AIPAC - Misplaced Pages

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File:GWBush speech to AIPAC May 2004.jpg

U.S. President George W. Bush addresses AIPAC members in Washington on May 18, 2004. To his right is AIPAC's executive director Howard Kohr and to his left is AIPAC president Bernice Manocherian.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is a special interest group that lobbies the United States Government on behalf of a strong U.S. - Israel relationship. Describing itself as "America's Pro-Israel Lobby," it is a mass-membership organization including both Jews and non-Jews, and is considered one of the most powerful political lobbies in the United States.

History

Founded in 1953 by I.L. "Si" Kenen, AIPAC's original name was the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs. According to UCLA political science professor and author, Steven Siegel, "the tension between the Eisenhower administration and Israeli supporters was so acute that there were rumors (unfounded as it turned out) that the administration would investigate the American Zionist Council. Therefore, an independent lobbying committee was formed, which years later was renamed ." . Today, AIPAC has 65,000 members across 50 states.

Activities and stated goals

AIPAC's stated purpose is to lobby the Congress of the United States on issues and legislation that are in the best interests of Israel and the United States. It regularly meets with members of Congress and holds events where it can share its views. It also provides analysis of the voting records of U.S. federal representatives and senators with regard to how they voted on legislation related to Israel. AIPAC has been effective in gaining support for Israel among members of Congress and White House administrations.

The New York Times described AIPAC on July 6, 1987 as "a major force in shaping United States policy in the Middle East." The article also stated that: "The organization has gained power to influence a presidential candidate's choice of staff, to block practically any arms sale to an Arab country, and to serve as a catalyst for intimate military relations between The Pentagon and the Israeli army. Its leading officials are consulted by State Department and White House policy makers, by senators and generals."

AIPAC's views of its strengths and achievements

AIPAC claims its strengths lie in its national membership base and great research capacity to understand both Israel's interest and the interests of other countries affecting US-Israel relationship around the world. Some of the achievements it claims include:

Isolating Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad by advocating that the Administration place the terrorist groups on a more restrictive terrorist list, allowing the United States to sanction foreign financial institutions if they fail to block the organizations’ assets.
Disrupting Hamas financing by urging the Administration to freeze the assets of the U.S.-based Holy Land Foundation, which has been accused of funneling money to the terrorist organization.
Defending Israel from terrorist bomb attacks by securing $28 million for Israel to purchase American technology, including robots and scanners, designed to detect and neutralize bombs.

Successes

AIPAC advises members of Congress about the issues that face today's Middle East, including the dangers of extremism and terrorism. It was an early supporter of the Counter-Terrorism Act of 1995, which resulted in increased FBI resources being committed to fight terrorism, as well as expanded federal jurisdiction in prosecuting criminal activities related to terrorism.

AIPAC also supported the funding of a number of Israeli military projects that have resulted in many new additions to the arsenal of America's Armed Services. The Arrow anti-missile system is now the most advanced working anti-ballistic missile system in the world.

Martin Indyk research director at the AIPAC, founded the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) think-tank in 1985.

AIPAC lobbies for financial aid from the United States to Israel, helping to procure nearly $3 billion in aid.

Controversies

AIPAC has been connected to several controversial events.

In 1982, AIPAC was able to convince the US Congress and President Reagan to veto a French-supported UN resolution condemning the Israeli Invasion of Lebanon, which called for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from Lebanon to allow for the safe evacuation of Palestinians. This caused some critics in the media to argue that the "Reagan administration could not commit itself to concrete action to stop the killing in Lebanon". The United States defended its vote stating that the proposed resolution would allow the PLO to retain its weapons during the evacuation, thus allowing it to potentially carry out attacks throughout the evacuation.

In 1992, AIPAC president David Steiner had to resign when he was tape recorded boasting about his political influence, saying he had "cut a deal" with the Bush administration to give more aid to Israel. He had arranged for "almost a billion dollars in other goodies," he added and was "negotiating" with the incoming Clinton administration over appointing a pro-Israeli Secretary of State. Steiner also stated AIPAC had "a dozen people in (the Clinton) headquarters. And they are all going to get big jobs."

Haim Katz told the Washington Times that he taped the conversation because "as someone Jewish, I am concerned when a small group has a disproportionate power. I think that hurts everyone, including Jews. If David Steiner wants to talk about the incredible, disproportionate clout AIPAC has, the public should know about it."

Franklin, Rosen, Weissman

In August 2004, it was revealed that the FBI had been conducting an investigation of Larry Franklin, a United States Department of Defense employee, on suspicion of espionage.
In May 2005, the Justice Department announced that Franklin had been arrested and charged with providing classified information about potential attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq. The one-count criminal complaint did not identify AIPAC by name, but described a luncheon meeting in which, allegedly, Franklin disclosed top-secret information to two AIPAC officials.
In August 2005, former AIPAC policy director Steven Rosen and AIPAC senior Iran analyst Keith Weissman were indicted for illegally conspiring to gather and disclose classified national security information to Israel.
On January 20, 2006, Judge T. S. Ellis III sentenced Franklin to 151 months (almost 13 years) in prison and fined him $10,000.

For full details, see AIPAC espionage scandal.

Supporters

AIPAC has a wide base of supporters both in and outside of Congress. Support among congressional members includes a majority of members of both the Democratic and Republican Parties. One supporter, state Rep. Mark B. Cohen of Philadelphia (a delegate to the 2004 AIPAC national convention in Washington, D.C.) said: "AIPAC plays valuable roles in expanding the pro-Israel communities in the United States, and in putting them in touch with those who influence the direction of American foreign policy. AIPAC is a diverse, broad-based organization which seeks to synthesize the views of its backers with objective information to pursue the advocacy of policies that benefit both the United States and Israel. No organization can better articulate the American interests in a strong U.S.-Israel military alliance than AIPAC can."

President George W. Bush, addressing AIPAC members in Washington on May 18, 2004, stated: "AIPAC is doing important work. In Washington and beyond, AIPAC is calling attention to the great security challenges of our time. You've always understood and warned against the evil ambition of terrorism and their networks. In a dangerous new century, your work is more vital than ever."

Critics

AIPAC also has critics, including United States Representative Cynthia McKinney and journalist Alexander Cockburn of CounterPunch, who claim that AIPAC was instrumental in helping to defeat Congressional candidates that AIPAC deemed unfriendly to Israel, Representative McKinney of Georgia (after her first term as a Representative) and former Representative Earl F. Hilliard of Alabama.

Other critics, such as Representative Dave Obey, of Wisconsin, contend that AIPAC primarily reflects the right-wing Likud's positions, rather than representing those of more left-wing Israeli political parties, such as the Labor Party. For critics, the relationship between AIPAC and the Israeli government raises other concerns. AIPAC is not registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) , which requires those who receive funds or act on behalf of a foreign government to register. While AIPAC maintains that it receives no funds or directions from the State of Israel, past critics, such as former American Senator William Fulbright and former senior CIA official Victor Marchetti, contended that AIPAC should have registered. The recent AIPAC espionage scandal has increased attention to FARA's possible applicability to AIPAC.

Hedrick Smith claimed in his book The Power Game: How Washington Works that AIPAC had become a superlobby: " gained so much political muscle that by 1985 AIPAC and its allies could force President Reagan to renege on an arms deal he had promised to King Hussein. By 1986, the pro-Israel lobby could stop Reagan from making another jet fighter deal with Saudi Arabia, and Secretary of State George Shultz had to sit down with AIPAC's executive director -- not Congressional leaders -- to find out what level of arms sales to the Saudis AIPAC would tolerate".