SKIRMISHES BETWEEN THE ISRAEL LOBBY AND OTHER ELITES WHICH ZIONISTS WON

http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/?id=1605&lists=newslog

- 1930's: Career British diplomats issued a government backed white paper suggesting tying Jewish immigration to Palestine to Palestinian economic interests, not just the Yishuv capacity. Weissman and other British Zionists mobilized their forces en masse and the effort succeeded in reversing this policy quickly (well discussed in Tom Segev’s excellent book on this period).

-1940-1945: When there was strong sentiment in the US to help European Jews fleeing Nazi Germany, the Zionist lobby both in Britain and the US lobbied to limit Jewish immigration to the west and keep the door open only for one destination: Palestine (see Naeim Giladi’s book “Ben Gurion Scandals” and Lenni Brenner’s “51 Documents: History of the Nazi-Zionist collaboration).

- 1948: When the State Department, the Pentagon, and all major career diplomats in the US stood against support for the establishment of Israel, President Truman explained his decision to his cabinet (privately) very clearly as relating to the lobby and voting adding that “I have no Arab constituency” (Truman papers and many history books). The US went on to twist the arms of other countries to support partition and the imposing of a Jewish state on Palestine.

- June 1967: Israeli forces attacked the USS Liberty in international waters. Naval demands of an investigation were immediately attacked by the lobby in Congress. Senior Navy officers (and all survivors of the attack) were angry, but could do nothing in the face of a concerted media silencing campaign. Even in 2003 when new evidence emerged, little was reported on it (see http://www.ussliberty.org/)

- 1980's: Israel uses US technology and financing to develop its own arms export industry competing with US arms exporters but also giving advanced technologies to US competitors. Many US arms industry leaders are unhappy, and some even complain openly, and Israeli-made "Python II" missiles now arm Chinese warplanes and in one instance threatened US planes. (see http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/p-krane.html).

- May 1987: The Reagan administration notified Congress of its intention to sell 1600 Maverick anti-tank missiles to Saudi Arabia. According to the NY

Times: "Within half an hour, lobbyists from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the only group registered to lobby Congress on legislation affecting Israel, were on the telephone to lawmakers about the proposal. Over the next 13 days, the committee mobilized its nationwide network of supporters with a series of memorandums and telephone calls urging them to lobby Congress. Though it is unclear whether the committee, known as AIPAC, can take all the credit, more than 260 members of Congress co-sponsored resolutions to block the sale, prompting President Reagan to withdraw it." http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/pg-nyt2.html

- Early 1991: Israel asked the US for $10 billion in loan guarantees to settle Russian Jews. George HW Bush told Shamir that Israel could have the guarantees if it freezes settlement building and promises that no Russian Jews would be settled in the occupied areas. Shamir simply called the lobby leaders to help. Mobilization was so swift and powerful that Bush received a barrage of media questions in a Press conference in 1991.. Bush uttered his famous line “I am only this little guy in the white house …. there are these thousands on Capital Hill…” and then folded. Israel got its $10 billion and went on to increase the number of colonists/settlers in the occupied Palestinian areas from less than 200,000 in 1991 to over 450,000 in 2000. This was the main reason for the collapse of the peace process and increased resentment and anger in the world.

- 1992-1998: President Clinton brought to high office people who were previously employed by the various Israeli lobby groups. Dennis Ross, who worked for WIMEP and was then appointed as US Envoy to the Middle East, and then returned to work for WINEP (see http://www.activistsreader.com/articles%20folder/thinktankwatch-winep2.html).

- Martin Indyk worked for AIPAC and to my knowledge is the only lobbyist for a foreign country ever appointed ambassador to that same foreign country. These folks and many others made clear their interest in merging US policy and Israeli policy. Thus it was not surprising that Clinton issued assurances saying that if the Camp David meetings failed no one will be faulted. But even as negotiations continued in Taba, Ross, Clinton, and Indyk blamed Arafat. The Clinton administration, under the influence of these lobbyists, continued to support an aggressive policy in Iraq and tried valiantly to thwart the International community and many leaders of US businesses (including multinational companies) who pushed for ending the sanctions that were killing 6000 children every month.

- September 2001, Bush urged Israel to show restraint in its crackdown on the Palestinians, and pressed Sharon to allow Shimon Peres to meet with Arafat (he also said publicly that he supported the creation of a Palestinian state). Sharon accused Bush of trying ‘to appease the Arabs at our expense’ and stated ‘we will not be Czechoslovakia’. Bush was reportedly furious at being compared to Chamberlain, and the White House press secretary called Sharon’s remarks ‘unacceptable’. The Lobby kicked into high gear. 89 Senators wrote a letter to Bush. Bush backed down. The New York Times stated that the letter ‘stemmed’ from a meeting two weeks before between ‘leaders of the American Jewish community and key senators’ with the involvement of AIPAC.

- April 2002. Israel's push into the West Bank embarrases Bush and he asked its government to halt the incursion and withdraw from Palestinian cities. He repeated this twice. Even Condaleeza Rice (then National Security Adviser) emphasized "Withdraw now means withdraw now". The Lobby swung into action. Tom DeLay, Dick Armey, and Trent Lott told Bush to back off. On April 11, White House press secretary said that Bush believed Sharon to be a "man of peace". No more was heard about withdrawals.

- March 2005: In a snub to the White House, AIPAC managed to get a bill severely restricting aid to the Palestinians and even denying the usual clause for a presidential waiver for national security http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/p-nir.html

- April 2005. After initially complaining about Israel's plans to increase settlement activities to surround Jerusalem (Maale Adumim area) in violation of the US drafted "road map", the Bush administration backed down in the face of the lobby; http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/p-softenbush.html

There were rare times when the lobby was not as powerful in pushing the myth of equivalency of US and Israeli interests. In 1956 President Eisenhower listened to career diplomats and US elites, and pressed for Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza and Sinai despite rumblings from Congress (itself influenced by the lobby).

But even such minor resistance vanished after 1967 when the lobby pushed the idea that US weapons in Israeli hands are keeping the Soviets/Communism out of the Middle East (a lie because communism could never get a foothold in Arab society).