The Israeli Lobby

Does the Israeli lobby wield too much power? That’s the question posed by a Washington Post Sunday Magazine article (July 16, 2006) that I cannot link for you but recommend that you read by going to the paper’s website when it is posted. The article that was clearly in development for a long time and appeared at a particularly dynamic time since Israel is engaged in ferocious military actions in Gaza and Lebanon even as this is being written.

There can be no doubt that these actions were provoked by Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon when militants of both groups crossed into Israel, attacked outposts, killed and wounded the guards, and kidnapped soldiers from both outposts. It is the avowed policy of Israel to do all that is necessary to safely retrieve its kidnapped troops; a policy that I support without reservation.

The entire world is focused on these actions as the combatants on both sides utilize extraordinary means to make their points and as other powers are fingered for egging them on in a larger war for regional control. Iran and Syria stand accused of siccing Hamas and Hezbollah onto the Israelis to back door the U.S. which has had them both under great pressure, and the United States, in turn, stands accused of not restraining the response by Israel, its alleged dog in the fight.

All of this plays out as the parties behind the combatants are accused of using this series of events to provide leverage in both the Iraq War and the larger war on terror. World petroleum and stock markets shudder as buyers question the ability of Middle East suppliers of the world’s great commodity, oil, to guarantee deliveries. Spectators in the Arab and larger Muslim world and greater powers, including some members of the European Union, Russia, and China shed crocodile tears as the world’s remaining super power gets further bogged down in the region.

This brings us back to the article in the Post Magazine which attempts to lay out a balanced picture for readers to make up their own minds. It also points out how difficult it is for anyone to criticize the lobby or Israel without becoming labeled an anti-Semite.

Frankly, I think the lobby is too powerful. Until these attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah, I have been under the impression that many Israelis – in and out of government - have been far more forward looking in dealing with the settlements than have those leading the American lobbying effort. Being an inveterate reader of letters to the editors of major newspapers, I believe also that many American Jews – but certainly don’t mean to quantify them or try to determine polling numbers – have come to embrace the recent withdrawal from Gaza and the movement in the West Bank as being in the best interests of Israel, but the current situation may well set this policy back, at least in the short term.

The Sharon settlement policy has caused problems for Israel with its Evangelical Christian supporters, and this to me is one of the great problems for the Israeli lobby. Both the settlers and their supporters in the Christian right do not approach this issue in the manner of the governments of Israel and the U.S. and causes these governments great problems. The governments see the settlements problem in terms of their geo-political interests while the settlers and their American Christian supporters see it in Biblical terms and these views presently conflict.

I’ve been of the opinion that the Israeli lobby is too powerful because its American Christian backers push it well past what the government of Israel finds useful. If that’s anti-Semitic, I’m sorry.

Blog on!

Wild Bill