AIPAC And U.S. Middle East Policy

Since the creation of the Jewish state on May 14, 1948, the United States and Israel have maintained very strong ties. A tremendous amount of aid, especially military and economic aid, has been given to the country. Until 1967, the United States was the only major source of arms to which Israel could turn. In becoming the major supplier of arms to Israel, the Unites States risked confrontation with the Soviet Union twice: in 1967 and again in 1973. In 1973, the Israeli requirements were so great that in order to meet them, the Unites States drew equipment from military stocks in Europe and from reserve units.Pro-Israeli interests are a fixture in American politics, having developed an organized presence in Washington and across the country that is backed by generous campaign contributions and intensive lobbying. On the lobbying front, the pro-Israeli community is led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which Fortune magazine ranks as one of the top lobbying groups in the United States. Through supporting pro-Israeli presidential candidates, establishing a"pro-Israeli camp"in Congress, and influencing media and public opinion, AIPAC has sought to and largely succeeded in influencing American policy-makers in formulating Middle East policy. Tracing to its root, AIPAC's influence on U.S. Middle East policy is connected with the contribution of American Jewish community. Today, nearly 6 million Jews live in the United States. Jews have thrived in America as in no other location in the Diaspora. Through several generations'endeavor, American Jews have gained comparatively high social and economic status, and become a strong power in the arena of American politics, especially in influencing its Middle East policy.The paper is divided into five chapters. Chapter One reviews the existing literature on the subject, introduces the hypothesis, and discusses the theoretical framework and research methodology employed in the study. Chapter Two describes in detail AIPAC's structure, agenda and pro-Israeli activities. Through describing Jewish status in the American society, with special emphasis on their strength in the economic and political fields, Chapter Three provides some background knowledge of AIPAC's pro-Israeli activities. Moreover, it explains the reasons why Jewish Americans are always pro-Israeli and traces the root to their identification with Israel. Chapter Four is a case study of AIPAC and U.S. Middle East policy in the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War. From this concrete event, we can see how AIPAC's lobbying made the U.S.