AIPAC: The unrivalled lobby

[donheld]

The Israel lobby's power in Washington is so strong that both Democrats and Republicans fear challenging its agenda.
MJ Rosenberg Last Modified: 06 Jun 2011 09:39


Not surprisingly, my recent piece on an ugly 1988 experience with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the Israeli government, and late New York Times newspaper columnist William Safire elicited some controversy. I knew it would.

There aren't that many first-person accounts of encounters with the lobby (for obvious reasons) so my recollections of how it went down on Capitol Hill fill a vacuum. Hopefully, there will be more such accounts as those of us who dealt with the lobby in the 1980s move into a position (career-wise or financially) where we feel free to talk and write about it without any fear of retribution.

If I were 35, there is no way that I would challenge an institution which has a long history of preventing its critics from advancing professionally. I am not that brave - although the terrain is finally changing for the better thanks to the internet.

One problem in making analogies between the lobby today and in the 1970s and 1980s is that it was infinitely less aggressive and right-wing then than it is now.


More: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/06/201164151342193909.html

[Poll_Blind]

1. From just reading the excerpt, the comment about its agressiveness over the....

...70's and 80's as compared to today isn't just a reflection of AIPAC, but a reflection of how the political dynamic in Israel changed over the years and how the political dynamic of the Jewish American diaspora changed as well. For those interested in beginning to understand how that dynamic changed over the years, I think the easiest way to start is the relationship between the Orthodox and the Israeli government at Israel's creation, after the '67 war, ten years later, and then probably 10 years chunks up till now. Same exact thing with American Diasporic Jews. Sometime in the 70's, late 70's if I recall correctly, the number of American Jews who felt deeply connected to Israel was ridiculously-low compared to now. While the Israeli government (in some ways) changed the least, the religious outlook on what was to be gained from the Israeli government from the Orthodox radically changed. Once that turnaround began, there was sort of an uneasy conflation of the two which has cemented itself more and more, and had a stronger and stronger influence on the American Diaspora.

Funny part is: If you're not Orthodox, you can forget about a seat at the table. And yet, if you're an American Reform Jewish practitioner, for instance, if you want to support Israel or be a part of that politically-active Jewish experience in America, AIPAC has gone to great lengths to attempt to ensure that you have to go through their mechanism. Places like J Street are hopefully going to change that more and more as time goes on.

PB

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2. K & R .

[frebrd]

3. K&R!

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