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Yes Virginia, The Lobby is alive and well!

Those who attacked Walt and Mearsheimer for going so public in their book [The Israel Lobby] a couple of years back about the existence of The Israel Lobby might, yet again, need to swallow their words. For how else to describe The Lobby being exactly where it wanted to be - at the White House - voicing its views on what it, the Lobby, perceives to be the Obama Administration's lack of total commitment and support to everything the Israelis are doing?

Stephen Walt, in his Blog on FP comments:

"This past Monday, President Obama met with the heads of a number of prominent Jewish groups, to talk about the state of U.S.-Israeli relations and the future direction of U.S. Middle East policy. Virtually all the news reports I've seen suggest that the attendees had a cordial and candid discussion. After reading through various accounts, I have three comments.

First, although a few individuals in the Israel lobby continue to downplay its influence, the very fact that this meeting was held is additional testimony to its important role in shaping U.S. Middle East policy. Why was Barack Obama taking time from his busy schedule to meet with the heads of groups like AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League, J Street, Hadassah, and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (among others)? Simple: he knows that these groups have a lot of political power. He also knows that the success of his Middle East policy depends in large part on getting significant support from them. In a political system like ours, where well-organized interest groups routinely wield disproportionate influence over the issues they care about, holding a White House sit-down with these key leaders was smart politics."

Continue reading here.

Meanwhile, Ali Abunimah, an old friend of Barack Obama's and a leading member of the Arab-American community who has not yet been invited to the White House, reflects on the visit of the 16 Jewish leaders to the president's table last Monday and concludes that Obama's "pressure" on Israel has so far been toothless and without real effect. Read Abunimah's comments on
The Electronic Intifada here.

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