Special Interest Groups

• WHAT IS ITS MISSION?
• HOW IS IT STRUCTURED?
• PRIMARY FUNCTIONS
• PROGRAMS
• BUDGET INFORMATION
• HISTORY
• CURRENT POLITICAL ISSUES
• FUTURE DIRECTIONS
• GROUP RESOURCES
• GROUP PUBLICATIONS
• BIBLIOGRAPHY

ESTABLISHED: 1954
EMPLOYEES: 115
MEMBERS: 55,000
PAC: None

Contact Information:
ADDRESS: 440 First St. NW, Ste. 600 Washington, DC 20001
PHONE: (202) 639-5200
FAX: (202) 347-4889
E-MAIL: webmaster@aipac.org
URL: http://www.aipac.org
PRESIDENT: Lionel Kaplan
CHAIRMAN: Melvin A. Dow
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Howard A. Kohr

WHAT IS ITS MISSION?

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is an advocacy group devoted to building a strong relationship between the United States and Israel. AIPAC believes that such a relationship is highly beneficial for the United States, and crucial for the safety and well-being of Israel. According to its Web site, the organization considers itself to be "America's pro-Israel lobby," with a mission "to collaborate with Congress and Presidential Administrations to nurture and advance the bilateral relationship between the United States and Israel." Issues of interest to AIPAC range from stopping international terrorism and promoting Israeli technological development to fostering economic and military cooperation between Israel and the United States. As Executive Director Howard Kohr said in an April 1998 interview with The New York Times, "We want to make sure that the security and well-being of Israel and the Jews are maintained."

HOW IS IT STRUCTURED?

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AIPAC has eight U.S. regional offices in California (2), Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Montana, New York, and Texas, plus another in Israel's capital, Jerusalem. In addition, field organizers work with students at over 200 affiliated college campuses in 50 states. Both regional and college groups communicate with state and national legislators, sponsor local seminars, and actively broadcast AIPAC's message.

A board of directors and an executive committee act as AIPAC's primary governing bodies. The board consists of approximately 30 members and convenes monthly, while the 300-member executive committee (consisting of the presidents of 55 major American Jewish organizations as well as leaders from the pro-Israel community and two college students) meets quarterly and ratifies the organization's policy statement at the annual Policy Conference. The executive director, who handles day-to-day operations, works with seven primary departments to devise AIPAC strategies: Legislative, Political Outreach, Research and Information, Foreign Policy, Media, Development and Campus Leadership.

A nonpartisan, domestic lobbying group, AIPAC had approximately 55,000 dues paying members in 1998. Annual dues are $50, or $15 for students. As a registered domestic lobbying group, by law the organization receives no financial aid from Israel or any national or foreign entity. Despite the "PAC" in its name, AIPAC is not a political action committee, and does not contribute to political campaigns.

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS

AIPAC functions primarily as a lobbying group, and is consistently ranked as one of the most effective groups in the United States. AIPAC lobbyists meet with congressmen and key government officials to encourage them to support pro-Israel initiatives. AIPAC's general membership and supporters lobby congressmen through letter-writing campaigns. AIPAC staff also attend congressional hearings and review congressional testimony to keep abreast of pertinent U.S.-Israel legislation. These researchers then track the voting records of U.S. senators and representatives to determine which lawmakers support a strong bilateral relationship.

PROGRAMS

AIPAC's programs exist mainly to complement its primary goal of convincing lawmakers in Washington to support Israel. The AIPAC sponsors numerous conferences throughout each year, where the public can come to hear the latest information on Israel and U.S.-Israeli relations. AIPAC's Political Leadership Development Program teaches college students how to become pro-Israel leaders at the community level. The AIPAC internship program also works with college students. Working in AIPAC offices, interns gain experience in U.S.-Israeli issues and the U.S. political process, which they can then put to use in their community.

BUDGET INFORMATION

In the 1997–98 fiscal year, AIPAC operated from a $14 million budget, all of which came from membership dues and private contributions. Aside from raising approximately $300 per person at the 1998 Policy Conference, AIPAC conducts direct mailing, community activities, and fund-raising dinners to help meet its operating costs.

HISTORY

Although AIPAC was not founded until 1954, the strong relationship between Israel and the United States began in 1948. In that year, the Israeli state was founded as a homeland for the Jewish people. The United States recognized Israel as a nation that same year. The United States continued to support Israel, and in 1951 approved an aid package to assist Israel in the resettling of refugees from the Holocaust. In 1954, the newly founded AIPAC successfully lobbied Congress to prevent the termination of this aid package to Israel. Also in 1954, AIPAC began to push the U.S. Congress to lift the arms embargo on Israel, and limit the sale of weapons to Israel's hostile Arab neighbors.

Israel captured the Egyptian-controlled Sinai Peninsula during the Suez Crisis of 1956, which led to calls by U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower for a unilateral Israeli withdrawal. AIPAC lobbied Congress to support Israel's calls for negotiations against the president's demands. AIPAC, and Israel, would continue to call for direct negotiations between Israel and its Arab neighbors for years.

In 1962, after a 10-year AIPAC campaign, President John F. Kennedy lifted the 13-year-old arms embargo against Israel, thereby opening the path for Israel to purchase sophisticated Hawk surface-to-air missiles. After the Six-Day War (1967) between Israel and Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, AIPAC lobbied for the United States to support Israel's demands for a directly negotiated peace. AIPAC leaders worked with members of Congress the following year to pass legislation allowing the sale of F-4 Phantom jets to Israel. In 1973 Israel suffered a surprise attack by Syria, Egypt, and other Arab nations on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews. President Richard Nixon and the U.S. Congress approved $2.2 billion in emergency and military aid for Israel in response to this attack, the first time the United States gave direct military aid to Israel.

In association with several other Jewish organizations, AIPAC convinced 76 Senators and 288 Representatives to co-sponsor the landmark 1974 Let Our People Go Law. This measure revoked the Soviet Union's trading privileges with the United States until that nation permitted Jews living within its borders to emigrate out of the country. Over one million Jews would eventually emigrate to Israel from the Soviet Union.

A Texas farmer digs irrigation channels in his cornfield in 1996 to combat low rainfall. The American Israeli Public Affairs Committee recommended using Israeli irrigation methods to help farmers contend with drought conditions. (AP/Wide World Photo)

In 1978, after over 25 years of Israeli demands and letter writing campaigns by AIPAC, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat agreed to meet with Israeli leaders and negotiate for peace. President Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin met at Camp David in the United States, and their face-to-face meetings produced the historic Camp David Accords. Under the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, Israel withdrew from the Sinai in exchange for full peace with Egypt. This groundbreaking pact set the stage for subsequent peace agreements based upon direct negotiations. Meanwhile, Congress approved a $4.9 billion aid and loan package to Israel. Congress would continue to provide steady support for Israel in the years that followed; from 1985 on it provided Israel with $3 billion a year in defense grants.

AIPAC lobbied throughout its history for formal military ties between Israel and the United States. It won a major victory in 1983 when President Ronald Reagan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir initiated formal strategic cooperation between Israel and the United States. In their Memorandum of Understanding, the two leaders committed the United States and Israel to intelligence sharing, joint military exercises, and technology sharing.

The 1984 AIPAC-conceived Texas-Israel Exchange Program—the first such program between Israel and a U.S. state—introduced Israeli irrigation methods to Texas farmers. By 1999, over 15 states had formed similar cooperative endeavors with Israel. In 1985, AIPAC helped conceptualize and lobby for the passage of the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement, which more than doubled trade between the two nations, resulting in increased sales, profits, and jobs for both American and Israeli firms.

After Israel suffered through 29 Iraqi missile attacks during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, AIPAC successfully appealed to President George Bush for $650 million in emergency military assistance. Cooperation through the exchange of desert warfare tactics demonstrated the strength of the binational friendship. In 1992 AIPAC called upon Congress and helped approve loan guarantees from the U.S. to Israel in order to take in more than 600,000 Russian and Ethiopian immigrants.

The September 1993 Declaration of Principles (otherwise known as the "Oslo Agreement") set the framework for a peace between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) by requiring Israel to recognize the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people, while the PLO promised to cease using violence against Israel. Since 1993, AIPAC has been lobbying not only to ensure that U.S. policies promote the landmark agreement, but also to oversee the PLO in fulfilling its promise to combat terrorism. Further agreements between Israel and the PLO have led to ever increasing autonomy for Israel's Palestinian population, including political control over several areas.

CURRENT POLITICAL ISSUES

Throughout its history, AIPAC has worked with Congress to ensure that the U.S.-Israeli relationship is a strong one. AIPAC has successfully lobbied Congress for many years to provide Israel with billions of dollars in financial and military aid. During the long-running negotiations between Israel and Palestinians over a Palestinian homeland, AIPAC has supported Israel's position and urged the United States to remain prepared to combat a return to terrorism. Terrorism is not the only threat to Israel's security, however. There are many nations in the Middle East, such as Libya, Iraq, and Iran, that have been hostile to Israel for many years. Much of AIPAC's efforts are devoted to securing the help of the United States in limiting the ability of these nations to harm Israel.

Case Study: Iran Missile Proliferation Sanctions Act (IMPSA)

Israel has long considered the nation of Iran to be one of its greatest security threats. Iran has been overtly hostile to Israel for many years; it often refers to Israel as the "Little Satan." Iran is widely believed to be the major source of funds for terrorist organizations that have killed many hundreds of people in Israel and around the world.

As Iran does not share a border with Israel, the greatest concern is that Iran will develop long-range missiles, capable of launching chemical and biological weapons already in its possession. Iran is also believed to be developing nuclear weapons, which would pose even greater danger to Israel if fitted to long-range missiles. In light of this fact, Israel and AIPAC pushed for the United States to prevent the sale of any materials or technology to Iran that would assist it in its development of long-range missiles.

In this case, the problem did not so much involve U.S. firms as it did businesses in other countries, such as Russia and China. The situation was further affected by the fact that the relationship between Iran and the United States is no better than that between Israel and Iran (the United States is the "Great Satan" to Israel's "Little Satan"). However, Congress could still react to AIPAC pressure by penalizing foreign countries and businesses that were assisting Iran.

In September of 1997 the U.S. Congress passed the Iran Missiles Proliferation Sanctions Act (IMPSA). This bill called for the United States to impose a number of economic sanctions on any foreign business which was known to be assisting Iran to develop long-range missiles. For example, U.S. loans to such businesses would be stopped, and U.S. firms would not be allowed to do business with sanctioned companies.

President Clinton vetoed IMPSA because he was concerned about the effect it would have on the relationship between the United States and Russia. In addition, with the very poor performance of the Russian economy in the 1990s, many Russian businesses had proved willing to deal with Iran. The Russian government made some attempts to curtail the transactions, but with only limited success. President Clinton was concerned that sanctions, if not used carefully, would worsen the Russian economy even further, making that nation less inclined to cooperate with the United States. When it became apparent that Congress would probably override his veto, however, Clinton acted to implement the bill's provisions. Through an Executive Order, Clinton put most of the policies described in IMPSA into effect, while leaving himself some discretion as to how and when to impose sanctions.

Public Impact

The passage of IMPSA in the U.S. Congress demonstrates the high level of importance that body places on Israel's security. This is due in no small part to the efforts of AIPAC over the course of its 45–year history. As the voice of Israeli interests in the United States, AIPAC has built a lasting relationship with Congress, that has led in turn to bills like IMPSA. While IMPSA was vetoed, AIPAC's goals were still met by Clinton's Executive Order. By 1999 ten Russian firms had been sanctioned by the Clinton administration for their dealings with Iran.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

The peace process between Israel and Palestine will be one of AIPAC's top priorities for years to come. While AIPAC supports the peace process, it supports it only so long as Israel's needs are met. Thus, the organization opposes efforts to turn Jerusalem into an open city partly under the control of Palestinians. Similarly, AIPAC will push for the United States to fully enforce the agreements as they are written, and deny any attempts by Palestinians to expand their authority or influence at the expense of Israel.

GROUP RESOURCES

AIPAC's Web site can be accessed at http://www.aipac.org. This site includes information on AIPAC's programs, history, and policy stances on topics like terrorism, the peace process, and economic assistance. The site also maintains a video archive. AIPAC's Legislative Alert is a free E-mail subscription system that sends subscribers news briefs on the latest developments in U.S.-Israeli relations. For further information on AIPAC, write to AIPAC, 440 First St. NW, Ste. 600, Washington, DC 20001; or call (202) 639-5200.

GROUP PUBLICATIONS

The Near East Report is AIPAC's biweekly official newsletter on U.S. policy toward the Middle East. Near East Report is available free of charge to members. There is also limited access to the newsletter via AIPAC's Web site at http://www.aipac.org. For more information on AIPAC publications, contact AIPAC by mail at AIPAC, 440 First St. NW, Ste. 600, Washington, DC 20001; or by phone at (202) 639-5200.