Can Obama Beat the Israel Lobby?

[This article is based on a study prepared for the Norwegian Peacebuilding Centre (Noref) in Oslo.]

How one gauges the importance or shortcomings of Barack Obama’s comments on the Israel-Palestine conflict in his speech of May 19 depends on how one understands the history of the Middle East peace process. My take on that history has always reminded me of the gallows humor that used to make the rounds in the Soviet Union: Soviet workers pretend to work, and their Kremlin rulers pretend to pay them. So it has been with the peace process: Israeli governments pretend they are seeking a two-state solution, and the United States pretends it believes them -- that is, until President Obama’s latest speech on the subject. But I am getting ahead of myself.

The main agency for the promotion of this deception in the United States has been the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), whose legitimacy is based on the pretense that it speaks for the American Jewish community. It does not, for the lobby’s commitment is to Israeli governments of a certain right-wing cast.

AIPAC went into virtual hibernation during the government of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in the 1990s because he disliked its politics and the notion that an Israeli prime minister needs AIPAC’s intercession to communicate with the US administration. The chemistry between them was so bad that Rabin encouraged the formation of a new American support group, the Israel Policy Forum.

It is not widely known that in 1988 the three major US Jewish “defense” organizations -- the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress and the Anti-Defamation League -- joined in a public challenge to AIPAC (as well as to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations), charging that the policies it advocates do not always represent the views of the American Jewish community. I am familiar with the episode because I served on the executive committee of AIPAC for nearly thirty years -- from 1965 to 1994 -- while heading the Synagogue Council of America and then the American Jewish Congress. As the New York Times reported at the time, the challenge was “politically significant because it suggests that American Jewish opinion is more diverse and, on some issues, less hard-line than the picture presented by AIPAC, which is viewed by Congress and the Administration as an authoritative spokesman for American Jews.

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Can Obama Beat the Israel Lobby?

I am familiar with the episode because I served on the executive committee of AIPAC for nearly thirty years -- from 1965 to 1994 -- while heading the Synagogue Council of America and then the American Jewish Congress. As the New York Times reported at




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Get ready for more dark justice as the Dark Knight prowls the streets and skies of Gotham City for the criminal element which infests it in Batman, the Animated Series: Volume Two. This 4-disc set features 28 episodes of animated bliss, which includes the first appearances of Ra's Al Ghul ("Tron's" David Warner), and his beautiful daughter Talia ("Supergirl's" Helen Slater) in "Off Balance"; and The Riddler ("Smallville's" John Glover) in "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" The set also includes the Emmy-winning "Robin's Reckoning" with corresponding commentary by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski. As always, the voice talents never ceases to amaze. The brilliant thought and care put into the series' voice casting is a tradition that continued with the later DC Comics superhero shows, Teen Titans and Justice League Unlimited. Here are the contents of this set: Fight crime day and night alongside the Dark Knight with this deluxe 4-disc set packed with 28 heroic adventures from the acclaimed series! Filled with gripping plots, multidimensional characters and superb voice talent, this Emmy-winning series has defined Batman for legions of fans. Enjoy amazing encounters with Catwoman, duels with the Penguin, contests with the Riddler and of course, battles of wit with the Joker - plus Exclusive Extras from the minds that conceived this cutting-edge version of the classic hero! Grab your cape and swing into action with this quintessential Batman compilation!


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