[Economist-UK] This week saw yet another reminder of the awesome power of the American-Jewish lobby. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) brought more than 6,000 activists to Washington for its annual policy conference. They heard from the four most powerful people on Capitol Hill - Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner from the House, Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell from the Senate - as well as the vice-president (who called his talk "The United States and Israel: United We Stand"). Several first-division presidential candidates held receptions. Congress has more Jewish members than ever before: 30 in the House and a remarkable 13 in the Senate. (There are now more Jews in Congress than Episcopalians.) About two-thirds of Americans hold a favorable view of Israel. Arab-Americans have been growing in numbers and influence for years - there are probably about 3.5m. Institutions such as the Arab American Institute and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) have plenty of access to Middle Eastern money, but so far their performance has been unimpressive. Arab-Americans are split between Christians (63%) and Muslims (24%).
2007-03-16 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive