I've Heard That Song Before

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The US national interest should be the primary object of American foreign policy. For the past several decades, the centerpiece of US Middle East policy has been its relationship with Israel.

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The Israel Lobby is directing Washington's foreign policy to promote Israel's interests, regardless of negative effects on the United States' own interests.

Since 1982, the United States has vetoed 32 United Nations Security Council resolutions that were critical of Israel, a number greater than the combined total of vetoes cast by all the other security council members."

Washington is consistently blocking Arab states' efforts to put Israel's nuclear arsenal on the International Atomic Energy Agency's agenda.


"Saying that Israel and the United States are united by a shared terrorist threat has the causal relationship backwards: rather, the United States has a terrorism problem in good part because it is so closely allied with Israel, not the other way around."

The Israel Lobby is the loose coalition of individuals and organizations who actively work to shape United States foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction.

In the first week of March, 2006, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) held its largest-ever annual Policy Conference in Washington D.C., attracting more than 5,000 pro-Israel activists from the United States and several foreign countries.

Almost two thirds of the US Congress and Senate members attended the AIPAC conference this year, in addition to top US officials and policymakers, and made speeches dedicated to the welfare and undisputed support of Israel.

Addressing the conference, new Republican majority leader in the House of Representatives, John Boehner, vowed never to allow anti-Israel legislation be discussed.

As the new House majority leader, I can assure you that under my leadership, legislation that is in any way perceived as anti-Israel will not be considered in the House of Representatives.

On methods employed by the Lobby to guarantee the continuous flow of support to Israel, the study says the
Lobby relies on two "broad strategies".

First, it wields significant influence in Washington, pressuring both Congress and the Executive branch to support Israel down the line.

Second, the Lobby strives to ensure that public discourse about Israel portrays it in a positive light, by repeating myths about Israel and its founding and by publicizing Israel's side in the policy debates of the day.

The Lobby's perspective on Israel is widely reflected in the mainstream media in good part because most American commentators hired are pro-Israel. This pro-Israel bias is reflected in the editorials of major newspapers, many of which are Jewish owned.

Although the Lobby remains a powerful force, the adverse effects of its influence are becoming increasingly difficult to hide.

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