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The Israel lobby in the United States (also called the Zionist lobby or less accurately the Jewish lobby) is a term used to describe the loose coalition of groups and individuals who influence United States foreign policy in support of Israel and its policies.

Use and definition of the term

According to William Safire, the term "Israel Lobby" came into use in the 1970's and carries "the pejorative connotation of manipulation."degree of "animus" against Israel can be "claibrat(ed" by the precise term used to refer to the lobby.The term "pro-Israel lobby" is used by those with the "mildest" opposition to the Jewish State, followed by "Israel lobby" with "Jewish lobby" being employed by those with the most "virulent" 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.

Structure

According to former American Israel Public Affairs Committee 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."

Informal lobby

Bard defines the "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:

"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."

Although it is still a matter of debate as to whether Richard Nixon was anti-Semitic or not , the former U.S. President once stated in an interview:

"There may be some truth in that if the Arabs have some complaints about my policy towards Israel, they have to realize that the Jews in the U. S. control the entire information and propaganda machine, the large newspapers, the motion pictures, radio and television, and the big companies, and there is a force that we have to take into consideration."

Formal lobby

The formal component of the Israel lobby consists of organized lobby groups, 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.”

There are, according to Bard, two key formal lobbying groups:

• The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) which directly lobbies the United States Congress
• 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 (the President of the United States).

These two key 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 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”

Right-leaning groups

John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt state in their controversial bestseller, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, that the contemporary Israel lobby is dominated by a number of right-leaning organizations. They state 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 tanks 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. Other Groups such as the Center for Security Policy, Terror Free Tomorrow and the Clarion Fund can been seen as having an interest in swaying American viewers of the opponents of Israel, by reporting on "Arab" and "Islamic" terrorism threats to the US.

In his controversial book, The Case for Peace, Alan Dershowitz 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 "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 American Jews for having "ulterior motives" such as the fulfillment of "prerequisite to the Second Coming" or having "better access for proselytizing among Jews."

Left-leaning groups

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.

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 are prohibited by campaign finance regulations from financially supporting political campaigns of candidates for federal office.

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 Association (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, many 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 group" and that of the American Jewish population "roughly 89 percent live in twelve 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 congressmen "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 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."

Campaign donations

"Political campaign contributions", 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 committees (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 Republican party since 1996. The Washington Post summarized earlier, 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.

Education of politicians

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. Bush 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 Institute, 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 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."

Media and Public Discourse

Stephen Zunes 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."

According to CUNY professor of journalism, Eric Alterman, debate among Middle East pundits, “is dominated by people who cannot imagine criticising Israel”. In 2002, he listed 56 columnists and commentators who can be counted on to support Israel reflexively and without qualification.” Alterman only identified five pundits who consistently criticise Israeli behaviour or endorse pro-Arab positions. Journalists described as pro-Israel by Mearsheimer and Walt include: the Washington Post’s Jim Hoagland, Robert Kagan, Charles Krauthammer and George Will; ; the Los Angeles Times’ Max Boot, Jonah Goldberg and Jonathan Chait; and the New York Times’ William Safire, A.M. Rosenthal, David Brooks, and Thomas Friedman (although they say that the latter is sometimes critical of certain areas of Israel policy)..

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 , '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 relates how one individual feels:

"'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 Haganah,' 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 hasbarah war,' Youdovin said, using a Hebrew term for public relations. 'We're winning, but we're very much concerned about the bad stuff.'"

Indicative of the diversity of opinion is a 2003 Boston Globe profile of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America 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 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 criticising 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 writes for The Register, "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 Intifada 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, StandWithUs, 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.

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."

Mearsheimer and Walt make the more blunt statement that "American Jewish leaders often consult with Israeli officials, so that the former can maximize their influence in the United States."

Responses to criticism of Israel

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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-Semitism," 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. Jewish-American billionaire George Soros 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."

Debates

Degree of influence

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."

Some politicians have echoed these views. Former U.S. Senator James Abourezk wrote:

...the U.S. Congress is despicable in its silence. They are all bought off by the Israel lobby and are afraid to criticize. If this were happening in any other country by any other country, there would be speeches on the floor of Congress, legislation introduced to stop aid and other help to whomever would be committing this cruelty. But since their campaign money comes from the Israeli lobby, we hear only silence.

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 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:

"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, a Jewish-American Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for the Washington Post, 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

"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 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

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 , 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."

Eric Alterman writes in The Nation, that "while it's fair to call AIPAC obnoxious and even anti-democratic, the same can often be said about, say, the NRA, Big Pharma and other powerful lobbies." Zbigniew Brzezinski agreed stating that "he participation of ethnic or foreign supported lobbies in the American policy process is nothing new." Brzezinski ranks the three most effective ethnic lobbies in the United States as the Israeli American Lobby, the Cuban American lobby and the Armenian American lobby.

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.

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."

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."

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."

Israel and U.S. interests

In a 2008 editorial, Israeli-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 , according to recent polls, favor robust ties with the Jewish state."

In a 2009 interview, Israeli President Shimon Peres argued:

"Israel is the only country that has destroyed two generations of Russian weapons. Completely. I know that to produce weapons is an advantage, but to destroy competitive arms is also an advantage. We did it. Even today, strategically, I don't say that Israel is part of the American defense, but as an ally, politically and militarily, I don't think that we are passive or unimportant concerning information, intelligence, understanding the region."

In his 2007 review of Mearsheimer and Walt's book, Jeffrey Goldberg 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 peace 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."

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 1-56025-936-1). 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).

Media coverage of lobby

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American journalist Michael Massing 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."

On The Diane Rehm Show (December 11, 2006), Middle East experts Hisham Melhem and Dennis Ross, 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: "When it comes to Israel , 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" . The interview continued on in which the Dennis Ross responded. (radio interview: ≈16:30-20:05)

Criticism

Numerous books and commentaries by scholars, academics, professors and Government officials have been written criticizing the influence of the Israel Lobby on the US Governments foreign policy, especially in the Middle East. Some of these are: Professors John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt's The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, former US President Jimmy Carter's Palestine Peace Not Apartheid and Commentary on Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, and Professor Tony Judt's A Lobby, Not a Conspiracy. 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 an official editorial editorial stating that Freeman disregarded "established facts" in his criticism of the Israel lobby, which include some recent defeats of right-wing Zionist positions. An opinion column by David Broder, opened by saying: "The Obama administration has just suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the lobbyists 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.

Further reading

• George Soros. On Israel, America and AIPAC. New York Review of Books. April 12 2007.
• Zev Chafets. A Match Made in Heaven: American Jews, Christian Zionists, and One Man's Exploration of the Weird and Wonderful Judeo-Evangelical Alliance. HarperCollins, 2007. ISBN 0060890584.
• Murray Friedman. The Neoconservative Revolution: Jewish Intellectuals and the Shaping of Public Policy. Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN 0521545013.
• John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" . London Review of Books, Volume 28 Number 6, March 22, 2006.
• James Petras. The Power of Israel in the United States. Clarity Press, 2006. ISBN 0932863515.
• Stephen Schwartz. Is It Good for the Jews?: The Crisis of America's Israel Lobby. Doubleday, 2006. ISBN 038551025X.
• Glenn Frankel. A Beautiful Friendship. The Washington Post. July 16 2006.
• Janice Terry. U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East: The Role of Lobbies and Special Interest Groups. Pluto Press, 2005. ISBN 0745322581.
• Timothy P. Weber. On the Road to Armageddon: How Evangelicals Became Israel's Best Friend. Baker Academic, 2005. ISBN 0801031427.
• Douglas Little. American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East since 1945. University of North Carolina Press, 2004. ISBN 0807855391.
• Nasser Aruri. Dishonest Broker: The Role of the United States in Palestine and Israel. South End Press, 2003. ISBN 0896086879.
• Paul Findley. They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby. Lawrence Hill, 2003. ISBN 155652482X.
• Paul Findley. Deliberate Deceptions: Facing the Facts About the U.S.-Israeli Relationship. Lawrence Hill, 1995. ISBN 1556522398.
• Cheryl Rubenberg. Israel and the American National Interest: A Critical Examination. University of Illinois Press, 1989. ISBN 0252060741.
• Benjamin Ginsberg. The Fatal Embrace: Jews and the State. University of Chicago Press, 1999. ISBN 0226296660.
• Edward Tivnan. The Lobby: Jewish Political Power and American Foreign Policy. Touchstone Books, 1988. ISBN 0671668285.
• Jonah Goldberg. Jewish Power: Inside the American Jewish Establishment. Basic Books, 1997. ISBN 0201327988.
• D. H. Goldberg. Foreign Policy and Ethnic Interest Groups: American and Canadian Jews Lobby for Israel. Greenwood Press, 1990. ISBN 0313268509.
• Stephen J. Green. Taking Sides: America's Secret Relations With Militant Israel. William Morrow & Co., 1984. ISBN 0688026435.
• Edward Tivnan. The Lobby: Jewish Political Power and American Foreign Policy. Touchstone Books, 1988. ISBN 0671668285.
• Abraham H. Foxman. The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control. Palgrave MacMillan, 2007.

See also

• AIPAC
• Anti-Defamation League
• J Street
• America-Israel Friendship League
• Lobbying in the United States
• Israel-United States relations
• The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
• Diaspora politics in the United States
• Ethnic interest groups in the United States
• Jewish lobby
• List of Jewish American politicians
• AIPAC espionage scandal
• Arab lobby in the United States

References

1. The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy, John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M Walt, Allen Lane (UK Edition), p113
2. ^ Mearsheimer, John J. and Walt, Stephen. The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, London Review of Books, Volume 28 Number 6, March 22, 2006. Accessed March 24, 2006.
3. ^ Mitchell Bard The Israeli and Arab Lobbies", Jewish Virtual Library, published 2006, accessed August 26 2006.
4. William Safire, Safire's Political Dictionary, Oxford University Press US, 2008, p. 118
5. William Safire, Safire's Political Dictionary, Oxford University Press US, 2008, p. 118
6. William Safire, Safire's Political Dictionary, Oxford University Press US, 2008, p. 118
7. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22769621-15084,00.html
8. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amitai-etzioni/small-lies-big-lies-and-t_1_b_67362.html
9. Remembering Nixon --- the 'anti-Semitic' prez who saved Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Jewish World Review, October 14, 1998
10. Nixon: I Am Not an Anti-Semite. Slate, Oct. 7, 1999
11. President Nixon's Visit to Israel, Jewish Virtual Library
12. Quoted by Leonard Dinnerstein, Antisemitism in America, Oxford University Press, New York, (1994), pp. 232-233.
13. Pro-Israel: Background | OpenSecrets
14. Danny Ben-Moshe, Zohar Segev, Israel, the Diaspora, and Jewish Identity, Sussex Academic Press, 2007, ISBN 1845191897, Chapter 7, The Changing Identity of American Jews, Israel and the Peace Process, by Ofira Seliktar, p126.

    "Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin’s handshake with Yasir Arafat during the 13 September White House ceremony elicited dramatically opposed reactions among American Jews. To the liberal universalists the accord was highly welcome news. However, to the hard-core Zionists --- the Orthodox community and right wing Jews --- the peace treaty amounted to what some dubbed the 'handshake earthquake.' From the perspective of the Orthodox, Oslo was not just an affront to the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael, but also a personal threat to the Orthodox settlers ... in the West Bank and Gaza. For Jewish nationalists … the peace treaty amounted to an appeasement of Palestinian terrorism."</blockqoute>

15. Danny Ben-Moshe, Zohar Segev, Israel, the Diaspora, and Jewish Identity, Sussex Academic Press, 2007, ISBN 1845191897, Chapter 7, The Changing Identity of American Jews, Israel and the Peace Process, by Ofira Seliktar, p126

    "Abandoning any pretense of unity, both segments began to develop separate advocacy and lobbying organizations. The liberal supporters of the Oslo Accord worked … to assure Congress that American Jewry was behind the Accord and defended the efforts of the administration to help the fledgling Palestinian authority (PA) including promises of financial aid. … Working on the other side of the fence, a host of Orthodox groups, … launched a major public opinion campaign against Oslo. … Hard-core Zionists also criticized, often in harsh language, architect of the peace accord.</blockqoute>

16. Middle East Review of International Affairs, Journal, Volume 6, No. 1 - March 2002, Scott Lasensky, Underwriting Peace in the Middle East: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Limits of Economic Inducements

    "Not only was the Israeli electorate divided on the Oslo accords, but so, too, was the American Jewish community, particularly ... among the major New York and Washington-based public interest groups. U.S. Jews opposed to Oslo teamed up with Israelis "who brought their domestic issues to Washington" and together they pursued a campaign that focused most of its attention on Congress and the aid program. ... The Administration, the Rabin-Peres government, and some American Jewish groups teamed on one side while Israeli opposition groups and anti-Oslo American Jewish organizations pulled Congress in the other direction.

17. Jews and the 2008 Election
18. Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p113
19. Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p116
20. Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p117
21. ^ Dershowitz, Alan. The Case For Peace: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Can Be Resolved. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005.
22. Berger, Matthew E. "Motives Questioned as Christians Rally for Israel." United Jewish Communities. 3 December 2006
23. ^ Stephen Zunes, The Israel Lobby: How Powerful is it Really?, Foreign Policy in Focus, May 16, 2006, accessed August 27, 2006.
24. Cohen, Patricia. "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy." New York Times. 16 August 2007. 4 July 2009.
25. Amy Wilentz, Who’s Afraid of Jimmy Carter?, New York Magazine. July 20, 2008. Accessed July 22, 2008.
26. Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p154
27. ^ Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p157-8
28. Saying the Unsayable, Andrew Stephen, The New Statesman, 13 September 2007
29. Pro-Israel: Long-Term Contribution Trends, Center for Responsive Politics, Accessed December 7, 2008
30. Glenn Frankel. A Beautiful Friendship. The Washington Post. July 16 2006.
31. Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p156
32. J. J. Goldberg, Jewish Power: Inside the American Jewish Establishment, ISBN 978-0201327984
33. Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p163
34. Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p176
35. Saban Family Foundation Announces $100 Million in Charitable Gifts Find Articles 2003-06-23
36. ^ Schlepping to Moguldom, New York Times, 5 September 2004
37. ^ The myth of the `Jewish lobby', Frontline (magazine), 20(20), September 27 2003, accessed August 30 2006.
38. Jason Vest, The Men From JINSA and CSP, The Nation, September 2, 2002
39. Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p170
40. Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p170-1
41. ^ Michael Massing, The Israel Lobby, The Nation, June 10, 2002, accessed August 27 2006.
42. Rachel Donadio, For U.S. Jews, the Media Is the (Biased) Message, The Forward, April 26 2002, accessed via Archive.org August 27 2006
43. Mark Jurkowitz, Blaming the Messenger, Boston Globe Magazine February 9, 2003: 10, History News Network (George Mason University) April 24, 2006.
44. Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p172
45. GIYUS - About Us
46. Israel backed by army of cyber-soldiers, Times Online, July 28, 2006
47. Israel's newest PR weapon: The Internet Megaphone. Jerusalem Post, Nov. 28, 2006
48. Pro-Israel lobby targets BBC online poll. The Register, September 6, 2006
49. ICC Home Page - Israel on Campus Coalition
50. "Coalition Votes Not To Toss Liberal Zionists - Forward.com"
51. Scott Jaschik (2007-10-23). "A Call to Defend Academic Freedom". Inside Higher Ed. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
52. Pro-Israel Group Puts Emissaries on Campuses, New York Sun, December 10, 2007
53. Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p121
54. Jimmy Carter, Israel, Palestine, peace and apartheid, Guardian Newspaper
55. Soros, George. "On Israel, America and AIPAC." New York Review of Books, April 12, 2007.
56. Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p160.
57. Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p10.
58. Mearsheimer and Walt (2007), p10-11.
59. Israel's cruel offensive
60. Forward by George Shultz in The Deadliest Lies by Abraham H. Foxman
61. ^ Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com
62. Dennis Ross, The Mind-set Matters Foreign Policy, Jul/Aug 2006
63. A Beautiful Friendship? In search of the truth about the Israel lobby's influence on Washington
64. The Israel Lobby, Michael Lind, Prospect no. 73, April 2002
65. A Lobby, Not a Conspiracy, Tony Judt, New York Times Op-Ed, April 19, 2006
66. Chomsky, Noam (2006 -03-28). "The Israel Lobby?". ZNet. Retrieved 2009-01-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
67. Eric Alterman,AIPAC's Complaint The Nation, May 1, 2006 (posted April 13, 2006)
68. Brzezinski, Zbigniew. "A Dangerous Exemption." Foreign Policy 1 July 2006: 63.
69. The Israeli and Arab Lobbies, by Mitchell Bard
70. A Beautiful Friendship? In search of the truth about the Israel lobby's influence on Washington, Page 3
71. Chutzpah needed
72. Oren, Michael B. "Israel Is Now America's Closest Ally." The Wall Street Journal. 7 May 2008. 7 May 2008.

    "Powerful interest groups lobby against Israel in Washington while much of American academia and influential segments of the media are staunchly opposed to any association with Israel. How does the alliance surmount these challenges? One reason, certainly, is values – the respect for civic rights and the rule of law that is shared by the world's most powerful republic and the Middle East's only stable democracy. There is also Israel's determination to fight terror, and its willingness to share its antiterror expertise. ... The admiration which the U.S. inspires among Israelis is overwhelmingly reciprocated by Americans, more than 70% of whom, according to recent polls, favor robust ties with the Jewish state."

73. Goldberg, Jeffrey. "Shimon Peres on Iran: Overreaction is Better Than Underreaction." Weblog entry. Jeffrey Goldberg. 6 May 2009. 6 May 2009.
74. Goldberg, Jeffrey. "The Usual Suspect." The New Republic. 8 October 2007. 24 January 2009.
75. Groups Fear Public Backlash Over Iran
76. Book: Israel, Lobby Pushing Iran War
77. Jeffrey Goldberg, Real Insiders, The New Yorker, July 4 2005, accessed August 27 2006.
78. Dalyell may face race hatred inquiry, The Guardian, 2003
79. Dalyell's 'Jewish cabal' remarks denied, BBC, 2003.
80. Dalyell steps up attack on Levy The Guardian
81. CNN.com - Lawmaker under fire for saying Jews support Iraq war - Mar. 12, 2003
82. Moran Upsets Jewish Groups Again - washingtonpost.com
83. Rich, Dave (November 11, 2007). "'Israel Lobby' book may have sinister impact in UK". Tel Aviv: Haaretz.
84. U.S. intelligence candidate pulls out after objections
85. Freeman Withdraws From Intel Position
86. Freeman, Charles, "Charles Freeman's Statement in Wake of Withdrawal From Intelligence Post", Wall Street Journal, March 11, 2009.
87. "Charles Freeman's Failed Nomination as an Obama Aide." Washington Post. 12 March 2009. 12 March 2009.
88. The Country's Loss. Washington Post, March 12, 2009.
89. Following Withdrawal From Intelligence Post, Freeman Points Finger at Israel Lobby. The Forward, March 11, 2009.
90. Isikoff, Michael and Mark Hosenball. "Facing Opposition, Obama Intel Pick Pulls Out." Newsweek. 10 March 2009. 15 March 2009.
91. Bolton, Alexander. "Lawmakers deny Freeman's Israel lobby charges." TheHill.com. 12 March 2009. 12 March 2009.

External links

• Video From the Israel Lobby Debate
• The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, a research paper by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt
• Former Envoy: Israel Lobby Not All-Powerful - transcript of Dennis Ross' interview at NPR Morning Edition July 7, 2006.
• The Israel Lobby– 2007 VPRO Video
• Most Jews ever set to enter Congress– from The Jerusalem Post (Jan. 7th, 2007)
• Republicans more pro-Israel than Democrats– from U.S. News and World Report
• Ferment Over 'The Israel Lobby'– from The Nation
• "The other Israel lobby"– from Salon.com
• Can American Jews unplug the Israel lobby?– from Salon.com
• Inside America's powerful Israel lobby– from Salon.com
• "AIPAC Alternative?"– from The Nation (April 2007)
• Election power of the Israel lobby - from Al Jazeera
• Taming Leviathan, The Economist, March 15 2007 (republished by the Council for the National Interest Foundation)

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