Policy
– Who Makes this Stuff Up?
by Not Sure
22 Sept 2024
John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt in their book, The
Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, wrote that the Israel lobby is a “loose
coalition of individuals and organizations who actively work to steer U.S.
foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction.”
The bulk of the lobby is comprised of Jewish Americans, and it also
includes Christian Zionists. In this “loose
coalition,” the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) stands out as
one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the United States.
Over the years, Alan Watt mentioned lobby groups and
their influence on policy many times. Though
he regularly pointed out the party system as a bird with two wings, he did say
that if the system of representative government could ever work, lobby groups
would have to be the first thing to go.
Here is what he said September 5, 2013, while reading an article about
AIPAC. “So
Palestine, as you know, is getting no recognition from anybody, but they managed
to get a little foot in the door when they lobbied at the United Nations
themselves. Most folk don’t really care about the Palestinians because they’re
kept out of the news as much as possible. But AIPAC is the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee; it’s the most powerful lobbying group, according to
Wikipedia, in the country. And Britain’s got one too, their own form of it, so
have other countries as well. Very powerful. But it says here that this actual
letter by Senator Cardin and Susan Collins was actually backed by AIPAC itself,
you see; so they’re spokespeople for them. And there’s
the dilemma that the US has, because within the US you have the powerful lobby
group that’s there for another country, not for the US. So, whose interests,
really, are being served here? ...when another country’s being used to go to war to finish off strategies, that’s going to
basically benefit a different country altogether? Anyway, it says…”
According to Wikipedia, AIPAC was
founded in 1954 by Isaiah L. Kenen, a Canadian born American journalist and
lawyer and a lobbyist for the Israeli government, partly to counter negative
international reactions to Israel's Qibya massacre of
Palestinian villagers that year.
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy was formed in
1985 by Barbi Weinberg, with the support of AIPAC and many of its members. Mearsheimer and Walt describe WINEP as “part
of the core” of the Israel lobby in the United States. WINEP is known as a pro-Israel think tank
focused on American foreign policy in the Near East. Martin Indyk was the first executive director
of WINEP. Indyk, who passed away in July
of this year, was twice U.S. ambassador to Israel and was Assistant Secretary
of State for Near East Affairs during the Clinton administration.
Barbi Weinberg’s husband was Larry, who volunteered for
World War II, where he sustained a serious injury and was awarded a Purple
Heart, Combat Infantry Badge and the Bronze Star. His commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship
was reinforced by the 1967 Six-Day War, and he and his wife became active
members of AIPAC. He served that lobby
group as president from 1976 to 1982. Weinberg
had personal connections to Menachem Begin, developed a difficult relationship
with the Trilateral Jimmy Carter, and subsequently forged strong relationships
with the Reagan White House.
Menachem Begin (and Ariel Sharon) founded the Likud party,
which is now chaired by Benjamin Netanyahu.
Before the creation of the state of Israel, Begin
was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun. According to Wiki, during the 1947–48
Civil War in Mandatory Palestine and, as its chief, Begin
was described by the British government as the “leader of the notorious
terrorist organization.” Begin’s
relationship with the British ruling elite eventually became friendlier, and in
1977, Begin became Israel’s sixth prime minister.
Martin Indyk went on to serve for seventeen years as the
executive vice president of the Brookings Institution, which has been described
as the number one think tank in the United States, “the first private
organization devoted to analyzing public policy issues at the national level.” Brookings Institution played a major role in
the creation of the United Nations, and the crafting and implementation of the Marshall
Plan (1948) to provide billions in foreign aid to Western Europe. Early key funding for Brookings can be traced
to the Carnegie Corporation, the Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller
Foundation.
Policy is shaped by think tanks, which are funded by
foundations. Think tanks are perhaps the
most important “actors” in public policy, yet people continue to vote, and hope
for the best.
Wishy-washy word-salad Kamala Harris says that “Israel
has right to defend itself,” and Palestinians need “dignity and security.” We don’t hear much in the way of policy, but
it’s likely her ambiguous words are read straight from talking points crafted
by think tank fellows.
Donald Trump is not straddling the fence on this
issue. At a recent “Fighting Anti-Semitism
in America” event he declared, “I'm here today to tell the Jewish American
community that this ugly tide of anti-Semitic pro-Hamas bigotry and hate will
be turned back and crushed. Starting at noon on Jan. 20, 2025.” “With your vote I will be your defender,
protector and best friend Jewish Americans have ever had in the White House.”
© Not Sure
Additional reading:
AIPAC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIPAC
Washington
Institute for Near East Policy
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/about
Brookings
Institution
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookings_Institution
Donald
Trump says 'Israel has to defeat Kamala' and Jewish
voters to blame if he loses
https://www.express.co.uk/news/us/1950900/Donald-Trump-Israel-defeat-Kamala-Jewish-voters-blame