Currently, there is
anger amongst the Arab masses towards the West for their callous attitude
toward Arab human life and their apparent total support for Israel, the
occupier who has broken every international law and got away with murder(s)
time and again. At times like these, it is important to understand the sources
and causes of this seemingly unjustified bias.
اضافة اعلان
Why does Israel have such support in democratic
countries?
The answer was made
ever so clear in the book They Dare to
Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby, which was
first published in 1985 by former US Representative
Paul Findley. The book
states that Israel has been able to utilize the democratic process by
influencing election results and political processes to its advantage through
formal and informal lobby groups.
The formal lobbying groups include the “Christians United
for Israel”, which is the US largest pro-Israel lobby; the “American
Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)”, which directly lobbies the
United States Congress; and the “Conference of Presidents of Major American
Jewish Organizations”, which contacts the executive branch" of the US
government on behalf the Jewish community. The informal lobbying group is even
wider and contains too many organizations to mention.
These lobbying groups contact the legislative and executive
branches of government in the US, pour money and votes into election campaigns
of persons who support Israel, keep a tally of individuals who do not support
Israel, and ensure that Israel is always beyond reproach.
Every US president since the mid-1960s has had to seek the
support of these lobbying groups, and shower their constituents with promises
of guns and roses to Israel and affirmations of his commitment to its survival
and welfare. Some have even gone as far as visiting the Wailing Wall in
Jerusalem wearing the kippah to display their loyalty.
No matter what the US party agenda is, support for Israel
is a must. Should a president show some neutrality toward the Arab-Israeli
conflict, such as in the case of Barack Obama’s second term campaign in 2013,
funds would flow in to support his opponent--American Israeli billionaire
Sheldon Adelson poured US$ 100 million into campaigns opposing the election of
Obama.
On the other hand, when Arab Americans make donations to
campaigns the money is returned with a thanks-but-no-thanks note. The case of
the Lebanese-American lawyer, Joe Jamail whose contribution to the George H.
Bush presidential campaign was speedily returned; possibly in order not to
upset the Jewish lobbying groups. The incident was later noted by Reverend
Jesse Jackson.
So why are there no pro-Arab lobbying
groups?
There are several Arab lobbying groups in the USA. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, and the UAE all
have lobbyists on Capitol Hill but unlike their Israeli counterparts they are
not united. They do not form an Arab lobby whose main interest, unlike the
Jewish lobby, is the question of Palestine. Each of these lobbies is concerned
with its country’s interests, which is why, among other things, their impact
pales next to the Israeli lobby.
Does public opinion matter?
It does not. Yes, people’s awareness worldwide of the
justice of the Palestinian struggle has improved thanks to social media and
non-state actors, but so what? Israel knows that the leaders of democracies
only care about the electoral process and the powerful lobbies that control it.
To emphasize, democracies are run by special interest groups; the more powerful
these groups are at lobbying diplomats and diplomacy, the more control they
have. Israel has great clout through its special interest groups and its lobby,
the Arabs don’t. Therefore, Arabs should not expect fairness or equitable
treatment from the US and other Western democracies.
Yusuf Mansur is CEO of the Envision Consulting Group and former minister of state for economic affairs.
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