Photo: Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Newscom; Carrie Devorah/WENN/Newscom; SAUL LOEB/KRT/Newscom; Mike Theiler/REUTERS; Mark Murrmann/ZUMA Press; Larry Downing/Reuters
In 1956, John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State under President Eisenhower, griped that he couldn’t keep track of all of Washington’s myriad Israel-advocacy organizations; there were so many that he didn’t know who to listen to. His comment led to a new coalition called Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which represents 52 separate groups—including the still powerful, if weakened, AIPAC. Now, to help readers keep track of the key players in the Israel policy realm, we’ve put together this handy (though nonexhaustive) cheat sheet.
TOP DOGS
Photo: Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Newscom
Howard Kohr AIPAC head honcho since 1996, he ranked sixth on GQ‘s 2007 list of DC’s 50 most powerful, besting Hillary Clinton and Karl Rove.
Photo: Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
Malcolm Hoenlein Israel lobby‘s unofficial boss; heads the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, representing 52 pro-Israel groups.
David Harris Longtime leader of the 103-year-old American Jewish Committee, which took heat in 2007 for an essay claiming liberal Jewish critics of Israel were feeding anti-Semitism.
OTHER NOTABLES
Matthew Mark Horn and Marc Stern took over the American Jewish Congress just before Madoff scandal gutted it.
Abraham Foxman, Anti-Defamation League
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
John Hagee, Christians United for Israel
THE RIGHT
Morton Klein Head of the fringe, 112-year-old Zionist Organization of America. Claimed Obama “may become the most hostile president to Israel ever.”
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Daniel Pipes Director of Middle East Forum (MEF), Pipes insisted last year that Obama was once a Muslim and that his campaign was “ignorant or fabricating” when it said he’d never prayed in a mosque.
OTHER NOTABLES
Steve Rosen Blogger for MEF’s Obama Mideast Monitor; indicted in AIPAC espionage scandal.
THE NEOCONS
Norman Podhoretz At 79, the former editor of neoconservative Jewish magazine Commentary has been called the movement’s godfather. In 2007, he told Politico he had secretly lobbied President Bush to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Photo: Council on Foreign Relations
Elliott Abrams Podhoretz’s son-in-law now works at the Council on Foreign Relations. A Reagan staffer during Iran-Contra, he later pled guilty to withholding information from Congress.
OTHER NOTABLES
Tom Neumann, Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
Photo: American Enterprise Institute
Richard Perle Having cheered the Iraq invasion, an unrepentant Perle now blames Obama for Iran’s election fiasco: “When you unclench your fist, it benefits the hardliners.”
THE WONKS
Photo: Saul Loeb/KRT/Newscom
Robert Satloff Heads Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), DC’s leading pro-Israel think tank. In 2008, called Jimmy Carter America’s “most embarrassing ex-somebody” for hugging a senior Hamas official.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Martin Indyk A former AIPAC man, he was ambassador to Israel under President Clinton and is now at the liberal Brookings Institution.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Douglas Feith The Rumsfeld underling whose disastrous oversight of the Iraq War led Slate to dub him “Undersecretary of Defense for Fiascos” now directs the Center for National Security Strategies at the Hudson Institute.
OTHER NOTABLES
Photo: American Enterprise Institute
Danielle Pletka, American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
Paul Wolfowitz, AEI
THE LEFT
Jeremy Ben-Ami His grandparents were among first Jewish settlers in Tel Aviv. Last year, Ben-Ami cofounded J Street, DC’s leading liberal Israel policy lobby.
M.J. Rosenberg A former AIPAC official turned critic, he has been with Israel Policy Forum since 1998.
OTHER NOTABLES
Debra DeLee, Americans for Peace Now
Photo: New America Foundation
Daniel Levy, New America Foundation
THE POLS
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) Since 1989, has received more cash from pro-Israel groups than any senator except Joe Lieberman.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) In 2007, crossed party lines to stop Congress from limiting the president’s ability to attack Iran.
Photo: Mike Theiler/REUTERS
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) Tight with AIPAC, Schumer strongly criticized Chas Freeman, Obama’s first National Intelligence Council nominee, as not pro-Israel enough—until Freeman withdrew his name. “I repeatedly urged the White House to reject him, and I am glad they did the right thing,” Schumer later said.
OTHER NOTABLES
Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.); representatives Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Jane Harman (D-Calif.), Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Howard Berman (D-Calif.), and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.)
THE OBAMA TEAM
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Dennis Ross WINEP alum and diplomat under Clinton and H.W. Bush, Ross now sits on the National Security Council and serves as Obama’s special assistant.
Photo: Mark Murrmann/ZUMA Press
Rahm Emanuel Attended camp in Israel as a kid and briefly volunteered on an Israeli base during the Gulf War. Emanuel made a point of endorsing Obama just after the candidate’s AIPAC speech, and, as White House chief of staff, has met with AIPAC high rollers to sell them on his boss’ policies. “Obviously, he will influence the president to be pro-Israel,” said his Jerusalem-born father. “What is he, an Arab?”
OTHER NOTABLES
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
George Mitchell, special Middle East envoy
Dan Shapiro, National Security Council
Jeff Feltman A senior US diplomat who works with Shapiro on Syria relations
THE OPPOSITION
Photo: Larry Downing/Reuters
James Zogby A former Jesse Jackson adviser, he founded the Arab American Institute in 1985 and is still its president. In 2007, he was targeted by a midlevel US diplomat whose career ended after he left the institute abusive voice mails and emails: “Fuck the Arabs and fuck James Zogby and his wicked Hezbollah brothers.”
OTHER NOTABLES
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Mary Rose Oakar, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Samar Assad, Jerusalem Fund/Palestine Center
Ziad Asali, American Task Force on Palestine
THE MEDIA
Photo: Weekly Standard
Bill Kristol, Founding editor of the Weekly Standard, he favors a hardball approach. “It’s all fair and nice to talk about this peace process,” he said of Obama’s Cairo speech, “but he has increased the chances of an Israeli strike on Iran, and sooner rather than later.”
OTHER NOTABLES
Marty Peretz, WINEP board member and editor of The New Republic
Fred Hiatt, Washington Post op-ed page editor
Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post columnist
Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal columnist
