The Israel Lobby (part 11)

Article by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt

AIPAC’s influence on Capitol Hill goes even further. According to Douglas Bloomfield, a former AIPAC staff member, ‘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.’ More important, he notes that AIPAC is ‘often called on to draft speeches, work on legislation, advise on tactics, perform research, collect co-sponsors and marshal votes’.

The bottom line is that AIPAC, a de facto agent for a foreign government, has a stranglehold on Congress, with the result that US policy towards Israel is not debated there, even though that policy has important consequences for the entire world. In other words, one of the three main branches of the government is firmly committed to supporting Israel. As one former Democratic senator, Ernest Hollings, noted on leaving office, ‘you can’t have an Israeli policy other than what AIPAC gives you around here.’ Or as Ariel Sharon once told an American audience, ‘when people ask me how they can help Israel, I tell them: “Help AIPAC.”’

Thanks in part to the influence Jewish voters have on presidential elections, the Lobby also has significant leverage over the executive branch. Although they make up fewer than 3 per cent of the population, they make large campaign donations to candidates from both parties. The Washington Post once estimated that Democratic presidential candidates ‘depend on Jewish supporters to supply as much as 60 per cent of the money’. And because Jewish voters have high turn-out rates and are concentrated in key states like California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania, presidential candidates go to great lengths not to antagonize them.

Key organizations in the Lobby make it their business to ensure that critics of Israel do not get important foreign policy jobs. Jimmy Carter wanted to make George Ball his first secretary of state, but knew that Ball was seen as critical of Israel and that the Lobby would oppose the appointment. In this way any aspiring policymaker is encouraged to become an overt supporter of Israel, which is why public critics of Israeli policy have become an endangered species in the foreign policy establishment.

When Howard Dean called for the United States to take a more ‘even-handed role’ in the Arab-Israeli conflict, Senator Joseph Lieberman accused him of selling Israel down the river and said his statement was ‘irresponsible’. Virtually all the top Democrats in the House signed a letter criticising Dean’s remarks, and the Chicago Jewish Star reported that ‘anonymous attackers . . . are clogging the email inboxes of Jewish leaders around the country, warning – without much evidence – that Dean would somehow be bad for Israel.’

This worry was absurd; Dean is in fact quite hawkish on Israel: his campaign co-chair was a former AIPAC president, and Dean said his own views on the Middle East more closely reflected those of AIPAC than those of the more moderate Americans for Peace Now. He had merely suggested that to ‘bring the sides together’, Washington should act as an honest broker. This is hardly a radical idea, but the Lobby doesn’t tolerate even-handedness.

Signs of the End of Time

* I’ve noted [passed] beside the signs that I know have happened/are happening

From the wikipedia entry ‘End time – Sunni Islam’:

Islam gives very clear guidelines to its followers regarding the end of times. There are various signs (as many as up to 100) given in the Sunnah and Quran for the coming of Judgment Day. These signs can be divided into two parts, minor and major. The major signs include the coming of an Antichrist, Imam Mahdi and then Prophet Jesus (who will combine forces of good against evil), the blowing of Trumpet and the minor signs will precede them. For a list of all signs of coming of Judgment day in Islam, visit [1]

Islamic eschatology is concerned with the Qiyamah (end of the world; Last Judgment) and the final judgment of humanity. Eschatology relates to one of the six articles of faith (aqidah) of Islam. Like the other Abrahamic religions, Islam teaches the bodily resurrection of the dead, the fulfillment of a divine plan for creation, and the immortality of the human soul; the righteous are rewarded with the pleasures of Jannah (Heaven), while the unrighteous are punished in Jahannam (Hell). A significant fraction of the Quran deals with these beliefs, with many hadith elaborating on the themes and details. Islamic apocalyptic literature describing the Armageddon is often known as fitna (a test) and malahim (or ghayba in the shi’ite tradition).

Sunni Islam, which is followed by the majority of Muslims, and uses the Quran and the Hadith as a reference to the signs of Judgment day. The signs in Sunni Islam revolve around the purification of earth from non-believers, either by mass conversion of non believers or in most cases by death. The appearance of the Mahdi as the final Muslim Caliph and the ascending of prophet Jesus in his time.

Before the major signs as they are called, all minor signs have to occur. They are listed here:

A. The Minor Signs

1. The Prophethood of Muhammad [passed]
2. The death of the Prophet [passed]
3. The conquering of Bait ul-Maqdis
4. The Plague of Amwaas (in Palestine)
5. The increase in wealth so that sadaqah is not needed
6. Trials and civil strife [passed]:
   (i) The appearance of troubles in the east
   (ii) The killing of Uthmaan (ra)
   (iii) The battle of al-Jamaal
   (iv) The battle of Siffeen
   (v) The appearanc of the Khawaarij
   (vi) The happening of al-Harrah
   (vii) The appearance of the saying that the Quran is create
   (viii) The following of the ways of the previous nations
7. The appearance of claimants to Prophethood [passed]
8. Widespread safety [passed]
9. The appearance of fire in the Hijaz
10. Fighting the Turks [passed]
11. Fighting the non-Arabs [passed]
12. Disappearance of trustworthiness [passed]
13. Disappearance of knowledge and appearance of ignorance [passed]
14. Increase in the number of police and helpers of the oppressors [passed]
15. Spread of fornication [passed]
16. Spread of usury [passed]
17. Spread of musical instruments [passed]
18. Drinking of intoxicants and it being allowed [passed]
19. Adorning the mosques and rivaling therein [passed]
20. Building tall buildings [passed]
21. The slave girls giving birth to her mistress (the daughter of her master) [passed]
22. Increase in killing [passed]
23. Time passing quickly [passed]
24. Coming together of markets [passed]
25. Appearance of Shirk in this Ummah
26. Appearance of wickedness, cutting off of relations and ill treatment of neighbors [passed]
27. Dying of gray hairs with black dye [passed]
28. Increase of extreme miserliness [passed]
29. Increase in trade [passed]
30. Increase in earthquakes [passed]
31. Appearance of sinking into the earth, transformation into animals and false-accusations [passed]
32. The passing away of the pious [passed]
33. The raising of the despicable people to positions of importance [passed]
34. That greeting is given only to those the person knows [passed]
35. That knowledge is sought from other than the scholars in truth [passed]
36. Appearance of women in clothes which do not cover them [passed]
37. The truthfulness of the dreams of the Believers [passed]
38. Spread and increase in writing [passed]
39. Laxity with regard to the Sunnah [passed]
40. Increase in size of the new moons (satellites) [passed]
41. Increase in falsehood and having no concern to check reports [passed]
42. Increase in false testimony and withholding true witness [passed]
43. Large number of women and small number of men [passed]
44. Sudden death being common [passed]
45. Hatred amongst peoples hearts [passed]
46. The return of the land of the Arabs to being pastures and rivers
47. Increase in rain but decrease in agriculture
48. The revealing of a mountain of gold by the Euphrates river
49. The talking of wild animals and inanimate objects to people
50. Wishing for death because of the severity of trials [passed]
51. Increase in the number of ‘Romans’ (pagans/Christians) and their fighting the Muslims [passed]
52. Victory over Constantinople
53. The appearance of al-Qahtaanee
54. Fighting the Jews [passed]
55. The expelling by al-Madeenah of its wicked people, then its desolation at the end of time
56. The sending of a pleasant wind to take away the souls of the Believers
57. The attacking of the Sacred House and dismantling of the Ka’bah

B. The Major Signs

1. The Mahdee
2. The Anti-Christ Maseeh ud-Dajjal
3. The descent of Isa (Jesus) from Heaven
   
4. Yajooj and Maajooj (Gog and Magog)
5. The three great sinkings of the earth
6. The appearance of smoke in the sky
7. The rising of the sun in the west
8. The beast of the earth [Daabbat ul-Ard]
9. The fire which brings the people together
10. A wind that will take the souls of all Muslims and only leave infidels on Earth.

Source: SalafiPublications; Signs Before the Day of Judgement Author: Yoosuf ibn Abdillaah ibn Yoosuf al-Waabil in “Ashraatus-Saa’ah” (Trans. Dawud Burbank)

These next occurrences are the final steps of Judgment day and occur on Earth:

1. The blowing of the first Trumpet killing all humans on Earth.
2. The blowing of the second Trumpet marking resurrection.
3. The awaiting of Judgment by all humans, a process that is said to take thousands of years under a scorching sun.
4. Judgment of mankind begins.

It should be mentioned that unlike the Shi’a, Sunni Muslims don’t give much credit to the coming of the Mahdi since he is just another Caliphate to them and a human who is born at a certain time and has a normal life span and dies a natural death. He is anticipated but not treated more than a normal human.

With the majority of the signs proven, The End is truly nigh. It is time for us to prepare ourselves for the complete degeneration of mankind and civilization.

God help us all.

The Israel Lobby (part 10)

Article by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt

The Lobby pursues two broad strategies. First, it wields its significant influence in Washington, pressuring both Congress and the executive branch. Whatever an individual lawmaker or policy-maker’s own views may be, the Lobby tries to make supporting Israel the ‘smart’ choice. Second, it strives to ensure that public discourse portrays Israel in a positive light, by repeating myths about its founding and by promoting its point of view in policy debates. The goal is to prevent critical comments from getting a fair hearing in the political arena. Controlling the debate is essential to guaranteeing US support, because a candid discussion of US-Israeli relations might lead Americans to favor a different policy.

A key pillar of the Lobby’s effectiveness is its influence in Congress, where Israel is virtually immune from criticism. This in itself is remarkable, because Congress rarely shies away from contentious issues. Where Israel is concerned, however, potential critics fall silent. One reason is that some key members are Christian Zionists like Dick Armey, who said in September 2002: ‘My No. 1 priority in foreign policy is to protect Israel.’ One might think that the No. 1 priority for any congressman would be to protect America. There are also Jewish senators and congressmen who work to ensure that US foreign policy supports Israel’s interests.

Another source of the Lobby’s power is its use of pro-Israel congressional staffers. As Morris Amitay, a former head of AIPAC, once admitted, ‘there are a lot of guys at the working level up here’ – on Capitol Hill – ‘who happen to be Jewish, who are willing . . . to look at certain issues in terms of their Jewishness . . . These are all guys who are in a position to make the decision in these areas for those senators . . . You can get an awful lot done just at the staff level.’

AIPAC itself, however, forms the core of the Lobby’s influence in Congress. Its success is due to its ability to reward legislators and congressional candidates who support its agenda, and to punish those who challenge it. Money is critical to US elections (as the scandal over the lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s shady dealings reminds us), and AIPAC makes sure that its friends get strong financial support from the many pro-Israel political action committees. Anyone who is seen as hostile to Israel can be sure that AIPAC will direct campaign contributions to his or her political opponents. AIPAC also organizes letter-writing campaigns and encourages newspaper editors to endorse pro-Israel candidates.

There is no doubt about the efficacy of these tactics. Here is one example: in the 1984 elections, AIPAC helped defeat Senator Charles Percy from Illinois, who, according to a prominent Lobby figure, had ‘displayed insensitivity and even hostility to our concerns’. Thomas Dine, the head of AIPAC at the time, explained what happened: ‘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.’

The Israel Lobby (part 9)

Article by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt

Similarly, when the president of the Israel Policy Forum, Seymour Reich, advised Condoleezza Rice in November 2005 to ask Israel to reopen a critical border crossing in the Gaza Strip, his action was denounced as ‘irresponsible’: ‘There is,’ his critics said, ‘absolutely no room in the Jewish mainstream for actively canvassing against the security-related policies . . . of Israel.’ Recoiling from these attacks, Reich announced that ‘the word “pressure” is not in my vocabulary when it comes to Israel.’

Jewish Americans have set up an impressive array of organisations to influence American foreign policy, of which AIPAC is the most powerful and best known. In 1997, Fortune magazine asked members of Congress and their staffs to list the most powerful lobbies in Washington. AIPAC was ranked second behind the American Association of Retired People, but ahead of the AFL-CIO and the National Rifle Association. A National Journal study in March 2005 reached a similar conclusion, placing AIPAC in second place (tied with AARP) in the Washington ‘muscle rankings’.

The Lobby also includes prominent Christian evangelicals like Gary Bauer, Jerry Falwell, Ralph Reed and Pat Robertson, as well as Dick Armey and Tom DeLay, former majority leaders in the House of Representatives, all of whom believe Israel’s rebirth is the fulfilment of biblical prophecy and support its expansionist agenda; to do otherwise, they believe, would be contrary to God’s will. Neo-conservative gentiles such as John Bolton; Robert Bartley, the former Wall Street Journal editor; William Bennett, the former secretary of education; Jeane Kirkpatrick, the former UN ambassador; and the influential columnist George Will are also steadfast supporters.

The US form of government offers activists many ways of influencing the policy process. Interest groups can lobby elected representatives and members of the executive branch, make campaign contributions, vote in elections, try to mould public opinion etc. They enjoy a disproportionate amount of influence when they are committed to an issue to which the bulk of the population is indifferent. Policymakers will tend to accommodate those who care about the issue, even if their numbers are small, confident that the rest of the population will not penalise them for doing so.

In its basic operations, the Israel Lobby is no different from the farm lobby, steel or textile workers’ unions, or other ethnic lobbies. There is nothing improper about American Jews and their Christian allies attempting to sway US policy: the Lobby’s activities are not a conspiracy of the sort depicted in tracts like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. For the most part, the individuals and groups that comprise it are only doing what other special interest groups do, but doing it very much better. By contrast, pro-Arab interest groups, in so far as they exist at all, are weak, which makes the Israel Lobby’s task even easier.

The Israel Lobby (part 8)

Article by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt

The explanation is the unmatched power of the Israel Lobby. We use ‘the Lobby’ as shorthand for the loose coalition of individuals and organisations who actively work to steer US foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction. This is not meant to suggest that ‘the Lobby’ is a unified movement with a central leadership, or that individuals within it do not disagree on certain issues. Not all Jewish Americans are part of the Lobby, because Israel is not a salient issue for many of them. In a 2004 survey, for example, roughly 36 per cent of American Jews said they were either ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ emotionally attached to Israel.

Jewish Americans also differ on specific Israeli policies. Many of the key organisations in the Lobby, such as the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organisations, are run by hardliners who generally support the Likud Party’s expansionist policies, including its hostility to the Oslo peace process. The bulk of US Jewry, meanwhile, is more inclined to make concessions to the Palestinians, and a few groups – such as Jewish Voice for Peace – strongly advocate such steps. Despite these differences, moderates and hardliners both favour giving steadfast support to Israel.

Not surprisingly, American Jewish leaders often consult Israeli officials, to make sure that their actions advance Israeli goals. As one activist from a major Jewish organisation wrote, ‘it is routine for us to say: “This is our policy on a certain issue, but we must check what the Israelis think.” We as a community do it all the time.’ There is a strong prejudice against criticising Israeli policy, and putting pressure on Israel is considered out of order. Edgar Bronfman Sr, the president of the World Jewish Congress, was accused of ‘perfidy’ when he wrote a letter to President Bush in mid-2003 urging him to persuade Israel to curb construction of its controversial ‘security fence’. His critics said that ‘it would be obscene at any time for the president of the World Jewish Congress to lobby the president of the United States to resist policies being promoted by the government of Israel.’