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AL HABTOOR INFORMATION AND RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

   President Bush’s speech last July outlined his vision for the resolution of the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel . In it, he made a vague promise to support the founding of an independent Palestinian State “sometime in the future”, whilst simultaneously giving tacit, unconditional support to the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s use of force, and the re-occupation of the West Bank and Gaza by the Israeli army. There can now be little doubt in anyone’s mind on just how effective the pro-Israel lobby in American is, in influencing American power and policy in the Middle East .

    The policy outlined in this speech runs directly against the strategic interests that have underpinned America ’s Middle East policy since the Second World War, the fundamental objective of which is not the security and safety of Israel , but control over the vast reserves of oil and gas in the Middle East .

    It is interesting to note that through much of the 1950’s, and during the rise of President Nasser in Egypt , America dearly wanted to forge a strong relationship with the new President of Egypt. However, as Egypt ’s form of Arab nationalism seemed to be spreading to other Arab countries, America decided to develop its relationship with Israel to counteract the spreading influence of Arab Nationalism, which they saw as a threat to its control of the oil fields in the Gulf States . These ties were considerably reinforced after the 1967 war, so that by 1970 America saw Israel and Iran (under the Shah), as essential components for maintaining US control over the oil-producing regions of the Gulf.

    The increasing importance of Israel ’s role, as the geo-political surrogate of America , enabled the long established, and well organised pro-Israeli lobbies to exert a lot of pressure on US Administrations; thus, it was able to influence much of America ’s policy for the Middle East in Israel ’s favour. It was not long before Israel started to directly influence and manipulate these lobbies to their advantage, for they, along with many others, soon realised that should America see Israel as a liability to its real interest - petro-dollars - then the United States pro-Israeli stance would vanish overnight. It is this fact alone that ensures that Israel and its supporters in America will go to inordinate lengths to promote and support Israeli interests and demonise the Arab world to the American people. To ensure that, regardless of the truth, Israeli interests remain paramount in US thinking.

    The pro-Israeli lobby has become so successful, that it now can influence American domestic politics. During each two-year election cycle, it gives millions of dollars to candidates who are known to be sympathetic to Israel , and those who can be depended upon to vote positively for bills and laws in Israel ’s favour. Pro-Israeli organisations are able to do this because the American Jewish community is rich and able to give millions to Jewish organisations to buy political support. One of the most prominent oganisations channelling funds to politicians is AIPAC (The American-Israel Public Affairs Committee). AIPAC has a well-developed communications network that enables it to elicit huge donations from the highly affluent and educated Jewish community, who respond readily to its sophisticated appeals.

    In fact, AIPAC is so powerful that it was listed by Forbes magazine as the second most powerful political lobby in America , after the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Not bad for an organisation that has only 50,000 paid-up members, compared to the AARP’s 33 million members. AIPAC with several million dollars to spend helping, or hurting, candidates at election time and also having the ability to mobilise a large percentage of America ’s 5.5 million Jews into a one-issue voting bloc in support of favoured candidates, makes it a formidable power in American politics. What makes this even more amazing is that the Jewish community makes up only two percent of the American population.

    This influence has enabled the pro-Israeli lobby to bring about changes in American foreign policy, that while of benefit to Israel , act to the detriment of American strategic interests. America ’s support of Israel has cost the American taxpayer over $92 billion in economic and military aid to date, with no sign that funding will cease anytime soon. It has supplied Israel with some of the most sophisticated weaponry in the American arsenal and allowed it to develop a nuclear capability, all this to the fury and frustration of its long-standing Arab and European allies.

    This hijacking of American foreign policy by a powerful minority in America is the root cause of many of America ’s problems today. Its vetoing of UN votes of censure on Israel ’s behaviour in the West Bank and Gaza , has build up a huge wave of resentment and bitterness against America throughout the Arab world. This blindness to see what is obvious to everyone else, is allowing extremists in both Israel and the Arab world to promote their agendas and carry out ever more horrifying acts of terrorism.

    However, the influence of the pro-Israeli lobby cannot last forever; eventually America ’s own self-interest will again come to the forefront of policy making. The US cannot continue to alienate the Arab world, from which most of it energy is still sourced, and which in the coming years will become increasingly vital, as the world supply of oil dwindles. America, in order to secure its economic future and to maintain the high standard of living it has enjoyed over the last five decades, will have to eventually realise that alienating over 250 million people in the largest oil producing region in the world will put in jeopardy its own future prosperity.

    For the sake of supporting the 4.9 million Jews of Israel, America it seems, is ready on sacrificing all the goodwill it had built up in the region, particularly through its intervention in Kuwait . By allowing the small but powerful pro-Israeli lobby in America to have so much influence over how America acts in the Middle East , is to let the tail wag the dog.