American Israel Public Affairs Committee - Revision history

David: /* Resources */

2024-05-27T07:34:21Z

Resources

Alex Doherty: /* Principals */

2015-03-23T13:04:42Z

Principals

Jamie Stern-Weiner: /* The AWACS Battle */

2013-09-01T12:42:40Z

The AWACS Battle

Jasmin Ramsey: /* Associations */

2010-12-12T01:37:21Z

Associations

Jasmin Ramsey: /* Associations */

2010-12-12T01:36:55Z

Associations

Melissa Jones: typo

2010-11-29T17:09:25Z

typo

Jasmin Ramsey at 18:31, 25 November 2010

2010-11-25T18:31:57Z

Show changes

Idrees: /* Former Presidents */

2010-09-10T01:41:00Z

Former Presidents

Idrees: /* Former Presidents */

2010-09-10T01:40:17Z

Former Presidents

Idrees: /* Former Presidents */

2010-09-10T01:37:03Z

Former Presidents

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 ===Resources ===
 *[[Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs]]
 *[[Institute for Advanced Strategic & Political Studies]]
 *[[Jonathan Pollard]]
 *[[Stephen D. Bryen]]
 ===References===
 *J. J. Goldberg ''Jewish Power : Inside the American Jewish Establishment'' (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1996).

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 AIPAC employs about a hundred people at its headquarters.<ref>Jeffrey Goldberg, [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/07/04/050704fa_fact?currentPage=all Real Insiders], ''New Yorker'', 4 July 2005</ref>
 ===Principals===
-*[[Bernice Manocherian]] - President
+*[[Robert Cohen]] - President
 *[[Howard Kohr]] - Executive Director (1996-present)
 *[[Morris J. Amitay]] - former Executive Director (1974-1980)

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 ==The AWACS Battle==
-In 1981, the Reagan administration confronted the organized Jewish community in a prolonged battle over the proposed sale of AWACS planes to Saudi Arabia. After an eleven month battle, Reagan finally prevailed. The incident has often been presented as evidence of the Israel Lobby's relative weakness.<ref>Jonathan Freedland, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/18/jonathan-freedland-israel-lobby Discard the mythology of 'the Israel Lobby', the reality is bad enough], ''The Guardian'', 18 March 2009</ref><ref>Noam Chomsky, ''Language and Politics'' (AK Press 2004), p. 530</ref><ref>Stephen Zunes, [http://www.zcommunications.org/the-israel-lobby-how-powerful-is-it-really-by-stephen-zunes The Israel Lobby: How Powerful is it Really?], ''ZNet'', 25 May 2006</ref> Neither AIPAC, nor the Reagan Administration saw it that way. Indeed, the actual sequence of events shows that it was a major triumph for AIPAC. According to Goldberg, after the battle AIPAC 'emerged as one of the preeminent forces in Washington power politics.'<ref>Goldberg (1996): 197</ref>
+In 1981, the Reagan administration confronted the organized Jewish community in a prolonged battle over the proposed sale of [[AWACS]] planes to Saudi Arabia. After an eleven month battle, Reagan finally prevailed. The incident has often been presented as evidence of the Israel Lobby's relative weakness.<ref>Jonathan Freedland, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/18/jonathan-freedland-israel-lobby Discard the mythology of 'the Israel Lobby', the reality is bad enough], ''The Guardian'', 18 March 2009</ref><ref>Noam Chomsky, ''Language and Politics'' (AK Press 2004), p. 530</ref><ref>Stephen Zunes, [http://www.zcommunications.org/the-israel-lobby-how-powerful-is-it-really-by-stephen-zunes The Israel Lobby: How Powerful is it Really?], ''ZNet'', 25 May 2006</ref> Neither AIPAC, nor the Reagan Administration saw it that way. Indeed, the actual sequence of events shows that it was a major triumph for AIPAC. According to Goldberg, after the battle AIPAC 'emerged as one of the preeminent forces in Washington power politics.'<ref>Goldberg (1996): 197</ref>
 ===Aftermath===
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 The administration also saw AIPAC as a useful ally which could 'often sell administration policies that the White House itself could not sell.'
 :AIPAC was regularly enlisted to line up congressional support for the overall foreign-aid package, an unpopular program with little grass-roots backing outside the Jewish community...In February 1983, AIPAC director Tom Dine was the only professional lobbyist named to a blue-ribbon citizens' commission assembled by Secretary of State George Shultz to review the US foreign aid program. The following October, President Reagan personally enlisted AIPAC's help to fight a congressional resolution that would have forced him to pull US Marines out of Beirut.<ref>Goldberg (1996): 213-214</ref>
 ==Killing Detente==

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 *[[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] (WINEP) was established in 1985 by [[AIPAC]] as a pro-Israeli alternative to the [[Brookings Institution]], which - according to [[Juan Cole]], the Middle-East expert and Professor of History at the University of Michigan - it perceived to be insufficiently supportive of Israel. [[WINEP]] enjoys enormous influence in Washington with State Department and military personnel regularly detailed there for an education in the Middle-East. This naturally leads to the development of a much skewed understanding of the region and its conflicts, since WINEP is a heavily ideological think-tank, with a distinct agenda; the type of &#39;group polarization&#39; that is most evident in the current US administration. Position papers developed by WINEP are routinely distributed not only in government circles, but also to private sectors working for the government.
-*[[Jerusalem Post]](JPost) - Editor-in-Chief of JPost [[David Horovitz]] is a frequent featured speaker at AIPAC events<ref>AIPAC, [http://www.aipac.org/1680.asp, "AIPAC News"], The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, accessed on 11 December 2010</ref><ref>AIPAC, [http://www.aipac.org/index_34203.asp, "Las Vegas Annual Dinner"], The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, accessed on 11 December 2010</ref><ref>AIPAC, [http://www.aipac.org/about_AIPAC/3435_4966.asp, "National Summit Program"], The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, accessed on 11 December 2010</ref> and notes on his official biography that he regularly gives "the introductory briefing on Israel to Congressional delegations brought to Israel under the aegis of AIPAC."<ref name=DH>David Horovitz, [http://davidhorovitz.com/about/ "About"], David Horovitz Official Website, accessed on 11 December 2010</ref>
+*[[Jerusalem Post]] (JPost) - Editor-in-Chief of JPost [[David Horovitz]] is a frequent featured speaker at AIPAC events<ref>AIPAC, [http://www.aipac.org/1680.asp, "AIPAC News"], The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, accessed on 11 December 2010</ref><ref>AIPAC, [http://www.aipac.org/index_34203.asp, "Las Vegas Annual Dinner"], The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, accessed on 11 December 2010</ref><ref>AIPAC, [http://www.aipac.org/about_AIPAC/3435_4966.asp, "National Summit Program"], The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, accessed on 11 December 2010</ref> and notes on his official biography that he regularly gives "the introductory briefing on Israel to Congressional delegations brought to Israel under the aegis of AIPAC."<ref name=DH>David Horovitz, [http://davidhorovitz.com/about/ "About"], David Horovitz Official Website, accessed on 11 December 2010</ref>
 ==Publications==

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:36, 12 December 2010
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	*[[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] (WINEP) was established in 1985 by [[AIPAC]] as a pro-Israeli alternative to the [[Brookings Institution]], which - according to [[Juan Cole]], the Middle-East expert and Professor of History at the University of Michigan - it perceived to be insufficiently supportive of Israel. [[WINEP]] enjoys enormous influence in Washington with State Department and military personnel regularly detailed there for an education in the Middle-East. This naturally leads to the development of a much skewed understanding of the region and its conflicts, since WINEP is a heavily ideological think-tank, with a distinct agenda; the type of 'group polarization' that is most evident in the current US administration. Position papers developed by WINEP are routinely distributed not only in government circles, but also to private sectors working for the government.		*[[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] (WINEP) was established in 1985 by [[AIPAC]] as a pro-Israeli alternative to the [[Brookings Institution]], which - according to [[Juan Cole]], the Middle-East expert and Professor of History at the University of Michigan - it perceived to be insufficiently supportive of Israel. [[WINEP]] enjoys enormous influence in Washington with State Department and military personnel regularly detailed there for an education in the Middle-East. This naturally leads to the development of a much skewed understanding of the region and its conflicts, since WINEP is a heavily ideological think-tank, with a distinct agenda; the type of 'group polarization' that is most evident in the current US administration. Position papers developed by WINEP are routinely distributed not only in government circles, but also to private sectors working for the government.
		+
		+	*[[Jerusalem Post]](JPost) - Editor-in-Chief of JPost [[David Horovitz]] is a frequent featured speaker at AIPAC events<ref>AIPAC, [http://www.aipac.org/1680.asp, "AIPAC News"], The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, accessed on 11 December 2010</ref><ref>AIPAC, [http://www.aipac.org/index_34203.asp, "Las Vegas Annual Dinner"], The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, accessed on 11 December 2010</ref><ref>AIPAC, [http://www.aipac.org/about_AIPAC/3435_4966.asp, "National Summit Program"], The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, accessed on 11 December 2010</ref> and notes on his official biography that he regularly gives "the introductory briefing on Israel to Congressional delegations brought to Israel under the aegis of AIPAC."<ref name=DH>David Horovitz, [http://davidhorovitz.com/about/ "About"], David Horovitz Official Website, accessed on 11 December 2010</ref>

	==Publications==		==Publications==

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 In the end the most significant criticism of AIPAC has come from other Jewish organizations which claim that it does not represent views of the majority of US Jewry. On every issue, AIPAC is significantly to the right of the generally progressive US Jewish population in its views. This has led to the emergence of new challengers for the leadership of American Jewish politics, which are far more attuned to views of the population. Most notable amongst them is the [[Israel Policy Forum]] (IPF). However, it will be some time before they are able to match the strong fundraising, and organizing capabilities of AIPAC.
-AIPAC's success is due to its ability to reward legislators and congressional candidates who support its agenda and to punish those who challenge it. It ensures that those with a pro-Israel stance receive strong financial support from many pro-Israel political action committees and anyone deemed hostile to Israel 'can be sure that AIPAC will direct campaign contributions to his or her political opponents'. Letter-writing campaigns are organised by AIPAC and they also encourages newspaper editors to endorse pro-Israel candidates. During the 1984 elections, Senator [[Charles Percy]] from Illinois was targetted by the AIPAC. In the words of a prominent Lobby figure, Percy had ‘displayed insensitivity and even hostility to our concerns’. According to [[Thomas Dine]] (who was head of AIPAC at the time), ‘All the Jews in America, from coast to coast, gathered to oust Percy. And the American politicians – those who hold public positions now, and those who aspire – got the message.’ <ref name="mw">Mearsheimer, J. & Walt, S. (2006) [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/mear01_.html The Israel Lobby] <i>London Review of Books</i>. Accessed 8 July, 2008.</ref>
+AIPAC's success is due to its ability to reward legislators and congressional candidates who support its agenda and to punish those who challenge it. It ensures that those with a pro-Israel stance receive strong financial support from many pro-Israel political action committees and anyone deemed hostile to Israel 'can be sure that AIPAC will direct campaign contributions to his or her political opponents'. Letter-writing campaigns are organised by AIPAC and they also encourages newspaper editors to endorse pro-Israel candidates. During the 1984 elections, Senator [[Charles Percy]] from Illinois was targeted by the AIPAC. In the words of a prominent Lobby figure, Percy had ‘displayed insensitivity and even hostility to our concerns’. According to [[Thomas Dine]] (who was head of AIPAC at the time), ‘All the Jews in America, from coast to coast, gathered to oust Percy. And the American politicians – those who hold public positions now, and those who aspire – got the message.’ <ref name="mw">Mearsheimer, J. & Walt, S. (2006) [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/mear01_.html The Israel Lobby] <i>London Review of Books</i>. Accessed 8 July, 2008.</ref>
 AIPAC is described as 'de facto agent for a foreign government' which has a 'stranglehold' on Congress. According to former AIPAC staff member [[Douglas Bloomfield]], AIPAC is ‘often called on to draft speeches, work on legislation, advise on tactics, perform research, collect co-sponsors and marshal votes’ and ‘it is common for members of Congress and their staffs to turn to AIPAC first when they need information, before calling the Library of Congress, the Congressional Research Service, committee staff or administration experts.’ In the words of former Democratic senator [[Ernest Hollings]], ‘you can’t have an Israeli policy other than what AIPAC gives you around here.’ The result is that debate on US policy towards Israel is stifled with critics of Israel becoming an 'endangered species' in the foreign policy establishment. As Mearsheimer & Walt state, the 'inability of Congress to conduct a genuine debate on these important issues paralyses the entire process of democratic deliberation'.<ref name="mw"/>

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 *[[Amy Friedkin]]
 *[[David Steiner]]
-*[[Steven Grossman]]
+*[[Steven Grossman]] (1992-)
-For years, the real power in AIPAC was held by four ex-presidens who were also part of its influential 'officers' group'. They came to be known as the "Gang of Four"
+For years, the real power in AIPAC was held by four ex-presidens who were also part of its influential 'officers' group'. They came to be known as the "Gang of Four".<ref>Goldberg (1996)</ref>
 *[[Robert H. Asher]]
 *[[Larry Weinberg]] (1976-1982)

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 ===Former Presidents===
 *[[Melvin Dow]]
 *[[Robert H. Asher]]
 *[[Larry Weinberg]] (1976-1982)
 *[[Edward Levy]]
 *[[Mayer “Bubba” Mitchell]]
 ==Contact, Resources, External links, Notes==