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The '''American Israel Public Affairs Committee''' ('''AIPAC''', {{IPAc-en|ˈ|eɪ|p|æ|k}} {{respell|AY|pak}}) is a [[Advocacy group|lobbying group]] that advocates pro-[[Israel]] policies to the [[United States Congress|Congress]] and [[Executive (government)|Executive Branch]] of the United States. The current President of AIPAC is Lillian Pinkus.<ref name="AIPACWebSite">{{cite web |url=http://www.aipac.org/ |title=www.aipac.org |postscript=}} organization web site</ref>
The '''American Israel Public Affairs Committee''' ('''AIPAC''', {{IPAc-en|ˈ|eɪ|p|æ|k}} {{respell|AY|pak}}) is a [[Advocacy group|lobbying group]] that advocates pro-[[Israel]] policies to the [[United States Congress|Congress]] and [[Executive (government)|Executive Branch]] of the United States. The current President of AIPAC is Lillian Pinkus.<ref name="AIPACWebSite">{{cite web |url=http://www.aipac.org/ |title=www.aipac.org |postscript=}} organization web site</ref>


One of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the U.S.,<ref>[http://www.thenation.com/article/180653/room-criticize-israel-grows-are-policy-changes-table# Why Opposing the Israel Lobby Is No Longer Political Suicide] The Nation, 15 July 2014</ref> AIPAC states that it has more than 100,000 members,<ref>AIPAC Web Site [http://www.aipac.org/about_AIPAC/Learn_About_AIPAC/default.asp] Accessed April 18, 2007</ref> seventeen regional offices, and "a vast pool of donors."<ref name=bruck>{{cite journal|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|journal=The New Yorker|date=1 September 2014|pages=50–63|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|accessdate=9 September 2014}}</ref> It has been called "the most important organization affecting America's relationship with Israel,"<ref>[http://www.aipac.org/about_AIPAC/Learn_About_AIPAC/ Learn about AIPAC]. [http://www.aipac.org/ AIPAC Main Website].</ref> and one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the United States.<ref name=bruck/> The group does not raise funds for political candidates itself, but helps organize to channel money to candidates.<ref name=bruck/>
One of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the U.S.,<ref>[http://www.thenation.com/article/180653/room-criticize-israel-grows-are-policy-changes-table# Why Opposing the Israel Lobby Is No Longer Political Suicide] The Nation, 15 July 2014</ref> AIPAC states that it has more than 100,000 members,<ref>AIPAC Web Site [http://www.aipac.org/about_AIPAC/Learn_About_AIPAC/default.asp] Accessed April 18, 2007</ref> seventeen regional offices, and "a vast pool of donors."<ref name=bruck>{{cite journal|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|journal=The New Yorker|date=1 September 2014|pages=50–63|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|accessdate=9 September 2014}}</ref> It has been called "the most important organization affecting America's relationship with Israel,"<ref>[http://www.aipac.org/about_AIPAC/Learn_About_AIPAC/ Learn about AIPAC]. [http://www.aipac.org/ AIPAC Main Website].</ref> and one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the United States.<ref name=bruck/> The group does not raise funds for political candidates.<ref name=bruck/>


Its critics have stated it acts as an agent of the [[Israeli government]] with a "stranglehold" on the [[United States Congress]] with its power and influence.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mearsheimer|first=John|title=The Israel Lobby|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/john-mearsheimer/the-israel-lobby|work=The Israel Lobby and the US Foreign Policy|publisher=London Review of Books|accessdate=Dec 31, 2013}}</ref> The group has been accused of being strongly allied with the [[Likud]] party of Israel, and the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] in the US, but an AIPAC spokesman has called this a "malicious mischaracterization."<ref name=bruck/> The Washington Post described the perceived differences between AIPAC and [[J Street]]: "While both groups call themselves bipartisan, AIPAC has won support from an overwhelming majority of Republican Jews, while J Street is presenting itself as an alternative for Democrats who have grown uncomfortable with both Netanyahu’s policies and the conservatives’ flocking to AIPAC."<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/jeremy-ben-ami-winning-a-place-at-the-table-for-j-street/2015/03/26/1acb118e-d33e-11e4-8fce-3941fc548f1c_story.html Jeremy Ben-Ami, winning a place at the table for J Street] The Washington Post, 26 March 2015</ref>
Its critics have stated it acts as an agent of the [[Israeli government]] with a "stranglehold" on the [[United States Congress]] with its power and influence.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mearsheimer|first=John|title=The Israel Lobby|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/john-mearsheimer/the-israel-lobby|work=The Israel Lobby and the US Foreign Policy|publisher=London Review of Books|accessdate=Dec 31, 2013}}</ref> The group has been accused of being strongly allied with the [[Likud]] party of Israel, and the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] in the US, but an AIPAC spokesman has called this a "malicious mischaracterization."<ref name=bruck/> The Washington Post described the perceived differences between AIPAC and [[J Street]]: "While both groups call themselves bipartisan, AIPAC has won support from an overwhelming majority of Republican Jews, while J Street is presenting itself as an alternative for Democrats who have grown uncomfortable with both Netanyahu’s policies and the conservatives’ flocking to AIPAC."<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/jeremy-ben-ami-winning-a-place-at-the-table-for-j-street/2015/03/26/1acb118e-d33e-11e4-8fce-3941fc548f1c_story.html Jeremy Ben-Ami, winning a place at the table for J Street] The Washington Post, 26 March 2015</ref>

Revision as of 22:57, 10 June 2016

American Israel Public Affairs Committee
FoundedJanuary 3, 1963; 61 years ago (1963-01-03)[1]
53-0217164[2]
Legal status501(c)(4) organization
HeadquartersWashington, D.C., United States[2]
Coordinates38°54′02″N 77°00′53″W / 38.9004676°N 77.0146576°W / 38.9004676; -77.0146576
Robert A. Cohen[2]
Michael Kassen[2]
Howard Kohr[2]
Subsidiaries251 Massachusetts Avenue LLC,
American Israel Educational Foundation,
AIPAC-AIEF Israel RA[2]
Revenue (2014)
$77,709,827[2]
Expenses (2014)$69,267,598[2]
Endowment$258,533[2]
Employees (2013)
396[2]
Volunteers (2013)
60[2]
Websitewww.aipac.org
American Israel Education Foundation
Founded1990
52-1623781
Legal status501(c)(3) organization
Lee Rosenberg
Richard Fishman
Revenue (2014)
$55,234,555
Expenses (2014)$50,266,476
Endowment$24,527,692
Employees (2013)
0
Volunteers (2013)
39

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC, /ˈeɪpæk/ AY-pak) is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States. The current President of AIPAC is Lillian Pinkus.[3]

One of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the U.S.,[4] AIPAC states that it has more than 100,000 members,[5] seventeen regional offices, and "a vast pool of donors."[6] It has been called "the most important organization affecting America's relationship with Israel,"[7] and one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the United States.[6] The group does not raise funds for political candidates.[6]

Its critics have stated it acts as an agent of the Israeli government with a "stranglehold" on the United States Congress with its power and influence.[8] The group has been accused of being strongly allied with the Likud party of Israel, and the Republican Party in the US, but an AIPAC spokesman has called this a "malicious mischaracterization."[6] The Washington Post described the perceived differences between AIPAC and J Street: "While both groups call themselves bipartisan, AIPAC has won support from an overwhelming majority of Republican Jews, while J Street is presenting itself as an alternative for Democrats who have grown uncomfortable with both Netanyahu’s policies and the conservatives’ flocking to AIPAC."[9]

AIPAC, on the other hand, describes itself as a bipartisan organization,[10] and bills it lobbies for in Congress are always jointly sponsored by both a Democrat and Republican.[11] AIPAC's supporters claim its bipartisan nature can be seen at its yearly policy conference, which in 2016 included both parties' front-runners (Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump), as well as high ranking Democrats, including Vice President Joe Biden, and high-ranking Republicans, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

History

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee was founded in 1951 by Isaiah L. "Si" Kenen.[12] Kenen originally ran the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs as a lobbying division of the American Zionist Council. Before that, Kenen was an employee of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to journalist Connie Bruck, AIPAC was incorporated in 1963[13] and headed by Kenen until his retirement in 1974. Kenen was "an old-fashioned liberal" according to former AIPAC volunteer journalist M.J. Rosenberg, who did not seek to win support by donating to campaigns or otherwise influencing elections, but was willing to "play with the hand that is dealt us."[13]

Michael Oren writes in his book, Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present, "Though founded in 1953, AIPAC had only now in the mid-70s, achieved the financial and political clout necessary to sway congressional opinion. Confronted with opposition from both houses of Congress, United States President Gerald Ford rescinded his 'reassessment.'"[14] George Lenczowski notes a similar, mid-1970s, timeframe for the rise of AIPAC power. "It [the Carter Presidency] also coincides with the militant emergence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as a major force in shaping American policy toward the Middle East."[15] He further notes that this period also coincides with a major shift in Israeli government policies related to the election of Menachem Begin in Israel.

In 1980, Thomas Dine became the executive director of AIPAC, and developed its grassroots campaign. By the late 1980s, AIPAC's board of directors was "dominated" by four successful businessmen—Mayer (Bubba) Mitchell, Edward Levy, Robert Asher, and Larry Weinberg.[16]

In 2005, Lawrence Franklin, a Pentagon analyst pleaded guilty to espionage charges of passing US government secrets to AIPAC policy director Steven Rosen and AIPAC senior Iran analyst Keith Weissman, in what is known as the AIPAC espionage scandal. Rosen and Weissman were later fired by AIPAC.[17] In 2009, charges against the former AIPAC employees were dropped.[18]

Aims, activities, successes

AIPAC's stated purpose is to lobby the Congress of the United States on issues and legislation related to Israel. AIPAC regularly meets with members of Congress and holds events where it can share its views. AIPAC is not a political action committee, and does not directly donate to campaign contributions.

Generating support among policymakers

Thomas Dine developed a network to influence every member of congress. The "vital core" of AIPAC membership—American Jews[19]—made up less than 3% of the US population and were concentrated in only nine states.[20] But while AIPAC would not be able to deliver significant numbers of Jewish voters to most elected officials, it could deliver campaign contributions.

AIPAC created "caucuses" in every congressional district, with staffers organizing any Jews living there. Campaign contributions were bundled and distributed to districts and where they would do some good. According to journalist Connie Bruck, by the end of the 1980s there were "dozens" of Political Action Committees with no formal relation to AIPAC, but whose leader was often a member.[20] The Wall Street Journal reports that in 1987 at least 51 of 80 pro-Israel PACs were operated by AIPAC officials.[21][22] The Washington Post states that AIPAC's

"web site, which details how members of Congress voted on AIPAC's key issues, and the AIPAC Insider, a glossy periodical that handicaps close political races, are scrutinized by thousands of potential donors. Pro-Israel interests have contributed $56.8 million in individual, group, and soft money donations to federal candidates and party committees since 1990, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics. Between the 2000 and the 2004 elections, the 50 members of AIPAC's board donated an average of $72,000 each to campaigns and political action committees."[23]

According to Dine, in the 1980s and 1990s, contributions from AIPAC members often constituted "roughly 10 to 15% of a typical congressional campaign budget".[6]

AIPAC influences lawmakers in other ways

  • matching an AIPAC member with shared interests to a congressperson/senator to serve as a contact to them[24]
  • carefully curated trips to Israel for legislators and other opinion-makers, all expenses paid for by AIPAC's charitable arm.[24] In 2005 alone, more than 100 members of Congress visited Israel, some multiple times.[25]
  • cultivating potential politicians such as student council presidents.[26] At colleges it provides "political leadership training" to undergraduate student groups. This is an effort to "build a stronger pro-Israel movement among students on and off campuses nationwide".[27]
  • sympathy for Israel among the general public.[28]

According to the Jewish Virtual Library from 1967 to 2012, opinion polls have found sympathy for Israel varying "between 32 and 64 percent, averaging 46 percent", and sympathy for the Arabs oscillating "between 1 and 30 percent and averaged only 12 percent".[29]

AIPAC has supported loyal incumbents (such as Sen. Lowell Weicker) even when opposed by Jewish candidates, and worked to unseat pro-Palestinian representatives (Congressman Paul Findley) or candidates perceived to be unsympathetic to Israel (Senator Charles H. Percy).[6] However, a Jewish incumbent congresswoman, Jan Schakowsky, who had maintained good relations with AIPAC, and been given campaign contributions by its members, was opposed by the group in a 2010 race after she was endorsed by the “antiIsrael,anti -peace” advocacy group J Street.[6]

According to ex-congressman Brian Baird,

"Any member of Congress knows that AIPAC is associated indirectly with significant amounts of campaign spending if you’re with them, and significant amounts against you if you’re not with them.”

"AIPAC-connected money" amounted to about $200,000 in each of his campaigns for office — “and that’s two hundred thousand going your way, versus the other way: a four-hundred-thousand-dollar swing.”[30]

AIPAC directed campaign contributions—as with many interest groups—came with considerable "tactical input". AIPAC staffers told Baird and other lawmakers ‘No, we don’t say it that way, we say it this way.’ Baird complained "there’s a whole complex semantic code you learn. . . . After a while, you find yourself saying and repeating it as if it were fact.”[6]

Goals

AIPAC strongly supports substantial US aid to Israel. In March 2009, for example AIPAC executive director Howard Kohr appeared before the House Committee on Appropriations' Foreign Operations subcommittee and requested that Israel receive $2.775 billion in military aid in fiscal year 2010, as called for in the 2007 Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Israel that allocates $30 billion in aid for the Jewish state over 10 years. Kohr stated that "American assistance to Israel serves vital U.S. national security interests and advances critical U.S. foreign policy goals." The military hardware Israel must purchase to face the increased threat of terrorism and Islamist radicalism is increasingly expensive due to the recent spike in petroleum prices which have enabled countries such as Iran to augment their military budgets, according to Kohr.[27][31]

AIPAC's stated aims include pressuring the Palestinian Authority to adhere to its commitments to fight terrorism and incitement against the state of Israel, with the eventual goal of creating two states (one Jewish, one Arab) in the territorial holdings of Israel. They also wish to strengthen bilateral relations through shared intelligence and foreign military and economic aid to Israel, condemn the actions of the Iranian government in pursuing nuclear status and questioning the Holocaust, and levy financial restrictions in order to hinder Iran's nuclear development. Also important to the group is to support the United States congress and executive administration in rejecting the UN-backed United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict's paper, commonly referred to as the "Goldstone Report."

AIPAC supports U.S. involvement in the peace process and officially advocates for a two-state solution based on direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. It supports continued U.S. involvement in "negotiations with an acceptance of Israel's need for secure, recognized and defensible borders, with the understanding that Israel must determine its own security requirements." It also has stated support for U.S. support for Palestinian moderates, adding that such support "is more likely to lead to breakthroughs in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations because Israel will be more willing to take risks for peace when its security requirements are being addressed and when the United States is backing its efforts.[32]

Whether AIPAC lobbied for the war in Iraq is disputed. Congressman Jim Moran has stated that AIPAC had been "pushing the [Iraq War] from the beginning".[33] A report in the The New Yorker also reported that AIPAC lobbied Congress in favor of the war.[34] However, according to the Jewish News, AIPAC never supported or lobbied for the war in Iraq.[35] According to a columnist in the Washington Post, "Once it was clear that the Bush administration was determined to go to war [in Iraq], AIPAC cheered from the sidelines ...[23] Some observers suggested the official silence owed to concerns that linking Israel to the war[36]

AIPAC's official position on Iran is to encourage a strong diplomatic and economic response coordinated among the United States government, its European allies, Russia, and China.[23]

In 2012 AIPAC called for "crippling" sanctions against Iran in a letter to every member of the US Congress.[37] In line with this approach, AIPAC has lobbied to levy economic embargoes and increase sanctions against Iran (known as the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2013).[38] However, according to the New York Times, its effort "stalled after stiff resistance from President Obama."[39][40]

Successes

AIPAC has been compared to firearms, banking, defense, and energy lobbies as "long" being "a feature of politics in Washington." Its promotional literature notes that a reception during its annual policy conference “will be attended by more members of Congress than almost any other event, except for a joint session of Congress or a State of the Union address.”[41] The New York Times has described AIPAC as "a major force in shaping United States policy in the Middle East"[42] that is able to push numerous bills through Congress. "Typically" these "pass by unanimous votes."[39] A House of Representatives resolution condemning the UN Goldstone Report on human rights violations by Israel in Gaza, for example, passed 344 to 36 in 2009.[43][44]

In 1997, Fortune magazine named AIPAC the second-most powerful influence group in Washington, D.C.[45] According to journalist Connie Bruck, AIPAC has been able to "deliver the support of Congress", and prevent any president who wants to negotiate with Israel using "the multibillion-dollar packages of military aid that go to Israel each year" as leverage by passing the funding and taking away this "strongest negotiating chit".[46]

AIPAC advises members of Congress about the issues that face today's Middle East, including the dangers of extremism and terrorism. It was an early supporter of the Counter-Terrorism Act of 1995, which resulted in increased FBI resources being committed to fight terrorism,[citation needed] as well as expanded federal jurisdiction in prosecuting criminal activities related to terrorism.[citation needed]

AIPAC has also supported the funding of a number of Israeli military projects that have resulted in new additions to the arsenal of the United States Armed Forces.[citation needed] One such outcome is the production of Israel's Arrow anti-missile system at a Boeing plant in Huntsville, Alabama for use by both the United States and Israel. Additionally, the U.S. military has purchased Israeli-made tank armor, unmanned aerial vehicles, and other technologies for use in its operations.

AIPAC also lobbies for financial aid from the United States to Israel, helping to procure up to three billion in aid yearly, making Israel "the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II."[47] Additionally, the result of AIPAC's efforts include numerous exceptional provisions that are not available to other American allies.[citation needed] According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), these include providing aid "as all grant cash transfers, not designated for particular projects, and...transferred as a lump sum in the first month of the fiscal year, instead of in periodic increments. Israel is allowed to spend about one quarter of the military aid for the procurement in Israel of defense articles and services, including research and development, rather than in the United States."[48]

The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs has estimated total aid since 1949 at approximately $108 billion.[49]

United States India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) works with and tries to emulate the success of AIPAC, USINPAC sees AIPAC as "Gold Standard in terms of political activism".[50]

Policy Conference

The annual AIPAC Policy Conference is the largest gathering of the pro-Israel movement. Over 14,000 delegates attended the 2014 conference, which bills itself as "three of the most important days affecting Israel's future." Speakers including Presidents and Prime Ministers, talk about the importance of the U.S.-Israel Relationship.

Prominent officers and supporters

List of Presidents

Other officers

Further information: List of AIPAC officers

Supporters

AIPAC has a wide base of supporters both in and outside of Congress.

  • Support among congressional members includes a majority of members of both the Democratic and Republican Parties. AIPAC's 2011 Policy Conference included the attendance of approximately 2/3 of the US Senate[51] and House of Representatives,[52] including President Barack Obama, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, and Speaker of the House John Boehner. The annual Policy Conference is second only to the State of the Union address for the number of federal officials in attendance at an organized event.[citation needed]
  • Many political leaders have addressed AIPAC conferences, including past Presidents Bill Clinton, Vice Presidents and Joe Biden, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Other speakers have included prominent Senators such as John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, John McCain, as well as and current and former members of the leadership of both parties in Congress, and current and former Prime Ministers of Israel.[citation needed]
  • Historian and former Israeli ambassador to America, Michael Oren argued in his 2007 bestseller, "Power, Faith, and Fantasy", that strong American support for Israel derives from Puritan-Republican roots of the United States itself.[citation needed]
  • Sen. John McCain said in his speech to the 2008 AIPAC Policy Conference "[T]here are ties between America and Israel that critics of our alliance have never understood, /../ that's because they do not fully understand the love of liberty and the pursuit of justice."[53]
  • Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) has argued that America supports Israel because they share fundamental values as "freedom-loving people" who "deserve to have a free and secure state.'"[54] Nancy Pelosi similarly stated that "America and Israel share an unbreakable bond: in peace and war; and in prosperity and in hardship."[55]

American Israel Education Foundation

The American Israel Education Foundation is a "sister organization" of AIPAC,[57] that handles "educational" work, rather than lobbying. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization that conducts educational programs, including sponsoring U.S. legislators on educational trips to Israel.[58]

AIEF trips for U.S. Congressmen occur every two years, becoming "the top spender on Congressional travel" in those years.[59] In Summer, 2011 the foundation sponsored week-long trips by 81 U.S. Congressmen: 55 Republicans and 26 Democrats. They traveled to Israel and the West Bank and visited with Shimon Peres and Binyamin Netanyahu (President and PM of Israel) and Mahmoud Abbas (President of the Palestinian Authority).[60][61] Critics have complained that the trips are propaganda rather than education and do not tell the Palestinian "side of the story".[62] Other educational activities include regular seminars for Congressional staff.[63]

Controversy and criticism

Criticism

One critic, former Congressman Brian Baird, who “had admired Israel since I was a kid,” but became alienated from AIPAC, complained that “When key votes are cast, the question on the House floor, troublingly, is often not ‘What is the right thing to do for the United States of America?’ but ‘How is AIPAC going to score this?’” He cited a 2009 House resolution he opposed condemning the Goldstone Report on civilian deaths. “When we had the vote, I said, ‘We have member after member coming to the floor to vote on a resolution they’ve never read, about a report they’ve never seen, in a place they’ve never been.’”[6] Baird worries that AIPAC members and supporters believe that they're "supporting Israel" when they are "actually backing policies" such as the killing of civilians in Gaza, "that are antithetical to its highest values and, ultimately, destructive for the country.”[6]

A criticism of AIPAC's proposal for tougher sanctions on Iran is that the primary incentive P5+1 negotiators can give Iran to stop its nuclear program is reduction in the sanctions that have harmed Iran's economy. By imposing even harsher sanctions on Iran, AIPAC takes this chip away. According to a "senior" Obama Administration official, the administration told AIPAC leadership that its tougher sanctions on Iran "would blow up the negotiations -- the Iranians would walk away from the table." The official asked them, "Why do you know better than we do what strengthens our hand? Nobody involved in the diplomacy thinks that."[13] A former congressional staffer complained to journalist Connie Bruck, “What was striking was how strident the message was", from AIPAC. "‘How could you not pass a resolution that tells the President what the outcome of the negotiations has to be?’ ”[64]

Protesters at AIPAC conference in Washington, DC, May 2005

AIPAC has been criticized as being unrepresentative of American Jews who support Israel and supportive only of right-wing Israeli policy and viewpoints.[citation needed] A PEW center poll found that only 38% of American Jews believe that the Israeli government is sincerely pursuing peace; 44% believe that the construction of new settlements damages Israel's national security.[65][66]

Among the best-known critical works about AIPAC is The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, by University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer and Harvard University Kennedy School of Government professor Stephen Walt. In the working paper and resulting book they accuse AIPAC of being "the most powerful and best known" component of a larger pro-Israel lobby that distorts American foreign policy. They write:[67]

AIPAC's success is due to its ability to reward legislators and congressional candidates who support its agenda, and to punish those who challenge it. ... AIPAC makes sure that its friends get strong financial support from the myriad pro-Israel PACs. Those seen as hostile to Israel, on the other hand, can be sure that AIPAC will direct campaign contributions to their political opponents. ... The bottom line is that AIPAC, which is a de facto agent for a foreign government, has a stranglehold on the U.S. Congress. Open debate about U.S. policy towards Israel does not occur there, even though that policy has important consequences for the entire world.

AIPAC has also been the subject of criticism by prominent politicians including former Representative Dave Obey of Wisconsin,[68] former Senator Mike Gravel,[69] and former Representative Cynthia McKinney.[70]

Democratic Congressman Jim Moran from Northern Virginia has been a vocal critic of AIPAC, causing national controversy in 2007 and drawing criticism from some Jewish groups after he told California Jewish magazine Tikkun that AIPAC had been "pushing the [Iraq War] from the beginning", and that "I don't think they represent the mainstream of American Jewish thinking at all, but because they are so well organized, and their members are extraordinarily powerful – most of them are quite wealthy – they have been able to exert power."[33][71] AIPAC's membership has been described as "overwhelmingly Democratic" by one conservative columnist (Jennifer Rubin).[72]

Controversies

Former Senator William Fulbright, in the 1970s, and former senior CIA official Victor Marchetti, in the 1980s, contended that AIPAC should have registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).[73] FARA requires those who receive funds or act on behalf of a foreign government to register as a foreign agent. However, AIPAC states that the organization is a registered American lobbying group, funded by private donations, and maintains it receives "no financial assistance" from Israel or any other foreign group.[74]

In 2006, Representative Betty McCollum (DFL) of Minnesota demanded an apology from AIPAC, claiming an AIPAC representative had described her vote against the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 as "support for terrorists." McCollum stated that AIPAC representatives would not be allowed in her office until she received a written apology for the comment.[75] AIPAC disputed McCollum's claim, and McCollum has since declared the incident over.[76]

Steiner resignation

In 1992, AIPAC president David Steiner was forced to resign after he was recorded boasting about his political influence in obtaining aid for Israel. Steiner also claimed that he had

met with (then Bush U.S. Secretary of State) Jim Baker and I cut a deal with him. I got, besides the $3 billion, you know they're looking for the Jewish votes, and I'll tell him whatever he wants to hear ... Besides the $10 billion in loan guarantees which was a fabulous thing, $3 billion in foreign, in military aid, and I got almost a billion dollars in other goodies that people don't even know about.[77]

Steiner also claimed to be "negotiating" with the incoming Clinton administration over who Clinton would appoint as Secretary of State and Secretary of the National Security Agency. Steiner stated that AIPAC had "a dozen people in [the Clinton] campaign, in the headquarters... in Little Rock, and they're all going to get big jobs."[77]

NY real estate developer Haim Katz told The Washington Times that he taped the conversation because "as someone Jewish, I am concerned when a small group has a disproportionate power. I think that hurts everyone, including Jews. If David Steiner wants to talk about the incredible, disproportionate clout AIPAC has, the public should know about it."[78]

Spying allegations

Main article: Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal

In April 2005, AIPAC policy director Steven Rosen and AIPAC senior Iran analyst Keith Weissman were fired by AIPAC amid an FBI investigation into whether they passed classified U.S. information received from Lawrence Franklin on to the government of Israel. They were later indicted for illegally conspiring to gather and disclose classified national security information to Israel.[79][80] AIPAC agreed to pay the legal fees for Weissman's defense through appeal if necessary,[81] but charges were subsequently dropped.[82]

In May 2005, the Justice Department announced that Lawrence Anthony Franklin, a U.S. Air Force Reserves colonel working as a Department of Defense analyst at the Pentagon in the office of Douglas Feith, had been arrested and charged by the FBI with providing classified national defense information to Israel. The six-count criminal complaint identified AIPAC by name and described a luncheon meeting in which, allegedly, Franklin disclosed top-secret information to two AIPAC officials.[83][84]

Franklin pleaded guilty to passing government secrets to Rosen and Weissman and revealed for the first time that he also gave classified information directly to an Israeli government official in Washington. On January 20, 2006, he was sentenced to 151 months (almost 13 years) in prison and fined $10,000. As part of the plea agreement, Franklin agreed to cooperate in the larger federal investigation.[85][86] All charges against the former AIPAC employees were dropped in 2009.

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ "American Israel Public Affairs Committee". Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Government of the District of Columbia. Accessed on March 24, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax". American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Guidestar. September 30, 2014.
  3. ^ "www.aipac.org". organization web site
  4. ^ Why Opposing the Israel Lobby Is No Longer Political Suicide The Nation, 15 July 2014
  5. ^ AIPAC Web Site [1] Accessed April 18, 2007
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bruck, Connie (September 1, 2014). "Friends of Israel". The New Yorker: 50–63. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  7. ^ Learn about AIPAC. AIPAC Main Website.
  8. ^ Mearsheimer, John. "The Israel Lobby". The Israel Lobby and the US Foreign Policy. London Review of Books. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  9. ^ Jeremy Ben-Ami, winning a place at the table for J Street The Washington Post, 26 March 2015
  10. ^ http://www.aipac.org/About%20AIPAC
  11. ^ AIPAC: Claims and Facts 101 The Times OF Israel. 12/2/2012
  12. ^ Bard, Mitchell Geoffrey; Schwartz, Moshe (2005). 1001 Facts Everyone Should Know About Israel. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 148. ISBN 0-7425-4357-9. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  13. ^ a b c Bruck, Connie (September 1, 2014). "Friends of Israel". The New Yorker: 53. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  14. ^ Michael Oren (2007). Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present (New York: W.W. Norton & Company) p. 536.

    The infelicitous combination of Ford and Rabin produced the direst crisis in US-Israeli relations since Suez, with Ford pronouncing a "reassessment" of American support for the Jewish state. Rabin responded by mobilizing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee --- AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby --- against the president. Though founded in 1953, AIPAC had only now in the mid-70s, achieved the financial and political clout necessary to sway congressional opinion. Confronted with opposition from both houses of Congress, Ford rescinded his "reassessment."

  15. ^ Lenczowski, George (1990). American Presidents and the Middle East. Duke University Press. p. 157. ISBN 0-8223-0972-6.
  16. ^ Bruck, Connie (September 1, 2014). "Friends of Israel". The New Yorker: 53–4. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  17. ^ Guilty plea entered in Pentagon Spy Case Ynet News. 10/06/05
  18. ^ Lewis, Neil A.; Johnston, David (May 2, 2009). "U.S. to Drop Spy Case Against Pro-Israel Lobbyists". The New York Times.
  19. ^ Bruck, Connie (September 1, 2014). "Friends of Israel". The New Yorker: 52 column 3. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  20. ^ a b Bruck, Connie (September 1, 2014). "Friends of Israel". The New Yorker: 54 column 1. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  21. ^ Wall Street Journal, 24 June 1987, p.1
  22. ^ Thomas, Michael (2007). American Policy Toward Israel: The Power and Limits of Beliefs. Routledge. p. 100.
  23. ^ a b c A Beautiful Friendship?The Washington Post, July 16, 2006 Cite error: The named reference "Post-friendship" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  24. ^ a b Bruck, Connie (September 1, 2014). "Friends of Israel". The New Yorker: 53. Retrieved September 9, 2014. AIPAC representatives tried to match each member of Congress with a contact who shared the congressman's interests. If a member of Congress rode a Harley-Davidson, AIPAC found a contact who did, too. The goal was to develop people who could get a member of Congress on the phone at a moment's notice. Cite error: The named reference "bruck-expenses" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  25. ^ Jewish Telegraphic Agency, January 13, 2006
  26. ^ Bruck, Connie (September 1, 2014). "Friends of Israel". The New Yorker: 54. Retrieved September 9, 2014. local AIPAC staffers, in the manner of basketball recruiters, befriend some members when they are still serving on the student council. "If you have a dream about running for office, AIPAC calls you," one House member said. Certainly, it's a rarity when someone undertakes a campaign for the House or the Senate today without hearing from AIPAC.
  27. ^ a b Usa, Ibp. Jewish Lobby in the United States Handbook: Organization, Operations ... International Business Publications. p. 26.
  28. ^ Bruck, Connie (September 1, 2014). "Friends of Israel". The New Yorker: 50–63. Retrieved September 9, 2014. In the early days, Howard Berman said, "AIPAC was knocking on an unlocked door." Most Americans have been favorably disposed toward Israel since its founding, and no other lobby spoke for them on a national scale. Unlike other lobbies—such as the N.R.A., which is opposed by various anti-gun groups—AIPAC did not face a significant and well-funded countervailing force.
  29. ^ Bard, Mitchell (July 2012). "Congress & the Middle East: The Pro-Israel & Pro-Arab Lobbies". Jewish Viritual LIbrary. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  30. ^ Bruck, Connie (September 1, 2014). "Friends of Israel". The New Yorker: 58 column 1. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  31. ^ AIPAC head testifies on Israel aid by Eric Fingerhut, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), March 27, 2009.
  32. ^ Key Principles of the Peace Process
  33. ^ a b Hearn, Josephine (September 19, 2007). "Dems slam Moran's tying AIPAC to Iraq war". Politico. Archived from the original on April 25, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ Jeffrey Goldberg  (July 4, 2005). "Real Insiders". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 17, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  35. ^ AIPAC meeting wasn't supposed to be partisan, but ..., Jewish News Weekly of Northern California, March 16, 2007.
  36. ^ For Israel Lobby Group, War Is Topic A, Quietly, Washington Post, April 1, 2003.
  37. ^ US-Israel group demands "crippling" Iran sanctions March 10, 2010| AFP
  38. ^ "What We've Accomplished". AIPAC. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  39. ^ a b LANDLER, MARK (February 3, 2014). "Potent Pro-Israel Group Finds Its Momentum Blunted". New York Times. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  40. ^ "AIPAC Clarifies Position on Iran Sanctions Bill in Letter to Supporters". www.algemeiner.com. algemeiner.com. February 7, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  41. ^ Bruck, Connie (September 1, 2014). "Friends of Israel". The New Yorker: 50. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  42. ^ Shipler, David K. (July 6, 1987). "On Middle East Policy, A Major Influence". New York Times.
  43. ^ "House Vote On Passage: H. Res. 867: Calling on the President and the Secretary of State to". GovTrack. November 3, 2009. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  44. ^ Bruck, Connie (September 1, 2014). "Friends of Israel". The New Yorker: 58. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  45. ^ Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. (November 11, 1998). AIPAC listed 2nd most powerful group on Fortune list.
  46. ^ Coaster, Lefty (August 25, 2014). "The New Yorker looks at AIPAC and its bold opposition to US peace initiatives". Huffington Post. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  47. ^ Sharp, Jeremy M.: "U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel", Introduction, "CRS Report for Congress", Order Code RL33222
  48. ^ Migdalovitz, Carol: "Israel: Background and Relations with the United States", page 29. "CRS Report for Congress", Order Code RL33476
  49. ^ A Conservative Estimate of Total Direct U.S. Aid to Israel: $108 Billion, Shirl McArthur. Washington Report, July 2006, pages 16–17.
  50. ^ Sep 23, 2003 (September 23, 2003). "Asia Times". Atimes.com. Retrieved March 17, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  51. ^ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  52. ^ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  53. ^ "John McCain - AIPAC PC 2008 Full Speech Part 3". YouTube. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  54. ^ BBC News. "Analysis: America's new Christian Zionists". May 7, 2002
  55. ^ "REP. PELOSI DELIVERS REMARKS AT THE AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS" (PDF). AIPAC. March 13, 2007.
  56. ^ http://www.aipac.org/Summit/weil.asp
  57. ^ Abourezk, Jim (January 26, 2007). "The hidden cost of free congressional trips to Israel". csmonitor.com. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  58. ^ "American Israel Education Foundation". Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  59. ^ Becker, Amanda; Bade, Rachael (September 9, 2011). "Members Flock to Israel With Travel Loophole". Roll Call. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  60. ^ Keinon, Herb (August 8, 2011). "81 Congressmen to Visit Israel in Coming Weeks". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  61. ^ STEINHAUER, JENNIFER (August 15, 2011). "A Recess Destination With Bipartisan Support: Israel and the West Bank". New York Times. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  62. ^ Abourezk, Jim (January 26, 2007). "The hidden cost of free congressional trips to Israel". csmonitor.com. Retrieved October 7, 2014. These trips are defended as "educational." In reality, as I know from my many colleagues in the House and Senate who participated in them, they offer Israeli propagandists an opportunity to expose members of Congress to only their side of the story. The Israeli narrative of how the nation was created, and Israeli justifications for its brutal policies omit important truths about the Israeli takeover and occupation of the Palestinian territories.
  63. ^ "Hill Staff". AIPAC. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  64. ^ Bruck, Connie (September 1, 2014). "Friends of Israel". The New Yorker: 60. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  65. ^ "A PORTRAIT OF JEWISH AMERICANS Chapter 5: Connection With and Attitudes Toward Israel". Pew Research, Religion and Public Life Project. Pew. October 1, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  66. ^ Bruck, Connie (September 1, 2014). "Friends of Israel". The New Yorker: 52. Retrieved September 9, 2014. Today, a growing number of American Jews, though still devoted to Israel, struggle with the lack of progress toward peace with the Palestinians. Many feel that AIPAC does not speak for them. The Pew Center's survey found that only thirty-eight per cent of American Jews believe that the Israeli government is sincerely pursuing peace; forty-four per cent believe that the construction of new settlements damages Israel's national security.
  67. ^ John, Mearshimer; Walt, Stephen (March 2006). "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" (PDF). Harvard University. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  68. ^ Edsall, Thomas B.; Moore, Molly (September 5, 2004). "Pro-Israel Lobby Has Strong Voice". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
  69. ^ "Gravel Discusses Campaign Funding, Relations with Iran". The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. October 1, 2007. {{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |serieslink= (help)
  70. ^ Cockburn, Alexander (August 21, 2002). "From Cynthia McKinney to Katha Pollitt, to the ILWU to Paul Krugman". CounterPunch. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  71. ^ Gardner, Amy (September 15, 2007). "Moran Upsets Jewish Groups Again". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
  72. ^ Rubin, Jennifer (June 15, 2011). "AIPAC weighs in: All is not well with the U.S. approach to Israel". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 29, 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  73. ^ Ori Nir, Leaders Fear Probe Will Force Pro-Israel Lobby To File as ‘Foreign Agent’, The Jewish Daily Forward, December 31, 2004.
  74. ^ "What is AIPAC? A Voice for the U.S.-Israel Relationship". aipac.org. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved September 9, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  75. ^ McCollum, Betty (Volume 53, Number 10 · June 8, 2006). "A Letter to AIPAC". "New York Review of Books". Retrieved September 9, 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  76. ^ Forward Staff (May 26, 2006). "Lawmaker, Aipac Feud After Fight Over Hamas Bill". The Jewish Daily Forward. Archived from the original on June 10, 2008. Retrieved September 9, 2008.
  77. ^ a b Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Dec/Jan 1992/1993
  78. ^ AIPAC President Resigns, Sheldon L. Richman, December/January 1992/93, Page 69.
  79. ^ "2 Senior AIPAC Employees Ousted", Washington Post, April 21, 2005
  80. ^ Ticker, Bruce. AIPAC Charges Offer Opportunity, Philadelphia Jewish Voice, September 2005. Accessed March 27, 2006.
  81. ^ AIPAC to pay Weissman's legal fees Jerusalem Post, May 14, 2007.
  82. ^ Reuters Editorial (May 1, 2009). "U.S. to drop Israel lobbyist spy case". Reuters UK. Retrieved March 17, 2016. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  83. ^ Rozen, Laura and Vest, Jason. Cloak and Swagger, The American Prospect, November 2, 2004. Accessed March 27, 2006.
  84. ^ " United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, U.S. v. Lawrence Anthony Franklin ",
  85. ^ "Defense Analyst Guilty in Israeli Espionage Case", Washington Post, Oct. 6, 2005
  86. ^ Barakat, Matthew. "Ex-Pentagon Analyst Sentenced to 12 Years", Associated Press, January 21, 2006 Accessed May 18, 2007
Further reading
  • Kenen, Isaiah (1981). Israel's Defense Line: Her Friends and Foes in Washington. ISBN 0-87975-159-2
  • Smith, Grant F. (2008). America's Defense Line: The Justice Department's Battle to Register the Israel Lobby as Agents of a Foreign Government. ISBN 0-9764437-2-4
  • Mearsheimer, John J. and Walt, Stephen M. (2007). The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. ISBN 0-374-17772-4
  • Oren, Michael (2007). Power, Faith, and Fantasy: The United States in the Middle East, 1776 to 2006. ISBN 0-393-05826-3
  • Petras, James (2006). The Power of Israel in the United States. ISBN 0-932863-51-5

External links

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