Dissident Veteran For Peace

Yesterday, National Public Radio ran a short piece where they went to bat for poor, besieged AIPAC against US Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). It was titled "Unpacking What The American Israel Public Affairs Committee Does".

It may not seem self-evident why NPR's defense of AIPAC is misleading, at best. It's true that AIPAC doesn't make direct donations to political candidates.

However, in 2017, AIPAC had an annual income of $229,098,693 with a "Form 990 Revenue Amount" of $107,755,186 on top of assets of $125,102,348. That's a lot of "Benjamins" and they're doing something with that money. I'm guessing they aren't planting daisies.

As NPR reporters and editors undoubtedly know, there are plenty of ways to use money for political lobbying other than direct campaign donations. And AIPAC is at the center of the network that constitutes the Israel Lobby. Moreover, it is a testament to AIPAC's influence that they have NPR shilling for them against Rep. Omar.

Here's how Mearsheimer and Walt described AIPAC's influence in 2006 (emphasis added):

A key pillar of the Lobby's effectiveness is its influence in Congress, where Israel is virtually immune from criticism. This in itself is remarkable, because Congress rarely shies away from contentious issues. Where Israel is concerned, however, potential critics fall silent. One reason is that some key members are Christian Zionists like Dick Armey, who said in September 2002: "My No. 1 priority in foreign policy is to protect Israel." One might think that the No. 1 priority for any congressman would be to protect America. There are also Jewish senators and congressmen who work to ensure that US foreign policy supports Israel's interests.

Another source of the Lobby's power is its use of pro-Israel congressional staffers. As Morris Amitay, a former head of AIPAC, once admitted, "there are a lot of guys at the working level up here" – on Capitol Hill – "who happen to be Jewish, who are willing … to look at certain issues in terms of their Jewishness … These are all guys who are in a position to make the decision in these areas for those senators … You can get an awful lot done just at the staff level."

AIPAC itself, however, forms the core of the Lobby's influence in Congress. Its success is due to its ability to reward legislators and congressional candidates who support its agenda, and to punish those who challenge it. Money is critical to US elections (as the scandal over the lobbyist Jack Abramoff's shady dealings reminds us), and AIPAC makes sure that its friends get strong financial support from the many pro-Israel political action committees. Anyone who is seen as hostile to Israel can be sure that AIPAC will direct campaign contributions to his or her political opponents. AIPAC also organises letter-writing campaigns and encourages newspaper editors to endorse pro-Israel candidates.

There is no doubt about the efficacy of these tactics. Here is one example: in the 1984 elections, AIPAC helped defeat Senator Charles Percy from Illinois, who, according to a prominent Lobby figure, had "displayed insensitivity and even hostility to our concerns". Thomas Dine, the head of AIPAC at the time, explained what happened: "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."

AIPAC's influence on Capitol Hill goes even further. According to Douglas Bloomfield, a former AIPAC staff member, "it is common for members of Congress and their staffs to turn to AIPAC first when they need information, before calling the Library of Congress, the Congressional Research Service, committee staff or administration experts." More important, he notes that AIPAC is "often called on to draft speeches, work on legislation, advise on tactics, perform research, collect co-sponsors and marshal votes".

The bottom line is that AIPAC, a de facto agent for a foreign government, has a stranglehold on Congress, with the result that US policy towards Israel is not debated there, even though that policy has important consequences for the entire world. ... Or as Ariel Sharon once told an American audience, "when people ask me how they can help Israel, I tell them: 'Help AIPAC.' "

As an aside, the NPR piece also falsely positions J Street as some positive alternative to AIPAC when in fact they are a Zionist Trojan Horse that supports the apartheid two-state solution.

Labels: Ilhan Omar, Israel Lobby, media, National Public Radio, politics, Zionism