AIPAC: Lobbies What It Stands For

 Nadene Goldfoot                                         

Anthony Blinken,Sec. of State and Michael Tuchin, with Blinken speaking to the group June 5, 2023.  

AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) is a pro-Israel lobbying group that engages with the Jewish community on issues related to Israel's security and the U.S.-Israel relationship.

 It supports policies strengthening the alliance, opposes boycotts against Israel, and advocates for a strong U.S. role in promoting peace through bilateral relations. 

While historically a central political expression of the organized Jewish community, some members of the community have become critical of AIPAC's increasingly right-wing political stances (with Republicans) and its alignment with some groups deemed dangerous to Jews. 

It seems that every group has its competitor, and for AIPAC it's been 

J Street.  J Street is often cited as the primary competitor to AIPAC, though other groups like the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) and various progressive organizations also act as competitors or counterweights. 

J Street: An alternative to AIPAC that advocates for a two-state solution and is critical of some Israeli policies, like settlement expansion. It has a different stance on issues like the Iran nuclear deal, supporting it while AIPAC opposed it.  In fact, I have seen it go against Israel 90% of the time.  I also have been many Americans go along with J Street, even many rabbis.  

J Street is a liberal, pro-Israel lobbying group founded in 2007 by Jeremy Ben-Ami and Daniel Levy. It was created to advocate for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to act as an alternative to more conservative pro-Israel groups. The organization supports diplomatic solutions, opposes Israeli settlements and the occupation, and provides support for candidates who align with its views, probably like Marjorie Taylor Greene.   

J Street is seen "by some" as a progressive alternative that supports a two-state solution, while AIPAC is a more traditional, hawkish organization that has historically supported right-wing policies. There have been times when I as an AIPAC person have wondered how J Street could believe in their demands since they went against Israel so many times.  They were more than competitors, but were Israel's antagonist.

• Justice Democrats, Working Families Party, Sunrise Movement, and Jewish Voice for Peace, have formed coalitions to counter AIPAC's electoral influence.
• Other pro-Israel organizations: Groups like the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), the American Jewish Congress, and the American Jewish Committee also engage in the "Israel lobby," advocating for policies that can differ from or align with AIPAC's positions, and remember, AIPAC backs Israel's position and explains why.  
• Christian Zionists: This group is also part of the broader Israel lobby and may have different perspectives than AIPAC on specific issues.  Christian Zionists are Christians who believe the modern state of Israel has a theological and biblical basis, and they support its existence and the Zionist movement. They are often motivated by an interpretation of biblical prophecy that links the restoration of the Jewish people to Israel with the second coming of Jesus Christ. This belief often translates into political and social support for Israel, including financial aid, and a stance that is critical of policies that could be seen as weakening Israel. 
  
             PM Ehud Olmert speaking to AIPAC on June 4, 2008.

AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, was founded in 1954 by Isaiah L. Kenen to lobby for pro-Israel policies in the U.S.. It evolved from the American Zionist Council (AZC) and became a powerful bipartisan organization by the 1980s, concentrating its efforts on influencing Congress through donations, lobbying, and political action. 

Over time, its activities have included advocating for U.S. military aid to Israel, influencing policy on issues like the Iran nuclear deal and the recognition of Jerusalem, and using its political action committee (PAC) to support and defeat candidates. It's part in all this has been informative. 

The United States allows people to lobby for an issue, and this right is protected by the First Amendment's guarantee to "petition the Government for a redress of grievances". While lobbying is permitted, it is subject to regulations like the Lobbying Disclosure Act, which requires professional lobbyists and certain organizations to register and disclose their activities to ensure transparency and prevent corruption. 

Resource:

 

Going Against Portugal, He Saved Thousands Of Jews

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                   

Aristides de Sousa Mendes, in a 1940 photograph, knew his actions could cost him his career; But, he said, "I can only act as a Christian, as my conscience tells me.  

On May 10, 1940, Hitler launched his invasion of France and the Low Countries.  Within weeks, millions of civilians were driven from their homes trying to stay ahead of the advancing German army.  It turMesndes's city was already packed with refugees from the war zones from the Paris region, Belgium and France of 6 million and 10 million in all, coming in private cars, auto trucks, bicycles and on foot.  Dog owners killed their pets so they would not have to feed them. 

Aristides de Sousa Mendes  (European Portuguese pronunciation: ; July 19, 1885 – April 3, 1954) was a Portuguese diplomat who is recognized in Portugal as a national hero for his actions during World War II. In 1938, he was assigned to the post of Consul-General of Bordeaux, France, with jurisdiction over the whole of southwestern France.

As the Portuguese consul-general in the French city of Bordeaux, he defied the orders of António de Oliveira Salazar's Estado Novo regime, issuing visas to thousands of refugees fleeing Nazi-occupied France, including Jews. 

                          

António de Oliveira Salazar (born April 28, 1889, Vimieiro, Port.—died July 27, 1970, Lisbon) was a Portuguese economist, who served as prime minister of Portugal for 36 years (1932–68).  He was 51 years old by 1940.            

Unknown to others, Portugal's austere dictator, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, had issues a missive, Circular 14, forbidding his diplomats from offering visas to most refugees,---especially Jews, ethnic Russians and anybody else whom the conflict rendered as a "stateless person." He maintained that he himself was neutral which meant nothing.  He didn't want to make Hitler or Francisco Franco of Spain  mad.  

          Aristides and Angelina de Sousa Mendes with their first six children, 1917.

He was a 54 year old man who loved his wife who gave him 14 children. Sousa Mendes married his childhood sweetheart, Maria Angelina Coelho de Sousa Mendes (born August 20, 1888), who was also his cousin. They eventually had fourteen children, born in the various countries in which he served,  and he loved his mistress who was 5 months pregnant with his 15th child when he was about to have a nervous breakdown.  

The French government fled Paris.  German soldiers raised the swastika at the Arc de Triomphe.  Mendes was in the Portuguese consulate, living upstairs.  2 blocks away were one of the largest city squares in all of Europe where refugees set up camp in cars, boxes and tents.  That's where statesmen, ambassadors and ministers, generals and other high officers, professors, men of letters, academics, famous artists, journalists, university students, Red Cross workers, members of ruling families, princes...soldiers of all ranks and posts, industrialists, businessmen, priests, nuns, women and children who all needed protection landed.  Many of them were Jews who were already persecuted and sought to escape the horror of further persecution.

Sousa Mendes was a devoted Catholic who suspected he descended from conversos, Jews who had been forced to convert during the Spanish Inquisition, was appalled by the suffering.  He invited elderly, ill and pregnant refugees to shelter in his flat and  sleep on chairs, blankets and rugs on the floor.   The offices became crowded with refugees.                                 

 Mendes rode around in a car to look at the city streets and saw the Polish rabbi, Chaim Kruger and his wife, Cilla and their 5 young children.  Mendes invited him back to the consulate.  Then Mendes declared, "No Jews may receive a visa". This was from the order of  the dictator, Salazar.                       

          Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Kruger with Aristides de Sousa Mendes, 1940.

Then Mendes asked permission from Portugal to issue the visas and on June 13, 1940 it was denied.  Mendes offered Rabbi Kruger a visa anyway, and Kruger didn't take them as it made him special.  He said, "It is not just me who needs help, but all my fellow Jews who are in danger of their lives.  He went on saving Jews.  He saved thousands.  Rabbi Kruger worked with him.  

As a result of his actions, Sousa Mendes was recalled to Portugal and stood trial for defying the regime. He was punished with demotion and forced retirement. He was unable to find other employment and died in poverty in 1954, 14 years later.

For his efforts to save Jewish refugees, Sousa Mendes was recognized by Israel as one of the Righteous Among the Nations in 1966, the first diplomat to be so honored. To many, Aristides de Sousa Mendes was one of the greatest heroes of World War II. Holocaust scholar Yehuda Bauer characterized Sousa Mendes' deeds as "perhaps the largest rescue action by a single individual during the Holocaust."

Resource:, righteous

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristides_de_Sousa_Mendes

Smithsonian Magazine, November 2021, p. 68-82