Israel Lobby Watch

Pro-Israeli lobby forges unholy alliance with the Christian right

Akiva Eldar 7 April 2003

“Evangelical Christians from South Carolina paid for the huge billboard on Israel’s Ayalon highway declaring ‘There’s no land for peace.’ TV evangelist Pat Robertson last week reprimanded Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, saying ‘Who do you think you are, handing Jerusalem over to Arafat?’ With Christian friends like these close to the president’s ear, the right-wing government in Israel does not need Jewish friends to rebuff political initiatives like the road map.” Haaretz’s Akiva Eldar charts the growing — and troubling — influence of Christian Evangelical Zionists in Washington, DC. 

UK to impose duties on Israeli goods from Israeli settlements

Arjan El Fassed 3 April 2003

The UK treasury will introduce in line with EU policy customs duties on Israeli goods produced in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Treasury reaffirmed that the Occupied Palestinian territories are not part of the State of Israel, that Israel routinely and repeatedly fails to answer the direct question regarding the origin of goods, and that Customs & Excise have begun issuing duty demands to UK importers where goods are suspected to be have originated in the settlements. 

AIPAC, ADL refuse to condemn inclusion of ethnic cleansers in new Israel government

Ali Abunimah 3 March 2003

Leading pro-Israeli organizations in the United States have pointedly refused to condemn Ariel Sharon’s inclusion in his new government of the National Union alliance parties whose members ran for election on a platform openly advocating the “transfer” – or ethnic cleansing – of the Palestinians. EI’s Ali Abunimah phoned up the leading US pro-israel groups, AIPAC and ADL to find out why they were remaining silent about policies that fit the international legal definition of genocide. 

Bush and Sharon nearly identical on Mideast policy

Robert G. Kaiser 9 February 2003

“The Bush administration’s alignment with Sharon delights many of its strongest supporters, especially evangelical Christians, and a large part of organized American Jewry, according to leaders in both groups.” The Washington Post’s Robert G. Kaiser offers an in-depth analysis of the political and ideological dimensions of the Bush-Sharon worldview, and the role of pro-Likud neoconservatives in shaping the Middle East map. 

Sharon derides EU peace efforts

Chris McGreal 20 January 2003

Ariel Sharon yesterday dismissed European peace efforts as anti-Israeli and said only the US matters in deciding the fate of the Palestinians. The prime minister’s comments followed an interview with Newsweek magazine released yesterday in which he was asked about the efforts of the Quartet - the US, UN, EU and Russia - to map out a road to peace. “Oh, the quartet is nothing! Don’t take it seriously! There is [another] plan that will work,” he said. Chris McGreal reports in the Guardian. 

AIPAC's power is often overrated

Issam Nashashibi 23 October 2002


Issam Nashashibi
Two prominent African American members of Congress lost their primary bids for re-election in 2002. Their defeats were widely attributed to the influence of AIPAC, the largest pro-Israel lobby group in Washington, which was angered by positions they had taken in support of Palestinian human rights. Issam Nashashibi, in this contribution to EI, writes that while the US and Arab press continue to mythologize AIPAC’s power and invincibility, the lobby’s influence is often exaggerated. This, he argues, means that there are good prospects for Arab Americans to play a bigger role in shaping debate and policy in US politics. 

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