The news that 81 members of Congress are junketing to Israel and Palestine has hit a nerve. My wife was shocked to hear the number, and she’s a good barometer; the Atlantic wire is on it, and even the Washington Post has done a story, by Al Kamen. Though it is weak in its refusal to ask the question, Why are these people doing this? (We all know why; but is that any excuse for journalistic indifference?) The story emphasizes the fact that the junket is being paid for by AIPAC offshoot, the American Israel Education Foundation.
Also, here is Jonathan Tobin at Commentary, doing an I-am-Israel-lobby-hear-me-roar post. That’s the thing about the lobby. When you attack them, they deny it exists, and then they love to flex their muscles, with the usual laughable disclaimer that the reps are representing American public opinion:
at a time when Israel is confronted by a White House cooler to the Jewish state than any in the last two decades, Congress is the backstop that gives Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu the ability to say “no” to President Obama on security concessions. Far from being a minority point of view imposed on the country, the broad-based nature of the pro-Israel coalition cuts across the deep partisan divide in Washington and is deeply ingrained in the political culture of the United States.
Obama has followed up on his May ambush of Netanyahu with a summer of diplomatic pressure on Jerusalem. But the Congress, which in this case is a good reflection of American public opinion on the Middle East, stands ready to act as a brake on the confused foreign policies put forward by Obama.
