Why do I insist on talking about Jewish money when I talk about the Israel lobby? Because it’s a real factor (and I am struggling to study reality). Here is Martin Indyk, of the Saban Center at Brookings (funded by Haim Saban, a giant giver to Democrats, whose central concern is Israel), talking to Natasha of Haaretz, (Mozgovaya that is)
We’ve seen some attempts to put Israel on the electoral agenda in the United States ahead of the midterm elections. Will it have any effect?
American Jews traditionally are pretty supportive of the Democratic Party. They voted overwhelmingly for Barak Obama, they tend to vote for Democratic candidates and they provide a good deal of funding for political campaigns. So the Jewish factor is always a critical factor for Democratic candidates. I don’t think it’s telling any secrets that there are a lot of people who have been upset with President Obama. And I think that the White House came to the understanding that they have a real problem there and they are going out of their way trying to show they are friendly to Israel and committed to peace. Republicans will try to exploit the anger, and Democrats will do their best to convince there is no reason for anger. But after all, these are local elections.
