Pars Today

Pars Today- The Jewish lobby enjoys a very special position in formation of the US foreign policy. Although Jews shape only 3 percent of the US population, they have turned into the most influential minority in the American power structure.

The Jewish lobby has a variety of agendas in the United States, but its main focus is the US-Israel relations. The efforts of the Jewish lobby to support Israel are the common outcomes of a number of Jewish organizations with American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as the most powerful and famous among them.

AIPAC is responsible for programming and coordination of activities of most Jews in the US and plays the basic role in coordination of US policies with Jewish interests. This coordination is done via contacts and constructive relation of Congressmen and top executive foreign policy officials and with formation of legal initiatives in favour of Israel guarantees survival and security of this fabricated entity.

Today the US and Israel are known as two sides of a very special relation. One of the most important reasons of this special relation and the American all-out support for Israel is the presence of organizations like AIPAC which always remind common threats to Washington and Tel Aviv and announce to the American politicians that the strategic collaboration of the two sides is to remove these threats.

This group, with formation of numerous Jewish organizations, has made effort to use very broad religious and ethnic bonds in a bid to pave the way of its influence in the US decision-making bodies and direct the US foreign policy apparatus towards its goals.

AIPAC pursues these ways through wielding its widespread economic and propaganda power in supporting the US candidates (Congressmen and presidents) who maintain the same views of the AIPAC.

In view of this, one of the reasons of efficiency of AIPAC is its influence in the US Congress, where Israel is practically immune of any criticism. Although the Congress never avoids debating on challenging issues, if an issue is about Israel, likely critics keep silent and they rarely talk.

AIPAC is owing this success to its ability to reward those Congressmen and candidates who support its programs and also punish those who are opposed to its programs.

Moreover, AIPAC influence in the executive power is originated to some extent in the impact of voters in presidential elections. In spite of their very small number, Jews very generously pay to candidates of both parties. In addition, the number of Jewish voters is high and they are concentrated in the important states such as California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania.

This organization is the most important tool for the American Zionists to influence the policies of the present big powers with regards to the issues pertaining to Israel and the most disputed global region, i.e. West of Asia.

To show the importance of this issue, it should be noted that John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt in the book, "The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy" believe that despite the fact that no strategic and moral consideration can justify the current level of the US support for Israel, the main justification for the unnatural status quo is the Jewish lobby's influence in the United States.

They are of the opinion that the Israeli lobby has played the major role in dragging the US to the catastrophic Iraqi War in 2003 and frustration of establishment of relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and Syria.

According to the authors of the book, the Israeli lobby, with AIPAC in the center, is the main director of the US foreign policy in West Asia.

The influence and impact of AIPAC has been to the extent that in many cases the US officials have been forced, despite their personal inclination, to comply their policies with those of Israel.

A clear example was the changing of former US presidents' stances on their promises about the formation of the Palestinian country under the pressure of AIPAC.

While George W. Bush, after occupation of Iraq, had promised in a program called "Roadmap for Resolution of Palestinian-Israeli Conflict" to establish the independent Palestinian country, in a short while, because of the wrath and concern of AIPAC, was forced to change his opinion and archive the file of formation of an independent Palestinian country.

Furthermore, Obama's speech at the annual AIPAC meeting not only had no solution for West Asia crisis, but also it provoked Muslim nations' wrath in the region. This speech, instead of heeding the regional nations, was delivered for attracting the support of the Jewish lobby.

During the recent years, no one has rendered as much service to Israel as Donald Trump did. This was to the extent that all his measures in the field of West Asia, whether on replacement of the idea of two-state solution with one-state intended by Netanyahu or changing of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the city of al-Quds, whether the exit from JCPOA and imposition of maxim sanctions on Iran or assassination of the top anti-Daesh Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, had all been dictated to the Trump administration by Netanyahu through AIPAC.

The above was adopted from an article written by Parsa Jafari published on 'Iranian Diplomacy' website.

RM/UR