Us Foreing Policy

What is the lobby?
We use "the Lobby" as a brief and easy to refer to the broad coalition of individuals and organizations who actively work to shape the U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction. we use this term is not intended to suggest that "The Lobby" is a unified movement with a central leadership or individuals embedded in it do not differ at certain points.
The heart of the Lobbyis comprised of American Jews who make a significant effort in their daily lives to bend U.S. foreign policy in ways that benefit the interests of Israel . Their activities range from simply voting pro-Israel candidates to writing letters, contributions financial support for pro-Israel organizations. But not all American Jews are part of the Lobby, because Israel is not a major issue for many. In a2004 study, for example, only 36% of American Jews said they were "very" or "nothing at all 'emotionally attached to Israel.
Jewish Americans also differ on specific Israeli policies. Many of the key organizations in the Lobby, like AIPAC and the Conference of Presidents of major Jewish organizations (CPMJO) are motivated by hardliners who generally support the Likud Israeli expansionistpolicies, including its hostility to the Oslo peace process. Most American Jews, moreover, would be favorably disposed to make concessions to the Palestinians and some groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace-strongly advocate for those steps. Despite these differences, both moderates and hardliners strongly support the U.S. support to Israel.
Not surprisingly, American Jewish leaders often consult withIsraeli officials in order to have maximum impact in the U.S. as an activist from a major Jewish organization wrote, "is routine for us to say 'this is our policy on a certain subject, but we must check what the Israelis say. "As a community we do constantly." There is also a very hard rule against criticizing Israeli policy and Jewish-American leaders rarely support to put pressure on Israel. Sofather Edgar Bronfman, president of World Jewish Congress, was accused of "perfidy" when he wrote a letter to President Bush in mid-2003 asking him to put pressure on Israel to halt further construction of its controversial "fence of defense." Critics declared that "it would be obscene at any time that the World Jewish Congress president would pressure the U.S. president to oppose policies pursuedby the government of Israel."


Demonizing Palestinians
This is already largely forgotten, but in the fall of 2001 and especially in the spring of 2002, the administration Bush tried to reduce anti-American sentiment in the Arab world and reduce support for terrorist groups like al Qaeda halting Israel's expansionist policies in the territories occupied and advocating the creation of aPalestinian state.
Bush had a huge potential of appeasement at its disposal. He could have threatened to reduce economic and diplomatic support that the U.S. offered Israel and the American people certainly support it. A May 2003 survey reflected that over 60% of Americans agreed to withhold aid if Israel resisted U.S. pressure to resolve the conflict and that percentage was 70% among Americans"politically active" . It is also noteworthy that 73% believed the U.S. should not favor either side.
But the administration Bush failed to change Israeli policy, and Washington ended up backing the hardline approach of Israel . Over time, the administration also adopted the Israeli justifications for this action, so the U.S. and Israeli rhetoric became similar. In February 2003 a Washington Post headlinesummarized the situation: "Bush and Sharon nearly identical on Middle East politics."
The main reason for this change was the Lobby. The story begins in late September 2001 when President Bush began to pressure the Israeli Prime Minister Sharon to moderate in the occupied territories.Also pressed Sharon to allow foreign minister Shimon Peres to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, even...