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AL
HABTOOR INFORMATION RESEARCH DEPARTMENT
Why
are so many members of Congress loath to
criticise Israel, when it disregards
international law and denies basic human
rights to the Palestinians under its
occupation?
The answer lies in the strength of the Jewish
pro-Israeli lobby in Washington, which
affects the American governments’
attitudes towards Israel.
In the United States, lobbies are used to gain
greater access to elected officials; the
larger the lobby, the greater its
influence, because members of a lobby
represent votes at election time.
The key to the effectiveness of any lobby is
its ability to organise. Unsurprisingly,
the Jewish lobby is one of the best-organised
in America, this ensures that its voice is
loudly heard when any American government
takes action or make decisions that may
harm Israel’s relationship with America
or put it at a disadvantage.
The strength of the pro-Israeli lobby is
disproportionate to the actual size of the
Jewish community of the United States - it
makes up approximately two percent of the
population. Yet the largest Jewish lobby,
the American Israeli Public Affairs
Committee (AIPAC), is considered one of
the three most powerful in America. While
it is true that the Jewish lobbies in
America have varying agendas, the primary
focus of their efforts concerns the
relationship between the United States and
Israel, as most Jews feel strong kinship
towards Israel for religious and cultural
reasons.
AIPAC, the most prominent of the Jewish
lobbies, has a very clear role - it acts
as spokesman for Israeli policy and has
managed over the years to portray anyone
who objected to AIPAC’s political agenda
as being against Israel, and they hinted
darkly that objectors were somehow
anti-Semitic. This has deterred many
policymakers, Senators, and Congressmen
from opposing it, or its policies on
Capitol Hill.
Another reason AIPAC is so powerful is that it
financially supports Congressmen and
Senators, who they feel will favour and
support Israel in Congress and the Senate
- particularly at election time when it
can not only offer money, but deliver
votes.
In the years 1978–2000, pro-Israeli PACs
contributed 35 million dollars to
Congressional Candidates. This may seem a
lot, but in terms of what it bought for
Israel, it is insignificant. According to
the Washington
Report on the Middle East, Congress
and successive American administrations
have awarded Israel 94 billion dollars of
aid since the State of Israel was created
in 1948.
AIPAC’s ability to supply money, votes and
support makes American politicians listen.
This is their key to ensure Israel will
continue to get Americas support at the
expense of the Palestinians.
To give some idea of how extensive AIPAC funding
is, listed below is a table of
contributions to congressional candidates
during the 1999/ 2000-election cycle. If
we were to look up the voting recording in
congress of these candidates, we would
find that many of them have, at some
point, supported bills or policies that
favour Israel.
The
American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)
is considered one of the three most
powerful in America.
Pro-Israel
PAC Contributions to the 2000
Congressional Candidates
1999-2000
Cycle
-compiled
by The Washington Report on the Middle
East Affairs
TOTAL for 1999-2000 Election Cycle $2,044,606
TOTAL 1978-2000 Funds to Congressional
Candidates $34,607,182
TOTAL No. of Recipient Candidates,
1978-2000 1,732
Please
click here to see the complete table
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