Whose Lobby Is It Anyway? – Israel and Its Advocates: A Retrospective of 70 Years

• In Event: Potpourri: Israeli Public Politics & Performance

Abstract

Introducing hitherto unpublished primary sources from private collections, surveillance records, wiretappings, personal oral interviews, and diaries, the paper sheds new light on the unique complexities, dilemmas and interactions encountered by Israeli policy makers and diplomats, Jewish American leaders, and US decision makers in influencing unresolved issues affecting US-Israel relations. It fills a void, terra incognita on Israel advocacy, and the Israel lobby, in offering a perspective and criteria on analyzing the extent to which Israel garnered, directed, and manipulated pro-Israel advocacy and lobbying activities in securing crucial US political, economic, and military aid support during the presidencies of Truman through to Nixon. Jewish leaders’ interventions were not merely a one-way street in just appealing for US loans and arms to Israel but were equally utilized by the Administrations as vital conduits to temper what they considered unfavorable Israeli policies. The paper discusses Israel’s dilemma on what basis was ‘information’ on its interactions with US administration officials to be shared – Jewish leaders’ “loyalty to the Jewish people” or only with Zionists functionaries? and whether ‘information’ should be sought directly at first hard from the State Department and not through the embassy? Notwithstanding the important inroads made by Israel’s advocates in launching public campaigns and bringing pressure to bear to secure financial and military aid to Israel, (which Israeli diplomats were often forced attempted to restrain their overzealous actions which were neither initiated nor sanctioned by Israel), the paper reveals that the major contributing factor contributing to their success derived more as a result of US growing acknowledgement and appreciation of Israel’s military strength and practical contribution to furthering US defense interests. The paper illustrates one of the poorly misunderstood aspects on the subject of the Israel lobby by demonstrating how Israeli governments were more astute and powerful than previous scholars have realized and that they were in fact often pulling the strings far more than AIPAC and wealthy Jews. Another contributing factor on the decision to aid Israel lay in Israel exploiting its nuisance value.

Author

• Natan Aridan, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev