Questioning the Israeli Lobby

Congressman Paul ("Pete") McCloskey five months ago predicted that Israel might well try to destroy the nuclear facilities of its Arab antagonists, like Iraq. The prophetic California Republican is also one of the few members of Congress--another is Republican Senator Charles Mathias of Maryland--who openly raises an uncomfortable question: Is American policy in the Middle East being unduly influenced by the ardent lobby of Israel's supporters in the U.S.?

McCloskey recently articulated his concerns in a speech to the Admiral Kidd Officers' Club in San Diego. "We've got to overcome the tendency of the Jewish community in America to control the actions of Congress and for them to force the President and Congress not to be evenhanded," he said. At a press conference, McCloskey added: "We have to respect the views of our Jewish citizens, but not be controlled by them." Morris Casuto, San Diego director of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, promptly denounced McCloskey's statements as "arrant nonsense" and "an insult to the Jewish community."

McCloskey stands by his charges. He told TIME: "If this Israeli lobby is not challenged, and if Begin is not challenged, I think the interests of the U.S. will be seriously hurt." Already, says McCloskey, the lobbying against the sale of AWACS reconnaissance planes to Saudi Arabia is "some of the heaviest I have ever seen."

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