'Path of least resistance' prompts US lawmakers to support 'Israel'
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Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, explained that pro-"Israel" lobbies pour money into campaigns and regularly visit Congress members.
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Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on a video conference from "Israel" to the 2019 AIPAC policy conference. (AP)
Pro-"Israel" lobbies in the US have more influence on Capitol Hill due to their power to contribute to campaigns against members of Congress, according to Responsible Statecraft.
A prominent Democratic senator recently stated that it is easier to support Israeli government policy, sometimes at the expense of Palestinians, despite admitting that they "have very legitimate claims,” since pro-"Israel" lobbyists have a more powerful presence on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, expressed in a meeting with constituents in October that the Palestinians have been "subject to brutal injustice," adding that the presence of pro-Israeli lobbies like J Street and AIPAC makes numerous Congress members reflexively pro-"Israel" simply because it is “the path of least resistance.”
Read more: Israeli lobby silences, persecutes Pro-Palestine Harvard students
However, amid the US government's unwavering support for "Israel's" genocide in Gaza, pro-Palestinian sentiments among the local public are on the rise.
Recent statistics showed that support for "Israel" has dropped by a drastic 14-point percentage between October and November of this year. Polling company YouGov conducted a survey asking respondents which side of the war they sympathized with more over multiple time integrals. Right after October 7, US adults' net sympathy for "Israel" spiked to 38% but saw a rapid decline to 24% just a few days later.
Israeli lobbies, however, make major campaign contributions and routinely contact members of Congress and encourage them to support the Israeli government's operations, according to critics who spoke to RS.
Nobody telling Palestinians 'story
On October 23, Rep. Himes hosted an online discussion with constituents to discuss the "Israel"-Palestine struggle, which was organized by the Connecticut branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. When challenged about his tendency to begin his speeches with support for "Israel", Himes addressed the near-constant presence of pro-"Israel" lobbyists, according to a videotape of the event acquired by RS.
Himes explains the "facts as they appear" by detailing that he gets 6-8 visits a year by AIPAC and J Street, and not once in 15 years has he had a visit by pro-Palestine groups, detailing that this constant presence may explain why members of Congress support the occupation. He adds that Palestinians have "very legitimate claims" but that there is "nobody telling their story," claiming that it "breaks his heart."
"AIPAC has been doing this for 60 years. They come in and they sit in the office, and they say, you know, 'Here’s three things that we would really like you to consider doing, are you going to do it?"
Himes has historically gotten little financial assistance from pro-"Israel" organizations, but in 2022, AIPAC was the leading contributor to his campaign.
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AIPAC has lately argued openly with many congressional critics, including Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and affiliated groups that the organization is likely to spend more than $100 million on primary elections next year in a bid to unseat Democratic members they believe are too pro-of "Israel" or too loud about Palestinian rights.
Former Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) told The New Yorker in 2014 that “any member of Congress knows that AIPAC is associated indirectly with significant amounts of campaign spending if you’re with them, and significant amounts against you if you’re not with them," explaining that many issues are not a question of US interest but rather "how is AIPAC going to score this?"
Himes also explained during his October meeting that he did not support a ceasefire because he was unconvinced that there was any other way Hamas would be held accountable but explained that his theme was to make sure "Israel's" response is "moderated, that they abide by the laws of armed conflict, that they come off of their rhetoric of leveling Gaza, of a siege, and that everything be done with an eye towards what is right from a humanitarian standpoint.”
Speaking about Netanyahu, the lawmaker stated that he "has been doing pretty much everything he can to make that an impossibility. And, of course, that’s a part of the reason why the rage and anger rose to the levels that it did."
