“Israel lobby” is a descriptive term, not an expression of bigotry. If Bill Kristol responds to Obama’s statement that Israel is only country publicly to oppose the pact by saying, “All the greater Israel’s glory,” I have a right to say that the Iran Deal opponents care about a foreign country.
Much of the lobbying for the Iran Deal has been an inside Jewish game, with the White House begging to address AIPAC activists, with two Jewish officials, Wendy Sherman and Adam Szubin. Chuck Schumer’s defection is damaging this effort.
So much is happening on the Iran deal. The stakes in the political battle keep rising and reputations and careers are now at risk, maybe even regimes.
As many American Jews speak up in favor of Iran deal, the JCRC of Washington says opposition to the deal should be based on collective memory of the “baseless hatred” behind the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 590 BC and 70 AD. That’s a basis for foreign policy!?
The American Israel Education Foundation, the educational wing of AIPAC, is taking all but three freshmen US lawmakers on a tour of Israel in hopes of turning them against the Iran nuclear deal. In total over 50 US congresspeople will meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu in August over the course of two separate trips—one for Democrats starting August 3, and another for Republicans starting August 8. See a full list of the congresspeople headed to Israel.
Democratic Party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz won’t say if she supports the Iran Deal. She is clearly worried about alienating big campaign donors and the wrath of the Israel lobby, a minority faction inside the Jewish community, but the most engaged part