These left-wing bodies have already succeeded in diluting Congressional legislation designed to cut off aid for the Palestinian Authority unless it renounced terrorism. They also provided support to Washington in its efforts to force Israel to make security concessions on border crossings – concessions that have resulted in a massive flow of arms into Gaza.
Even more alarming was the announcement by George Soros, one of the world’s ten wealthiest individuals, that he would employ his financial clout and connections with other Jewish billionaires to create a new body to balance “AIPAC’s hawkish policies.”
Soros has no interest in visiting Israel and no qualms about presenting himself as an anti-Zionist. Despite being a Holocaust survivor, he describes the Bush administration as equivalent to a Nazi regime and accuses Israel of being largely to blame for the resurgence of anti-Semitism. He takes pride in being openly critical of Israel – a nation his charity foundation ignores, although it “supports the rights of Arabs in Israel.” Soros also promotes the bizarre belief that a weak rather than a strong Israel could best achieve a peace settlement with its neighbors.
The potential combination of Jewish leftists and liberal Jewish salon billionaires is worrisome. It will embolden the radical Jewish doves and spur them to even more aggressively undermine the Bush administration’s support of Israel. It is no coincidence that Yossi Beilin strongly supports the creation of the new body which he says “would not compete with AIPAC but would portray another facet of American Jewry.”
Regrettably, the Olmert government, which has the capacity to neutralize a Jewish organization seeking to undermine Israel’s prime U.S. lobbying vehicle, will in all probability lack the courage to take on the billionaires and will stand aside.
It will thus be left to the American Jewish establishment to stand up and be counted and confront the Soros-led anti-AIPAC initiative. Regrettably, their track record in standing up to the demands of Jewish billionaires is hardly encouraging. Threats by major donors to cancel contributions to parties resisting their demands usually succeeded in intimidating organizations to back down.
It will truly be a sad day for the Jewish people if the Israeli government buries its head in the sand and American Jewish organizations remain silent while a campaign proceeds to undermine and delegitimize AIPAC by labeling it a “hawkish” body.
Washington’s backing for Israel is today more crucial than ever. If American Jews are perceived as being divided over Israel, the long-term repercussions could be disastrous.