The Israel lobby and true power

Great blog post from JTA’s Ron Kampeas that essentially likens the “Israel lobby” to the Wizard of Oz. It’s pegged to the sinking of Chas Freeman, which is, of course, being blamed on the Jews.

Kampeas begins with an old joke:

It goes like this: “Killed Jesus? No. But only because the Romans got there first.”

Eric tells me that when he interned at AIPAC, he heard a similar take on Paul Findley, failed congressman and perennial Israel critic, who was the Walt-Mearsheimer of the 1980s, when he published his own critique of the pro-Israel lobby, “They Dare to Speak Out.”

“Forced him out of Congress? No. But if he wants to give us credit… “

The jokes are telling: After being accused of a calumny for so long, part of you wants to own it. Run the joint? Sure, I run the joint. Right now, I’m thinking of running you out of the joint.

This is not always productive (See under: Jesus). More recently, however, it has been—for the pro-Israel lobby—a happy if unintended consequence of its (shhhh!) utterly routine maneuverings in Washington. A hefty portion of power is perception and the “lobby’s” critics have been pushing perceptions of its omnipotence, in spades. (See under: Paul Findley.)

It might even help explain AIPAC’s wild growth. Control the levers of power? Sure we do. See ya at our next policy conference!

What astonishes me is how the enemies of the lobby feed this imagined monster, with a neurotic commitment to self-defeat. The reactions today to the end of the Chas Freeman fiasco are not just typical, but a kind of apotheosis.

Kampeas then goes on to quote some of the reactions and argues that what sank Freeman was not simply his criticism of Israel but his sympathetic remarks regarding those bastions of human rights: China and Saudi Arabia. After all, Samantha Power, who has accused Israel of war crimes, works for President Obama’s National Security Council.

“But that doesn’t matter to Freeman or his supporters,” Kampeas concludes. “They apparently want a Jesus, however much this does the work of pro-Israel groups. In the long run, after all, Jesus scored major points for his followers. Good luck with that guys! Looks to me, though, like you got a Findley instead.”