The American University in Cairo School of Global Affairs and Public Policy UNDERSTANDING THE EVOLUTION OF THE ISRAEL LOBBY’S INFLUENCE ON U.S. FOREIGN POLICY A Project Submitted to the Public Policy and Administration Department in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Global Affairs By Heba Bahnassy Spring16 Bahnassy, 2 The American University in Cairo School of Global Affairs and Public Policy Department of Public Policy and Administration UNDERSTANDING THE EVOLUTION OF THE ISRAEL LOBBY’S INFLUENCE ON U.S. FOREIGN POLICY Heba Bahnassy Supervised by Professor Allison Hodgkins ABSTRACT The aim of this project is to observe the evolution of the Israel Lobby. The project looks at specific conflicts in history beginning with the Iraq War of 2003 in order to present that by this point in history the Israel lobby had already gained ground in American politics. The project then goes back in history to directly contrast this moment of strength by observing the American Jewish community during the Holocaust, the creation of the Jewish state in 1948, the Suez Crisis of 1956, the Six- Day war in 1967, and finally the Yom Kippur war of 1973. The project does not look at the specific causes of the conflicts, but it looks at the role played by the Israel lobby during these events. Because this thesis is very historical, it includes several primary sources as well as interviews in order to support its argument. This thesis is significant because it explores an under discussed subject; the Israel Lobby is constantly observed as the entity that exists today, but scholars overlook its history and the way in which it was able to become this powerful entity. It is necessary to look at the lobby’s history because it enables other lobbies to learn from its experience; in the case of this project, the lobby I am most concerned with is the Arab lobby. Therefore, the Arab lobby can learn from the steps that the Israel lobby has been through in order to build a coalition that has a weighted voice in the American political scene. Bahnassy, 3 Topic: Understanding the Evolution of the Israel Lobby’s Influence on U.S. Foreign Policy Question: Has the Israel Lobby always exerted such powerful influence over U.S. foreign policy; if not, when and how has this change taken place? Heba Bahnassy ID: 900100042 Bahnassy, 4 “Every Human being has multiple identities; I am a human being – I am Egyptian when Egyptians are oppressed, I am Black when Blacks are oppressed, I am Jewish when Jews are oppressed, and I am Palestinian when Palestinians are oppressed.” – Shehata Haroun Bahnassy, 5 Table of Contents II Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... 7 III Introduction .................................................................................................................... 8 IIII Chapter 1: Literature Review ................................................................................. 12 A. The Israel Lobby Now ..................................................................................................... 12 B. Lobbying ............................................................................................................................. 15 C. Was This Always the Case? ............................................................................................ 20 IIV Chapter 2: Research Methodology ......................................................................... 25 IV Chapter 3: Lobby Power: The Case of Iraq 2003 ............................................... 28 D. Background: Saddam Hussein and Israel ................................................................... 28 E. Voice of the Lobby ............................................................................................................ 29 F. The American Government’s Stance ............................................................................ 35 G. The Outcome ..................................................................................................................... 36 1. The Lobby’s Influence ................................................................................................................. 39 IVI Chapter 4: The American Jewry During the Holocaust- Humble Beginnings ........................................................................................................................................ 44 A. The American Government’s Stance ........................................................................... 46 B. The American Jewish Community during the Holocaust ........................................ 47 IVII ..................................................................................................................... Chapter 5: 1948- The Lobby Had Clark Clifford to Thank ............................. 54 A. Resistance to Zionist Objectives in the American Government ............................. 55 B. American Zionists in the Picture ................................................................................... 57 C. Trusteeship or State? ....................................................................................................... 61 D. The Outcome ..................................................................................................................... 63 1. Concluding Remarks: Where was the Influence? ............................................................... 67 IVIII .................................................................................................................... Chapter 6: About The Israel Lobby and its Establishment-History and Origins .......................................................................................................................... 69 A. The Creation ...................................................................................................................... 69 1. Members ........................................................................................................................................... 72 IIX Chapter 7: 1956 War- The Seemingly Weak, and Almost Invisible, Lobby . 74 A. Leading Up to the War .................................................................................................... 74 B. The Israel Lobby’s Stance .............................................................................................. 75 C. U.S. Government’s Stance .............................................................................................. 78 D. The Outcome ..................................................................................................................... 79 1. No Sign of Strong Influence ...................................................................................................... 80 2. Lobbying Techniques ................................................................................................................... 81 IX Chapter 8: 1967- The Six-Day-War ....................................................................... 83 A. Background to the war .................................................................................................. 83 A. Change: U.S. Government Sides with Israel .............................................................. 85 B. The Lobby: Not in Sight .................................................................................................. 86 C. The Outcome ..................................................................................................................... 87 1. Where was the influence? ........................................................................................................... 88 2. Impact of the War: Post-War Power ....................................................................................... 89 IXI Chapter 9: The Change Becomes Evident ............................................................ 93 A. The Change ........................................................................................................................ 94 B. The Outcome .................................................................................................................... 101 Bahnassy, 6 1. Lobbying Techniques and Influence ..................................................................................... 104 2. Post- 1973 ...................................................................................................................................... 108 IXII ...................................................................................................................... Conclusion and Recommendations ...................................................................... 110 A. Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 113 IXIII .................................................................................................................... Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 115 Bahnassy, 7 Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisor Professor Allison Hodgkins for continuing to push me beyond my limits with this topic and constantly challenging me. I would also like to thank my thesis reader Professor Michael Reimer for introducing me to the subject of American Jewish history as an undergraduate student, a subject that has completely opened my eyes to my previously unknown passion for the topic. I would