advocacy in Washington. President Truman later noted, "The facts were that not only were there pressure movements around the United Nations unlike anything that had been seen there before, but that the White House, too, was subjected to a constant barrage. I do not think I ever had as much pressure and propaganda aimed at the White House as I had in this instance. The persistence of a few of the extreme Zionist leaders—actuated by political motives and engaging in political threats—disturbed and annoyed me."
In the 1950s, the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs was created by Isaiah L. "Si" Kenen
Isaiah L. Kenen
Isaiah Leo "Si" Kenen was the founder of the "American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs" , the forerunner of the modern American Israel Public Affairs Committee ....
. During the Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
administration, Israel's concerns were not at the forefront. Other problems in the Middle East and USSR were paremount, and Israel's U.S. supporters were not as active as they had been. Consequently, according to UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
political science professor and author, Steven L. Spiegel, "the tension between the [Eisenhower] administration and Israeli supporters was so acute that there were rumors (unfounded as it turned out) that the administration would investigate the American Zionist Council
American Zionist Council
The American Zionist Council was a group formed in 1949, which represented nine nation-wide Zionist organizations in matters related specifically to Zionism, following the independence of Israel...
. Therefore, an independent lobbying committee was formed." During the 1960s, a Senate investigation determined that during its earlier years AZCPA was, up until the 1960s, receiving funding from the Israeli government. The Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
administration ordered the American Zionist Council to register as the agent of Israel under the Foreign Agents Registration Act
Foreign Agents Registration Act
The Foreign Agents Registration Act is a United States law passed in 1938 requiring that agents representing the interests of foreign powers be properly identified to the American public. The act was passed in response to German propaganda in the lead-up to World War II...
. Kenen wrote that AZCPA's Executive Committee decided to change their name from American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs to American Israel Public Affairs Committee
American Israel Public Affairs Committee
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States...
"to enlarge constituency and support."
The relationship between Israel and the government of the United States began with strong popular support for Israel and governmental reservations about the wisdom of creating a Jewish state; formal inter-government relations remained chilly until 1967. George Friedman
George Friedman
George Friedman is an American political scientist and author. He is the founder, chief intelligence officer, financial overseer, and CEO of the private intelligence corporation Stratfor...
writes that before 1967, the government of "the United States was actively hostile to Israel." John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt write
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy is the title of a book by John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and Stephen Walt, Professor of International Relations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, published in late August 2007...
that since 1976, Israel "has been the largest annual recipient of direct economic and military assistance" and "largest gross recipient of such assistance since World War Two
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
," a sum amounting to more than $140 billion between 1948 and 2004. The annual "$3 billion in direct assistance given to Israel" comprises "roughly one-fifth of the foreign aid budget" of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, amounting to about $500 per capita
Per capita
Per capita is a Latin prepositional phrase: per and capita . The phrase thus means "by heads" or "for each head", i.e. per individual or per person...
per annum. AIPAC's web site (2007) states that it "has grown into a 100,000-member national grassroots movement" and claims that it is America's "pro-Israel lobby."
Structure
According to former American Israel Public Affairs CommitteeAmerican Israel Public Affairs Committee
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States...
official, Mitchell Bard
Mitchell Bard
Mitchell Geoffrey Bard is an American foreign policy analyst, editor and author who specializes in U.S.-Middle East policy. He is the Executive Director of the non-profit American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise , and the director of the Jewish Virtual Library.-Education:Bard received his B.A...
, the "Israeli (or pro-Israel) lobby" is composed of formal and informal components. These components "tend to intersect at several points so the distinction is not always clear-cut."
Informal lobby
Support for Israel is strong among American Christians of all denominations. Informal Christian support for Israel includes a broad range varieties support for Israel ranging from the programming and news coverage on the Christian Broadcasting NetworkChristian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...
and the Christian Television Network
Christian Television Network
Christian Television Network is a non-profit broadcast television network of small owned-and-operated stations that broadcasts religious programming. It is based in Largo, Florida , and the flagship station is WCLF channel 22, which signed on the air in the Tampa Bay Florida region in 1979...
to the more informal support of the annual Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem
Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem
The Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem is a prayer meeting organized by Pentecostal evangelists Jack W. Hayford and Robert Stearns through their organization "Eagles Wings". They annually invite people around the world to pray for Jerusalem on the first Sunday of every October, close to the...
.
Informal lobbying also includes the activities of Jewish groups. Some scholars view Jewish lobbying on behalf of Israel as one of many examples of a US ethnic group lobbying
Ethnic interest group
An ethnic interest group or ethnic lobby, according to Thomas Ambrosio, is an advocacy group established along cultural, ethnic, religious or racial lines by an ethnic group for the purposes of directly or indirectly influencing the foreign policy of their resident country in support of the...
on behalf of an ethnic homeland
Diaspora politics in the United States
Diaspora politics in the United States is the study of the political behavior of transnational ethnic diasporas, their relationship with their ethnic homelands and their host states, as well as their prominent role in ethnic conflicts. This article describes case studies and theories of political...
, which has met with a degree of success largely because Israel is strongly supported by a far larger and more influential Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
movement that shares its goals. In a 2006 article in the London Review of Books
London Review of Books
The London Review of Books is a fortnightly British magazine of literary and intellectual essays.-History:The LRB was founded in 1979, during the year-long lock-out at The Times, by publisher A...
, Professors John Mearsheimer
John Mearsheimer
John J. Mearsheimer is an American professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. He is an international relations theorist. Known for his book on offensive realism, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, more recently Mearsheimer has attracted attention for co-authoring and publishing...
and Stephen Walt
Stephen Walt
Stephen Martin Walt is a professor of international affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Among his most prominent works are and . He coauthored The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy with John Mearsheimer.-Education and career:In 1983, he received a Ph.D. in...
wrote:
In its basic operations, the Israel Lobby is no different from the farmFarmA farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
lobby, steelSteelSteel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
or textile workers’ unions, or other ethnic lobbies. There is nothing improper about American Jews and their Christian allies attempting to sway US policy: the Lobby’s activities are not a conspiracy of the sort depicted in tracts like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. For the most part, the individuals and groups that comprise it are only doing what other special interest groups do, but doing it very much better. By contrast, pro-Arab interest groups, in so far as they exist at all, are weak, which makes the Israel Lobby’s task even easier.
Bard defines the Jewish "informal lobby" as the indirect means through which "Jewish voting behavior and American public opinion
Public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views....
" influence "U.S. Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
policy." Bard describes the motivation underlying the informal lobby as follows:
"American Jews recognize the importance of support for Israel because of the dire consequences that could follow from the alternative. Despite the fact that Israel is often referred to now as the fourth most powerful country in the world, the perceived threat to Israel is not military defeat, it is annihilation. At the same time, American Jews are frightened of what might happen in the United States if they do not have political power."
Formal lobby
The formal component of the Israel lobby consists of organized lobby groupsLobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
, political action committees (PACs), think tanks and media watchdog groups. The Center for Responsive Politics
Center for Responsive Politics
The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
, which tracks all lobbies and PACs, describes the ‘background’ of those ‘Pro-Israel’ as, “A nationwide network of local political action committees, generally named after the region their donors come from, supplies much of the pro-Israel money in US politics. Additional funds also come from individuals who bundle contributions to candidates favored by the PACs. The donors' unified goal is to build stronger US-Israel relations and to support Israel in its negotiations and armed conflicts with its Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
neighbors.”
According to Mitchell Bard, there are, three key formal lobbying groups:
- Christians United for IsraelChristians United For IsraelChristians United for Israel is an American pro-Israel Christian organization that defines itself as "a national grassroots movement focused on the support of Israel." It is the "largest" pro-Israel organization in the United States....
, is the "largest" pro-Israel lobby. - The American Israel Public Affairs CommitteeAmerican Israel Public Affairs CommitteeThe American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States...
(AIPAC) which directly lobbies the United States CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.... - The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations which "is the main contact between the Jewish community and the executive branch" of the US government.
Christians United for Israel give “every pro-Israel Christian and Christian church the opportunity to stand up and speak up for Israel.” According to the group's founder and head, Pastor John Hagee
John Hagee
John Charles Hagee is an American founder and senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, a non-denominational charismatic megachurch with more than 19,000 active members...
, the members “ask the leadership of our government to stop putting pressure on Israel to divide Jerusalem and the land of Israel.”
In his 2006 book The Restoration of Israel: Christian Zionism in Religion, Literature, and Politics, historian Gerhard Falk
Gerhard Falk
Gerhard Falk is an American historian and sociologist. He was born Gerhard Falck in Hamburg, Germany.Dr. Falk is a professor of sociology at the .-Books:*The American Criminal Justice System...
describes the evangelical Christian groups that lobby on behalf of Israel as being so numerous that "it is not possible to list" them all, although many are linked via the National Association of Evangelicals
National Association of Evangelicals
The National Association of Evangelicals is a fellowship of member denominations, churches, organizations, and individuals. Its goal is to honor God by connecting and representing evangelicals in the United States. Today it works in four main areas: Church & Faith Partners, Government Relations,...
. It is a "powerful religious lobby" that actively supports Israel in Washington.
According to the author of Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, Michelle Goldberg
Michelle Goldberg
Michelle Goldberg is a Brooklyn-based journalist and the author of the books Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, and The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World. She is formerly a contributing writer at Salon.com...
, "Evangelical Christians have substantial influence on US Middle East Policy, more so than some better-known names such as AIPAC."
According to Mitchell Bard, the two Jewish groups aim to present policy makers with unified and representative messages via the aggregation and filtering of the diversity of opinions held by smaller pro-Israel lobby groups and the wider American Jewish community. The diverse spectrum of opinions held by American Jewry is reflected in the many formal pro-Israel groups, and as such some analysts make a distinction within the Israel lobby between right-leaning
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
and left-leaning
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
groups. This diversity became more pronounced following Israel’s acceptance of the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
, which split “liberal universalists” and “hard-core Zionists --- the Orthodox community and right wing Jews”. This division mirrored a similar split for and against the Oslo process in Israel, and led to a parallel rift within the pro-Israel lobby. During the 2008 election campaign
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
, Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
implicitly noted differences within the lobby in his comment that "there is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says, 'unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel, that you’re anti-Israel,' and that can’t be the measure of our friendship with Israel." Commentary Magazine, notes “It was an odd choice of words—Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
has not been Israel’s governing party for more than three years—but what Obama clearly meant was that an American politician should not have to express fealty to the most hard-line ideas relating to Israel’s security to be considered a supporter of Israel’s.”
US foreign policy scholars John Mearsheimer
John Mearsheimer
John J. Mearsheimer is an American professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. He is an international relations theorist. Known for his book on offensive realism, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, more recently Mearsheimer has attracted attention for co-authoring and publishing...
and Stephen Walt
Stephen Walt
Stephen Martin Walt is a professor of international affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Among his most prominent works are and . He coauthored The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy with John Mearsheimer.-Education and career:In 1983, he received a Ph.D. in...
, focusing almost exclusively on Jewish groups, define the core of the lobby to include the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Washington Institute for Near East Policy
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy is a think tank based in Washington, D.C. focused on United States foreign policy in the Middle East. It was established by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in 1985...
, the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
and Christians United for Israel
Christians United For Israel
Christians United for Israel is an American pro-Israel Christian organization that defines itself as "a national grassroots movement focused on the support of Israel." It is the "largest" pro-Israel organization in the United States....
. Other key organizations which they state work to benefit Israel, in many cases by influencing US foreign policy, include the American Jewish Congress
American Jewish Congress
The American Jewish Congress describes itself as an association of Jewish Americans organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts....
, the Zionist Organization of America
Zionist Organization of America
The Zionist Organization of America , founded in 1897, was one of the first official Zionist organizations in the United States, and, especially early in the 20th century, the primary representative of Jewish Americans to the World Zionist Organization, espousing primarily Political Zionism.Today,...
, the Israel Policy Forum
Israel Policy Forum
The Israel Policy Forum is a New York, NY based American Jewish organization that works for a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. The organization lobbies American policymakers in support of this goal and writes opinion pieces that have appeared in many Jewish and non-Jewish...
, the American Jewish Committee
American Jewish Committee
The American Jewish Committee was "founded in 1906 with the aim of rallying all sections of American Jewry to defend the rights of Jews all over the world...
, the Religious Action Center
Religious Action Center
The Religious Action Center is the political and legislative outreach arm of Reform Judaism in the United States. The RAC is operated under the auspices of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, a joint body of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Union for Reform Judaism...
of Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
, Americans for a Safe Israel
Americans for a Safe Israel
Americans for a Safe Israel is an American Jewish group that opposes all territorial withdrawals by Israel. It supports the Israeli settlement movement and campaigned against the Oslo Accords and the evacuation of settlers from Gaza....
, American Friends of Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
, Mercaz
Masorti
The Masorti Movement is the name given to Conservative Judaism in Israel and other countries outside Canada and U.S. Masorti means "traditional" in Hebrew...
-USA, and Hadassah
Hadassah
Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America is an American Jewish volunteer women's organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organizations, with around...
. Fifty-one of the largest and most important come together in the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, whose self-described mission includes “forging diverse groups into a unified force for Israel’s well-being” and working to “strengthen and foster the special US-Israel relationship”
Stephen Zunes
Stephen Zunes
Stephen Zunes is an international relations scholar specializing in the Middle East specializing in Middle Eastern politics, U.S. foreign policy, and strategic nonviolent action. He is known internationally as a leading critic of United States policy in the Middle East, particularly under the...
, in a response to Mearsheimer and Walt, lists "Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now , the United States partner of Israel’s Shalom Achshav organization, is an American coalition working to help Israel achieve a secure peace with the Arab states and the Palestinian people...
, the Tikkun Community
Tikkun (magazine)
Tikkun is a quarterly English-language magazine, published in the United States, that analyzes American and Israeli culture, politics, religion and history from a leftist-progressive viewpoint, and provides commentary about Israeli politics and Jewish life in North America...
, Brit Tzedek v' Shalom, and the Israel Policy Forum
Israel Policy Forum
The Israel Policy Forum is a New York, NY based American Jewish organization that works for a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. The organization lobbies American policymakers in support of this goal and writes opinion pieces that have appeared in many Jewish and non-Jewish...
" as "pro-Israel" organizations that, unlike the right-leaning organizations focused on by Mearsheimer and Walt, are opposed to "the occupation, the settlements
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
, the separation wall
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
, and Washington's unconditional support for Israeli policies." These organizations, however, are not PACs
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
and therefore, like AIPAC, are prohibited by campaign finance regulations
Campaign finance in the United States
Campaign finance in the United States is the financing of electoral campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels.At the federal level, the primary source of campaign funds is individuals; political action committees are a distant second. Contributions from both are limited, and direct...
from financially supporting political campaigns of candidates for federal office.
Right-leaning groups
John MearsheimerJohn Mearsheimer
John J. Mearsheimer is an American professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. He is an international relations theorist. Known for his book on offensive realism, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, more recently Mearsheimer has attracted attention for co-authoring and publishing...
and Stephen Walt
Stephen Walt
Stephen Martin Walt is a professor of international affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Among his most prominent works are and . He coauthored The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy with John Mearsheimer.-Education and career:In 1983, he received a Ph.D. in...
state in their controversial bestseller, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy is the title of a book by John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and Stephen Walt, Professor of International Relations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, published in late August 2007...
, that the tone of the right-leaning component of the Israel lobby results from the influence of the leaders of the two top lobby groups: AIPAC, and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. They go on to list, as right-leaning think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
s associated with the lobby, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Washington Institute for Near East Policy
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy is a think tank based in Washington, D.C. focused on United States foreign policy in the Middle East. It was established by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in 1985...
, the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
, and the Hudson Institute
Hudson Institute
The Hudson Institute is an American think tank founded in 1961, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation...
. They also state that the media watchdog group Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America is an American non-profit pro-Israel media watchdog group. The group says it was founded in 1982 "to respond to the Washington Post's coverage of Israel's Lebanon incursion", and to respond to what it considers the media's "general...
is part of the right-wing component of the lobby.
In his controversial bestseller, The Case for Peace
The Case for Peace
The Case for Peace: How The Arab–Israeli Conflict Can Be Resolved is the sequel to The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz.-Summary:Dershowitz was originally planning to write The Case Against Israel's Enemies, however, after the death of Yasser Arafat the author chose to focus on more positive and...
, Alan Dershowitz
Alan Dershowitz
Alan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He has spent most of his career at Harvard Law School where in 1967, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor of law in its history...
also of Harvard, argues that the most right-leaning pro-Israel groups in the United States are not Jews at all, but Evangelical Christians. Dershowitz cites "Stand for Israel, an organization devoted to mobilizing Evangelical Christian support for Israel" co-founded by "[f]ormer Christian Coalition executive director Ralph Reed
Ralph E. Reed, Jr.
Ralph Eugene Reed, Jr., is a conservative American political activist, best known as the first executive director of the Christian Coalition during the early 1990s. He sought the Republican nomination for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Georgia but lost the primary election on July 18, 2006,...
." Although the rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
of most groups like Stand for Israel is similar to their Jewish-based counterparts, some individuals have based their support on specific biblical passages, thus they have been vulnerable to criticism from Israelis and US Jews for having "ulterior motives" such as the fulfillment of "prerequisite to the Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
" or having "better access for proselytizing among Jews."
Left-leaning groups
J Street
J Street is a nonprofit liberal advocacy group based in the United States whose stated aim is to promote American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Israel-Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. It was founded in April 2008....
was established, describing itself as the only federal "pro-peace, pro-Israel" Political Action Committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
(PAC). Its goal is to provide meaningful political and financial support to candidates for federal office from US citizens who believe a new direction in US policy will advance US interests in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and promote real peace and security for Israel. Founded by former President Bill Clinton
Presidency of Bill Clinton
The United States Presidency of Bill Clinton, also known as the Clinton Administration, was the executive branch of the federal government of the United States from January 20, 1993 to January 20, 2001. Clinton was the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second full term...
advisor Jeremy Ben Ami and policy analyst Daniel Levy and supported by prominent Israeli politicians and high-ranking officers (see Letter of support from prominent Israeli leaders), J Street supports diplomatic solutions over military ones, including with Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
; multilateral over unilateral approaches to conflict resolution
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
; and dialog over confrontation with a wide range of countries and actors.
Means of influence
The means via which Israel lobby groups exert influence are similar to the means via which other similar lobbies, such as the National Rifle AssociationNational Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
(NRA) and the AARP
AARP
AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is the United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator from California, and based in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement, it is "a...
(formerly known as "American Association of Retired Persons"), exert influence. A number of commentators have asserted that the Israel lobby has undue or pervasive influence over U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. However, other commentators note that no similar volume of criticism exists concerning the NRA, AARP or other major political lobbies, and claim that much of this criticism is based on anti-Semitic notions of a Jewish conspiracy.
Voting power
According to Bard, "Jews have devoted themselves to politics with almost religious fervor." He cites that "Jews have the highest percentage voter turnout of any ethnic groupEthnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
" and that of the American Jewish population "roughly 94 percent live in thirteen key electoral college
United States Electoral College
The Electoral College consists of the electors appointed by each state who formally elect the President and Vice President of the United States. Since 1964, there have been 538 electors in each presidential election...
states" which alone "are worth enough electoral votes to elect the president. If you add the non-Jews shown by opinion polls to be as pro-Israel as Jews, it is clear Israel has the support of one of the largest veto
Veto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
groups in the country." Bard goes on to say that for United States congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
men "there are no benefits to candidates taking an openly anti-Israel stance and considerable costs in both loss of campaign contributions and votes from Jews and non-Jews alike."
"Most important fact about the Jewish vote in America", according to Jeffrey S. Helmreich of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is a public policy think tank devoted to research and analysis of critical issues facing the Middle East. The center is located in Jerusalem, Israel...
, "lies in the fact that it is a uniquely swayable bloc. [...] The issue of support for Israel [by a candidate] has proven capable of spurring a sizable portion of Jews to switch parties—in large enough numbers to tip the scales in national or statewide elections. Moreover, the "Israel swing vote" is especially open to political courtship because, unlike the interests of other minority groups, support for Israel has long been compatible with traditional Republican and Democratic agendas. … On the other hand, being distinctively unsupportive of Israel can significantly hurt a candidate's chances."
Campaign donations
"Political campaign contributionsCampaign finance
Campaign finance refers to all funds that are raised and spent in order to promote candidates, parties or policies in some sort of electoral contest. In modern democracies such funds are not necessarily devoted to election campaigns. Issue campaigns in referendums, party activities and party...
", writes Mitchell Bard, "are also considered an important means of influence; typically, Jews have been major benefactors."
According to Bard, objective quantification that the impact of campaign contributions have on "legislative outcomes, particularly with regard to Israel-related issues" is difficult. This is because raw analysis of contributions statistics do not take into account "non-monetary factors" and whether or not "a candidate is pro-Israel because of receiving a contribution, or receives a donation as a result of taking a position in support of Israel."
Targeting
AIPAC does not give donations directly to candidates, but those who donate to AIPAC are often important political contributors in their own right. In addition, AIPAC helps connect donors with candidates, especially to the network of pro-Israel political action committees. AIPAC president Howard Friedman says “AIPAC meets with every candidate running for Congress. These candidates receive in-depth briefings to help them completely understand the complexities of Israel’s predicament and that of the Middle East as a whole. We even ask each candidate to author a ‘position paper’ on their views of the US-Israel relationship – so it’s clear where they stand on the subject.”
This process has become more targeted over time according to Bard, "In the past, Jewish contributions were less structured and targeted than other interest groups, but this has changed dramatically as Israel-related political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
s (PACs) have proliferated." Among politicians considered unfriendly to Israel who AIPAC has helped defeat include Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...
, Paul Findley
Paul Findley
Paul Findley is a former United States Representative from Illinois, representing its 20th District. A Republican, he was first elected in 1961. Findley lost his seat in 1982 to current United States Senator Dick Durbin. Findley attended Illinois College and is a member of Phi Alpha Literary Society...
, Earl Hillard, Pete McCloskey
Pete McCloskey
Paul Norton "Pete" McCloskey Jr. is a former Republican politician from the U.S. state of California who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983. He ran on an anti-war platform for the Republican nomination for President in 1972 but was defeated by incumbent President...
, Senators William Fulbright and Roger Jepson, and Adlai Stevenson
Adlai Stevenson III
Adlai Ewing Stevenson III is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He represented the state of Illinois in the United States Senate from 1970 until 1981.-Education, military service, and early career:...
in his campaign for governor of Illinois in 1982. The defeat of Charles H. Percy
Charles H. Percy
Charles Harting "Chuck" Percy was president of the Bell & Howell Corporation from 1949 to 1964. He was elected United States Senator from Illinois in 1966, re-elected through his term ending in 1985; he concentrated on business and foreign relations...
, Senator for Illinois until 1985, has been attributed to AIPAC-co-ordinated donations to his opponent after he supported the sale of AWACS planes to Saudi Arabia
US/Saudi AWACS Sale
The sale of AWACS surveillance planes to Saudi Arabia by the United States administration of President Ronald Reagan was a controversial part of what was then the largest foreign arms sale in US history...
. Donations included $1.1 million on anti-Percy advertising by Michael Goland, who was also a major contributor to AIPAC. Former executive director of AIPAC, Tom Dine
Tom Dine
Tom Dine is the current senior policy advisor at Israel Policy Forum , assisting with policy, programming, and development decision-making in the Washington office...
, was quoted as saying, "All the Jews in America, from coast to coast, gathered to oust Percy. And the American politicians - those who hold public positions now, and those who aspire - got the message".
Financial figures
A summary of pro-Israel campaign donations for the period of 1990–2008 collected by Center for Responsive Politics
Center for Responsive Politics
The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
indicates current totals and a general increase in proportional donations to the US Republican party since 1996. The Washington Post summarized the Center for Responsive Politics' 1990–2006 data and concluded that "Pro-Israel interests have contributed $56.8 million in individual, group and soft money donations to federal candidates and party committees since 1990." In contrast, Arab-Americans and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
PACs contributed slightly less than $800,000 during the same (1990–2006) period.
J.J. Goldberg
J.J. Goldberg
J. J. Goldberg is Editor-at-Large of the newspaper The Forward, where he served as editor in chief for seven years . He served in the past as U.S...
wrote in his 1994 book Jewish Power that 45% of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
’s fundraising and 25% of that for the Republican Party came from Jewish-funded Political Action Committees. Richard Cohen
Richard Cohen
Richard Cohen may refer to:*Richard Cohen , syndicated columnist for the Washington Post*Richard Cohen , a British Olympic fencer and author of Chasing the Sun*Richard A. Cohen, advocate of conversion therapy...
, a columnist for the Washington Post, updated those figures in 2006 citing figures of 60% and 35% respectively for the Democratic and Republican Parties. According to the Washington Post, Democratic presidential candidates depend on Jewish sources for 60% of money from private sources.
Education of politicians
According to Mitchell Bard, Israel lobbyists also educate politicians by"taking them to Israel on study missions. Once officials have direct exposure to the country, its leaders, geography, and security dilemmas, they typically return more sympathetic to Israel. Politicians also sometimes travel to Israel specifically to demonstrate to the lobby their interest in Israel. Thus, for example, George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
made his one and only trip to Israel before deciding to run for President in what was widely viewed as an effort to win pro-Israel voters' support."
Think tanks
Mearsheimer and Walt state that “pro-Israel figures have established a commanding presence at the American Enterprise InstituteAmerican Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
, the Center for Security Policy
Center for Security Policy
The Center for Security Policy is a Washington, D.C. think tank that focuses on national security issues. The Center was founded in 1988 by Frank Gaffney, Jr....
, the Foreign Policy Research Institute
Foreign Policy Research Institute
The Foreign Policy Research Institute is an American neoconservative think tank based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is "devoted to bringing the insights of scholarship to bear on the development of policies that advance U.S...
, the Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
, the Hudson Institute
Hudson Institute
The Hudson Institute is an American think tank founded in 1961, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation...
, the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit think-tank focusing on issues of United States and Israel in national security. JINSA's stated aim is threefold: to ensure a strong and effective U.S...
. These think tanks are all decidedly pro-Israel and include few, if any, critics of US support for the Jewish state.”
In 2002, the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
founded the Saban Center for Middle East Policy
Saban Center for Middle East Policy
The Saban Center for Middle East Policy is a center within the Brookings Institution focused on the United States' involvement in the Middle East...
, named after Haim Saban
Haim Saban
Haim Saban is an Egyptian born Israeli-American television and media proprietor. With an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 104th richest person in America.-Biography:...
, an Israeli-American media proprietor, who donated $13 million toward its establishment. Saban has stated of himself, “I’m a one issue guy, and my issue is Israel”, and was described by the New York Times as a “tireless cheerleader for Israel.” The Centre is directed by AIPAC’s former deputy director of research, Martin Indyk
Martin Indyk
Martin Sean Indyk is Vice President and Director for Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Indyk served as United States ambassador to Israel and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs during the Clinton Administration. He is known as the framer of the U.S...
.
Frontline
Frontline (magazine)
Frontline is a fortnightly English language magazine published by The Hindu Group of publications from Chennai, India. Narasimhan Ram is the editor-in-chief of the magazine. As a current affairs magazine, it covers domestic and International news. Frontline gives a prominent place to various...
, an Indian current affairs magazine, asked rhetorically why the administration of George W Bush
George W. Bush's first term as President of the United States
George W. Bush's first term as president of the United States began on January 20, 2001 and continued until his second term commenced on January 20, 2005...
that seemed "so eager to please [Bush's] Gulf allies, particularly the Saudis
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, go out of its way to take the side of Ariel Sharon's Israel? Two public policy organizations give us a sense of an answer: the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Washington Institute for Near East Policy
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy is a think tank based in Washington, D.C. focused on United States foreign policy in the Middle East. It was established by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in 1985...
(WINEP) and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit think-tank focusing on issues of United States and Israel in national security. JINSA's stated aim is threefold: to ensure a strong and effective U.S...
(JINSA)." Frontline reported that "WINEP tended to toe the line of whatever party came to power in Israel" while "JINSA was the U.S. offshoot of the right-wing Likud Party." According to Frontline, JINSA had close ties to the administration of George W Bush in that it "draws from the most conservative hawks in the U.S. establishment for its board of directors" including Vice-President Richard Cheney, and Bush administration appointees John Bolton
John R. Bolton
John Robert Bolton is an American lawyer and diplomat who has served in several Republican presidential administrations. He served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 on a recess appointment...
, Douglas Feith
Douglas Feith
Douglas J. Feith served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy for United States President George W. Bush from July 2001 until August 2005. His official responsibilities included the formulation of defense planning guidance and forces policy, United States Department of Defense relations...
, Paul Wolfowitz
Paul Wolfowitz
Paul Dundes Wolfowitz is a former United States Ambassador to Indonesia, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, President of the World Bank, and former dean of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University...
, Lewis Libby
Lewis Libby
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is a former adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, later disbarred and convicted of a felony....
, Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad is a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and president of Khalilzad Associates, an international business consulting firm based in Washington, DC. He was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush...
, Richard Armitage
Richard Armitage (politician)
Richard Lee Armitage, GCMG AC CNZM was the 13th United States Deputy Secretary of State, the second-in-command at the State Department, serving from 2001 to 2005.-Early life and military career:...
and Elliott Abrams
Elliott Abrams
Elliott Abrams is an American attorney and neoconservative policy analyst who served in foreign policy positions for two Republican U.S. Presidents, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. While serving for Reagan and in the State Department, Abrams, Paul Wolfowitz, and retired U.S. Marine Corps officer...
. Jason Vest
Jason Vest
Jason Vest is an investigative journalist best known for his reporting in connection with the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal. He is a Senior Correspondent for The American Prospect, and a contributor to the Boston Phoenix, Government Executive, The Nation, National Journal, Salon,...
, writing in the The Nation, alleges that both the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit think-tank focusing on issues of United States and Israel in national security. JINSA's stated aim is threefold: to ensure a strong and effective U.S...
and the Center for Security Policy
Center for Security Policy
The Center for Security Policy is a Washington, D.C. think tank that focuses on national security issues. The Center was founded in 1988 by Frank Gaffney, Jr....
thinktanks are "underwritten by far-right American Zionists" and that they both "effectively hold there is no difference between US and Israeli national security interests, and that the only way to assure continued safety and prosperity for both countries is through hegemony in the Middle East a hegemony achieved with the traditional cold war recipe of feints, force, clientism and covert action."
Media and public discourse
Stephen ZunesStephen Zunes
Stephen Zunes is an international relations scholar specializing in the Middle East specializing in Middle Eastern politics, U.S. foreign policy, and strategic nonviolent action. He is known internationally as a leading critic of United States policy in the Middle East, particularly under the...
writes that "mainstream and conservative Jewish organizations have mobilized considerable lobbying resources, financial contributions from the Jewish community, and citizen pressure on the news media and other forums of public discourse in support of the Israeli government." Journalist Michael Massing
Michael Massing
Michael Massing is a contributing editor of the Columbia Journalism Review. Michael Massing received his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard and an MS from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He often writes for the New York Review of Books concerning the media and foreign affairs...
writes that "Jewish organizations are quick to detect bias in the coverage of the Middle East, and quick to complain about it. That's especially true of late. As The Forward
The Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
observed in late April [2002], 'rooting out perceived anti-Israel bias in the media has become for many American Jews the most direct and emotional outlet for connecting with the conflict 6,000 miles away.'"
The Forward related how one individual felt:
"'There's a great frustration that American Jews want to do something,' said Ira Youdovin, executive vice president of the Chicago Board of Rabbis. 'In 1947, some number would have enlisted in the HaganahIndicative of the diversity of opinion is a 2003 Boston Globe profile of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in AmericaHaganahHaganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
,' he said, referring to the pre-state Jewish armed force. 'There was a special American brigade. Nowadays you can't do that. The battle here is the hasbaraHasbaraPublic diplomacy in Israel refers to public relations efforts to disseminate information about Israel. The term is used by the Israeli government and its supporters to describe efforts to explain government policies and promote Israel in the face of what they consider negative press about Israel...
h war,' Youdovin said, using a Hebrew term for public relationsPublic relationsPublic relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
. 'We're winning, but we're very much concerned about the bad stuff.'"
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America is an American non-profit pro-Israel media watchdog group. The group says it was founded in 1982 "to respond to the Washington Post's coverage of Israel's Lebanon incursion", and to respond to what it considers the media's "general...
media watchdog group in which Mark Jurkowitz observes: "To its supporters, CAMERA is figuratively - and perhaps literally - doing God's work, battling insidious anti-Israeli bias in the media. But its detractors see CAMERA as a myopic and vindictive special interest group trying to muscle its views into media coverage." A former spokesman for the Israeli Consulate in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
said that the result of this lobbying of the media was: “Of course, a lot of self-censorship goes on. Journalists, editors, and politicians are going to think twice about criticizing Israel if they know they are going to get thousands of angry calls in a matter of hours. The Jewish lobby is good at orchestrating pressure.”
In addition to traditional media, Israeli public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
on the internet also is targeted with software called the Megaphone desktop tool
Megaphone desktop tool
The Megaphone desktop tool is a discontinued Windows "action alert" tool developed by Give Israel Your United Support and distributed by World Union of Jewish Students, World Jewish Congress, The Jewish Agency for Israel, World Zionist Organization, StandWithUs, Hasbara fellowships,...
, which is designed and promoted by pro-Israel interest groups. Regarding the 'Megaphone', the Times Online reported in 2006 that the Israeli Foreign Ministry "ordered trainee diplomats to track websites and chatrooms so that networks of US and European groups with hundreds of thousands of Jewish activists can place supportive messages." According to a Jerusalem Post article on the 'Megaphone', Israel's Foreign Ministry was "urging supporters of Israel everywhere to become cyberspace soldiers 'in the new battleground for Israel's image.'" Chris Williams wrote for The Register
The Register
The Register is a British technology news and opinion website. It was founded by John Lettice, Mike Magee and Ross Alderson in 1994 as a newsletter called "Chip Connection", initially as an email service...
: "However it is used, Megaphone is effectively a high-tech exercise in ballot-stuffing. We're calling it lobbyware ."
College campuses
There are a number of organizations that focus on what could be called "pro-Israel activism" on college campuses. With the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa IntifadaAl-Aqsa Intifada
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
in 2001, these groups have been increasingly visible. In 2002, an umbrella organization, that includes many of these groups, known as the Israel on Campus Coalition
Israel On Campus Coalition
The Israel on Campus Coalition is a pro-Israel umbrella organization founded in 2002 under the auspices of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life...
was formed as a result of what they felt were "the worrisome rise in anti-Israel activities on college campuses across North America". The mission of the Israel on Campus Coalition is to "foster support for Israel" and "cultivate an Israel friendly university environment". Members of the Israel on Campus Coalition include the Zionist Organization of America
Zionist Organization of America
The Zionist Organization of America , founded in 1897, was one of the first official Zionist organizations in the United States, and, especially early in the 20th century, the primary representative of Jewish Americans to the World Zionist Organization, espousing primarily Political Zionism.Today,...
, AIPAC, Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now , the United States partner of Israel’s Shalom Achshav organization, is an American coalition working to help Israel achieve a secure peace with the Arab states and the Palestinian people...
, the Anti-defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
, Kesher
KESHER
KESHER is the college outreach arm and campus student organization for Reform Judaism.Its directors have included Paul Reichenbach , David Terdiman , Rabbi Jonathan Klein , Rabbi Andrew Davids, Rabbi Marc Israel, and Lisa David...
, the Union of Progressive Zionists
Union of Progressive Zionists
The Union of Progressive Zionists was a North American network of Jewish student activists who have organized around principles of social justice and peace in Israel and Palestine...
, and a number of other organizations. There has been at least one conflict among these groups, when the right wing Zionist Organization of America unsuccessfully attempted to remove the left wing Union of Progressive Zionists from the coalition when the latter group sponsored lectures by a group of former IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
soldiers who criticized the Israeli Occupation of the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
.
However, there are some who feel that pro-Israel activism on college campuses can cross the line from advocacy to outright intimidation
Intimidation
Intimidation is intentional behavior "which would cause a person of ordinary sensibilities" fear of injury or harm. It's not necessary to prove that the behavior was so violent as to cause terror or that the victim was actually frightened.Criminal threatening is the crime of intentionally or...
. One highly publicized accusation comes from former President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, who complained of great difficulty in gaining access to a number of universities to discuss his new book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid
Palestine Peace Not Apartheid
Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid is a New York Times Best Seller book written by Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. It was published by Simon and Schuster in November 2006....
. In October 2007 about 300 academics under the name The Ad Hoc Committee to Defend the University issued a statement calling for academic freedom from political pressure, in particular from groups portraying themselves as defenders of Israel. In December 2007, the New York Sun
New York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...
reported that student leaders who advocate pro-Israel films and groups on college campuses are eligible for being hired as "emissaries of the Jewish state" for their work and will receive up to $1000 a year for their efforts.
Coordination with Israeli officials
Rabbi Alexander Schindler, former chair of the Conference of Presidents, told an Israeli magazine in 1976, “The Presidents’ Conference and its members have been instruments of official governmental Israeli policy. It was seen as our task to receive directions from government circles and to do our best no matter what to affect the Jewish community.” Hymen Bookbinder, a high ranking official of the American Jewish Committee, said “Unless something is terribly pressing, really critical or fundamental, you parrot Israel’s line in order to retain American support. As American Jews, we don’t go around saying Israel is wrong about its policies.”Bard writes that "by framing the issues in terms of the national interest, AIPAC can attract broader support than would ever be possible if it was perceived to represent only the interests of Israel. This does not mean AIPAC does not have a close relationship with Israeli officials, it does, albeit unofficially. Even so, the lobby some times comes into conflict with the Israeli government."
Responses to criticism of Israel
Zunes writes that "assaults on critics of Israeli policies have been more successful in limiting open debate, but this gagging censorship effect stems more from ignorance and liberal guilt than from any all-powerful Israel lobby." He goes on to explain that while "some criticism of Israel really is rooted in anti-SemitismAnti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
," it is his opinion that some members of the Israel lobby cross the line by labeling intellectually honest critics of Israel as anti-Semitic. Zunes argues that the mainstream and conservative Jewish organizations have "created a climate of intimidation against many who speak out for peace and human rights or who support the Palestinians
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
' right of self-determination
Self-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
." Zunes has been on the receiving end of this criticism himself "As a result of my opposition to US support for the Israeli government's policies of occupation, colonization and repression, I have been deliberately misquoted, subjected to slander and libel, and falsely accused of being "anti-Semitic" and "supporting terrorism"; my children have been harassed and my university's administration has been bombarded with calls for my dismissal."
In an opinion piece for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
wrote that mainstream American politics does not give equal time to the Palestinian side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that this is due at least in part to AIPAC. George Soros
George Soros
George Soros is a Hungarian-American business magnate, investor, philosopher, and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Soros Fund Management. Soros supports progressive-liberal causes...
pointed out that there are risks associated with what was in his opinion a suppression of debate:
"I do not subscribe to the myths propagated by enemies of Israel and I am not blaming Jews for anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism predates the birth of Israel. Neither Israel's policies nor the critics of those policies should be held responsible for anti-Semitism. At the same time, I do believe that attitudes toward Israel are influenced by Israel's policies, and attitudes toward the Jewish community are influenced by the pro-Israel lobby's success in suppressing divergent views."
In his book, The Deadliest Lies
The Deadliest Lies
The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and The Myth of Jewish Control is a book written by Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League.-See also:* Jewish lobby* Israel lobby in the United States...
, Abraham Foxman
Abraham Foxman
Abraham H. Foxman is the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League.-Early life:Foxman, an only son, was born in Baranovichi, just months after the USSR took the town from Poland in the Nazi-Soviet Pact and incorporated it into the BSSR. The town is now in Belarus...
referred to the notion that the pro-Israel lobby is trying to censor criticism of Israel as a "canard
Canard
Canard may refer to:*Nicolas-François Canard , French mathematician and economist*Canard , a small wing mounted on the front of some aircraft, which can be beneficial or detrimental depending on the design of the plane and its intended use*Canard , a phenomenon in some slow-fast dynamical systems...
." Foxman writes that the Jewish community is capable of telling the difference between legitimate criticism of Israel "and the demonization, deligitization, and double standards employed against Israel that is either inherently anti-Semitic or generates an environment of anti-Semitism." Jonathan Rosenblum
Jonathan Rosenblum
Jonathan Rosenblum is the director, spokesperson, and founder of Jewish Media Resources, an organization which attempts to clarify journalists' understanding of Haredi Jewish society.- Career :...
expressed similar thoughts: "Indeed, if there were an Israel lobby, and labeling all criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic were its tactic, the steady drumbeat of criticism of Israel on elite campuses and in the elite press would be the clearest proof of its inefficacy."
Alan Dershowitz
Alan Dershowitz
Alan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He has spent most of his career at Harvard Law School where in 1967, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor of law in its history...
wrote that he welcomes "reasoned, contextual and comparative criticism of Israeli policies and actions." If one of the goals of the pro-Israel lobby was to censor criticism of Israel, Dershowitz writes, "it would prove that 'the Lobby' is a lot less powerful than the authors would have us believe." Dershowitz himself, claims to have written several critical pieces on specific Israeli policies. Dershowitz disagrees with those who believe that the media is uncritical of Israel and cites the frequent New York Times editorials and even an editorial in The Forward
The Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
against some of Israel's more right of center policies as proof. Dershowitz also denies that any significant, mainstream leader in the American Jewish community equates criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism.
Criticism of the term
According to William SafireWilliam Safire
William Lewis Safire was an American author, columnist, journalist and presidential speechwriter....
, the term "Israel Lobby" came into use in the 1970s and, similar to the term "China lobby
China Lobby
In United States politics, the China lobby refers to any special interest group acting on behalf of the governments of either the People's Republic of China or the Republic of China to influence Sino-American relations. During most of the twentieth century, the term "China lobby" was usually used...
", carries "the pejorative connotation of manipulation." He also writes that supporters of Israel gauge the degree of perceived animus towards the Jewish State
Jewish state
A homeland for the Jewish people was an idea that rose to the fore in the 19th century in the wake of growing anti-Semitism and Jewish assimilation. Jewish emancipation in Europe paved the way for two ideological solutions to the Jewish Question: cultural assimilation, as envisaged by Moses...
by the term chosen to refer to the lobby: "pro-Israel lobby" being used by those with the mildest opposition, followed by "Israel lobby", with the term "Jewish lobby" being employed by those with the most extreme anti-Israel opinions.
According to Walt and Mearshimer, "Using the term 'Israel lobby' is itself somewhat misleading...One might more accurately dub this the 'pro-Israel community'..." since this is not the lobby of a foreign country, rather, it is composed of Americans.
Degree of influence
Progressive journalist John R. MacArthurJohn R. MacArthur
John R. "Rick" MacArthur is an American journalist and author of books about US politics. He is the president of Harper's Magazine.- Biography :...
writes
Mearsheimer and Walt have collected and quoted some of the lobbyists' comments on their organizations' political capital. For example, Mearsheimer and Walt quote Morris Amitay, former AIPAC director as saying, "It’s almost politically suicidal ... for a member of Congress who wants to seek reelection to take any stand that might be interpreted as anti-policy of the conservative Israeli government." They also quote a Michael Massing
Michael Massing
Michael Massing is a contributing editor of the Columbia Journalism Review. Michael Massing received his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard and an MS from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He often writes for the New York Review of Books concerning the media and foreign affairs...
article in which a staffer sympathetic to Israel said, "We can count on well over half the House – 250 to 300 members – to do reflexively whatever AIPAC wants." Similarly they cite former AIPAC official Steven Rosen illustrating AIPAC’s power for Jeffrey Goldberg by putting a napkin in front of him and saying, "In twenty-four hours, we could have the signatures of seventy senators on this napkin."
However, some U.S. government officials accept that the Israel lobby is not so powerful that they control U.S. foreign policy. Former Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
George Shultz stated "... the notion that U.S. policy on Israel and Middle East is the result of [the Israel lobby's] influence is simply wrong." Dennis B. Ross, former U.S. ambassador and chief peace negotiator in the Middle East under Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, who is now an official at WINEP, wrote:
"never in the time that I led the American negotiations on the Middle East peace process did we take a step because 'the lobby' wanted us to. Nor did we shy away from one because 'the lobby' opposed it. That is not to say that AIPAC and others have no influence. They do. But they don't distort U.S. policy or undermine American interests."
Individual journalists each have their own opinions on how powerful the Israel lobby is. Glenn Frankel
Glenn Frankel
Glenn Frankel is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and former editor of the Washington Post Sunday magazine. He is also the acclaimed author of two books, "Beyond the Promised Land: Jews and Arabs on the Hard Road to a New Israel" and "Rivonia's Children: Three Families and the Cost of Conscience...
wrote: "On Capitol Hill the Israel lobby commands large majorities in both the House and Senate." Michael Lind
Michael Lind
Michael Lind is an American writer. Currently Lind is Policy Director of the Economic Growth Program at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C., Editor of New American Contract and its blog Value Added, and a columnist for Salon magazine. Lind was a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School and...
produced a cover piece on the Israel lobby for the UK publication Prospect
Prospect (magazine)
Prospect is a monthly British general interest magazine, specialising in politics and current affairs. Frequent topics include British, European, and US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, the media, history, philosophy, and psychology...
in 2002 which concluded, "The truth about America’s Israel lobby is this: it is not all-powerful, but it is still far too powerful for the good of the U.S. and its alliances in the Middle East and elsewhere.". Tony Judt
Tony Judt
Tony Robert Judt FBA was a British historian, essayist, and university professor who specialized in European history. Judt moved to New York and served as the Erich Maria Remarque Professor in European Studies at New York University, and Director of NYU's Erich Maria Remarque Institute...
, writing in the New York Times, asked rhetorically, "Does the Israel Lobby affect our foreign policy choices? Of course that is one of its goals. [...] But does pressure to support Israel distort American decisions? That's a matter of judgment."
Mitchell Bard has conducted a study which attempts to roughly quantify the influence of the Israel lobby on 782 policy decisions, over the period of 1945 to 1984, in order to move the debate on its influence away from simple anecdotes. He
"found the Israeli lobby won; that is, achieved its policy objective, 60 percent of the time. The most important variable was the president's position. When the president supported the lobby, it won 95 percent of the time. At first glance it appears the lobby was only successful because its objectives coincided with those of the president, but the lobby's influence was demonstrated by the fact that it still won 27 percent of the cases when the president opposed its position."
According to a public opinion poll by Zogby International
Zogby International
IBOPE Zogby International is an international market research, opinion polling firm founded in 1984 by John Zogby. The company polls and consults for a wide spectrum of business media, government, and political groups, and conducts public opinion research in more than 70 countries...
of 1,036 likely voters from October 10–12, 2006, 40% of American voters at least somewhat believe the Israel lobby has been a key factor in going to war in Iraq. The following poll question was used: "Question: Do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree that the work of the Israel lobby on Congress and the Bush administration has been a key factor for going to war in Iraq and now confronting Iran?"
Comparison to other lobbies
The closest comparison is probably to other ethnic-group based lobbies that attempt to influence American foreign policy decisions such as the Cuban-American lobbyCuban-American lobby
The Cuban-American lobby describes those various groups of Cuban exiles in the United States and their descendants who have historically influenced the United States' policy toward Cuba...
, the African-American lobby in foreign policy
African-American lobby in foreign policy
The African-American lobby in foreign policy is a loose coalition of African-American groups and individuals who work to influence United States foreign policy in support of Africa.-History:...
and the Armenian American lobby
Armenian American lobby
The Armenian American lobby is a term used to describe the loose coalition of groups and individuals who influence United States foreign policy in support of Armenia and its policies....
, although the lobby has also been compared to the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
and the lobby for the Pharmaceutical industry. In comparing the Israel Lobby to the NRA, Glenn Frankel concludes that "Nevertheless, the Israel lobby, and AIPAC in particular, gained a reputation as the National Rifle Association of foreign policy: a hard-edged, pugnacious bunch that took names and kept score. But in some ways it was even stronger. The NRA's support was largely confined to right-wing Republicans and rural Democrats. But AIPAC made inroads in both parties and both ends of the ideological spectrum."
Zunes describes that some groups who lobby against current U.S. policy on Israel "have accepted funding from autocratic Arab regimes, thereby damaging their credibility" while others have "taken hard-line positions that not only oppose the Israeli occupation but challenge Israel's very right to exist
Right to exist
The right to exist is said to be an attribute of nations. According to an essay by the nineteenth century French philosopher Ernest Renan, a state has the right to exist when individuals are willing to sacrifice their own interests for the community it represents. Unlike self-determination, the...
and are therefore not taken seriously by most policymakers." Zunes writes that many lobbying groups on the left, such as Peace Action
Peace Action
Peace Action is a peace organization formed through the merger of The Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy and the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign...
, are "more prone to complain about the power of the Israel lobby and its affiliated PACs than to do serious lobbying on this issue or condition its own PAC contributions on support for a more moderate U.S. policy" in the region. Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
, political activist and professor of linguistics at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, writes that "there are far more powerful interests that have a stake in what happens in the Persian Gulf region than does AIPAC [or the Lobby generally], such as the oil companies, the arms industry and other special interests whose lobbying influence and campaign contributions far surpass that of the much-vaunted Zionist lobby and its allied donors to congressional races."
However, while comparing the Israel Lobby with the Arab Lobby, Mitchell Bard notes that "From the beginning, the Arab lobby has faced not only a disadvantage in electoral politics but also in organization. There are several politically oriented groups, but many of these are one man operations with little financial or popular support." The Arab American Institute
Arab American Institute
Founded in 1985, the Arab American Institute is a non-profit membership organization based in Washington D.C. that focuses on the issues and interests of Arab-Americans nationwide. James Zogby, brother of pollster John Zogby, is founder and president of the AAI....
is involved in supporting Arab-American political candidates, but, according to award-winning journalist Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania is an Arab-American Palestinian Christian journalist also known for his stand-up comedy. Hanania writes a syndicated column with a particular focus on the Middle East, and after the September 11 attacks, created Comedians of Middle East conflict, a comedy act with the hope of defusing...
"it’s nothing compared to the funds that AIPAC raises not just for Jewish American congressmen, but for congressmen who support Israel." Furthermore, Arab American lobbies face a problem of motivation; Jewish Americans feel the need to support their homeland (as well as other states in the Middle East who have signed peace treaties with Israel) in active, organized ways. Arab Americans do not appear to have a similar motivation when it comes to their own homelands.
Israel and U.S. interests
In 2011, the Washington Institute for Near East PolicyWashington Institute for Near East Policy
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy is a think tank based in Washington, D.C. focused on United States foreign policy in the Middle East. It was established by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in 1985...
confirmed that the U.S.-Israel relationship is "A Strategic Asset for the United States." In discussing their report, Walter B. Slocombe
Walter B. Slocombe
Walter Becker Slocombe is a former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and was the Senior Advisor for Security and Defence to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad ....
said that while in the popular imagination, the U.S.-Israel relationship is only good for Israel, the fact is that Israel provides enormous assistance to the United States, including military expertise which has saved American lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Robert D. Blackwill refuted the claim that the U.S.-Israel relationship significantly damages the relationship between the United States and the Arab world. He asked rhetorically:
"Would Saudi Arabia's policies toward the United States be markedly different in practice if Washington entered into a sustained crisis with Israel over the Palestine issue during which the bilateral relationship between the United States and Israel went into steep, systemic decline? In that instance, would Riyadh lower the price of oil? Would it stop hedging its regional bets concerning U.S. attempts to coerce Iran into freezing its nuclear weapons program? Would it regard U.S. policy toward Afghanistan any less critically? Would it view American democracy promotion in the Middle East more favorably? Would it be more inclined to reform its internal governmental processes to be more in line with U.S. preferences? Walt [Slocombe] and I judge the answer to all these questions [to be] 'No.'"When asked how this report can so flatly contradict the Walt and Mearsheimer thesis, Slocombe responded, "There is so much error in the world," and added, "I think it would be interesting to ask them whether they make the same contrary argument about the other countries to whom we also provide something like this kind of support. There are obviously differences, but the principle is the same."
The Israel Project
Israel Project
The Israel Project is a US-based 501 non-profit, educational organization that gets facts about Israel and the Middle East to press, public officials and the public.” The Israel Project is not affiliated with any government. TIP has offices in the USA and Israel, and "works tirelessly to help...
noted in 2009 that "when you’re talking to Americans, you need to know that when you don’t support a two-state solution you risk having a major public relations challenge in America and Europe."
In a 2008 editorial, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian and author Michael B. Oren wrote that Israel and the United States are natural allies, despite what the opposition from "much of American academia and influential segments of the media." This is because Israel and the United States share similar values such as "respect for civic rights and the rule of law" and democracy. Israel and the United States share military intelligence in order to fight terrorism. Oren also notes that "more than 70% of [Americans], according to recent polls, favor robust ties with the Jewish state."
In his 2007 review of Mearsheimer and Walt's book, Jeffrey Goldberg
Jeffrey Goldberg
Jeffrey Mark Goldberg is an American journalist. He is an author and a staff writer for The Atlantic, having previously worked for The New Yorker. Goldberg writes principally on foreign affairs, with a focus on the Middle East and Africa...
wrote:
"Forty years of polling has consistently shown that Americans support Israel in its conflict with the Arabs. ... Both Israel and America were founded by refugees from European religious intolerance; both are rooted in a common religious tradition; Israel is a lively democracy in a part of the world that lacks democracy; Israelis seem self-reliant in the manner of American pioneers; and Israel's enemies, in many cases, seem to be America's enemies as well."
Israeli academic and political activist Jeff Halper
Jeff Halper
Jeff Halper is an anthropologist, author, lecturer, political activist, and co-founder and Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions...
said that "Israel is able to pursue its occupation only because of its willingness to serve Western (mainly U.S.) imperial interests" and that rather than influencing the United States via the lobby, Israel is actually "a handmaiden
Handmaiden
A handmaiden is a female attendant, assistant, domestic worker , or slave.-Religion:Norse goddesses had handmaidens, . The biblical Mary referred to herself as "the handmaid of the Lord" in acceptance of becoming pregnant by the Holy Ghost.A man might use a handmaiden as a concubine to bear his...
of American Empire." According to political scientists John J. Mearsheimer (University of Chicago) and Stephen M. Walt (Harvard University), though, "the combination of unwavering U.S. support for Israel and the related effort to spread democracy throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardized U.S. security." They allege that while "one might assume that the bond between the two countries is based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives....neither of those explanations can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the United States provides to Israel." Robert Satloff
Robert Satloff
Robert Satloff is an American writer and, since January 1993, the executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy . Satloff's expertise includes "U.S...
cited the events of May–June 2010 (in which Israel stopped a flotilla meant to break its blockade of the Gaza Strip and yet, a few days later, every country expected to vote U.N. sanctions against Iran ended up voting as the U.S. wanted them to) as a counter-example that proves this point of view to be false. Goldberg similarly cited the Arab protests in 2011
2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests
The Arab Spring , otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010...
to prove the absurdity of Walt and Mearsheimer's point:
"It seems as if the Arab masses have been much less upset about Israel's treatment of the Palestinians than they have been about their own treatment at the hands of their unelected leaders. If Israel ceased to exist tomorrow, Arabs would still be upset at the quality of their leadership (and they would still blame the United States for supporting the autocrats who make them miserable); Iran would still continue its drive to expunge American influence from the Middle East; and al Qaeda would still seek to murder Americans and other Westerners."
In 2006 former UN weapons inspector
United Nations Special Commission
United Nations Special Commission was an inspection regime created by the United Nations to ensure Iraq's compliance with policies concerning Iraqi production and use of weapons of mass destruction after the Gulf War...
in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
Scott Ritter
Scott Ritter
William Scott Ritter, Jr. was an important United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, and later a critic of United States foreign policy in the Middle East. Prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Ritter stated that Iraq possessed no significant weapons of mass...
published Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change (ISBN 978-1-56025-936-7). In his book Ritter states that certain Israelis and pro-Israel elements in the United States are trying to push the Bush administration into war with Iran. He also accuses the U.S. pro-Israel lobby of dual loyalty
Dual loyalty
In politics, dual loyalty is loyalty to two separate interests that potentially conflict with each other.-Inherently controversial:While nearly all examples of alleged "dual loyalty" are considered highly controversial, these examples point to the inherent difficulty in distinguishing between what...
and outright espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
(see Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal).
Media coverage of lobby
American journalist Michael MassingMichael Massing
Michael Massing is a contributing editor of the Columbia Journalism Review. Michael Massing received his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard and an MS from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He often writes for the New York Review of Books concerning the media and foreign affairs...
argues that there is a lack of media coverage on the Israel lobby and posits this explanation: "Why the blackout? For one thing, reporting on these groups is not easy. AIPAC's power makes potential sources reluctant to discuss the organization on the record, and employees who leave it usually sign pledges of silence. AIPAC officials themselves rarely give interviews, and the organization even resists divulging its board of directors." Massing writes that in addition to AIPAC's efforts to maintain a low profile, "journalists, meanwhile, are often loath to write about the influence of organized Jewry. [...] In the end, though, the main obstacle to covering these groups is fear." Steven Rosen
Steven Rosen
Stephen Rosen may refer to:*Stephen Peter Rosen, Professor of National Security and Military Affairs at Harvard University*Steven M. Rosen, Canadian psychologist and philosopher...
, a former director of foreign-policy issues for AIPAC, explained to Jeffrey Goldberg of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
that "a lobby is like a night flower: it thrives in the dark and dies in the sun."
Critics of the Mearsheimer and Walt thesis note that while it is true that there are many individual pro-Israel op-ed columnists, the argument that the media as a whole is part of the Israel lobby cannot be concluded from the Mearsheimer and Walt's cherry picked evidence, which amounts to a thinly disguised version of a classic antisemitic "Jews control the media" canard:
"Walt and Mearsheimer undermine our intelligence by assuming that we are simply being manipulated. ... If the lobby is so influential over the media, how were Walt and Mearsheimer given such space in every major news outlet in the country to express their 'dangerous' views? You want to tell me that a force that can impel us to got [sic] to war in Iraq can’t find a way to censor two academics? Not much of a lobby, now is it?"Gal Beckerman, writing for the Columbia Journalism Review
Columbia Journalism Review
The Columbia Journalism Review is an American magazine for professional journalists published bimonthly by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961....
, cited examples of op-eds critical of Israel from several major U.S. newspapers and concluded that an equally compelling argument could be made that the Israel lobby doesn't control the media. Itamar Rabinovich
Itamar Rabinovich
- External links :* - an official page on the Israeli Embassy website.* , from Jewish Library.* at the Kennedy School of Government.* , NYU biography.* , Haaretz , November 2, 2007.* , another mini-bio....
, writing for the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
, wrote, "The truth of the matter is that, insofar as the lobby ever tries to intimidate and silence, the effort usually causes more damage than it redresses. In any event, the power of the lobby to do that is very modest."
On The Diane Rehm Show
The Diane Rehm Show
The Diane Rehm Show is a National Public Radio call-in show based in the United States. In October, 2007, The Diane Rehm Show was named to Audience Research Analysis’ list of the top ten most powerful national programs in public radio – the only talk show on the list...
(December 11, 2006), Middle East experts Hisham Melhem
Hisham Melhem
-Biography:Melhem studied philosophy at Villanova University, and after graduating in 1976 with his B.A., spent three years working on a doctorate in philosophy at Georgetown University, which he did not complete....
, Lebanese journalist and Washington Bureau Chief for Al-Arabia, and Dennis Ross
Dennis Ross
Dennis B. Ross is an American diplomat and author. He has served as the Director of Policy Planning in the State Department under President George H. W...
, a Jewish-American diplomat working as counselor Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Washington Institute for Near East Policy
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy is a think tank based in Washington, D.C. focused on United States foreign policy in the Middle East. It was established by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in 1985...
, when asked about the pervasive Israeli influence on American foreign policy in the Middle East mentioned in former President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
's 2006 book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid said: [H. Melhem] "When it comes to Israel [discussing Israeli and/or Jewish American issues], it is still almost a taboo in certain parts, not everywhere...there are certain things that cannot be said about the Israeli government or America's relationship with Israel or about the Israeli lobby. Yes there is, excuse me, there is an Israeli lobby, but when we say an Israeli lobby we are not talking about a Jewish cabal. The Israeli lobby operates the way the NRA operates, a system of rewards and punishment, you help your friends by money, by advocacy and everything, and sometimes they pool money in to the campaigns of those people that they see as friendly to Israel. This is the American game". (radio interview: ≈16:30-20:05)
Criticism
Numerous books and commentaries by scholars, government officials, and conspiracy theorists have been written criticizing the influence of the Israel Lobby on the US Government's foreign policy, especially in the Middle EastMiddle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. Some of these are: Professors John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt
Stephen Walt
Stephen Martin Walt is a professor of international affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Among his most prominent works are and . He coauthored The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy with John Mearsheimer.-Education and career:In 1983, he received a Ph.D. in...
's The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy is the title of a book by John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and Stephen Walt, Professor of International Relations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, published in late August 2007...
, Professor James Petras
James Petras
James Petras is a retired Bartle Professor of Sociology at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York and adjunct professor at Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who has published prolifically on Latin American and Middle Eastern political issues.-Academic and...
's The Power of Israel in the United States, Former Representative/Congressman Paul Findley
Paul Findley
Paul Findley is a former United States Representative from Illinois, representing its 20th District. A Republican, he was first elected in 1961. Findley lost his seat in 1982 to current United States Senator Dick Durbin. Findley attended Illinois College and is a member of Phi Alpha Literary Society...
's They Dare to Speak Out
They Dare to Speak Out
They to Dare Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby is a bestselling book that was written in 1985 , had a second edition published in 1989 and a third in 2003 They to Dare Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby is a bestselling book (nine weeks a...
, Professor Kevin B. MacDonald
Kevin B. MacDonald
Kevin B. MacDonald is a professor of psychology at California State University, Long Beach, best known for his use of evolutionary psychology to inform his study of Judaism as being a "group evolutionary strategy."...
's Understanding Jewish Influence
The Culture of Critique series
The Culture of Critique series comprises Kevin B. MacDonald's principal writings on Judaism and Jewish culture:*A People That Shall Dwell Alone: Judaism As a Group Evolutionary Strategy, With Diaspora Peoples...
and The Culture of Critique: An Evolutionary Analysis of Jewish Involvement in Twentieth-Century Intellectual and Political Movements
The Culture of Critique series
The Culture of Critique series comprises Kevin B. MacDonald's principal writings on Judaism and Jewish culture:*A People That Shall Dwell Alone: Judaism As a Group Evolutionary Strategy, With Diaspora Peoples...
and Norman G. Finkelstein's The Holocaust Industry
The Holocaust Industry
The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering is a book published in 2000 by Norman G. Finkelstein, that argues that the American Jewish establishment exploits the memory of the Nazi Holocaust for political and financial gain, as well as to further the interests of...
and Beyond Chutzpah, former US President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
's Palestine Peace Not Apartheid
Palestine Peace Not Apartheid
Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid is a New York Times Best Seller book written by Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. It was published by Simon and Schuster in November 2006....
. In addition to books published by notable academics, influential government officials have also commented on the Israel Lobby's influence. For example, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour MP and House of Commons representative, Sir Tam Dalyell
Tam Dalyell
Sir Thomas Dalyell Loch, 11th Baronet , known as Tam Dalyell, is a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons from 1962 to 2005, first for West Lothian and then for Linlithgow.-Early life:...
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Congressman James P. Moran
In March 2009, Charles W. Freeman, Jr.
Charles W. Freeman, Jr.
Charles W. Freeman, Jr. is an American diplomat, author, and writer. He has served for the State and Defense Departments in many different capacities in the past thirty years, with the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs calling his career "remarkably varied"...
, criticized the lobby after withdrawing his candidacy for the chair of the National Intelligence Council
National Intelligence Council
The National Intelligence Council is the center for midterm and long-term strategic thinking within the United States Intelligence Community . It was formed in 1979...
. Freeman said, "The libels on me and their easily traceable email trails show conclusively that there is a powerful lobby determined to prevent any view other than its own from being aired .... The tactics of the Israel Lobby plumb the depths of dishonor and indecency .... The aim of this Lobby is control of the policy process ...." The Washington Post published two opposing editorials on the subject. One an unattributed editorial opinion saying that Freeman disregarded "established facts" in his criticism of the Israel lobby, which include some recent defeats of right-wing Zionist
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
positions. The other, by regular op-ed columnist David Broder, opened by saying: "The Obama administration has just suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the lobbyists [that] the president vowed to keep in their place, and their friends on Capitol Hill." The Forward
The Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
notes that, "Many of the lawmakers demanding an investigation into Freeman’s qualifications for the intelligence post are known as strong supporters of Israel". Members of Congress denied that the Israel lobby had a significant role in their opposition to Freeman's appointment; they cite Freeman's ties with the Saudi and Chinese governments, objections to certain statements made about the Palestinian territories
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
and his lack of experience as the reasons for their opposition.
See also
- Lobbying in the United StatesLobbying in the United StatesLobbying in the United States targets the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures. Lobbyists may also represent their clients' or organizations' interests in dealings with federal, state, or local executive branch agencies or the courts. Lobby...
- Israel-United States relationsIsrael-United States relationsIsrael–United States relations are an important factor in the United States government's overall policy in the Middle East, and Congress has placed considerable importance on the maintenance of a close and supportive relationship. The main expression of Congressional support for Israel has been...
- Anti-Israel lobby in the United StatesAnti-Israel lobby in the United StatesThe anti-Israel lobby is a term used by some who criticize those groups and individuals that oppose Israeli policies or United States foreign policy which they consider to be too favorable towards Israel. Those opposed to such policies state that they seek a more "even-handed" U.S...
- America-Israel Friendship LeagueAmerica-Israel Friendship LeagueThe America–Israel Friendship League is an American/Israeli organization which describes itself as "non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the ties between the people of the United States and Israel; bridging distances to reveal the beauty, the humanity, and modern democratic values...
- The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign PolicyThe Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign PolicyThe Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy is the title of a book by John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and Stephen Walt, Professor of International Relations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, published in late August 2007...
(book) - Diaspora politics in the United StatesDiaspora politics in the United StatesDiaspora politics in the United States is the study of the political behavior of transnational ethnic diasporas, their relationship with their ethnic homelands and their host states, as well as their prominent role in ethnic conflicts. This article describes case studies and theories of political...
- Ethnic interest groups in the United StatesEthnic interest groups in the United StatesEthnic interest groups in the United States are ethnic interest groups within the United States which seek to influence the foreign policy and, to a lesser extent, the domestic policy of the United States for the benefit of the foreign "ethnic kin" or homeland with whom the respective ethnic groups...
- Arab lobby in the United StatesArab lobby in the United StatesThe Arab lobby in the United States is a collection of formal and informal groups and professional lobbyists paid directly by Arab governments that lobby the public and government of the United States on behalf of Arab interests. and/or on behalf of Arab-American rights in the United...
- Pakistan Lobby in the United States
- Turkish lobby in the United States
- Egypt lobbyEgypt lobbyThe Egypt lobby in the United States is a collection of lawyers, public relation firms and professional lobbyists paid directly by the government of Egypt to lobby the public and government of the United States on behalf of the interests of the government of Egypt....
- Libya lobbyLibya lobbyThe Libya lobby in the United States is a collection of lawyers, public relation firms and professional lobbyists paid directly by the government of Libya to lobby the public and government of the United States on behalf of the interests of the government of Libya....
- Saudi Arabia lobbySaudi Arabia lobbyThe Saudi Arabia lobby in the United States is a collection of lawyers, public relation firms and professional lobbyists paid directly by the government of Saudi Arabia to lobby the public and government of the United States on behalf of the interests of the government of Saudi Arabia.-Power of...
External links
- Video From the Israel Lobby Debate
- Former Envoy: Israel Lobby Not All-Powerful - transcript of Dennis RossDennis RossDennis B. Ross is an American diplomat and author. He has served as the Director of Policy Planning in the State Department under President George H. W...
' interview at NPR Morning Edition July 7, 2006. - VPRO page about 2007 show "The Israel Lobby", VPRO Youtube clip of program, VPROVPROThe VPRO was established in the Netherlands in 1926 as a religious broadcasting organization. Falling under the Protestant pillar, it represented the Liberal Protestant current...
Video. - Most Jews ever set to enter Congress from The Jerusalem PostThe Jerusalem PostThe Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English-language broadsheet newspaper, founded on December 1, 1932 by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. The daily readership numbers do not approach those of the major Hebrew newspapers....
(Jan. 7th, 2007) - Republicans more pro-Israel than Democrats from U.S. News and World Report
- Ferment Over 'The Israel Lobby' from The NationThe NationThe Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
- "The other Israel lobby" from Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
- Can American Jews unplug the Israel lobby? from Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
- Inside America's powerful Israel lobby from Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
- "AIPAC Alternative?" from The Nation (April 2007)
- Election power of the Israel lobby - from Al JazeeraAl JazeeraAl Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
- Taming Leviathan, The Economist, March 15, 2007 (republished by the Council for the National Interest Foundation)