In Congress, No Room for Nuance on Israel
Members of Congress and their constituents feel tied to Israel even in crisis.
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a measure of support for Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.
While Congress grapples with a child migrant crisis at the border, election-year politicking and a series of spending bills that need to make their way through the chamber before the end of the fiscal year, lawmakers still found time last week to pass a resolution expressing support for longtime ally Israel. The resolution, which is not binding, condemned “unprovoked rocket fire at Israel” and called on Hamas to agree to an immediate cease fire. It passed unanimously and was authored by usually politically divergent lawmakers: liberal Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez of New Jersey and tough-talking, interventionist Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
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The broad support for the agreement reveals a truth in politics today: You can never be too supportive of Israel on Capitol Hill.
"Hamas is a terrorist organization that has fired hundreds of rockets at Israel. This is truly an act of terrorism that needs to be condemned,” Graham said in a statement about the resolution.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has made his political career by taking up the libertarian flag of anti-interventionism, said the resolution didn't go far enough. Paul, a potential presidential candidate, is pushing to pass the Stand with Israel Act, which would cut off foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority if it continues to be affiliated with Hamas.
Congress’ strong support of Israel is certainly a reflection of the American public’s sentiment overall. Even evangelicals – who outnumber Jewish people in America – have made the state of Israel a rallying cry of their faith. Seventy percent of white evangelicals in the U.S. sympathize more with Israel then Palestine.
More than 500 Palestinians have died in two weeks of fighting and 27 Israelis have been killed – 25 of them soldiers. But even as the death toll rises, American support for Israel remains strong. A CNN poll released this week showed 57 percent of Americans support the approach that Israel has used, while just 40 percent feel America’s ally has been too aggressive in Gaza.
Yet Americans’ views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are far different from those of the rest of the world, including those of their European allies. A Pew Research Global Attitudes Project survey found in 2009 that nearly 50 percent of Americans sympathized more with Israel at the height of the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Yet, in Europe, respondents in Italy, Spain, Britain, Sweden and France reported they felt more sympathy with Palestine.
Some argue the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful pro-Israel lobbying group, contributes much to Capitol Hill's unwavering allegiance to Israel. While AIPAC does not make campaign contributions, the group spent roughly $3 million lobbying in 2013, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And pro-Israel donors gave $16.1 million total in the 2012 campaign cycle to both Democrats and Republicans.
Yet, AIPAC is only a sliver of the story.
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“AIPAC is a factor, but it is not the dominating factor,” says Dov Zakheim, who served as an undersecretary of defense during the George W. Bush administration. “People think it is just the Jewish lobby, but the Jewish lobby does not always win. You have a legacy of literally decades of support to this place.”
Many of the other reasons members of Congress are supportive of Israel are practical. The U.S. shares goals – and enemies – with Israel in the Middle East. The U.S. works with Israel to develop and enhance strategic military technology on everything from missile systems to cybersecurity. Since its 1948 establishment, the Congressional Research Service estimates Congress has allocated $121 billion in assistance to Israel, much of it in the form of military aid.
Even as members of Congress have broken ranks with AIPAC on issues such as intervention in Syria or increased sanctions against Iran, members of Congress recognize that anything other than strong support for the state of Israel could be untenable.
There is only one way that may change.
“If the death toll continues to mount and Americans see more images on our TV screens of dead children, I think that could sway attitudes,” says Guy Ziv, an assistant professor at American University.
Ziv says in some ways, a little criticism by Congress could actually go a long way to inciting peace in the Middle East.
“We know that policies that we have seen in recent years have failed,” Ziv says. “It requires a fresh approach by Congress. That means being pro Israel not just by hugging, but by being critical when necessary.”
