XPost: can.politics, talk.politics.guns, alt.survival
By Mark Weber
For many years Israel has violated well established standards of
international law and has defied numerous United Nations resolutions
in its occupation of conquered lands, in extra-judicial killings, and
in repeated acts of military aggression.
Most of the world regards Israel�s policies, and especially its
oppression of Pal�estinians, as illegal and outrageous. This
international consen�sus is reflected, for example, in numerous UN
resolutions condemning Israel, which have been approved with
overwhelming majorities. / 1 �The whole world,� said United Nations
Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2002, �is demanding that Israel
withdraw [from occupied Palestinian territories]. I don�t think the
whole world ... can be wrong.� / 2
Among the world�s nations, the United States stands out as the most
devoted backer of Israel. With very few exceptions, even those
American politicians and media figures who might sometimes criticize a particular Israeli policy are, nonetheless, vigorous supporters of
Israel � and not just as a country, but as an emphatically Jewish ethnic-religious state. In spite of occasional disputes over specific
policies, the US continues, as it has for years, to provide Israel
with crucial military, diplo�matic and financial backing.
Why is the US such a staunch bastion of support for the Jewish state?
One person who has spoken candidly about this has been Bishop Desmond
Tutu of South Africa, who was awarded the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize.
Addressing an audience in Boston, he said: �But you know as well as I
do that, somehow, the Israeli government is placed on a pedestal [in
the US], and to criticize it is to be immediately dubbed anti-Semitic
... People are scared in this country, to say wrong is wrong because
the Jewish lobby is powerful � very powerful.� / 3
Bishop Tutu spoke the truth. Although Jews make up only two or three
percent of the US population, they wield immense power and influ�ence
� much more than any other ethnic or religious group.
As Jewish author and political science professor Benjamin Ginsberg has
pointed out: / 4
�Since the 1960s, Jews have come to wield considerable influence in
American economic, cultural, intellectual and political life. Jews
played a central role in American finance during the 1980s, and they
were among the chief beneficiaries of that decade�s corporate mergers
and reorganizations. Today, though barely two percent of the nation�s population is Jewish, close to half its billionaires are Jews. The
chief executive officers of the three major television networks and
the four largest film studios are Jews, as are the owners of the
nation�s larg�est newspaper chain and the most influential single
newspaper, the New York Times ... The role and influence of Jews in
Ameri�can politics is equally marked ...
�Jews are only three percent of the nation�s population and com�prise
eleven percent of what this study defines as the nation�s elite.
However, Jews constitute more than 25 percent of the elite journalists
and publishers, more than 17 percent of the leaders of important
voluntary and public interest organiza�tions, and more than 15 percent
of the top ranking civil ser�vants.�
Stephen Steinlight, former Director of National Affairs of the
American Jewish Committee, similarly notes the �disproportionate
political power� of Jews, which is �pound for pound the greatest of
any ethnic/cultural group in America.� He goes on to explain that
�Jewish economic influence and power are disproportionately
concentrated in Hollywood, television, and in the news industry.� / 5
Two well-known Jewish writers, Seymour Lipset and Earl Raab, point�ed
out in their book, Jews and the New American Scene: / 6 �During the
last three decades Jews [in the United States] have made up 50 percent
of the top two hundred intellectu�als ... 20 percent of professors at
the leading universities ... 40 percent of partners in the leading law
firms in New York and Washington ... 59 percent of the directors,
writ�ers, and producers of the 50 top-grossing motion pictures from
1965 to 1982, and 58 percent of directors, writers, and producers in
two or more primetime television series.�
Vanity Fair magazine in 2007 published a list of what it calls �the
world�s most powerful people� � a lineup of the one hundred most
influential media bosses, bankers, publishers, image makers, and so
forth, who determine how we view ourselves and the world, and who �
directly and indirectly � shape our lives and our futures. Jews made
up more than half of the powerful men and women on the Vanity Fair
list, reported a leading Israeli newspaper, The Jerusalem Post. / 7
Similarly, a listing of America�s wealthiest individuals compiled in
2018 by the business magazine Forbes showed that five of the top ten
were Jewish. / 8
The Jewish role in American political life is similarly lopsided. A
survey by the Jewish news agency JTA in September 2020 found that �15
of the top 25 biggest political donors this [election] cycle are
Jewish or of Jewish origin.� Prominent among these 15 were Sheldon and
Miriam Adelson, Michael Bloomberg, George Soros and Tom Steyer. / 9
In recent years the single biggest donors to Republican politicians,
by far, have been Sheldon and Mariam Adelson, a vehemently pro-Zionist
Jewish billionaire couple. The Adelsons gave more than $100 million to Republican causes and candidates in the 2016 election cycle, and
another $123 million in the 2018 election cycle. / 10 In the 2020
election cycle, the gambling casino magnate and his wife gave an
estimated $250 million to support Donald Trump and other Republican
candidates. / 11
Similarly, Jews were the biggest donors to leading Democratic Party
candidates in recent years. Prominent among these donors have been
George Soros and Haim Saban. / 12 In an article profiling Israeli
billionaire and global media magnate Haim Saban, The New York Times
noted his important role in American politics and his ardent devotion
to the Jewish state. �He has since emerged as perhaps the most
politically connected mogul in Hollywood,� the paper reported,
�throwing his weight and money around Washington, and increasingly,
the world, trying to influence all things Israeli. �I�m a one-issue
guy and my issue is Israel,� he said.� / 13 M. J. Rosenberg, a
political affairs analyst for The Nation observed in 2014: �Adelson
and Saban are top funders, respectively, of the Republican and
Democratic parties, although as Adelson points out, `when it comes to
Israel we�re on the same side�.� / 14
A Grip on Hollywood
�It makes no sense at all to try to deny the reality of Jewish power
and prominence in popular culture,� acknowledges Michael Medved, a
well-known Jewish author and film critic. �Any list of the most
influential production executives at each of the major movie stu�dios
will produce a heavy majority of recognizably Jewish names.� / 15
One person who has carefully studied this subject is Jonathan J.
Goldberg, editor of the influential Jewish community weekly Forward.
In his book, Jewish Power, he wrote: / 16
�In a few key sectors of the media, notably among Hollywood stu�dio
executives, Jews are so numerically dominant that calling these
businesses Jewish-controlled is little more than a sta�tistical
observation ...
�Hollywood at the end of the twentieth century is still an industry
with a pronounced ethnic tinge. Virtually all the senior executives at
the major studios are Jews. Writers, pro�ducers, and to a lesser
degree directors are disproportionately Jewish -- one recent study
showed the figure as high as 59 per�cent among top-grossing films.
�The combined weight of so many Jews in one of America�s most
lucrative and important industries gives the Jews of Hollywood a great
deal of political power. They are a major source of money for
Democratic candidates.�
Joel Stein, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, has written: �As a
proud Jew, I want America to know about our accomplishment. Yes, we
control Hollywood ... I don�t care if Americans think we�re running
the news media, Hollywood, Wall Street or the government. I just care
that we get to keep running them.� / 17
A Well-Entrenched Factor
Over the years, this clout has had a profound impact on how Americans
feel, think and act. One prominent political figure who has publicly acknowledged this reality is President Joe Biden. In a remarkable
address in May 2013, when he was Vice President, he said that the
�immense� and �outsized� Jewish role in the US mass media and cultural
life is the single most important factor in shaping American attitudes
over the past century, and in driving major cultural-political
changes. / 18 �I bet you 85 percent of those [major social-political]
changes, whether it�s in Hollywood or social media, are a consequence
of Jewish leaders in the industry,� Biden said. �The influence is
immense.� He went on to say: �Jewish heritage has shaped who we are �
all of us, us, me � as much or more than any other factor in the last
223 years. And that�s a fact.�
As Biden noted, the Jewish role in American life has long been a
formidable one. In 1972, during a private White House meeting that was
secretly recorded, President Richard Nixon and the Rev. Billy Graham �
the nation�s best-known Christian evangelist � spoke frankly about the
Jewish grip on the media. Graham said: �This stranglehold has got to
be broken or the country�s going down the drain.� To which the
president responded: �You believe that?� �Yes, sir,� said Graham. �Oh,
boy,� replied Nixon. �So do I. I can�t ever say that [publicly], but I
believe it.� / 19
How could all this have happened? Jewish American scholar Alfred M.
Lilienthal provided an answer in his detailed study, The Zionist
Connection. He wrote: / 20
�How has the Zionist will been imposed on the American people?... It
is the Jewish connection, the tribal solidarity among themselves and
the amazing pull on non-Jews, that has molded this unprecedented power
... The Jewish connection covers all areas and reaches every level.
Most Americans may not even sense this gigantic effort, but there is
scarcely a Jew who is not touched by its tentacles...
�The extent and depth to which organized Jewry reached � and reaches �
in the U.S. is indeed awesome ... The most effective component of the
Jewish connection is probably that of media control ... Jews,
toughened by centuries of persecution, have risen to places of prime
importance in the business and financial world... Jewish wealth and
acumen wields unprecedented power in the area of finance and
investment banking, playing an important role in influencing U.S.
policy toward the Middle East ... In the larger metropolitan areas,
the Jewish-Zionist connection thoroughly pervades affluent financial, commercial, social, entertainment, and art circles.�
Foreign Policy Role
Because US military might is the most formidable and intrusive in the
world, by far, the Jewish-Zionist role in setting American policy has consequences for people far beyond the borders of the United States.
In the administration of President George W. Bush a group of
high-level �neoconservative� Jews played a key role in prodding the
United States into war in Iraq. This cabal included: Paul Wolfowitz,
Deputy Secretary of Defense; Richard Perle of the Pentagon�s Defense
Policy Board; David Wurmser in the State Department; and, Douglas
Feith, the Pentagon�s Undersecretary for Policy. These men acted in
accord with Zionist plans to overthrow the Iraqi regime that were
already in place well before Bush became president in early 2001. / 21
For well-informed people, this reality is no secret. In Britain, a
veteran member of the House of Commons candidly declared in May 2003
that pro-Israel Jews had taken control of America�s foreign policy,
and had succeeded in pushing the US and Britain into war in Iraq. Tam
Dalyell, a Labour party deputy known as �Father of the House� because
he was the longest-serving Member of Parliament, said: �A Jewish cabal
have taken over the government in the United States and formed an
unholy alliance with fundamentalist Christians ... There is far too
much Jewish influence in the United States.� / 22
In Washington, Senator Ernest Hollings was moved to declare that Iraq
was invaded, as he put it, to �secure Israel,� and that �everybody�
knows it. Referring to the reluctance of his Congressional colleagues
to openly acknowledge this reality, Hollings said that �nobody is
willing to stand up and say what is going on.� Members of Congress,
with few exceptions, uncritically support Israel and its policies due
to what Hollings called, �the pressures that we get politically.� / 23
This open-ended support for the Jewish state by American politicians
of both major parties was pointedly affirmed by Nancy Pelosi, an
important Democratic Party leader in Congress, and Speaker of the US
House of Representatives. Addressing a conference in 2018, she said:
�I have said to people when they ask me, If this Capitol crumbled to
the ground, the one thing that would remain is our commitment to our
aid � and I don�t even call it aid � our cooperation with Israel.
That�s fundamental to who we are.� / 24
With Zionist leaders now prodding the United States into new conflicts
against Israel�s adversaries, the cost to Americans of the US alliance
with the Jewish state is likely to rise even higher in the years to
come.
To sum up: Jews wield immense power and influence in the United
States. The �Jewish lobby� is a decisive factor in US support for
Israel. Jewish-Zionist interests are not identical to American
in�terests. In fact, they often conflict.
As long as the �very powerful� Jewish lobby remains entrenched, there
will be no end to the Jewish-Zionist grip on the US polit�ical system
and the American media, the Zionist oppression of Palestinians, and
the Israeli threat to peace.
Notes
1. This consen�sus is reflected in numerous UN resolutions condemning
Israel, which have been approved with overwhelming majorities, often
with the US and Israel virtually alone in opposition.
See, for example: UN Press Release, GA/10179, Oct. 21, 2003. (
http://www.un.org/press/en/2003/ga10179.doc.htm ) ; �UAE, Bahrain,
Sudan join huge majority backing anti-Israel moves at UN panel,� The
Times of Israel, Nov. 5, 2020 (
https://www.timesofisrael.com/un-committee-again-passes-annual-anti-israel-resolutions-with-huge-majorities/
). ; �UN Panel Votes 163-5 in Support of Palestinian Statehood, End of Occupation, The Times of Israel, Nov. 20, 2020 (
https://www.timesofisrael.com/un-votes-163-5-in-support-of-palestinian-statehood-end-of-occupation/
).
2. On April 8, 2002, in Madrid. J. Brinkley, "Israel Starts Leaving�
," The New York Times, April 9, 2002.
(
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/08/international/08CND-MIDE.html )
3. D. Tutu, �Apartheid in the Holy Land," The Guardian (Britain),
April 29, 2002.
(
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/comment/0,10551,706911,00.html )
4. Benjamin Ginsberg, The Fatal Embrace: Jews and the State
(University of Chicago, 1993), pp. 1, 103.
5. S. Steinlight, "The Jewish Stake in America's Changing Demography: Reconsidering a Misguided Immigration Policy," Center for Immigration
Studies, Nov. 2001. (
http://www.cis.org/articles/2001/back1301.html )
6. Seymour Martin Lipset and Earl Raab, Jews and the New American
Scene (Harvard Univ. Press, 1995), pp. 26-27.
7. N. Burstein, �Jewish power dominates at 'Vanity Fair�,� The
Jerusalem Post (Israel), Oct.12, 2007.
(
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1191257286817&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
)
8. �Five Jews Make Forbes� List of Top Ten Wealthiest Americans,� The
Times of Israel, Oct. 6, 2018 (
https://www.timesofisrael.com/5-jews-make-forbes-list-of-top-10-wealthiest-americans/
)
9. R. Kampeas, �Who�s Giving the Most in 2020 Campaigns? Here�s a
Rundown of the Biggest Jewish Donors,� Jewish Telegraphic Agency
(JTA), Sept. 24, 2020 (
https://www.jta.org/2020/09/24/politics/whos-giving-the-most-in-2020-campaign-heres-a-rundown-of-the-biggest-jewish-donors
)
10. P. Weiss, J. North, �It Sure Looks Like Trump and Adelson Have Cut
a Deal on Annexation,� Mondoweiss, June 12, 2020 (
https://mondoweiss.net/2020/06/it-sure-looks-like-trump-and-adelson-have-cut-a-deal-on-annexation/
)
11. P. Stone, �Billionaire Casino Boss Sheldon Adelson Splashes the
Cash in Bid to Help Trump,� The Guardian, Oct. 31, 2020 (
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/31/sheldson-adelson-trump-republicans-election
) . See also: �Adelsons Pour $75 Million Into Last-Ditch Effort to
Save Trump,� Politico, Oct. 15, 2020 (
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/15/adelson-trump-super-pac-429688
) ; �Adelsons Said to Pledge Up to $50 Million in Final Trump Campaign
Push,� JTA, Sept. 18, 2020. (
https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/adelsons-pledge-up-to-50-million-in-final-trump-campaign-push-according-to-report
) ; Eli Clifton, �Trump Stuck Between Ending Endless Wars and his
Hawkish Megadonors,� Responsible Statecraft, Dec. 4, 2019. (
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2019/12/04/trump-stuck-between-ending-endless-wars-and-his-hawkish-megadonors/
)
12. R. Kampeas, �Who�s Giving the Most in 2020 Campaigns? Here�s a
Rundown of the Biggest Jewish Donors,� JTA, Sept. 24, 2020 (
https://www.jta.org/2020/09/24/politics/whos-giving-the-most-in-2020-campaign-heres-a-rundown-of-the-biggest-jewish-donors
) ; Y. Katz, �Jerusalem Post 50 Most Influential Jews: Number 1 - Haim
Saban,� The Jerusalem Post (Israel), Oct. 2, 2016 (
http://www.jpost.com/Not-Just-News/Jerusalem-Post-50-Most-Influential-Jews-Number-1-Haim-Saban-468975
) ; �Battle of the Billionaires: Wealthy Clinton Backers Pour Money
into Trump Fight,� Fox News, August 4, 2016 (
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/08/04/battle-billionaires-clinton-s-uber-rich-backers-pour-money-into-trump-fight.html
).
13. A. R. Sorkin, �Schlepping to Moguldom,� The New York Times, Sept.
5, 2004. (
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/05/business/yourmoney/05sab.html ) ;
�Israeli Billionaire Saban is Biggest Donor to US Politicians,� Ynet
News (Israel), Jan. 23, 2007. (
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1,7340,L-3355786,00.html )
14. M. J. Rosenberg, �Sheldon Adelson and Haim Saban: Billionaire
Funders for Israel,� The Nation, Dec. 8, 2014 (
http://www.thenation.com/article/192065/sheldon-adelson-and-haim-saban-want-be-koch-brothers-israel
)
15. M. Medved, �Is Hollywood Too Jewish?,� Moment, August 1996 (Vol.
21, No. 4), p. 37.
16. Jonathan Jeremy Goldberg, Jewish Power: Inside the American Jewish Establishment (Addison-Wesley, 1996), pp. 280, 287-288. See also pp.
39-40, 290-291.
17. J. Stein, �How Jewish Is Hollywood?,� Los Angeles Times, Dec. 19,
2008 (
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-stein19-2008dec19,0,4676183.column
)
18. Jennifer Epstein, �Biden: �Jewish heritage is American heritage�,� Politico, May 21, 2013. (
http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/05/biden-jewish-heritage-is-american-heritage-164525.html
); Daniel Halper, �Biden Talks of 'Outsized Influence' of Jews: �The
Influence Is Immense�,� The Weekly Standard, May 22, 2013. See also:
M. Weber , �Vice President Biden Acknowledges �Immense� Jewish Role in
American Mass Media and Cultural Life,� July 2013. (
http://ihr.org/other/biden_jewish_role )
19. �Nixon, Billy Graham Make Derogatory Comments About Jews on
Tapes,� Chicago Tribune, March 1, 2002 (or Feb. 28, 2002). (
http://www.fpp.co.uk/online/02/02/Graham_Nixon.html ); �Billy Graham
Apologizes for �72 Remarks,� Associated Press, Los Angeles Times,
March 2, 2002; �Graham Regrets Jewish Slur,� BBC News, March 2, 2002.
20. A. Lilienthal, The Zionist Connection (New York: Dodd, Mead,
1978), pp. 206, 209, 212, 218, 228, 229.
21. See: John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, The Israel Lobby and
US Foreign Policy. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2007.
22. F. Nelson, �Anger Over Dalyell's �Jewish Cabal� Slur,� The
Scotsman (Edinburgh), May 5, 2003; M. White, �Dalyell Steps Up Attack
On Levy,� The Guardian (London), May 6, 2003. (
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/may/06/race.politics ). See also:
M. Weber, �Iraq: A War for Israel� (
http://www.ihr.org/leaflets/iraqwar.shtml )
23. M. Weber, ��Iraq Was Invaded to Secure Israel,� Says Senator
Hollings,� July 16, 2004 (
http://www.ihr.org/news/040716_hollings.shtml )
24. P. Weiss, �Pay no attention to Tlaib and Omar, says Pelosi � but
she does,� Mondoweiss, Jan. 26, 2019 (
https://mondoweiss.net/2019/01/acknowledges-pressure-solution/ )
Pelosi was speaking at the annual conference of the Israeli-American
Council, Dec. 2, 2018. Together with her were two important
Jewish-Zionist figures: US Senate Democratic Party leader Chuck
Schumer, and Haim Saban, the billionaire Israeli-American businessman
who has been a major financial backer of Democratic Party candidates.
About the Author
Mark Weber � historian, author and lecturer � studied history at the
University of Illinois (Chicago), the University of Munich, Portland
State University and Indiana University (M.A., 1977). He is director
of the Institute for Historical Review.
#2016 Revised, updated: Feb. 2009, Aug. 2012, and July 2015, and Feb.
2021.
For Further Reading
Norman F. Cantor. The Sacred Chain: A History of the Jews. New York:
Harper, 1994.
Benjamin Ginsberg. The Fatal Embrace: Jews and the State. The Univ. of
Chicago Press, 1993.
Peter Harrison, �What Causes Anti-Semitism?� Review of Macdonald�s
Separation and Its Discontents. The Journal of Historical Review,
May-June 1998. (
http://ihr.org/jhr/v17/v17n3p28_Harrison )
Alfred M. Lilienthal, The Zionist Connection. New York: Dodd, Mead,
1978.
Seymour Martin Lipset and Earl Raab. Jews and the New American Scene.
Harvard University Press, 1995.
Kevin MacDonald, A People That Shall Dwell Alone: Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy. Praeger, 1994.
Kevin MacDonald, Separation and Its Discontents: Toward an
Evolutionary Theory of Anti-Semitism. Praeger,1998
Kevin MacDonald, The Culture of Critique: An Evolutionary Analysis of
Jewish Involvement in Twentieth-Century Intellectual and Political
Movements. Praeger, 1998 (Softcover edition, 2002).
John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, The Israel Lobby and US
Foreign Policy. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2007.
W. D. Rubinstein. The Left, The Right and the Jews. New York: Universe
Books, 1982.
Israel Shahak. Jewish History, Jewish Religion. London: Pluto Press,
1994
Mark Weber, �Anti-Semitism: Why Does It Exist? And Why Does it
Persist?,� Jan. 2014.
(
http://ihr.org/other/anti-semitism-why-does-it-exist-dec-2013 ).
M. Weber, �The Danger and Challenge of Jewish-Zionist Power,� April
2015.
(
http://ihr.org/other/jewishzionistpower2015 )
M. Weber, �Iraq: A War for Israel.� March 2008.
(
http://www.ihr.org/leaflets/iraqwar.shtml )
M. Weber, �Jews: A Religious Community, a People, or a Race?,�
March-April 2000.
(
http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v19/v19n2p63_Weber.html )
M. Weber, �Straight Talk About Zionism: What Jewish Nationalism
Means,� April 2009.
(
http://www.ihr.org/zionism0409.html )
M. Weber, �Joe Biden Acknowledges �Immense' Jewish Role in American
Mass Media and Cultural Life,� July 2013.
(
http://ihr.org/other/biden_jewish_role )
M. Weber, �The Weight of Tradition: Why Judaism is Not Like Other
Religions.� Oct. 2010.
(
http://www.ihr.org/judaism0709.html )
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