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The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)—considered the most influential member of the U.S. “Israel Lobby”—was founded in the early 1950s by Si Kenen, a Canadian-born former journalist. "Kenen was a tireless advocate for Israel in the 1950s and early 1960s, when it had to claw for dollars and votes against a powerful and determined lobby of oil interests, Arab-oriented diplomats, and lawmakers such as J. William Fulbright, who saw support for the fledgling Jewish state as a serious mistake that threatened regional stability," wrote Glenn Frankel. [1] 

AIPAC describes itself as "at the forefront of the most vexing issues facing Israel today: stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, fighting terrorism, and achieving peace. Above all, AIPAC works to ensure that the U.S.-Israel relationship is strong so that both countries can work together to meet these challenges effectively." [2]

AIPAC claims to have 100,000 members and on its website prominently displays a New York Times description of the group: "The most important organization affecting America's relationship with Israel."

Normally operating behind the scenes in political and lobbyist orbits, AIPAC was forced into the public spotlight over a controversy involving two of its (now former) employees that erupted in 2005.

In May 2005, the FBI arrested Lawrence Franklin, a Pentagon analyst, for disclosing government secrets. According to an FBI affidavit, Franklin shared information about possible attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq with AIPAC staffers Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman during an FBI-monitored lunch in June 2003. Franklin was allegedly upset that his hardline stance on Iran was being overlooked, and he hoped AIPAC would be able to attract attention to his views. According to the New York Times, supporters of an "influential circle in the Pentagon" (whose members have long-standing ties to AIPAC and were leading advocates for war in Iraq) blame the FBI's investigation on "the continuing struggle inside the administration over intelligence.” [3]

Several months after Franklin's arrest, the Department of Justice issued an indictment against Rosen and Weissman. According to the indictment, the pair passed the information Franklin gave them to a journalist and an Israeli diplomat, leading to charges that they had conspired to violate the 1917 Espionage Act.

Although Franklin pleaded guilty to his charges and was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison, Rosen and Weissman were never prosecuted. In May 2009, the Justice Department asked that charges against the two be dropped, citing court decisions that would have forced disclosure of classified information and reduced successful prosecution.

AIPAC's apparent ability to influence the direction of U.S. policy has been hotly debated for years. The Iraq War helped reignite the debate because many observers argued that key Bush administration supporters of the war--including Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith--were at least in part motivated by their views on Israeli security. However, many elements of the “Israel lobby” were not immediately supportive of the neoconservative desire to go to war with Iraq. In a March 2006 paper, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt helped fan debate when they seemingly conflated neoconservatism and lobby. They wrote: "Although neoconservatives and other Lobby leaders were eager to invade Iraq, the broader American Jewish community was not. In fact, Samuel Freedman reported just after the war started that 'a compilation of nationwide opinion polls by the Pew Research Center shows that Jews are less supportive of the Iraq War than the population at large, 52% to 62%.' Thus, it would be wrong to blame the war in Iraq on 'Jewish influence.' Rather, the war was due in large part to the Lobby's influence, especially the neoconservatives within it.” [4]  But as the Washington Post's Glenn Frankel reported, AIPAC "took no official position on the merits of going to war in Iraq. But, like the Israeli government, once it was clear that the Bush administration was determined to go to war, AIPAC cheered from the sidelines, bestowing sustained ovations on an array of administration officials at its April 2003 annual conference and on Bush himself when he attended the following year.” [5]

Few would dispute the influence of groups like AIPAC and its spinoff, the Washington Institute for Near Policy. However, many who point out this influence are often accused of anti-Semitism, as was the case with Walt and Mearsheimer when they released their working paper. Remarks made by Alan Dershowitz, the well-known lawyer and Harvard professor, were typical of much of the criticism. Dershowitz lambasted the paper as being full of "bigoted comments" and that it had the "the smell of singling out Jews and singling out Israel" (cited in Frankel). The two authors foresaw the criticism, arguing in the paper: "No discussion of how the Lobby operates would be complete without examining one of its most powerful weapons: the charge of anti-Semitism. Anyone who criticizes Israeli actions or says that pro-Israel groups have significant influence over U.S. Middle East policy-an influence that AIPAC celebrates-stands a good chance of getting labeled an anti-Semite. In fact, anyone who says that there is an Israel Lobby runs the risk of being charged with anti-Semitism, even though the Israeli media themselves refer to America's 'Jewish Lobby.' In effect, the Lobby boasts of its own power and then attacks anyone who calls attention to it. This tactic is very effective, because anti-Semitism is loathsome and no responsible person wants to be accused of it."

According to some estimates, there are about 500 national and local organizations that collectively make up the Israel lobby. And of those, AIPAC arguably carries the most weight--"the most effective general interest group over the entire planet," Newt Gingrich once said of AIPAC. As Walt and Mearsheimer reported: "In 1997, Fortune magazine asked members of Congress and their staffs to list the most powerful lobbies in Washington. AIPAC was ranked second behind the American Association of Retired People (AARP), but ahead of heavyweight lobbies like the AFL-CIO and the National Rifle Association. A National Journal study in March 2005 reached a similar conclusion, placing AIPAC in second place (tied with AARP) in the Washington 'muscle rankings.'"

Extremely active in securing weapons deals for Israel, in lobbying for sanctions against the country's Middle East rivals, and in promoting the political agenda of whatever government happens to be in power in Israel, AIPAC has long played a highly public role in American policymaking in the Middle East. It has also been active in pushing U.S. intervention in the region.

AIPAC was in the thick of things during the lead up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. According to press reports, AIPAC membership jumped nearly 50%, to some 70,000, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, in part through ties the group had made with the Christian Right, which reflected a key strategy promoted by many neoconservatives and foreign policy hardliners during the 1990s. In late 2002, as talk about war heated up in Washington, AIPAC held a "national summit" in Atlanta to discuss the possible war and to strategize with supporters. Among the conference speakers were Wolfowitz, Tom Ridge, and Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition.

AIPAC lists "preparing the next generation of pro-Israel leaders" as one of its goals, casting its net far beyond Jewish circles. "In the last few years, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has broadly expanded beyond its Jewish membership base reaching out to Hispanics, African-Americans, and Christian activists," reported the Religion News Service. [6]

On AIPAC's diverse array of supporters, Walt and Mearsheimer reported: "The Lobby also includes prominent Christian evangelicals like Gary Bauer, Jerry Falwell, Ralph Reed, and Pat Robertson, as well as Dick Armey and Tom DeLay, former majority leaders in the House of Representatives. They believe Israel's rebirth is part of Biblical prophecy, support its expansionist agenda, and think pressuring Israel is contrary to God's will. In addition, the Lobby's membership includes neoconservative gentiles such as John Bolton, the late Wall Street Journal editor Robert Bartley, former Secretary of Education William Bennett, former UN Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick, and columnist George Will."

Not long after President George W. Bush declared "mission accomplished" regarding the war in Iraq in May 2003, AIPAC focused its attention on a new target--Syria. AIPAC helped lobby for passage of new U.S. sanctions against Syria, long a key goal of neoconservatives and Likud supporters both in the United States and Israel. Reported the Deutsche Presse-Agentur, "In his speech this month about the need for the Middle Eastern countries to move toward democracy, U.S. President George W. Bush won some praise but his words were also met with apprehension among Arab countries in the region. The basis for such worries was that Bush's speech was preceded by suggestions from the so-called neoconservatives. They were the spearhead of the drive that led to the invasion of Iraq. For example, one of them, Richard Perle, chairman of the Defense Policy Board, talked (while in Israel) about the Syrian government's failure to stop infiltration of guerrillas into Iraq. He coupled that with the observation that Syria's military strength was feeble. This occurred at the same time that the Israeli lobby in Washington, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, was using its muscle on the U.S. Congress to pass the Syria Accountability Act. This would impose U.S. sanctions on Syria unless Syria ended its occupation of parts of Lebanon, cut its ties to Palestinian groups the United States regards as terrorists, and stopped its alleged developments of chemical and biological weapons.” [7]

AIPAC has long been a force in shaping U.S. political attitudes toward the Middle East. Its efforts to persuade U.S. lawmakers to go after Iraq date back to the first Gulf War. In an interview shortly after the 1991 Gulf War began, Thomas Dine, then president of AIPAC, told the Wall Street Journal that his organization had been busy behind the scenes building support for the war. "Yes, we were active," said Dine. "These are the great issues of our time. If you sit on the sidelines, you have no voice." [8]

According to press reports, in 1990 alone pro-Israel groups gave nearly $8 million in campaign contributions. Of those on the Democratic side of the aisle who received PAC cash and later supported the decision to go to war was Sen. Harry Reid, who had received $150,000 from pro-Israel PACs during his Senate election bid. A dozen years later, in 2002, Reid again supported the use of force against Iraq. Other Democrats who voted for the 1991 Gulf War resolution and received lobby cash included Sen. Richard Bryan of Nevada and Sen. Howard Heflin of Alabama. According to the Wall Street Journal, the entire Alabama delegations in both the House and Senate voted for the resolution. Although at first glance "this can be ascribed to the conservative, pro-military character of the state," opined the Journal, it is clear that "pro-Israel PACs have also cultivated Democrats [in the state] in recent years."

A key AIPAC supporter at the time who actively worked to get congressmen on board the Gulf War resolution was Rep. Stephen Solarz (D-NY). Solarz, who later became a supporter of various Project for the New American Century (PNAC) initiatives (he signed the notorious September 20, 2001 PNAC letter calling for war against Iraq "even if evidence does not link Iraq directly to the [9/11] attack"), personally lobbied Sen. Al Gore, who voted for the resolution, as well as several other fence-sitters among the Democrats, whom Solarz accused of being "tragically shortsighted" in their view of the Israeli-American relationship. Solarz also pushed AIPAC to play a more public role in supporting the use of force, as well as several other pro-Israel lobbies, including the Reform Jewish Movement.

Once the first Gulf War was under way, AIPAC set about capitalizing on the growing U.S. public support for Israel in the wake of Saddam Hussein's Scud missile attacks on Israel. According to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (WRMEA), by the end of January 1991, AIPAC had rushed off a letter to its supporters outlining a post-war campaign. Reported WRMEA: "Counting on the American public's newfound understanding of Israel's vulnerability, AIPAC will press for a new package of security aid for Israel far larger than any previous package. Second, the lobby will encourage the United States to strengthen its friendship with Israel and avoid 'pandering toward Arab states hostile to the West and Israel.' Third, it will request millions of dollars more in housing loan guarantees to settle Soviet Jews. And finally, it will work to ensure that any diplomatic efforts to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict will be based on 'close cooperation and trust between the United States and Israel.'" [9]

Within a few short months, however, newspapers were reporting that AIPAC and the rest of the pro-Israel lobby had suffered a "damaging reversal" and that Israel was "no longer an automatic ally." It seems that the administration of President George H. W. Bush was more interested in maintaining relations with other Arab states and pushing for a comprehensive Middle East peace deal than it was in keeping the lobby happy.

AIPAC has also lobbied heavily for U.S. funding of various Israeli weapons programs, including Israel's Arrow missile defense system. The AIPAC website explains: "Since 1990 the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense Organization have cooperated to develop missile defense technology to counter the threat of long-range missiles, which are being developed by countries such as North Korea and Iran. This military cooperation between the United States and Israel has resulted in the deployment of the Arrow missile defense system, and the continuing development of the Tactical High Energy Laser."

After the Senate voted in 2002 to include money for the Arrow system and other Israeli military priorities in a defense spending bill, AIPAC proudly reported, "In a vote of 95-3, the Senate last week passed the fiscal year 2003 Defense Appropriations bill, which provides substantial funding for U.S.-Israel strategic cooperation. The Arrow Missile Defense Program received $80 million above the administration's request for a total of $146 million. Additional funding includes the following: $23.5 million for the Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser; $64.9 million for the Litening II Targeting Pod; $35 million for Bradley Reactive Armor Tiles; $22 million for the Hunter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle; and $20 million for the Improved Tactical Air-Launched Decoy."

Several high-profile Bush administration officials have had financial interests in many of the weapons systems pushed by AIPAC, including Jay Garner, the former "mayor of Baghdad." Garner is a past president of SY Coleman Technology, which produced parts for the Arrow missile system. Garner also has strong ties to the neoconservative Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs.

Walt and Mearsheimer highlighted U.S. support for Israel's weapons procurement as one of the many signs of the many "special deals" the pro-Israel lobby has helped the country seal. "The United States has provided Israel with nearly $3 billion to develop weapons systems like the Lavi aircraft that the Pentagon did not want or need, while giving Israel access to top-drawer U.S. weaponry like Blackhawk helicopters and F-16 jets. Finally, the United States gives Israel access to intelligence that it denies its NATO allies and has turned a blind eye toward Israel's acquisition of nuclear weapons."