The Israeli Lobby in Washington as a Faithful Dog

By Dr. Israel Shahak

This headline is not my own invention. It comes from Ha'aretz, by all accounts the best Hebrew-language newspaper in Israel. On November 28, 1986, its political correspondent, Akiva Eldar, who enjoys the best connections with the Israeli government and especially with Shimon Peres' "bright young men" described the reaction of Israel's top ministers (Peres, Shamir, Rabin) to Attorney General Edwin Meese's November 25 allegations that the Israeli officials proposed selling arms to Iran as a way to get American hostages out of Lebanon. Eldar writes:

"The next day a proposal was considered to launch Jewish organizations and friends of Israel in Washington against Meese. They could claim that he looks for Israel in every corner, as demonstrated by the attitude of the Department of Justice in the POllard and Bar'Am affairs. This time, according to directors of the National Security Council, Meese tried to deflect criticism from it to Israel. The idea (to "get" Meese) was dropped, however, because, among other reasons, there was concern that Meese may have additional ammunition for use against Israel."

I will not express my opinion of the Israeli government's ideas about how American law enforcement agencies should behave in cases of americans or Israelis suspected of breaking US laws on behalf of Israel. What I find most interesting, however, is the depiction of American Jewish organizations and American friends of Israel in Washington as an "obedient dog" which will follow, as a trained dog does, every command from its master, the Israeli government. Clearly the Israeli government is well-informed and right: it has at its command a pack of obedient dogs who wield great influence in American political life, precisely because of their dog-like nature, their total obedience to orders of the Israeli government.

Dr. Israel Shahak, a survivor of several Nazi concentration camps, is a professor of chemistry at the University of Jerusalem. The Washington Report will carry Dr. Shahak's translations from Israel's Hebrew press from time to time.