The New York Times has called the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) “the most important organization affecting America’s relationship with Israel.” Yet AIPAC may soon be compelled to register as a foreign agent, losing the tax-exempt status that gave it funding and the power it has wielded for decades. Stephen Schwartz explores the history and current thrust of the Jewish lobby in this country, the role of Jews both inside and outside the government in promoting the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and assesses the lobby’s misguided focus on Iran, an obsession it shares with Israel. He shows why Jewish interests have dramatically changed since 9/11 and why the neocons in the Bush administration have emerged as a more effective constituency for Israel than AIPAC ever was. In a conclusion sure to cause controversy, Schwartz argues that the Jewish community, traditionally aligned with the Democratic Party, can strengthen its impact on Washington only by throwing its support behind the GOP and its neocon contingent.
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